The Library of Congress, Song of America Radio - lazy late summer learning for languorous lads and ladies.

There are some things that are just simply true about me. 

1.  I would love to take voice lessons again sometime, but if I wait for it to be convenient I'll never learn anything.

Song of America

2. I have forgotten SOOOO much of what I was supposed to have learned in my undergraduate program. 

3.When I went to college, I knew how to get pretty good grades, but I didn't know how to learn,   so I didn't always take advantage of some of the opportunities that were presented to me.  Therefore I have found that I often have significant self inflicted holes in my musical body of knowledge.

4.  As a result of the fact that I teach in a vacuum called the K-5 general music classroom, I find that often the most useful professional development activities are those that allow me to go back and revisit or deepen the things that are deeply musical that have nothing to do with elementary school. 

5. I come from a family of learners.  So the other day when I was with my parents and brother enjoying the 4th of July it was typical that we started talking about the what we all have been reading and listening to.  As it turns out, in addition to all of the reading we do, we are also great consumers of audio books, lectures, podcasts and other digital media. 

Song of America Radio Broadcast Episodes

 6. As part of the table conversation, my mom brought up her enjoyment of the Library of Congress.  Apparently my mom goes there for fun to explore the cultural arts videos and recordings.    I was intrigued and somewhat miffed because I had never really had the chance to  take advantage of this resource.

7. There were not enough hours between then and now for me to compose a fully well rounded post about the gargantuan behemoth opportunity for personal study that is the Library of Congress! 

8.  There is however, enough time for me to explore long enough to stumble upon a website that I would like to recommend to you now. 

9.  Songs of America is a website that contains resources, recordings and timelines for those wishing to study American Art Songs.  I think that the study of American Art songs sounds like  a lovely and inspiring thing to do.  The radio program is just beautiful and the commentary weaves each piece together so that by the time the program is over you've learned something. I'm hoping that by the time school started I will have completed all of the episodes that are available. 

10.  I would love some accountability in my endeavor, so if you decide that these radio episodes are something you are interested in, please let me know and perhaps we can discuss them by way of Google Hangout sometime.

3 Tips for New (or not) Teachers! Build your own General Music Classroom Library!

This post is especially for NEW (or not) Music Teachers who would like to start a classroom library for their general music classroom and need a little guidance on how to get started.  (Even if you aren't a music teacher, there may be some tips here for you as well!)



1.  You've got to know where to look!  What repertoire is available?

Music in Motion is a GREAT first step.  You can look in the regular catalogue that is mailed to your school or you can look online at their website. The advantage of looking at Music in Motion first is that as a trade catalogue, you can be certain that although all of the titles might not fit your needs in terms of the age of your students, you can be  assured that all the titles are musical.  Another thing that makes Music in Motion awesome is that if you are lucky, they might visit your state music convention and bring their inventory of books.  YAY! 

West Music is another great trade vendor.  If they have a Wish List, I was unable to locate it.  However, like Music in Motion, they attend state conventions and they are often approved vendors for school districts. 
 

Amazon.com is great because you can look and look and look and their suggestions can lead you to finding other titles that you might not know about.  Because they are Amazon, their inventory is just plain huge.  Also, because they can sell from private vendors, they sometimes carry books that would otherwise be impossible to purchase because they are out of print.  I consider Amazon.com my chance to do living room window shopping.  Since I'm window shopping for books for school I may not want to purchase them with my own dollar, but because I have the ability to add any books I like to my WISH LIST, I can remember it and then save it either for a day when I have money, or for the opportunity to purchase through another vendor at school.    Truly, I didn't really know what was possible until I started really looking at Amazon.com.

One thing to consider is that when you find an author who has brought a song to life through a children's book, chances are they will have other credits to their name.  When you search, consider searching by author or illustrator.  Iza Tripani, John Lithgow, John M. Feierabend, Michael Evans, Vladamir Radunsky, Woodi Guthrie and John Denver all have several books that are wonderful.  If all you did was purchase the titles by there authors alone, you are already looking at almost 50 titles!  That may seem like a lot, but all good reading teachers will tell you that 40 books doesn't even scratch the surface. 


2.  You've got to know where to shop!

Your school or public library - In case you have forgotten or didn't know, you have to know your library skills to be able to find what you are looking for.  .   Everything about vocal and instrumental music including instruments families and general theory will be located  in the 780-792 section.  Biographies are in alphabetical by the name of the subject in the 921-928 section.  There will also be a great quantity of books that because they are stories about music or because of how the book was written will find their way into general fiction.  Which is why it's good to have a list of titles and authors handy for easy reference.

Your schools guided reading library - If you know what titles to look for there are lots of them AND because of the way that guided reading works, they are in sets of 5-6.  Plus the campus reading specialist will do cartwheels!

Your schools discarded library books - Once upon a time libraries stocked books with cassette tapes.  Now it's past time to move on to new audio formats, so what happens to all of those books?  They get discarded.  Make friends with your librarian and tell her to send you any discarded books with songs in them. 

Budget Bookstores - You never know what you will find!  A few years ago John Lithgow wrote a book through which he reframed the very famous "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens with a new poem and a book filled with beautiful illustrations.  I purchased the book on a whim and as a splurge when it first was published.  The book came with a CD and was just brilliant! THEN about six months later, I happened to be at Half Priced Book stores looking through their shelves when I came across 10 copies for $2.00 each.  I bought all of them and shared them with teacher friends that I knew!  Often, the very thing that we LOVE about the books related to music is the very thing that sends the overstock to the Budget Book retailers sooner than other titles. That's bad for the folks who would like to get paid but GREAT for us!!!! 



Garage Sales - You never know what you will find!  It's a gamble, but if you don't look, I typically don't have time to go, but my mom really enjoys them AND she doesn't mind going through the book sale bend at the public library, so, pretty much every time I see her, she has something to add to my library, which I either say, ooohhhhh I've been wanting this one, OR I give it to one of my students if I have multiple copies or just don't think it's an exact fit.


3. You've got to know where to find money!

Yes, I said FIND money because there is actually money to be found, IF you know how to find it. 

Treat Yourself - Any books you buy, you can keep if you change schools.  You don't have to treat yourself often, but I'll admit, that all of my FAVORITE, can't live without titles, I own.  One book at a time.... My friends know what to get me for Christmas!

Beg -  You might not have a music budget to speak of, but maybe your librarian has a few discretionary dollars.  If you leave a WISH list on her desk that includes ISBN numbers than she might be able to toss you a few titles that you can keep checked out in your room.  How cool would it be if after reading a book with your students they knew that they could then check out the book from the library?  You know they would love it!  Remember to attach chocolate to the list.  :)

Keep Begging - So principal might not be able to see their way to replacing your Bass Xylophone, but it will be hard for your principal to say no to a list of books that comes with attached with their favorite chocolate bar and a list of ways that you would use those books to support the current testing initiative on your campus..... I know.... it's brutal.... but it just might work. 

Donorschoose.org - Remember that Wish List you created on Amazon.com?  Well print it out and keep it handy because AJK Books is the vendor for donorschoose.org and when I have drafted a book project through donorschoose.org I found that the AJK website is not all that user friendly.  You will want to have the list in hand when you create your project so that you don't loose track of what you are asking for.  I've had 30 projects funded through donorschoose.org and by far my favorite project were the ones where I got books.  One time I got an entire set of composer biographies, while another project provided books that were essentially illustrated folk songs.  The best part about using donorschoose.org to help stock your classroom music library is that you can use social media to share your project. 



Top 10 ways to sound like you WANT to sing with children! - (even when you don't feel like it)

One of my favorite singers of all time is Ella Fitzgerald.  I love listening to her sing.  I love everything that she sings.  I love hearing recordings of her when she was young.  I love hearing recordings of her when she was old because every time she sang she shared her emotions with everyone who heard her. She was even quoted as saying,

 "I sing like I feel."  - Ella Fitzgerald.

 (video of Ella at the end of the post! )

As someone who enjoys singing very much, I love this quote and can hear it expressed in every note of her performances. In fact as a performer I hope that my singing does communicate my emotions clearly. But then I laugh because I'm only a "singer" for a very small percentage of my real life. 

My reality is the classroom and as someone who teaches children to sing every day I would like to give a new quote, but instead of from Ella, it will be from me.  Here it is!

 "I sing like I should feel until I do!"  -

Bonnie McSpadden

In truth I feel like one of the most important skills a young music teacher should work to cultivate is the art of convincing  children that you really do want to sing that same song 7 more times for the 6th straight day in a row!

 You see, the more that fatigue sets in, the more I have a "situation" with a student or parent going on via email waiting for me at my desk, the more that l feel pressured to meet deadlines, or if circumstances in my personal life are weighing on me then suddenly I really don't want to sing at all and if I allowed my sour, worried, tired or angry emotions to bleed through into my presentation of my song, then I would be doing my students a terrible disservice.

Imagine you are a second grader who LOVES going to music but you only get to attend that class once every other week.  Now imagine that you are that student and when you are greeted by a music teacher with a look of resignation on her face and an air of defeat about her.  Now everyone, let's sing!  What?  Yuck!  No one, not your eager students and especially not your reluctant students will follow Ms. "unhappy" pants into a meaningful lesson about anything.....blah! Truly the best way to kill the natural enthusiasm students will  bring with them to music is to act like an over-worked, tired out music teacher who hasn't gone to the bathroom since 7:30 this morning!

 As my daddy would say, "You've got the same pants to get glad in that you got mad in" sooooooo

My advice?  Fake it until you can make it!!!!! 

Here are a few tips that I think will help!

1. SMILE! - When you smile, you will get smiles back from your students.  Only the hardest hearts can stay in a pouty self centered mood when faced with a room full of smiling 5 year olds.

2. MOVE! - If you find yourself in need of some space to think, re-arrange your lesson so that your movement activity is first (often mine is anyway) and really put yourself into it.  Everyone benefits from a shot of endorphins!

3. PLAY WITH your students!  This is more than teaching them a game and then releasing them to manage it.  Teach your students a singing game, embrace the moment and enter into the play with the children and watch as the singing of everyone becomes light and beautiful.  Also, those same songs you've been singing for days will be refreshed by the unique experience each class brings with them  You can never have the same turn twice!  For more about how to utilize genuine constructive play in your teaching, please reference the ETM website.

4. Mix it up! - Just because your objectives are the same, just because you choose the same repertoire, just because you would like your students to be moving along at the same pace, doesn't mean you have to teach the exact same lesson every time, you don't teach the same students every time, so why should the lessons be identical?  Challenge yourself to extend and refine your practice - if you are interested, your students will be interested.

5. Sing higher than you speak!  It will brighten your voice and make whatever you are singing sound more cheerful.

6. Drink some water! Get more sleep! Eat your veggies!  - No one is crabbier than dehydrated sleepy people who haven't had enough fiber! Take care of yourself! It's good for your brain, it's good for your body, it's good for your voice, it's good for your students!

7. Have a bathroom buddy! (someone to watch your class if you need to step out)  - This is a bigger issue for some folks than for others, but if you gotta go, you gotta go, don't be a bathroom martyr.  Bathroom martyrs end up with UT infections and bladder infections which can make you really sick and a little crazy..... so just go! 

8. GENUENLY SMILE at colleagues!  Be friendly with your homeroom teachers! - No one wants to drop off their students OR pick them up from a frowning angry looking specials teacher. EVEN if the behavior in the class was appalling every single time you've seen them all year!  I'll admit this is hard for me when I've had a rough class, sometimes I'd just rather be the drama-queen and put on a show.   Really, no one has time and you can solve those problems in conversation with the homeroom teacher with whom you wish to commiserate I mean collaborate later by appointment when you've both set aside time to come up with a creative solution. Some problems must be settled when you have access to caffeine!

9. Limit your communication with the outside (email AND cell phones!)

Ya'll,  I could preach a sermon about email and cell phones and the issues they create that keep us put us in a frame of mind that is not conducive with happy teaching, but really at the end of the day, it's about focus.  When you are spending every transition time you have running over to your email, because someone has hoisted their "urgent" problem onto your lap, or when you are spending all of your time, "discreetly" checking your text messages and Facebook IMs.  In regards to email there are only very few circumstances that require you to drop  everything and immediately reply.  Almost everything can wait until you get done with afternoon bus duty.  This year was the first year that I taught with an iPhone in my purse and while there were a couple of times when I could use it to tune my guitars, or as an occasional timer, any other use that I could think of was a use that with just a little planning I could have access to school technology.  As a result, I've come to the conclusion that unless it is your school policy that you keep your phone on your body for security, it should be left in your purse and turned off, no matter how smart it is.  I don't care if it will cook me some pancakes, it won't sing as well as you and you can't sing if you are "discreetly???" texting your boyfriend a reminder to pick up your dry cleaning. Never mind the fact that texts and Facebook posts and tweets can be just as upsetting or intrusive as any professional email you might get and often they are more so because they are personal.....(personal = leave it at home!!!!)  My young grown-up friends who were the original texting generation... You've got to stop playing with your phone at work!  REALLY!  - So I did preach a sermon, but if you haven't already done so, maybe you can text and IM your significant others right now and tell them that once school starts you are going to change the settings on your phone so that you can only receive texts before and after school.  Your students will be grateful because THEN they will have a teacher who is focused on them and in the right frame of mind to not only teach well but to sing well together with them!

10.  Have a plan B ready JUST IN CASE! One of the hardest days of teaching that I ever had was a day when we arrived at work Monday morning to discover that one of our first grade teachers and her entire family save one teenaged daughter had been killed in a drunk driving accident. For the protection of everyone, my school followed the protocols set in motion by our district which meant that until the first grade homeroom who was affected got the news then everyone had to go on as normal.  That day I had class after class after class and at first I thought that I would be able to just go on with the normal, playful, exuberant lessons that I had planned for the day.  However, I just couldn't.  I could remain calm and if not cheerful, I could at least manage to not look bereaved until it was time for me to start the game and if I tried to open my mouth to sing, my voice would literally break on a sob. I would walk and start singing, "As I was walking...." and literally by the time I got to the word walking I couldn't go on.  To continue would have drawn attention to something that we were not ready to divulge.  So I just had to scrap the lesson and do something non-singing.  I think we played rhythm bingo, or some other thing that I could pull out at the last minute that was almost as easy as a sub plan but that was specifically saved for a "just in case" day.

Musical Math - Part 3

Everyone is always looking for ways to keep students moving forward in their understanding and when we have the right tools in hand we can do just that. This activity made me AND my math coach very happy. 

If you are in a teaching situation where you are constantly having to prove and justify how you support the tests, this just might be the activity you are looking for because it does a good job of providing practice for musical and math skills. 

If you decide to download this activity, AND if you use it, please let me know how it goes, I'd love to hear back from you. 

Musical Math Part 3

Video Wednesday! - When I Rise!

Ordinarily I try to share any videos that I might use in my classroom on Wednesdays, but since it's summer I'm going to share with you some videos that we should watch in order to lift our spirits, renew our minds and challenge our thinking.  As a result, the videos that I'm sharing today are just a taste of a film that I think is a must see for everyone, but especially for any music teachers who need to be reminded of our purpose. 

I'm one of those people who doesn't pay attention to what I' hearing.  Contrary to the fact that I am a music teacher who is supposed to know all about the music we hear, I hardly ever know who sang this or that, I don't pay attention to titles and other than the fact that I enjoyed every minute of music history, I sometimes find it shocking that I got a good grade in it because I don't pay attention to musical details much to my shame!  However, since seeing this documentary a couple of years ago I have become a huge fan and follower of Barbara Smith Conrad and even though I don't consider myself an opera lover, I could listen to her sing all day long! 



What has me hooked to her music and her inspiring voice is her incredible story of strength, determination, and forgiveness.  I love her music and her voice because of the light of Jesus that I can see and hear shining through her when she sings.  I'm sure that when you watch this amazing story you will be struck by her poise and graciousness.  Would that all accomplished musicians could find the balance that Barbara Smith Conrad embodies in her properly proud humility. She has a gift, she shares it without reservation or hesitation, and she comports herself with dignity under fire.  If we could somehow teach that to our talented students or bottle it and sell it, then we would really be onto something as music educators. 

Now that I'm so excited about sharing this video with you, I'm going to go see if I can find it on Netflix because I'm ready to watch it right now!!!!! 

***** UPDATE*****
I did a little research and you can purchase the movie through Amazon.com for a reasonable price or you can rent or buy it through iTunes.  This movie doesn't seem to be available through Netflix at this time.  I could "save" it, but I couldn't request it as a DVD or view it online so perhaps its checked out or maybe it only has limited availability. You may also find the movie available through PBS since it is an Independent Lens documentary.