Music Teacher Coffee Talk

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #126: Cultivating a Positive Singing Culture   Upcoming Presentation: Tanya and Carrie will be presenting "Bright Ideas for New Performance Traditions" at the Organization of American Kodály Educators national conference in Jacksonville. The conference is March 16-19 and you can register here . Main Theme In this episode, Carrie and Tanya talk about how to cultivate a positive singing culture in your music room. Here are some suggestions and tips that might be helpful if you are looking to promote more singing in your classroom: Sing everyday Include singing in every lesson, even when focusing on other units such as recorder, instruments of the orchestra, folk dance, etc. Use singing in your warm-up routine (roll call solos, arioso, vocal exploration, choral warm-ups). Intentionally develop the singing voice Sing for the kids, not with them. Carefully choose keys, tone sets, and starting pitches to encourage students to sing in their head vo...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #125: Resetting the Year with Realistic Expectations Main Theme In this episode, Carrie and Tanya have a conversation with friend and fellow Kodály-inspired music educator Becca Dellinger. Becca has been teaching for 15 years and currently teachers elementary music in Frederick County, Virginia. We discuss ideas for planning, both short-term and long-term, and resource organization ideas as we reset and manage our expectations for the second half of this school year. Thanks to Becca for an open and honest conversation! Know Better, Do Better Carrie mentions the importance of how spirituals are programmed into a choral concert and the importance of not falling into the routine of putting spirituals at the end of the concert. If you would like more inspiration on programming and just the importance of culturally responsive and relevant teaching, be sure to follow Jasmine Fripp, aka The Passionate Black Educator. Here are some great resources from her: J...