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A Few of my Favourite ….. Interval Activities
A Few of my Favourite ….. Interval Activities I was recently struck by how many activities we need to keep our students interested and engaged in our music classes. If we teach something to our 4 year old students (e.g. “beat”) then we need to have sufficient practice activities to challenge our students enough […]
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Practice tips, resource bundles & beating exam stress.
Check out some resources and content you might have missed around the DSMusic space recently. Resource Round-Up Get more of what you need from DSMusic for less! Announcing the launch of FIVE brand new BUNDLE options for VCE Music! Bundle together the DSMusic online courses for Analysis & Musicianship to get your interpretation as well […]
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Major Scales, NAPLAN & Elgar
Check out some Level 1 Major Scale writing content, a few DSMusic videos and a round-up of our favourite finds this month.
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Practicing Transcriptions
It’s not as easy as you think! When we do transcriptions with our students in class that is exactly what we are practicing – the process of TRANSCRIPTION! Yes of course we do have to learn and practice that process but it is learning and practicing the content of the transcriptions that will actually help […]
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My Tasmanian Adventure
A couple of weeks ago I was one of the key note presenters at the ASME (Tasmanian branch or “TASME” as it’s affectionately known) conference, held at Scotch College Oakburn in Launceston. Having never been a key note speaker before and having never visited Launceston either I was VERY excited (and just a tad nervous). […]
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Tone Ladders (What are they & how do I use them?)
What are Tone Ladders? Tone Ladders are a great way ofvisually representing pitch in anintervallically accurate way –that is so long as the intervalsbetween the notes are representedaccurately on the tone ladder. For example, if a tone ladder looks like this: or this: it is NOT representative of the different intervals between the notes e.g. of […]
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The Three “Ps” (Preparation, Present, Practice) Kodály Fundamentals
What ARE the Three “Ps” One of the first things an aspiring Kodály teacher is taught when embarking upon any Kodály course are the Three Ps – Prepare, Present and Practice. These three things form the basis of the process we use to teach ANY and EVERY element of music. Our belief is that students […]
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FAVOURITE QUOTES ABOUT MUSIC and MUSIC EDUCATION
Often, when asked to speak at various conferences or workshops on a particular topic, I like to find a quote that reinforces what I am talking about. Over the years I have put together quite a list which I thought I would share with you. Of course there are many more great quotes out […]
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What is DSMusic?
Deborah Smith has taught music in many classrooms, ran Music Departments in schools and now helps students and educators to keep making wonderful music through DSMusic. She is active in the Kodály space – lecturing, advocating and creating content that supports this comprehensive music literacy approach. DSMusic is built from understanding the realities of the classroom […]
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It’s no big deal – Improvising & Composing in the Everyday Music Lesson
Improvising and Composing are NOT Scary! As a teacher I often avoid the things that I think I am not good at e.g. improvising and composing. Of course I CAN improvise and compose but I am not comfortable improvising and composing. Does this mean I shouldn’t teach my students how to improvise and compose? Of course not! […]
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do re mi songs that are NOT Hot Cross Buns
Tired of the same old do re mi songs? Me too. So here are four you may not know for your song collection. Girl with clock and pirate images courtesy of photostock Bored teacher image courtesy of saphatthachat Flea image courtesy of debspoons All available at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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How to Extend Your Most Musical Students
Something I love about teaching music literacy, musicianship, aural and theory using the Kodály method is how easy it is to create extension ideas and activities suitable for the HUGE range of student abilities within our classes. As any music teacher who has taught the first year of high school will know, our student’s abilities […]
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Report Comments
For many teachers throughout Australia this time of year means one thing: REPORTS!!!! I can’t reinforce more what Denise Gagne from Music Play says (http://www.musicplay.ca): “Report cards are not anyone’s favorite job, but it’s important to communicate how the students have progressed in music. If we don’t assess, evaluate and report on what we’ve taught, […]