1
A piano made out of chopsticks. Man, this guy is coordinated!
2
I found a new podcast! Classical Classroom. I’ve only listed to a couple but really like it so far.
From Houston Public Media: “Houston Public Media classical music librarian, Dacia Clay has a secret: she knows next to nothing about classical music. But she wants to learn! Luckily, she’s surrounded by classical music experts every day. In each episode of the Classical Classroom, Dacia’s colleagues and some local classical music luminaries take turns giving her classical music “homework assignments”. You’ll learn about everything from bel canto aria to the use of leitmotif in the score to Star Wars. Come learn with us in the Classical Classroom.”
One of the episodes I caught was a February 2016 episode with Hugh Sung of A Musical Life podcast. Gotta love Hugh!
3
10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do in a Mason Jar. I love #1 – so cute!
4
Practice pouches are still on my project list, but in the meantime, Leila has posted an update with even more ideas. I haven’t decided yet if I want to have each student have a pouch or if I just want to put together a variety of take-home pouches, or if I should do both. Like I said…it’s still on my project list!
5
I was just telling a colleague they should get LastPass to help remember all their MailChimp login’s when sure enough, not hours later, Seth Godin posts on his blog about Last Pass. I’m telling you, Seth, we have a channel going between us – this isn’t the first time this has happened! 🙂
6
I’m not sure I would have the guts to walk across this bridge!
7
A 75-pound pearl! Yowsuh!
8
Eat Your Way Through Japan with Ice Cream. Sweet!
I have been listening to Dacia for years! I’m a little behind in podcasts so I can’t say I’ve listened to EVERY episode, but it’s pretty close. She has such an enthusiasm to learn & asks questions that my students (& to be honest, even I) ask. It’s a great resource for older students. Some of the earlier episodes have the very occasional swear word when she was awestruck or surprised by something. (I would guess less than a handful of times in the entire history of the podcast.). For those episodes, I just check with the parent first. So glad to hear that you enjoyed the podcasts as well, Amy!
That’s so cool, Rosemarie! It’s great to know a reader is already enjoying it! Are there any past episodes, in particular, you would recommend?
There are SO many good ones, Amy! After relooking at the episodes list, I would recommend episodes 4 (leitmotif in Star Wars), 17 (surprising history of the REMIX), 19 & 20 (minimalist opera), 22 (classical music is hilarious), 23 (Bach’s inventions), 42 (female composers), 46 (defining classical music), 84 (Scheherazade), 102 (opera about 1st woman to run for presidency in US), 129 (beyond pluck), 113 (video game music), any of the tone poems/piano/ ‘big’guys in the classical world focused ones, & all the research projects (I love her tongue in cheek take on the various topics) as well the summer editions (I emailed the link for episode 139 to a student that wants to be a performer). Since I know I missed quite a few great episodes, maybe just listen to the all!
(Sorry for taking so long getting back to you, Amy. Totally forgot to check the notifications box. Lol)
Wow, awesome, thanks so much for taking the time to list your favorites, Rosemarie! I have officially downloaded all your recommendations. They sound great choices. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to catch up as I listed to so many others as well but I’m glad to get some recommendations of the best thus far. Thanks!
I don’t know what I would do without lastpass. I love not having to worry about my millions of passwords anymore.