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...

Dr. Strong’s Pyramid of Musical Greatness (PoMG) Designed by Adam Brittain                     As I so often do, one day I found myself searching for a quick analogy or metaphor that would help my students focus on the task at hand. Suddenly it came to me, “It’s...

Numerous topics are covered in this conversation between John Feierabend, Missy Strong, and members from the Feierabend Fundamentals page on Facebook, from December 2017. Dr. Feierabend discussed new publications coming down the pike from GIA, switching up the order of units in Conversational Solfege, and how to make sure Beat Motion activities in First Steps...

Introducing Kristen Turner who teaches General Music K-5, District Chorus Grades 2-5 and 5th Grade Band in the Medford Public Schools in Medford, MA. Kristen has been a FAME member since 2016 and during her career has also taught Early Childhood Music. Besides her First Steps and Conversational Solfege 1 & 2 Certification, Kristen also holds […]

Before Pencil and Paper Try Some Alt-Write Techniques: Writing Steps in Conversational Solfege John Crever, FAME Endorsed Teacher Trainer In Conversational Solfege (CS) the recommended amount of time spent in the Writing Steps (9-12) is significantly less than that spent developing conversational skills at Steps 2-5 (Conversational Solfege.)  After mastering the Reading Steps in a...

by Chris Powers   Looking for a fun, engaging activity that is perfect for individual assessment at Steps 7 and 8 of Conversational Solfege? Consider using these “I Have…Who Has? Cards” created by Chris Anne Powers.    The cards correlate with all Units in Book 1 of Conversational Solfege by Dr. John Feierabend. AND for...

This Move it was inspired by Spanish flamenco dancing. The movements in the A section are more sudden and have more weight than the sustained movements of the B section. If you’d like, show students a short video of flamenco dancing to get them ready for the style of dance. The hand position in this...

Please meet our newest (and our first international) Teacher Spotlight, Nobel S. Gabasan, FAME member since 2013. Nobel teaches infants through Year 6 at International College in Hong Kong (Hong Lok Yuen.) In his career, Nobel has taught General Music, Choir, Orchestra, Voice and Instrumental Lessons as well as Parent/Child Classes.   In your opinion, […]

If you know the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, this piece will be familiar. The introduction frames the entire piece both harmonically and metrically. In the opening, Imagine defining the four corners of a picture frame with which a picture will be created. In this lilting jazz waltz, listen and catch the groove. Seek out the...