A little over a year ago I started practicing the harp – an instrument that I had never touched before receiving a kit to build one for Christmas of 2018. By April of 2019 I had finished putting it together, installed the strings, and started working in a curriculum series. In late July of 2019 I bought a book of “easy” Christmas songs with the intention of playing a selection...
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by Jamey Mann, Catoctin School of Music Something I say several times a day to students is please slow down. Students playing too fast is an issue students of all abilities must work on. Many listen to their favorite songs or artist and are eager to play just as fast as them. In addition, students may have difficulty recognizing the piece or song they are playing at a slower tempo which...
Read Moreby Alyssa Cowell, The Catoctin School of Music More Music Activities for Quarantine! While we are all hanging in there waiting to go life as it was before COVID-19, here are a few more stay-at-home music activities to fill up the time! Music Scavenger Hunt: Look around the house and see if you can find instruments from different musical instrument families – look for household items you make musical...
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Over the last couple months of this pandemic, education systems around the world have been shaken to their core. Teachers and students were forced to completely change their approach to instruction and learning and adopt what initially seemed like a cold, impersonal teaching model - virtual education. However, it has turned out that online teaching has been a fantastic opportunity for so many students and teachers to thrive. I wanted...
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by Robert Fisher, Catoctin School of Music With many music studios either launching or transitioning their students to online lessons full-time during this unprecedented pandemic, it has been a season of ingenuity and adaptability under pressure for music teachers. Most instructors have faced the new reality of embracing virtual lessons, through services such as Zoom, Skype, Google “Hangouts”, FaceTime and more. With most of...
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