Music Education

Now that summer is in full swing, there’s time to kick back and enjoy some light reading. There are innumerable books that can inspire, entertain and inform both new and…

When I was an undergrad, I was told that belting would ruin my voice. I shunned the music I loved and focused solely on building my voice for opera. At…

Perhaps you’re a long-time band director asked to start a string program at your school. Or you’re a first-year teacher looking at limited job options that may include any combination…

Believe it or not, summer vacation is not far off. Students are undoubtedly excited about that, and for piano teachers and the parents of young piano players, summer provides hidden…

The pressure to create visually spectacular marching band shows can be high in the age of short attention spans, reality TV competition shows, and social media.

Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre and the late “Mother of Hubble” Nancy Grace Roman had something in common when they were children: they both enjoyed watching the stars at night. For…

It may not feel like it, but the academic year is coming to an end. When the doors to the school building close for the summer, instrument cases all too…

Aaron Dworkin says he did not know about many black classical composers before he went to college. Long before he was named a MacArthur Fellow or became a University of…

Updated January 2020 The idea for Black History Month was developed during a difficult time for African Americans in the United States. In 1926, segregation and racial violence against the…

To those of us in the sheet music biz, contest and festival season is also known as “score season.” Contests and festivals are great opportunities to showcase your performing groups…

Dr. Alice Hammel remembers when Vinnie started school. He had frequent outbursts and struggled throughout most of his elementary school years; eventually, he was diagnosed as being on the autistic…

It never failed. Late November into December, when my performing groups were approaching the final stages of concert preparation, one or more students would ask me, “Can you help me…

The student population at Louisburg High School where I’m in my 40th year of teaching is about 535 students. Yet we’re proud that more than one-fourth of the student body…

You, like many music teachers, may have a set of handchimes in the instrument cabinet of your classroom that have been sitting for years.  Now’s the time to open the…

Processing sound is one of the human brain’s most difficult jobs. The task involves multiple brain systems that need to be able to respond in microseconds.  Over the history of…

One of the most important but sometimes overlooked jobs of a choral director is to help their students take care of their voices. With the stress of repertoire preparation and…

As the school year progresses, instrument repairs are an unavoidable fact of life. The good news is many of the most common repairs can be done in the comfort of…

Trying to keep track of all of your classes and ensembles is hard enough. Then concert planning time comes, and there is a sea of event planning details to remember…

Think about the way we learn music – the methods and best practices used in the vast majority of music classrooms.  The teaching approaches are not all the same, but…

J.W. Pepper talked to current and former teachers during one of our summer workshops to get some ideas for starting the school year right. Here are some of their thoughts on…