by Guest Contributor Carol Swinchoski Old Mill School, Wall Township, NJ It is the first week of October and Beginning Band has their first rehearsal with instruments today! As you might imagine, the preparation for this important and exciting first day actually began a while ago. The beginning band model I describe in this article...

In this presentation given at a gathering of FAME of the Mid-Atlantic in Fall of 2017, Endorsed Teacher Trainer Chris Anne Powers talks about how the teachers in her district successfully present tonal and rhythm units concurrently as well as how they layer activities throughout the First Steps years that will come back in Conversational...

Name: Owen Hughes School District: Bedford Central School District Town/City: Bedford State: NY Grades Taught & Specialty Area (previously and currently): K-5 General Music 4th and 5th Grade Chorus All-District Elementary Chorus Educational History: Bachelor of Music (Music Education, Vocal)- SUNY Fredonia (2010) Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)- SUNY Fredonia (2010) Master of Music Education- Hartt School […]

by Lindsay Jackson A few months ago, I attended a workshop at Wisdom of the Earth that had elements of medicinal aromatherapy, meditation, and mindfulness. WOTE’s Education Director, Cynthia Olivera, led us through a fantastic movement activity where we started as seeds and slowly (over 30 minutes) grew into trees that danced around the room....

This Move It! was created by Leslie Weaver and is set to Suite No. 1 in E-Flat Major, II. Intermezzo, by Gustav Holst. The movements in the A section reflect the march style of the accompaniment as well as the direction of the scale figure. The movements in the B section are smoother to reflect...

We are so excited about this AH-mazing free resource for FAME members from Ginny’s Music Space, the Teachers Pay Teachers store of Ginny Capps from our Feierabend Fundamentals page on Facebook. Ginny is being extremely generous in sharing a set of Tuneful, Beatful, and Artful posters that she designed that have not been available anywhere until...

by Andrew Himelick Elementary Music Teacher Towne Meadow Elementary School, Carmel, IN FAME Endorsed Teacher Trainer for First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege There is an exciting and inspiring new resource available for music educators wanting to learn more about the programs and philosophy of Dr. John Feierabend. But first, a little history. For...

This Move it comes from FAME Endorsed Teacher Trainer David Rankine. It is a dramatic interpretation set to Léon Boëllmann’s Toccata from ‘Suite Gothique’ that David choreographed and led during his Conversational Solfege apprenticeship with Dr. Feierabend at Gordon College. We hope you will enjoy it! Directions to Suite Gothique Move It!  ...

Name: Leslie Weaver School District: Hamburg Area School District Town/City: Hamburg State: PA Country (if outside the US): Grades Taught & Specialty Area (previously and currently): K-5 General Music 4-5 Chorus 7thGrade General Music Elementary Autistic Support Adaptive Music Elementary Life Skills Support Adaptive Music High School Life Skills Support Adaptive Music 3-8 Instrumental Lessons […]

Decoding Dilemmas with Older Beginners: Points to ponder as you build your program. Last week I had two breakthroughs in my classes. My 1st graders tried the game “Oh Dear, What Can the Meter Be?” for the first time, and to my surprise, they got every single musical example correct! Historically, this has not been the...