New Composer and Teaching ideas, MTNA Conference 2019

Composers and Teaching Ideas

MTNA Conference 2019

I was pleased to meet a new composer at the MTNA conference.  I always think it's a brave thing to put out your own music and he's done just that.  William Minter.   His website is https://koamusic.org/

Teaching Ideas

1. Multimedia Performances:  slide show, film, painting, follow the structure of the piece, accompany a silent movie.  These things help with performance anxiety.
2.  Musical Hangman
1. Student guesses letters from (A-G) and draws the letter on the staff.
2. A more advanced idea is that the student draws four notes for the same letter.
3. Retrieval Practice https://www.retrievalpractice.org/
4. Evolving Flash Cards---use apps such as quizlet.com
5. Musical Puzzle Challenge--find phrases, chord progressions, analysis (I V I), easily rearrangeable, mark top right hand corner so they can orient it correctly, helps to have a clear beginning (treble/bass clef) and clear ending (ending bar). Cut piece into pieces.  Use a timer as the students try to rearrange it back into its original form.  Reveal the title, composer, and play the entire piece.
6. Playing Cards---especially good for group classes.  Write one name per card. Use to take turns calling on kids for answers, making teams or group assignments.  You can call on the joker, or the queen.  Students are more prepared if they are held accountable.  "I need ____ to play an E Major chord." "Play an F Major cadence." "Play all the A's."
7. Amazing Keyboard Race:  Use game tokens on lowest note of keyboard.  Select random letters A-G and children take turns moving up the keyboard.  Race to get to the top. Can be made more difficult by using #'s and b's.  They could also draw cards and have it timed to see who ends up at the highest point.
8. Swat a Rhythm game--each student needs a fly swatter.  Keep score with bug cards.  1st to 10 points wins.  Whoever is on the bottom wins.
9. Rhythm Dictation:  need sets of cards.  Teacher claps rhythm. Student echo back.  Then they notate the rhythm.
10. Grand Staff pass:  draw card and put marker on a grand staff
11. Spoons.  Have to match 2-4 cards in your hand.  Have to pass one card to your right before picking up a new card on your left. As soon as a person has a match, they can pick up a spoon.  As soon as others see spoons being picked up, they can pick up a spoon.  There is one less spoon than number of players.  
12. Ice cream intervals--add "scoops" of ice cream.  Cones are labeled 2nd, 3rd etc.  Then they sort cards into the right cones.
13. Block (or cup) stacking.  If you get it right, stack higher.  If you get it wrong, take one off
14. Pedaling:  Down on count 2 or count 1 "&".
15. Flow Chart with rhythm sounds (this rhythm pattern might work):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA85eWL_W90

1. Say alphabet: frontwards and backwards
2. Top to bottom
3. Tap "Right", "Left", Together"
4. Tap while saying the alphabet: do it backwards