Resolutions for the New (School) Year
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Welcome to Fermata!
This is the blog of Wendy Barden and Segue Consulting Partners. Here you'll find articles on a variety of topics related to K-12 music teaching and learning. Articles are posted near the beginning of each month. I hope you'll make it a habit to check back often. And always, thanks for pausing with me for a few minutes in your busy week. Have a good one!
Jul
22
22
Feb
12
12
A dozen ideas for choice (and voice) in the music room
Many music educators, including me, make very detailed plans for each lesson or rehearsal. What happens when there is an element of choice, giving students responsibility for some of the decisions, to...read more
Jan
08
08
“See the dog.” — Developing fluency
There are times when my band and orchestra students have come to rehearsal and yes, technically, they could play the music they were assigned. Their fingerings or finger patterns, pitches, and rhythms...read more
Aug
19
19
Looking forward to the upcoming performance
True or False? Everyone in your ensemble or music class is looking forward to performing in the upcoming concert. False. There are likely several students that love to make music, but who also dread t...read more
Jan
05
05
Standards-Based… Grading
Standards-based grading is on the minds of many music educators these days. (Usually not in a good way, I might add.) That’s because standards-based grading is on the horizon in countless school dis...read more
Dec
02
02
The Everyday Advocate
We—you and I—are the face of music education in our schools and communities. In our roles as music educators, we wear many different hats, including the hat of music advocate. In good times, it’...read more
Sep
18
18
Listen and respond to music with "bell ringers"
There’s the bell! Rehearsal should be starting, but there are still five students gathered around you, each with something that seems to need immediate attention. Many teachers have been able to cre...read more
Sep
03
03
"Take Five" to look around your music room
Ask yourself these five questions to make the best use of your space for learning. 1) Is the room arranged to encourage learning? In the elementary music classroom, we think about seating that is comf...read more
Aug
21
21
Positive classroom environment: Relationships and rules
Looking for ways to refresh your approach to classroom management? Many teachers—from young to experienced—have found practical ideas in David Newell’s book, Classroom Management in the Music Ro...read more
Jul
01
01
Teacher-student connections make a difference
My parents were both educators. Mom taught third grade and Dad taught music—high school band and choir, and eventually beginning band and orchestra. Mom and Dad both retired in 1992, and in my opini...read more
Jun
09
09
"Striking a Chord" for Music Education
The NAMM Foundation is in the business of promoting music making. Members of NAMM—the National Association of Music Merchants—include instrument and equipment manufacturers, software developers, m...read more
May
19
19
What's in the box? Writing rubrics
Rubrics are commonly used to assess musical performances—and tasks in other areas, too—when achievement is not easily reported in percentages. ...read more
May
04
04
Summer Break: Renew, Refresh, Rekindle
Hard to believe, but another school year is almost over. Maybe not so hard to believe are the dark circles under your eyes, the extra ten pounds you’ve gained or lost, the clutter on your desk or in...read more
Apr
15
15
Concerts done? Finish the year with musical fun!
Between the spring concert and last day of school there may be time in your rehearsals for a bit of musical fun. Here are three activities that are among my students’ favorites!...read more
Apr
02
02
Bringing informal music-making practices into the classroom
I’ve been thinking about students in middle school and high school who are required to take a music elective, are not involved in a traditional performing ensemble, have decided they do not like sch...read more
Mar
15
15
Fantasia: A great concert and more!
Not long ago I attended Disney Fantasia – Live in Concert with the Minnesota Orchestra. Nine scenes from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 were projected on a large screen above the stage, and the orchestr...read more
Mar
05
05
Standards, standards, standards!
Our classrooms, rehearsals, and lesson plans are filled with standards - or should be! Standards-based, state standards, and new national core arts standards (NCAS). Love them or hate them. Agree with...read more
