Friday Finds #148

October 4, 2019
by Amy
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This past week I’ve been feeling a let-down (the good kind, that is). Often, we don’t know how much stress we are under until we’re no longer “under” it and suddenly you realize what it’s like to breathe again. That’s how I’ve been feeling.

There are several factors contributing to this:

  1. In June, I finished my temporary 1-year stint as an interim worship-leader at my church. That was a 10-15 hour/week job.
  2. In July we finally moved out of our unfinished basement and into the main level of our house and had a kitchen after going without for 6 months.
  3. In August we moved my studio out of my office complex and into the (now almost finished) basement of our home. P.S. Working from home is AWESOME. (In the next couple of months I’ll share new studio photos!)
  4. In September I finished my two-year term as President of Indiana music teacher’s association.

Two weeks have passed since the final turn-over and I’m noticing how much more time I have for life!

Not just life, but I actually feel like I have permission to use the time I got back here again. You may not have noticed much missing, but I know how much I’m bursting to do here. So, if the coming months seem like there are more posts than ever, you know why! 🙂

On to all I have for you this week…

 

1

Now that I finally have a little more time on my hands, I’m tempted to use Natalie’s link to join The Balanced Life online pilates membership. Does anyone else use this program? I’m curious to hear any more feedback. I did Classical Stretch regularly for a couple of years and loved it, but shaking things up is always a good thing for me. (Music Matters Blog)

 

2

How Tim Topham Went From Side-Hustle To Full-Time Musical Pioneer With Content Marketing (CoSchedule Podcast AMP067)

 

3

If you use forScore, it is recommended you wait a bit before moving to iOS13.

 

4

We asked two of our female editors to wear the same thing every day. Here’s what happened (Fast Company)

If I were to wear the same thing every day, it would be comfortable jeans, comfortable closed shoes of some kind, and a black 3/4 length cotton top kind of like this one.

 

5

How to Write by Elizabeth Gilbert (swiss miss)

 

6

7 Killed In Crash Of WWII Aircraft At Connecticut Airport. So sad. My husband is an airplane junkie so I heard about this from him. (NPR)

 

7

Plácido Domingo Resigns From LA Opera.  (NPR)

 

8

An 8-hour playlist of sleep music from Max Richter. I’m going to have to try this on my next trip! (New York Times)

 

9

“So, as my homage to Richter’s eight-hour lullaby, here instead are 10 pieces of music not to put you to sleep – 10 pieces that turn falling asleep into a variously magical, creepy or supernatural drama.” -Tom Service (The Guardian)

 

10

After 2-3 weeks of working my way through my back-log of Milk Street recipes, I deemed this week and next “clean-out-the-fridge-and-pantry” week.

We had a colleague/friend of Drew’s and his wife over for dinner last Friday though and I made Ina Garten’s awesome lasagna (with Italian sausage; I can’t find turkey sausage) and Milk Streets French Apple Cake.

Saturday mornings are deemed “special breakfast” mornings in our household. Breakfast isn’t my thing during the week, but I’m sad if we miss it on Saturdays. Last Saturday was our favorite waffle recipe (Gaufres de Liege). 

This is my waffle iron of choice.

 

What’s your favorite weekend breakfast item/recipe?

 

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Halloween Music Videos Listening Activity

October 3, 2019
by Amy
2 Comments

Holidays are always a fun time to include special activities outside of the usual lesson routine.

Use this fun Halloween-themed listening activity to introduce students to “spooky” classical music!

This four-page guide accompanies the (free) compilation of Halloween Videos available here on Piano Pantry.

You can easily navigate to these videos via the Piano Pantry Menu > Resources.

You’ll also find:

Christmas Music Videos

Expressive Movement Videos

Fun Music Videos

Music Theory Videos

Comprised of 13 videos, there’s more than 60 minutes of listening for your students to experience and enjoy!

The listening activity is flexible in that it can be used as part of in-studio off-bench music lab time, as a digital assignment for individual students (more details below), or as part of group class activities.

Students are given brief, easy-to-digest background information on each piece and a reflection question.

They are not necessarily asked to physically write out an answer to the reflection question (although you could certainly ask them to!); it is simply there to help guide them in active listening.

They are also asked to rate the video with 1-3 stars, which allows students to reflect on how the piece made them feel and keep track of which pieces they’ve completed.

(Remember, though – the guide isn’t just for utilizing it as an assignment – you could also use this for yourself as a way of sharing fun facts about the pieces during a group class!)

Add this lab to your cart now, or find it in the shop.

Are you curious about how to use this as a digital assignment or as part of an off-bench music lab time? Read on!

How to Use As a Digital Assignment

Here are a few suggestions on using this product with students as a digital assignment – whether they’re online students or have in-person lessons. Much of it, of course, depends on how you give assignments.

Send students the PDF:  Using your digital assignment tool of choice (such as email or Google Docs), simply send students the PDF or a direct link to the document from a cloud-based document manager.

*Please note that the terms of use for this product state you can only share it digitally with your students.

Create a repertoire assignment series in Tonara: There are two ways you could consider using this lab in Tonara:

  1. Copy and paste each individual video title into a repertoire assignment, then copy the text into the note portion. Once you create a series in your personal repertoire database, you would assign individual videos to students. Be sure and number each assignment so there is an order to assign them.
  2. Create one assignment in your permanent repertoire for this lab. Attach the PDF to the assignment and use the link area to give students the link to the videos.

In Tonara, you can assign points for students completing the lab assignment!

If you would like to see a brief tutorial on how to create an assignment series in Tonara, click on the image to watch this video starting at 4:30

How to Use During In-Studio Lab Time

The video series is long enough that if you only assign it during an in-studio off-bench lab time once a week for one or two weeks leading up to Halloween, you might be able to use it with students two or three years in a row!

When I used this as part of my music lab time, all lab assignments were kept in 1/2″ three-ring binders. Students each had their own binders and would mark their own listening sheets.

Add this Halloween video listening resource to your cart now.

Curious for more details on how I run my music labs? Get this 15-page “Music Labs Made Easy eBook” chock full of “pro tips.”

We talk about scheduling, set-up, and organizing labs. Laid out in an easy-to-read and understandable format, this book will answer all your questions regarding music lab time!

What kinds of activities do you like to do at Halloween? Do you have any video suggestions I should add to the series? Share in the comments below!

 

The Piece My Students and I Can’t Stop Playing

October 1, 2019
by Amy
4 Comments

Do you ever come across a piece of music that grabs you so deeply that you never tire of playing it?

Over the past year, I’ve experienced this with one particular piece that I would like to share with you today.

Initially, I purchased it for myself as a fresh addition to my church repertoire stash. Even if I don’t have immediate intentions of using a digital download for students, I almost always purchase a studio copy just to be safe.

I’m so glad I did with this one especially because I loved it so much I’ve been handing it out like candy to every student that was willing/interested!

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Friday Finds #147

September 27, 2019
by Amy
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Fall time is here! Does anyone say “autumn” anymore? I kind of wish we did because it’s a much lovelier term. In August we had many days that felt like the new season had arrived and I was wingeing because I wasn’t ready.

On a side note, I just Googled the term “wingeing” because I wasn’t sure if it was spelled right. It also felt a little strange and I wasn’t sure why. Google reminded me it’s because it’s a slang term that is used more in Australia (where I lived for 3 years). Sometimes little things like that just become a part of you!

Now that we’re at the end of September, I’m ready to welcome the slightly cooler air, shorter days, and long sleeve shirts. Iced coffee is seeing its final days and I’m beginning to dream of warm drinks in the evenings curled around the fire. Over the next few days, one of my tasks is to pull out my tiny collection of fall decorations.

Alas, it is time to hand you my offerings for the week and let you take what you like and leave the rest behind.

 

1

Here is a great resource on composition with Wynn-Anne Rossi. The YouTube playlist features 14 episodes! (Alfred Music Piano)

 

2

I just finished a wonderful book by Canadian chef/author Laura Calder called “The Inviting Life.” It’s about home-keeping, entertaining, etc. so at one point she mentions the website Debretts. It feels so posh! LOL. I’m following them on Instagram now for fun.

 

3

The Internet Can’t Decide Whether This Hard-Boiled Egg Instant Pot Hack is Brilliant or Terrifying (The Kitchn)

Looks kind of gross to me, but it does make sense. Who cares what it looks like if you’re planning to just chop the eggs for salads, etc?

 

4

My Favourite Podcasts for Music Teachers (Colourful Keys)

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Friday Finds #146

September 13, 2019
by Amy
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Next weekend is our state conference weekend. With the conclusion of the conference will come the end of my two-year term as President. It’s bittersweet for sure but I have loved every minute of this job (at least most of them).

I’ll never forget preparing for my first meeting. It took me HOURS to put it together and work through the process of combing through previous meeting notes to see what needed to be on the current agenda.

At my 5th meeting this past June, I felt like an old pro. That’s how it usually happens; just as you get the hang of how things work, it’s time to move on!

At one point, our state we moved the Presidency to a 3-year term, but we realized after two rounds that it was too long and taxing for the person in the position. Now I understand why!

One more thing before we get to this week’s finds. I need your opinion. 🙂

For the Friday Finds posts this past year, I’ve been trying to use a photo from that week as the “featured photo”. Some weeks I just don’t have one, so I use the Friday Finds logo image. In a nutshell, I’ve been really inconsistent about it and would like to settle it once and for all.

The featured photos are usually images I post to Facebook anyway, so I’m thinking of going back to using the logo only.

Which do you prefer?

Would you take just a quick second to take the poll on Facebook? Muchas gracias!

Now you can enjoy this week’s finds. 🙂

 

1

Great tip – Buy your parchment from the Dollar Store! (The Kitchn)

 

2

A few early level “spooky” pieces to add to your Halloween repertoire list. (Rebekah Maxner)

 

3

Interested in travel? Music Matters Blogger Natalie Weber has started a new travel blog! (Music Matters Blog)

 

4

If you feel like killing 10 minutes some evening when you’re chilling out, you’ve GOT to watch these 1980’s training videos from Wendy’s (the fast-food chain). They’re hilarious. (The Kitchn)

 

5

Dining at the World’s Best Restaurant: Don’t? (French Women Don’t Get Fat)

 

6

I’ve been trying to play catch-up on this past year’s issues of both AMT and Clavier Companion. In one of those issues was an article by Jeremy Siskind on a cool project he did with small house-recitals. (LOVE.)

Check out his YouTube Channel for some of these videos. I *think* they’re the videos that have (at_home) in the title. Definitely watch this video though where he talks about their group, the music they make and the setting they take their music to.

 

7

A resource for reviews of individual piano sheet music.

 

8

Alton Brown’s tip for how to store tomato paste. This sounds like a lot less messier way of doing it than my way which is to scoop it out into 1T. servings and freeze individually. I’m going to give it a shot. (The Kitchn)

 

9

Miso-Glazed Chicken with Mushrooms (Milk Street)

Never mind the fact I had to order in Light Miso and Mirin from Amazon in order to make this dish. It was very good. I used boneless skinless thighs because well, they’re awesome.

Udon Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach (Milk Street)

Yum, yum, yum. I also had to order in Udon noodles from Amazon since I can’t get them from my local grocery, but this was soooo good. Not only do we not have Udon available, but we can’t get shiitake mushrooms without driving 30 minutes so I keep a large pack of dried ones that you reconstitute. They’re definitely not as good as fresh mushrooms but it worked.

Cod Sautéed in Olive Oil with Fresh Tomatoes (Simply Recipes)

This is one of our favorite fish recipes right now. Make it while you still have beautiful tomatoes this season! I served it alongside jasmine rice and steamed brussel sprouts.

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Smitten Kitchen)

I love this recipe but this time they turned out dry. I’m sure it wasn’t the recipe though because I’ve made these several times. I’m still getting used to my new oven and I used the convection bake setting which I’ve learned makes them much faster so they need less time!

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Thighs (Damn Delicious)

In general citrus and protein are not a combination I enjoy. This lemon chicken, however, was quite tasty. I love how it used lemon zest, thyme, and salt as a kind of “dry rub.”

Friday Finds #145

September 7, 2019
by Amy
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Happy Friday!

Today’s featured photo is of the beautiful artwork one of my students did for the envelopes that we use to keep Music Money in. Hmm…that just make me think that I should write a post on how I use Music Money sometime! LOL

As I type this, my Young Living diffuser is pumping out lovely bursts of “Clarity” essential oils. I’m feeling the Friday lull but have four siblings coming for piano lessons in just over an hour, so here we go!

 

1

Here is an excellent step-by-step example of how an MLT-focused teacher teachers a rote piece. I don’t do quite a many steps as Anna, but would aspire to a format like this!

 

2

I tend to find people like Tim Topham fascinating. (If you’re reading this Tim, yep, that’s you, LOL.) I love hearing how people like him manage such a large online presence. He spills a lot of that out in this post.

It kind of makes my head swirl seeing all those social media posts, but it’s certainly impressive!

 

3

This post gave me another book to add to my reading list. Maybe you’ll find one too.

 

4

Limiting the weight of children’s backpacks. Not a bad idea, India.

 

5

How to actually get work done on an airplane. I suppose if you travel a lot, this could be really useful advice!

 

6

Here’s what I made this week:

Crock Pot Loose Meat Sandwichs

These are based on a dive that was 45-minutes from our house growing up. The sandwich was called a Maidrite. We steamed the buns (small 100% whole wheat buns) in our new steam oven! They’re much better with steamed buns. Pickles and mustard are the best default toppings for this sandwich.

Asian Chicken Salad with Honey Sesame Dressing

I cheated and used pre-shredded lettuce and cabbage/carrots, but it was still all good. We love the edamame in this. It would be even better with some toasted shaved almonds on top in my opinion. It needed some crunchies.

Simple Zucchini Bread

Walnuts and raisins made it into this loaf but my preference is about half the amount of what they call for. I’m not big on nuts in baked goods but my husband likes it.

Garlic Butter Shrimp and Grits

Love, love, love grits. I only had 1 lb. of shrimp and it wasn’t quite enough. Definitely do the 1.5 lb. Otherwise, you’re left with a lot of extra “liquid/butter”.

Obsessively Good Avocado Cucumber Salad

I don’t know if I would say it was “obsessively” good, but I definitely love it.

1-Bowl Peanut Butter Protein Pancakes

Yum. Yum. I didn’t have flax on hand to make flax egg so I substituted with two eggs and it was fine.

 

Friday Finds #144

August 31, 2019
by Amy
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Happy holiday weekend everyone! It’s our last official “hurrah” for Summer here in the states. Make the most of it and resist the urge to WORK on anything related to your daily job!

 

1

This past week I experienced a first: calendar spam! Here’s a great link a fellow teacher sent my way after I shared my woes on Facebook.

How to Stop the Calendar Invite Spam

 

2

Halloween Piano Music for Beginners

 

3

How Habits Can Help Us Pray

 

4

7 Surprising Things You Can Do with Mayonnaise

Guess what #4 is?

Clean your piano keys. Really? Has anyone seriously ever tried that. I’m not sure I would even be willing to try.

 

5

We finally got our oven hooked up and after six months of a small convection oven. The first thing I was excited to bake was cookies!

I’ve always wanted to do taste test comparisons where I make 2 or 3 versions of one type of recipe then decide which version I like the best. My first one was peanut butter cookies.

I made three recipes I had in my files I’ve loved over the past years. Two were still keepers but I was finally able to let go of this one!

5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – Pinch of Yum

Salted Peanut Butter Cookies – Smitten Kitchen

 

6

I’ve been catching up on podcasts lately including the Muscialit Now Podcast. I loved these three, all of which I listened to while pulling weeds for three hours around our barn. LOL.

Episode 158: How to Truly Listen with Evelyn Glennie

Episode 156: Find and Make Peace with Your Voice, with Nikki Loney

Episode 152: Making Music Learning a Picnic, with Ruth Power (Piano Picnic)

Do you have a favorite episode of the Musicality Now podcast?

 

Friday Finds #143

August 23, 2019
by Amy
2 Comments

I’m sorry but I just HAVE to lead this week’s finds with this because I’m SOOO excited I finally finished the project! 🙂

A shop is now finally open here on Piano Pantry! If you haven’t already, jump over and have a look at all the Music Lab materials that are posted. There’s lots of good stuff!

Can you hear me smiling?

 

1

Everyone’s been going a little crazy over this article on Facebook and for good reason…

Teaching is Relentless; Be Extra

 

2

How Habits Can Help Us Pray

 

3

A topic that we don’t always think to talk about in our industry but that is so important: Being a Professional – Safeguarding & Child Protection.

 

4

These are looking pretty yummy although I’ll admit I haven’t made them yet so I can’t give my full blessing…

Easy 5-ingredient Protein Bars (Peanut Butter Chocolate!)

 

5

Great takeaway, Seth Godin – The anatomy of annoying. 

 

6

Susan Paradis has a creative activity for beginners learning keyboard topography – a keyboard puzzle!

 

7

A thorough review of evenly-leveled piano duets by Nicola Canton.

 

 

Favorite iPad Apps for Off-Bench Music Lab Time

August 20, 2019
by Amy
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This post highlights some of my favorite iPad apps that I use for my students’ off-bench music lab time.

While these are all great-quality apps, most apps do not allow students to sign in and thus track their progress.

Consequently, I have designed corresponding tracking sheets that are all available in the shop.

Today we’ll talk about:

(1) Waay Theory / Songwriting App
(2) Rhythm Cat HD
(3) Rhythm Lab
(4) Staff Wars

Waay (Theory/Songwriting app)

Waay is an app available on iOS that teaches music theory via four courses:

  1. Melodies
  2. Chords
  3. [Chord] Progressions I
  4. [Chord] Progressions II

The initial app fee is $5.99 and includes the first two courses. Progressions I and II are bundled as an in-app purchase for $4.99.

Each course is comprised of short videos and interactive practice exercises. Even more specifically, the app states that its intention is to teach “songwriting.”

While the app states that it is great for beginners, the videos and concepts move very, very quickly. My recommendation is that this app is actually best suited for late intermediate / early advanced high school students.

(My impression is that the app is developed with the amateur adult musician in mind who is a “beginner” to music theory/songwriting concepts. It’s definitely not geared toward student-age beginner music students.)

Students will do best if they’re already familiar with the concepts presented in the app.  The courses build on each other and progress in difficulty. Students assigned the first course should already be familiar with major and minor scale patterns in all keys.

The final two “progressions” courses are focused on teaching students how to use “tricks” to identify chords that fit together and identify the keys those progressions may be coming from. These are fairly challenging courses. Students assigned these courses should already have a strong understanding of chords built on scales degrees in all the major and minor keys.

Corresponding Music Lab Tracking Sheet

Each course can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes to complete (depending on how many times they repeat exercises for practice) so, using a tracking sheet makes it easier for students to remember where they left off from week to week.

(While the app will give students stars/scores for what they complete, if you are using it at your studio with multiple students, those don’t help individual students track their progress.)

This music lab sheet is 4 pages (one page for each course).

Add it to your cart here.

Rhythm Cat HD

Rhythm Cat HD is a rhythm app available on iOS. If you would like to try it out, check out the free version, Rhythm Cat Lite HD.

The paid version, Rhythm Cat HD (currently $4.99), currently includes 6 stages – each with 10 levels. If you are looking to use this as a lab for your students, then you will need the full paid version.

Please note that this app does not have a way for the student to hear the rhythm in playback. They tap the rhythm along to an accompaniment track. Often the accompaniment does not include the rhythm in any way, so students must have a solid sense of beat. If they miss just one note, they will receive two stars rather than three.

Stages and levels can only be unlocked by successful completion. So, you cannot assign stage 4 to a student until someone has successfully mastered and unlocked stages 1, 2, and 3.

Corresponding Music Lab Sheet

I would strongly recommend not to assign a stage until the student is proficient at the rhythms included.

For example, even though level one only uses whole, half, and quarter notes, some of the exercises must be executed at fast tempos.

This download is 2 pages, covering all six stages and ten levels.

Add this lab to your cart here.

Rhythm Lab

Rhythm Lab is a comprehensive rhythm app available for iOS (currently $3.99). Not only does it have an extensive amount of leveled exercises, but the app will allow you to create custom rhythm patterns. With so many levels, students could potentially use this app over several years of lessons.

There are two sets of pre-leveled rhythms already created for you. The A-1 rhythms are one-handed rhythms, and the B-2 rhythms are two-handed rhythms. Since they progress at about the same level of difficulty, consider assigning them simultaneously such as A-1 (Level 1A) and B-2 (Level 1B) before going on to A-1 (Level 2A) and B-2 (Level 2B).

Corresponding Music Lab Sheet

Rhythm Lab is one of the few apps out there that will allow you to create student log-ins to track individual progress and scores.

When you first install the program, you will want to set up usernames for students to log in.

Despite the app being able to track individual progress, manual tracking using this lab sheet makes it easier to assign work and view progress. It also includes detailed directions for students.

This download is 15 pages, covering 59 sets of exercises.

Add this lab to your cart here.

Staff Wars

Staff Wars is a note-naming app available on iOS (currently $0.99). As you can imagine, due to the play on “Star Wars,” this app is a hit for a lot of students.

As the notes are named faster, the game will speed up. They have three lives to lose before the game ends and they can try again. It creates a lot of energy and excitement as it goes faster and faster!

With eight different clef settings, students can go through a LOT of note-naming practice in a variety of ways. There are 7 pre-set “ranges” of notes available and as well as a manual version.

For the sake of simplicity and the fact that these labs are designed for piano students, this corresponding lab sheet only uses the treble clef, bass clef, and grand staff options and the manual range setting so the teacher can simply draw in the note range they would like the student to select. (You do so by using the up and down arrow selectors on either side of the little staff on the screen selector by using the left and right arrows.)

Corresponding Music Lab Sheet

This corresponding tracking sheet includes student directions, an easy way for you to assign students specific notes and clefs, and a section for students to track their scores.

While this lab only has 2 pages, there is no limit to how many times the game can be assigned. Simply reproduce the second page as needed – which is a full page of assigned boxes because it doesn’t include student directions.

Add this lab to your cart here.

Music Labs Made Easy eBook

Curious for more details on how I run my music labs? Get this 15-page eBook that is chock full of all kinds of “pro tips.”

We’ll talk about scheduling, set-up, and organizing labs. Laid out in an easy-to-read and understand format, this book will answer all your questions regarding music lab time!

More Than 150 Videos to Support Your Teaching

August 20, 2019
by Amy
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For years, I’ve been collecting videos from all over the internet to use as part of my student’s music lab time. This has resulted in four major sets of videos that are available for FREE here on Piano Pantry:

Christmas Music (24) Videos

Halloween Music (13) Videos

Music Theory (63) Videos

Fun Music (60) Videos

Access all of these via the menu under “Resources” in the menu.

These videos can be utilized during group classes, as either part of an off-bench music lab time, or as an assignment using an online tool like Vivid Practice or Practice Space.

All videos in the series have some kind of accompanying guide (available in the shop) – whether it be a simple tracking sheet for keeping track of which videos the student has watched or a full listening guide with reflection questions. I also hope to eventually make CSV files available for those looking to utilize them as part of an online assignment tool.

>>January 2024 Update: A CSV File for the Expressive Movement Video series is now available. Find it here.

Both the Christmas and Halloween video sets are a little more in-depth listening guides that include fun facts and information about the piece, as well as reflection questions.

Find details on those in these blog posts:

Christmas Music Videos Listening Activity

Halloween Music Videos Listening Activity

In this post, I’ll share more details on the tracking sheets available for the other two series: music theory videos and fun music videos.

Music Theory Video

The Music Theory Videos series is a compilation of the best videos I’ve found online that teach music theory concepts.

While most of these videos teach individual music theory concepts, I was looking to use them to reinforce what students have already learned in lessons.

Here’s a sneak-peak at some of the videos included:

Comprised of 48 videos, they have been divided into four sets based on a rough/general order in which concepts are introduced in most piano methods. The order may not line up exactly, but you can assign videos based on what the student has already been taught in their lesson time.

From my own experience, I find it doesn’t work well to assign just one video at a time. If you’re using this resource as part of an off-bench / music lab time, switching to a new activity after watching just one video is not ideal (especially since the student generally does it independently). It’s much easier to wait until there are several videos the student is ready to watch and assign several at once.

Curious for more details on how I run my music labs? Check out the Music Labs Made Easy eBook in the shop.

Please know that the list of videos is in no way exhaustive. That is, a video may not be available for every music theory concept.

View the Music Theory Video series here.

Corresponding Music Videos Tracking Sheet

Since I was utilizing this as part of an in-studio music lab time and students weren’t watching videos weekly, I needed a way to track which videos they had watched. Thus, the corresponding tracking sheet!

The tracking sheet includes directions to the student, a place for teachers to “assign” which videos to watch, the video name, who it is from, its length (so they know if they have enough time during their lab to complete it), and space for the student to check-off once they watched it.

Add this to your cart now, or find it in the shop.

Fun Music Videos

The fun music video series is a compilation of a lot of…you guessed it… fun (and inspiring, I might add!) music videos. 🙂

When I started including off-bench music lab time as part of my students’ weekly lesson experience, I found that while there are a lot of apps and programs out there, sometimes you run out of things for them to do!

There were two main reasons I found this happening on occasion:

(1) Students can accomplish quite a bit in a 30-minute lab time.

(2) With younger students especially, you can give only so many lab assignments when they are beginners. Not only are they limited in the musical concepts they can play games for, but any assignment with too much reading and writing is just too difficult for kindergarten, first, and even second graders to do independently.

P.S. For a bit more talk on how to handle music lab time with younger students, visit this post.

Thus was born the Fun Music Videos series!

Comprised of more than 60 videos, the series is organized into 8 sets: 

  1. Classical Music Fun
  2. Inspirational
  3. Musical Humor
  4. Unique Instruments
  5. Playing with Popular Tunes 1
  6. Playing with Popular Tunes 2
  7. Music History
  8. The Evolution of the Piano

You could even use these videos as a fun way to end (or start!) a group class.

Find the Fun Music Video series here.

Corresponding Fun Videos Tracking Sheet

My students enjoyed these videos, but similar to the music theory videos, I needed a way to track which ones they had watched. I wasn’t necessarily assigning them week after week until they finished the entire series; I was only assigning it every once in a while and using it as a “filler.”

Thus, the corresponding tracking sheet!

The goal was to keep it simple.

Yes, I was using it as a “filler” lab assignment, but I also didn’t want it to just feel like “busy work.” Not only that, but it had to be something I could assign to students of all ages – especially younger students. As I stated earlier, any assignment with too much reading and writing is just too tricky for kindergarten, first, and even second graders to do independently.

Thus, the tracking sheet includes directions to the student, the “set” name, the video name, the length of the video (so they know if they have enough time during their lab to complete it), and areas to rate the video and openly reflect/comment.

While I would love for it to include more background information and reflection questions (maybe someday I’ll create a more in-depth version for older students similar to the Halloween and Christmas video series), my main goal with this was an easy lab that students of any age could use and enjoy.

Be aware that students have been known to continually go back and watch some of their favorite videos several times when they’re supposed to be watching new videos. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 😉

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Music Labs Made Easy eBook

Curious for more details on how I run my music labs? Get this 15-page eBook that is chock full of all kinds of “pro tips.”

We’ll talk about scheduling, set-up, and organizing labs. Laid out in an easy-to-read format, this book will answer all your questions regarding music lab time!