Outside Music Classes For those of you in the south, you’ve had nice weather for a while now. But up north in Alberta, the last snowfall was May 5th. After a long winter, when nice weather finally arrives everyone wants to be outside – students AND teachers. I really enjoy taking music class outside. Singing […]
Category: Recorder
Are you doing assessments for your end of the year report cards? One of the areas that I want to assess is how well children perform music in choirs, Orff ensemble, on unpitched instruments, recorder, ukulele or guitar. Assess a Choral Performance When you’re conducting a choir, it’s almost impossible to assess the performance of an […]
As teachers are approaching the end of their recorder units, we wanted to share a rubric to use for solo assessments. This rubric is available to print, or you can download a fillable PDF. This is a great option if you want to save paper and quickly type in comments. Click the links below to download […]
The last few weeks at Musicplay we have been focusing on teaching tips for recorder. We posted many videos on our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts on how to teach hand placement, make a legato sound, and a recorder warm-up. This week we will share some strategies for your students who need the added challenge. See below […]
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Recorder Mad Minutes
MAD MINUTES – A Great Way to Help Students Develop Note Reading Abilities! Mad Minutes help students develop their note reading ability. Mad minutes were invented by math teachers to help children develop instant recall of math facts. In music, Mad Minutes are timed drills to practice letter names. As the students enter the classroom […]
We’re down to the last 2 weeks of school for Canadian teachers, and this can be a tough 2 weeks to get through. Taking your classes outside can give you some welcome sunshine and fresh air, and give you an opportunity to do some activities that don’t work as well inside. I’d suggest that outside […]
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Ready for Recorder?
Ready for Recorders? For many teachers, January is when the students in Grade 3, 4, or 5 start learning to play the recorder. While the recorder may seem like a simple instrument, there are many skills needed to be successful. Students must be able to: * tell which is their left and right hands * hold the recorder […]