Key Words

Sharon had a great idea for a variation on the word flashcards. Instead of putting the letters on a staff, why not put them on the keyboard as well? Well, here they are. It would be fun to mix the cards together with the other set to really keep students on their toes! Key Word [...]

Favorite Programs and Fonts for Creating Games

A question I get asked a lot is how do I make all of these materials? What programs do I use, and where do I find the notation fonts? Well, I will divulge my secrets. Not that they are anything extraordinary at all. My mainstay for everything is Microsoft Publisher. I use it for everything. [...]

Student Composition 101

Composition is such a beneficial activity for our students. It helps students create and explore music in an exciting and personal way. Composition is also a wonderful tool for assessing student knowledge and understanding. The problem is, it can take a lot of time – and time is often running short in lessons as it [...]

Composer Posters

Okay, so these really aren’t posters, just 8 1/2 x 11 pictures of composers. I hang the composers of the month for the year in my studio. Your can even splurge like I did, and get frames for them at the Dollar Store. They look great on photo paper, just be sure to set your [...]

Musical Alphabet Blocks

Have you seen Natalie’s great post about making scale blocks? Well, we must be thinking along a similar wavelength. I love my scale blocks, but wanted to have more to use in group classes. Unfortunately, the budget wouldn’t allow it. Then I thought back to elementary school and those cool 3-D shapes we used to [...]

Lets Have a Spelling Bee!

This is another of Sharon’s great ideas. I used Natalie’s list of words that can be spelled with the musical alphabet at musicmattersblog.com to make these cards. One side is the word spelled on the staff, and the other side is the word written out. All words are spelled in both clefs. The lines of [...]