Improvisation Part 2: Melody

Happy new school year! This is Jamie Parker. It’s been awhile since I last blogged, and I realized I never finished my series on improvisation. In my last blog post, I talked about rhythm improvisation. Today, I’ll go over some thoughts on melodic improvisation.

(Thanks to Sonya DeHart, Kelly Benefield, and Melonheadz for the graphics)

Melodic improvisation can be tricky! In my own classroom, I’ve experienced several situations in which my students did not feel completely comfortable with what I was asking of them, and the improvisation activity was a complete disaster. Ever had that happen to you?

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Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Mindset...

Hello everyone! This is Karla from CMajorLearning.  I don't know about you but this past summer just flew by and here I am having just finished my 3rd week of teaching in the 2015-16 school year!

As with any start to the school year, it comes with mixed feelings!  I LOVE my job and what I get the privilege to do everyday but I also LOVE being home with my family during the summer as I'm sure many of you do too!

With this school year, I told myself that I'm not going to 'sweat the small stuff' and that I'm going to not let myself get overwhelmed with all the expectations placed upon myself, both from my district and my own personal expectations.  Thus far, I have been doing very well - some of my teaching 'stuff' (class lists, charts, diagrams, schedules etc) were not ready as early as I would have liked them to be but it was not a deal breaker!  My lessons plans have been written in a timely fashion and they are looking good if I do say so myself!  I'm enjoying the time in class with my students as well as working with some amazing colleagues!

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