Now, some instruments. This may take a few posts. I have a big red suitcase filled with instruments which I use in my everyday sessions. Some of my favorites are shakers. I have all kinds of shakers in my “kit”. Here are a few of the ones I use the most.

Shakin’ Eggs: These little gems are perfect. They are kid size. They come in all kinds of colors and are affordable. When working with kids with special needs I like that they form perfectly to help develop their grasp patterns. I use them

I’m thinking again about the Robert Kegan model of The Evolving Self. It is in the shape of a helix. The growing human moves between the poles of differentiation and relationship, spiraling into ever higher octaves of meaning.

In this developmental diagram, as newborns we arrive in a state of Oneness that is “all subject” – there is no “object,” because they perceive an undifferentiated world. As we grow, we begin to recognize “other” in more and more complex ways. We acquire the ability to

What better way to get to know a new music therapist than by knowing the tools they find work best with young children. In a series of postings I’m going to share some of my “go to” tools.

Scarves

I know. What crazy person starts a music blog without talking about songs or instruments? I guess that would be me. I own scarves in all kinds of colors and sizes. Tiny 12 inch squares, medium 24 inch squares, and giant 36 inch squares. Each size suits its own purpose within my sessions and all

We are thankful to Mary Ellen Pinzino for agreeing to share with us in this forum. What follows is the beginning of a series of interviews covering a range of topics with one of the original minds in the field of early childhood music and movement. We begin by discussing several of the key issues driving the conversation about online music teacher education.

Rick: Hello Mary Ellen. Thank you for agreeing to share your thoughts about online teacher education. What prompted you to develop an

Hello and Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m sorry to be so long away from the keyboard- I’m afraid other keyboards have been calling.

              Our school district usually spends down every penny around this time of year. And given the current economic climate there aren’t that many pennies around. I was thinking of all the things we scrounge up to make our classrooms work and I thought I’d share a few ideas from “The Queen of Free” (what one of my principals used to call me.) 

Some of you may remember my letter from the front of teenage rock band rehearsals (Listen! Feb. 20, 2011). Last year, there was a little problem with the drummer’s sense of rhythm. So this year, my son and his bassist friend invited the most awesome drummer in the school to join them. This kid’s hero is Dream Theatre’s drummer Mike Portnoy, who can probably count as well as anyone living (if anyone has questions about the seriousness of contemporary rock musicianship, a few seconds of Mike

Yesterday, I traveled to a preschool to teach a music class. It was an interesting setting. The preschool is housed in a high school in a working class city, and high school students (always girls) work with the preschoolers for credit, supervised by an experienced teacher. I was a guest come in to teach a music segment.

Of course, I brought my playlist.           

More and more, I’ve been structuring my music classes around types of movement. Music is the medium, of course, but these

Revolution comes in many forms. In case you hadn’t noticed, we are in the middle of a technological revolution. Like it, dislike it, ignore it, embrace it… it doesn’t matter.  Technology’s march will take its own paths, and the new movers and shakers are those who manage it best. …And they know it, don’t they? The rest of us develop a variety of techniques for managing the constant parade of technological strata, often deciding that it is in our interest to learn, adapt, and change. We have

Writing this series on Mirror Neurons has started to change me. Could it be that the way a very young child sees the world describes a truer reality than our adult eyes can see?

Most developmental models show us evolving, from a “magical” state in which all minds interpenetrate, to a “mature” mindset based upon independence and separation. We create an ego and sustain it. We invent games, and negotiate the rules. We have “mine” and “yours.” We copyright and trademark and patent, buy and

Dear ECMMA friends,

This is the last post about the principles of Dr. Gordon making the case for an excellent repertoire of music for children to listen to in order to develop their music aptitudes.
I choose to write about the last two - repetition and variety - together, just because they could sound one the opposite of the other.
I truly believe that educators and parents should just observe the children to understand what they need to grow and develop their aptitudes and competences.Read More...