As music educators, staying creative and engaging in your lessons is essential. In this article, we’re providing you with helpful resources that can enhance your teaching approach and inspire your students. From free repertoire pieces to fun teaching tools and informative articles, these tips and materials are designed to support your growth as a teacher and strengthen your students' musical foundations.
Free Repertoire Piece: "Mexican Hat Dance"
Looking for a fun and beginner-friendly piece for your students? "Mexican Hat Dance" is a perfect fit for Level 2A students. It’s a lively piece that helps with slurs, ties, counting, articulation, and reading accidentals. Plus, it’s a fantastic rhythm practice tool!
Parent Education: Audiation – The Foundation of Music Learning Theory
The article "Audiation: The Foundation of Music Learning Theory" by Amy Chaplin explains the idea of "audiation," which is the ability to hear and understand music in your mind, even when it's not playing. This idea is part of Music Learning Theory (MLT) by Dr. Edwin Gordon.
Audiation goes beyond just hearing a tune in your head (like "Hot Cross Buns"). It’s about truly understanding the music—like recognizing the rhythm, tonality, and harmony. It's different from simply repeating sounds you’ve heard before, as it involves organizing and giving meaning to those sounds.
It also talks about how audiation helps musicians memorize, improvise, and feel more confident with music. It suggests ways to develop audiation, like practicing rhythm and tonal patterns, identifying meter, and focusing on the harmony in music.
In short, audiation helps musicians connect deeply with music, rather than just playing it from memory. The author encourages teachers to help students build this skill early on, so they can truly "feel" and understand music.
Fun Ideas: Bug Flashcards! A Fun Way to Improve Rhythm Skills
Bug Flashcards are a creative and engaging way to introduce rhythm to young learners. By associating familiar images with rhythm concepts like eighth notes, children will grasp rhythms more easily. Incorporate rhythm sticks or egg shakers and sandblocks for added fun and engagement!
Our blog post "Why We Use Rhythm Syllables" explains how rhythm syllables help children learn music naturally by focusing on sounds before symbols. Some systems use rhythm syllables, like "ta" for a quarter note or "ti-ti" for two eighth notes, and help kids associate rhythms with syllables, making it easier to read and perform rhythms.
The post also highlights Carl Orff’s natural-language method, where children use words to feel and understand rhythms. Through playful and consistent syllables, like "beetle" or "grasshopper," children can internalize rhythm effortlessly. The approach focuses on letting kids "speak" rhythm first, making the transition to counting and notation smoother as they grow.
Teacher Resource: Learn How to Sing the Major Scale with Solfege Hand Signs
Solfege hand signs are a great tool for teaching pitch and ear training. This instructional video provides step-by-step guidance for parents and teachers to sing the major scale using solfege. It’s a beginner-friendly resource that encourages pitch accuracy and helps students build musical confidence.
Our Programs
Let’s Play Music provides enriching programs for children ages 0-12, helping them develop strong musical foundations. Whether you’re interested in becoming a teacher or finding one near you, we’ve got you covered.
We hope these free resources and tips will inspire you to bring more creativity and engagement into your lessons. Happy teaching!
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