Embracing the Intangibles

November 3, 2020November 5, 2020 paulkfoxLeave a comment

Teaching Empathy and Engagement

Admittedly, if we keep piling on more mandates for earning a teaching degree and professional certificate, our music education majors would have to continue several more years at the university. What has been added to the forefront of education? You name it: “backwards-designed curriculum,” ethics, the “four C’s” (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication), Common Core, social-emotional learning, special education, new technology, etc. We are already wrestling with the limits of time to cover a mastery of personal musicianship and artistry to find space to “squeeze in” at least a cursory study of the other more abstract but important “soft skills” of character development, cultural diversity and sensitivity training, nurture of emotional health and wellness, stress management, “charismatic” leadership, time management, and… humanity!

“Back in the dark ages” when I attended Carnegie-Mellon University, the pathway for becoming a teacher was to complete (and pay full-tuition!) five years to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and license to teach in the public schools. The fifth year was when we did our student teaching along with additional graduate credits applied towards a Master of Fine Arts in Music Education. This was conferred after a full year’s employment “in the field” (Year #6) and completion of additional summer courses of Philosophy in Music Education, Administration of Music Education, several more credits, and a master’s thesis addressing a self-targeted educational problem at our job. For my entire time at CMU, 80% of the coursework on my transcript was singularly focused on performance classes (lessons on piano and the “major” – mine was on viola – as well as chamber and large group ensemble rehearsals), conducting, instrumental and vocal methods, music history, sight-reading/ear training, harmony, orchestration, etc.

What’s Missing in Music Teacher Training?

It is amazing what we must learn “on our own” after we receive our diploma. Yes, I was competent to read a score, assess a solo, band, chamber group, choral, orchestra, or theatrical performance, compose/arrange and accompany a piece for a string class, coach a vocalist on warming up her voice, apply my knowledge of a composer’s life and music to interpret a masterwork, and start a new student on the cello or flute or tuba or drum! However, a quick reminiscence of “the ABCs for the 2009 opening day” agenda I presented to my music staff as their Performing Arts Curriculum Leader had little bearing on the pre-service training all of us received in higher education:

Assessment “of” (“Summative”) and “for” (“Formative”) Learning
Blackboard and Blended Schools
Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge
Curriculum Mapping and the Rubicon Atlas web program
Customization and Differentiation of Instruction
Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings
Multiple Intelligences Theory
The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Standards-Aligned System
Teaching the “Whole Child”

So, if I became a “superintendent for a day” (or much longer), what would I now prioritize for induction and/or in-service training of educators?

We’ll start out with a taste of the inspiration led by my mentor and former superintendent of schools of Upper St. Clair School District where I taught for 33 years, the man who probably had the greatest influence for my getting hired and seeing something in me to channel my energy towards succeeding in several challenging assignments: Dr. William A. Pope. Way back in the 90’s, Bill was a proponent for studying “the stuff of human relationships,” including the introduction of elementary and middle level units on caring/compassion, courage, empathy, honesty, kindness, sensitivity, trust, among many others. Yes, you CAN teach values and acquiring a “moral compass” in the public schools!

I recently recalled many of these terms as they resonated within me during a motivating “The Presence of a Teacher” session presented by Penn State University Associate Professor of Theater Dr. Susan Russell. She opened the Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Educators Association Region III Virtual Workshop on November 1, 2020 with a “Zoom discussion” brainstorming the essential tools for building every teacher’s “presence” and “connectivity” with his/her students:

empathy
engagement
enthusiasm
listening
personal story-telling
self-care
sharing
vulnerability (acceptance to show)

A Different Kind of “Bucket List!’

Next, let’s add to this mix the easy-to-read book How Full Is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton, organized around the simple metaphor of a dipper and a bucket. Their work is grounded in 50 years of research and will show you how to greatly increase the positive moments in your work and your life – while reducing the negative – which, of course, can be applied to benefit your interactions with students (of paramount importance!), their parents, and school staff.

Admittedly, at times, this may be difficult. As I sit here putting on the finishing touches to a lesson plan for a virtual rehearsal of my online music academy – a “best I can do” replacement to in-person practices of our community youth orchestra’s 39th season, while absorbing the awful media broadcasts of recent spikes in the coronavirus across my region and the country, and trying to ignore the very angry rhetoric of a divided nation in the yet unresolved presidential election: How does one find “positivity” or project an image of hope? What’s that saying? “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”

A “Thoughtful Drop” from a “Full Bucket” would emphasize the

Focus on the positive
Sharing of frequent small positive acts daily
Positive reinforcement to motivate learning
Promotion of positive emotions for your own good health

“How did you feel after your last interaction with another person?”
“Did that person – your spouse, best friend, coworker, or even a stranger – “fill your bucket” by making you feel more positive? Or did that person “dip from your bucket,” leaving you more negative than before?”
https://www.gallup.com/press/176132/full-bucket.aspx

https://crystalecho.com/gallup-profiling/

You can even take their Gallup Clifton Strengths poll to understand your “personality DNA” (above) and assess your potential: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/home.aspx

Raising Caring, Successful Kids in a “Plugged-In, Trophy-Driven World”

In any discussion on what children need most, are you surprised that the word “empathy” keeps coming up? We turn to, in my opinion, “the single most revolutionary book of our time,” UnSelfie – Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World by Dr. Michele Borba, Ed.D., with her framework of nine essential habits of empathy:

Emotional Literacy (recognition of the feelings and needs of self and others)
Moral Identity (adoption of caring values that guide integrity and activate empathy)
Perspective Taking (appreciation of another person’s feelings, thoughts, and views)
Moral Imagination (use of literature, films, and emotionally charged images as a source of inspiration to feel with others)
Self-Regulation (management of strong emotions and reduction of personal distress)
Practicing Kindness (increased concern about the welfare and feelings of others)
Collaboration (working together in the achievement of shared goals)
Moral Courage (resolution to speak out, step in, and help others)
Altruistic Leadership (motivation to make a difference for others)

Michele Borba emphasizes that the “selfie syndrome” is leading to excessive “self-promotion, personal branding, and self-interest at the exclusion of others’ feelings, needs, and concerns. It’s permeating our culture and slowly eroding our children’s character.” In short, she charges educators and parents alike to focus on enhancing the children’s “social-emotional competencies, resilience, academic success, leadership, healthy relationships, moral courage, happiness and mental health.”

I wrote this article for PMEA News about this phenomenon, examples of my impressions of the “dumbing down” or numbing of emotional quotient, less focus on “team” orientation, omission of studying “character” in our schools, and the seemingly increased emphasis on “the me – not the we!”

“Social-emotional learning” (SEL) was not a part of a college music education course catalog, even a few years ago. And yet, today more than ever, it is probably the single most valued “teaching skill” necessary for the care and engagement of students during the pandemic. Educators are “leaders” and often have a lasting influence (maybe only second to their parents) on the social-emotional health of their “charges!” Let’s review the principles of emotional intelligence (EI):

“Most effective leaders have a high degree of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.”
United Nations Staff College https://www.unssc.org/ and What Makes a Leader? by Daniel Goleman https://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader

Why is SEL so important?

SEL provides a foundation for safe and positive learning, and enhances our students’ ability to succeed in school, careers, and life.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
https://casel.org/overview-sel/

SEL can provide students with the SKILLS to confront their challenges by being self-aware, socially-aware, and to make responsible decisions. According to Associate Professor of Music, Music Education Chair, and Director of Bands at Lake Forest College Dr. Scott Edgar, this may take the form of reflection, discussion, and lecture, but to be most effective, it needs to be embedded in curriculum.

“For me, the music teacher can do this in a much more authentic way—through music… SEL should not feel like one more thing; it is THE thing. We teach music; we teach self-discipline; we teach collaboration. SEL is in our classrooms already; our job is to make it explicit, consistent, and structured.”
Dr. Scott Edgar https://nafme.org/music-education-social-emotional-learning/

According to Edgar, music teachers can help teach SEL by:

encouraging students to set their own musical goals
devising solutions for individual or group errors (instead of us always giving the answers)
navigating performance anxiety
understanding the power of music for social change

One more purchase recommendation:
Music Education and Social and Emotional Learning – The Heart of Teaching Music
by Scott N. Edgar

“Music education helps our students learn how to be dedicated, to persevere, and to work together. It is our job to help students see that these skills are not isolated to the music classroom. These are the skills they need to be successful outside of music and to confront their challenges with strength and skill. Music can be the preventative mental health our students need so they have the skills to confront the life challenges ahead of them.”
Dr. Scott Edgar https://nafme.org/music-education-social-emotional-learning/

For a full understanding of SEL, it might be best to review the well-known “CASEL Wheel” (shown above) online at https://casel.org/sel-framework/. I also suggest you download this PDF file.

We have many additional resources to peruse for developing SEL:

Seven Mindsets: How to Talk to Students During COVID-19 https://7mindsets.com/coronavirus-resources-for-educators/?utm_content=122380227
Teaching SEL: Powering Up Students with Social and Emotional Know-How by Sucheta Kamath https://www.educationdive.com/spons/teaching-sel-powering-up-students-with-social-emotional-know-how/574578/
Utilizing Social Emotional Learning for Reflection and Growth by Scott Edgar, Andrew Morrison, and Bob Morrison https://sbomagazine.com/6934-optimism-through-the-covid-19-disruption-utilizing-social-emotional-learning-for-reflection-and-growth.html
Why Social and Emotional Learning Is Essential for Students by Roger Weissberg https://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-sel-essential-for-students-weissberg-durlak-domitrovich-gullotta

When COVID-19 crashed into our lives wrecking havoc to almost all forms of live/in-person instruction, quarantining elements of the population, enforcing isolation and social-distancing requirements, closing schools and even cancelling most close-collaborative artistic ventures (music lessons, rehearsals, concerts, musicals, etc.), educators everywhere looked for a way to reconnect with their kids… and settled for the less-than-satisfactory, latency-prone, desensitizing virtual-conference environment! Overnight, schools and teachers resorted to “very” remote models of online learning only to view rows and rows of “trapped,” emotionally-detached, mummy or wax-museum-like faces of their students in windows of Zoom, Google Meet, or GoToMeeting platforms.

It’s time to retool and revamp. The most important thing we can do right now is to reach-out to, re-engage, and re-energize our music students, find out how they are doing, foster moments of meaningful dialogue, and share (there’s that word again) empathy… and that we care. We need to immerse ourselves into and apply the principles of human relationships, teacher presence, “bucket drops,” and recommended habits of empathy, EI and SEL explored above by a few wise educational leaders (a.k.a. “our models”).

PKF

Photo credits from Pixabay.com:

Psychology of Music

September 20, 2020September 20, 2020 paulkfox1 Comment

Why Does Music Affect Our Emotions?

by Trishna Patnaik

Author Trishna Patnaik with a view of the mountains of Darjeeling, India

This special feature reviews something all music teachers, performers, and consumers already know that’s in our DNA… the need for music to sustain our lives! Guest authored by Trishna Patnaik, this poignant message is essential during these challenging times of COVID-19 and in support of many school music/art programs currently under siege.
PKF

Can you envision a life without music?

A world where your favorite musician is a doctor or lawyer, or construction worker because music doesn’t exist?

A life where you can’t turn on your favorite workout playlist while going for a run? Or the pump-up song to boost your confidence right before your big presentation cannot happen?

If you can’t, you are definitely not alone.

Music tends to hit on us a deep level. Whether it is sad music that helps us feel relatable when we are going through hard times or joyful music that adds an extra bounce to your step, music is incredibly powerful!

But, then why is this case? Why does music impact your brain and mood so deeply?

Music is a Universal Language…

…but we don’t always pay enough attention to what it’s saying and how it’s being understood. We wanted to take an important first step toward solving the mystery of how music can evoke so many nuanced emotions. Music has a special ability to pump us up or calm us down.

Listening to music can be entertaining, and it might even make you healthier. Music can be a source of pleasure and contentment, but there are many other psychological benefits as well. Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people better manage pain.

Brain regions involved in movement, attention, planning, and memory consistently showed activation when participants listened to music—these are structures that don’t have to do with auditory processing itself. This means that when we experience music, a lot of other things are going on beyond merely processing sound.

Knowing better how the brain is organized, how it functions, what chemical messengers are working, and how they’re working—that will allow us to formulate treatments for people with brain injury, or to combat diseases or disorders or even psychiatric problems.

The notion that music can influence your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors probably does not come as much of a surprise. If you’ve ever felt pumped up while listening to your favorite fast-paced rock anthem or been moved to tears by a tender live performance, then you easily understand the power of music to impact moods and even inspire action!

The psychological effects of music can be very powerful and wide-ranging. Music therapy is an intervention sometimes used to promote emotional health, help patients cope with stress, and boost psychological well-being. Your taste in music can provide insight into different aspects of your personality.

Why Do People Listen to Music?

Over the past several decades, showcase numerous functions that listening to music might fulfill. Different theoretical approaches, different methods, and different samples have left a heterogeneous picture regarding the number and nature of musical functions.

Principal component analysis suggested three distinct underlying dimensions. People listen to music to regulate arousal and mood, to achieve self-awareness, and as an expression of social relatedness. The first and second dimensions were judged to be much more important than the third—a result that contrasts with the idea that music has evolved primarily as a means for social cohesion and communication. The implications of these results are discussed in light of theories on the origin and the functionality of music listening and also for the application of musical stimuli in all areas of psychology and for research in music cognition.

The psychology of music seeks to interpret musical phenomena in terms of mental function; that is, it seeks to characterize the ways in which people perceive, remember, perform, create, and respond to music. While centred on the empirical findings and theoretical approaches of psychology, the field is highly interdisciplinary, with input from neuroscientists, linguists, geneticists, computational modellers, physicists, anthropologists, music theorists, music performers, and composers.

While the study of music has a long history, dating from the ancient Greeks, the psychology of music as an empirical science did not emerge as a full-fledged discipline until the second part of the 20th century. During the last few decades the field has advanced rapidly, and it interfaces strongly with other branches of psychology, such as the studies of perception, cognition, performance, human development, personality psychology, psycholinguistics, clinical neuropsychology, evolutionary psychology, ability testing, and artificial intelligence.

Musical activity combines perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills in real time and it can offer social and health benefits for diverse populations. While psychologists and neuroscientists probe musical activity for insights about the human mind and brain, music scholars examine its cultural, pedagogical, and theoretical aspects. Though these approaches can complement each other, scientific and humanistic studies of music are often disconnected.

This can result in experiments with flawed musical stimuli and musicological writings with problematic assumptions about human cognitive processes. The human brain contains neural mechanisms specific to music perception. It has identified a neural population in the human auditory cortex that responds selectively to sounds that people typically categorize as music, but not to speech or other environmental sounds. It has been the subject of widespread speculation.

The Benefits of Listening to Music

Brain Focus is Enhanced

Any music listener will agree that music can evoke emotions such as pride, elation, or relaxation. That music does more than that for humans: it stimulates various parts of the brain and bodily responses. How do different kinds of music affect the human body physiologically and psychologically? Is the unconscious experience elicited by the autonomic nervous system analogous to what is experienced consciously through emotions?

Background music, or music that is played while the listener is primarily focused on another activity, can improve performance on cognitive tasks in older adults. One study found that playing more upbeat music led to improvements in processing speed, while both upbeat and downbeat music led to benefits in memory.

So the next time you are working on a task, consider turning on a little music in the background if you are looking for a boost in your mental performance. Do consider choosing instrumental tracks rather than those with complex lyrics, which might end up being more distracting!

Music Can Reduce Stress

It has long been suggested that music can help reduce or even manage stress. Consider the trend centred on meditative music created to soothe the mind and inducing relaxation. Fortunately, this is one trend supported by research. Listening to music can be an effective way to cope with stress.

Listening to music had an impact on the human stress response, particularly the autonomic nervous system. Those who had listened to music tended to recover more quickly following a stressor.

Music Can Help You Eat Less

One of the most surprising psychological benefits of music is that it might be a helpful weight-loss tool. If you are trying to lose weight, listening to mellow music and dimming the lights might help you achieve your goals.

Music and lighting help create a more relaxed setting. Since you are more relaxed and comfortable, then you may consume food more slowly and be more aware of when you began to feel full.

You might try putting this into practice by playing soft music at home while you eat dinner. By creating a relaxing setting, you may be more likely to eat slowly and, therefore, feel fuller sooner!

Music Can Improve Your Memory

Some feel like listening to their favourite music improves memory, while others contend that it simply serves as a pleasant distraction.

It depends upon a variety of factors, including the type of music, the listener’s enjoyment of that music, and even how musically well-trained the listener may be. Musically naive students learned better when listening to positive music, possibly because these songs elicited more positive emotions without interfering with memory formation.

However, musically trained students tended to perform better on learning tests when they listened to neutral music, possibly because this type of music was less distracting and easier to ignore. If you tend to find yourself distracted by music, you may be better off learning in silence or with neutral tracks playing in the background.

Music Can Help Manage Pain

Music can be very helpful in the management of pain. The effects of music on pain management found that patients who listened to music before, during, or even after surgery experienced less pain and anxiety than those who did not listen to music.

While listening to music at any point in time was effective, noted that listening to music pre-surgery resulted in better outcomes. Music listeners require less medication to manage their pain. There was also a slightly greater, though not statistically significant, improvement in pain management results when patients were allowed to select their own music.

Music May Help You Sleep Better

Insomnia is a serious problem that affects people of all age groups. While there are many approaches to treating this problem, it has been demonstrated that listening to relaxing classical music can be a safe, effective, and an affordable remedy. Sleep quality is enhanced for those who listened to soothing music before going to sleep over a period of time without any intervention or breakages.

Music Can Improve Motivation

There is a good reason why you find it easier to exercise while you listen to music. Listening to fast-paced music motivates people to work out harder.

Speeding up the tracks resulted in increased performance in terms of distance covered, the speed of pedalling, and power exerted. Conversely, slowing down the music’s tempo led to decreases in all of these variables.

So if you are trying to stick to a workout routine, consider loading up a playlist filled with fast-paced tunes that will help boost your motivation and enjoyment of your exercise regimen!

Music Can Improve Mood

Another of the science-backed benefits of music is that it just might make you happier! People who listen to music knew an important role in relating arousal and mood. Participants rated music’s ability to help them achieve a better mood and become more self-aware as two of the most important functions of music.

Listening to music is not directed to become happier intentionally! However, if you do so by working to determine your own levels of happiness, you will show improvement in the moods and feeling happier.

Music May Reduce Symptoms of Depression

Music therapy can be a safe and effective treatment for a variety of disorders, including depression. Music therapy was a safe, low-risk way to reduce depression and anxiety in patients suffering from neurological conditions such as dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease.

While music can certainly have an impact on mood, the type of music is also important. Classical and meditation music offer the greatest mood-boosting benefits, while heavy metal and techno music are ineffective and even detrimental.

Music Can Improve Endurance and Performance

Another important psychological benefit of music lies in its ability to boost performance. While people have a preferred step frequency when walking and running, scientists have discovered that the addition of a strong, rhythmic beat, such as fast-paced musical track, could inspire people to pick up the pace.

Runners are not only able to run faster while listening to music; they also feel more motivated to stick with it and display greater endurance. While research has found that synchronizing body movements to music can lead to better performance and increased stamina, the effect tends to be the most pronounced in cases of low to moderate intensity exercise. In other words, the average person is more likely to reap the rewards of listening to music more than a professional athlete might.

So why does music boost workout performance?

Listening to music while working out lowers a person’s perception of exertion. You’re working harder, but it doesn’t seem like you’re putting forth more effort. Because your attention is diverted by the music, you are less likely to notice the obvious signs of exertion such as increased respiration, sweating, and muscle soreness.

Music engages people with learning disabilities

There is evidence that music interventions can offer opportunities for creative, psychological, and social developments for individuals with mild to profound learning disabilities, addressing the disadvantages they face in respect of social outcomes.

Music can change the world

Do you ever listen to a song and find yourself moved so deeply you are almost in tears? Have you ever been to a live performance that turned your worst day into your best? Have you ever heard a song that inspired you? Music has the power to move us and to change us. Yet today’s music mostly does not seem to have the same earth-moving, society-shaping effects as that of the past.

With today’s technology, music has become even more of a part of our life experiences: we listen to it on our drive to work, when we go to parties, while we study, when we exercise, and in so many other settings. There are, however, still musicians who hope that their words will inspire change.

Music with a message

The combination of the right lyrics, rhythm and instruments can build a group identity, stir strong emotions, engage audiences and amass people to take action. This makes music the perfect partner for social change.

The effect of music on emotions

It is undeniable that music can stimulate our emotions, evoking different feelings like sadness, happiness, calmness, relaxing and nostalgic feelings. This emotional stimulation from music is because it activates areas in our brain that process sound features. It also activates the limbic brain areas associated with emotions and the prefrontal areas, which is connected to decision making!

One of the reasons music has a huge impact on our emotions is that our mirror neuron system is activated when music is being played. It may be due to the song’s pitch, volume, and timbre. Indeed, music plays a big part on our emotions. If we are broken hearted, we react accordingly when we hear music or songs that were connected to our failed relationships. We sometimes find ourselves in tears hearing a song that reminds us of these relational memories.

There are also points in our lives when we are feeling so low that listening to something inspirational can often alter our negative mood into a positive one.

The Effect of Music on Intellectual Capacity

Can music make people smarter?

Those who undergo musical training are said to be more cooperative and coordinated than their non-musically trained counterparts. This is probably because people who play an instrument or sing usually work with other people; hence, they learn how to interact and communicate with others, making them more open to social interaction.

People who are into music or those who have undergone musical training show an increase in brain plasticity. Brain plasticity is the innate ability of the brain to change shape and get bigger in response to learning or training.

There is a significant difference in terms of structures of auditory and motor cortices in the brain and other brain areas between musicians and non-musicians. They found out that musicians tend to have a bigger and structured brain areas compared to non-musicians. Musical training affects other domains such as verbal intelligence and executive functions, which often lead to better academic performance.

The Effect of Music on Attainment and Creativity

Music is said to enhance one’s creativity and attainment. There is a strong association between music and attainment of tasks! Music could also make us enter into a “wandering mode.” This wandering mode enables us to daydream or imagine things, which sometimes stimulate our creative side.

Music as a Therapy

Music can improve your mood, quality of life, and self-esteem, but it is also:

Extremely safe
Non-invasive
Easily accessible
Non-expensive
Music Boosts Our Moods

Can your favorite songs be a form of therapy?

It was discovered that music can release dopamine in two main places in the brain, the dorsal and ventral striatum. When you are having a pleasurable experience, such as listening to your favourite song, these areas of the brain light up.

These things happen because musical patterns affect our auditory cortex, which is a part of the neural reward system and other areas involved in memory and emotion.

Music has accompanied major social events throughout the history of mankind. Major gatherings such as weddings, graduations, or birthdays are usually recognized by a familiar tune! There is evidence that music plays a large role in emotional processes within the brain. An individual’s emotional state of mind can directly impact daily cognition and behaviour.

Studies have shown that music has the ability to regulate a wide range of both positive and negative emotions. Determining the degree of music’s influence on aggression using two extremes of genre such as: relaxing yoga music versus aggressive rap music! It is seen that those who listened to yoga music show lower aggression, while those who listened to rap music have higher aggression. Aggressive music can make listeners more aggressive emotionally compared to other types of music!

How Many Emotions Can Music Make You Feel?

The subjective experience of music across cultures can be mapped within at least 13 overarching feelings: amusement, joy, eroticism, beauty, relaxation, sadness, dreaminess, triumph, anxiety, scariness, annoyance, defiance, and feeling pumped up.

So much is the power of music, the vibe of music is so propelling that you must enamour enormous benefits and experiential experiences of music time and again. So that you become as timeless as music itself! This is the very derivative of the psychology of music as poignant, proper and poised as music itself!

References

Trishna Patnaik is a self-taught visual artist, art therapist, workshop presenter, and full-time professional painter from Mumbai, India. She holds the degrees of BSc (Life Sciences) and MBA (Marketing). Trishna has been practicing art for over 14 years. After a professional stint in various reputed corporates, she realized that she wanted to do something more meaningful. She found her true calling was painting. She says, “It’s a road less travelled but a journey that I look forward to everyday.” Trishna offers this inspiration for the advocacy of music and art at a time we all need to support continuation of school programs in the Fine and Performing Arts, so essential to the social and emotional learning of all students during the pandemic.

Photo credit from Pixabay.com by Gerd Altmann: “music-sheet-in-a-shadow-flute-piano.” Vector graphics by Gordon Johnson.

Graffiti for Our Time

September 1, 2020September 15, 2020 paulkfoxLeave a comment

Sometimes a picture tells a thousand words…

This month’s blog-post is for teachers, students, parents, and communities who have been facing countless challenges during the reopening of schools…

If you have been following my blog-posts, you know that I am seldom at a loss for words, but for now, the less said in text, the better!

Hopefully these images inspire and cheer you! Good luck!

Special thanks for the collective “genius” of Matthew Arau, Allen D. Lucas, Susan Medley, Bob Morrison, Merilee Ott, Scott Sheehan, Stacey Swanson, and a host of other individuals, and Facebook groups like Music Educators Creating Online Learning, Music Ed Advocates – PARENTS/Teachers/Industry, and Upbeat Leaders. PKF

Photo credit from Pixabay.com by Gerd Altmann: “Help-Watch-Neighborhood”

Leadership Lessons

July 14, 2020July 15, 2020 paulkfoxLeave a comment

Summertime Reading Suggestions for Music Directors

What do authors C.S. Forester, Simon Sinek, Jocko Willink, and Leif Babin have in common?

They offer a fresh perspective on leadership principles, reflections perfectly applicable for the skill-set development of music teachers who desire to better “lead” their music programs, students, and parent boosters.

It was no accident that I chose these books to help explore the truths of inspiring confidence and leading groups of people like we do daily in our classrooms, rehearsal halls, and on the stages or marching band fields. Their use of military (as well as company or government management) anecdotes defines and re-enacts the very essence of leaders, leadership concepts, goals, and public service.

“These [military group] organizations have strong cultures and shared values, understand the importance of teamwork, create trust among their members, maintain focus, and, most important, understand the importance of people and relationships to their mission success.”

— From the Foreword of Leaders Eat First

Why do we admire music teacher “heroes” and most sought-after conference keynoters in our profession such as “Dr. Tim” Lautzenheiser, Peter Boonshaft, Scott Edgar*, and Bob Morrison* (*the latter two to be featured in the PMEA Summer Virtual Conference on July 20-24, 2020). They inspire us. They recharge us and pick up our spirits. They serve as models of visionaries and coaches. They challenge the status quo and help us to grow!

I believe these books will do the same, assist in your career development to morph into an even better leader and teacher. Since many of us are “stuck at home” during the pandemic for awhile, here is a new “reading list” for personal self-improvement.

EPISODE 1-MUTINY — *ITV/Rex Archive: Ioan Gruffudd in “Hornblower” 2001 TV series*

Who is Horatio Hornblower?

To start with, how about a series of historical fiction from the Napoleonic-Wars era?

Hornblower is a courteous, intelligent, and skilled seaman, and perhaps one of my favorite examples of an adaptable “leader.” Although burdened by his (almost shy) reserve, introspection, and self-doubt (he is described as “unhappy and lonely”), the Forester collection illustrates numerous stories of his personal feats of extraordinary cunning, on-the-spot problem solving, and bravery. The first book spotlights an unpromising seasick midshipman who grows into a highly acclaimed, productive, and ethical officer of Her Majesty’s Royal Navy, gaining promotion steadily as a result of his skill and daring, despite his initial poverty and lack of influential friends. And yet, the common thread throughout is that he belittles his achievements by numerous rationalizations, remembering only his fears.

74-gun Royal Navy Ship-of-the-line ~1794

“Hornblower’s leadership is thoroughly self-conscious: what makes him a great leader, morally, is that he assumes as a matter course that he must lead rather than he can lead; Hornblower’s pervasive sense of responsibility would be diminished if it all came to him naturally and that he acts therefore as each situation demands. He can be self-effacing or fierce, or obsequious, all depending on what is necessary to get the job done. As it happens, Hornblower‘s many other gifts, including a formidable diligence, always beyond the call of duty, and a supple intelligence, make him a man others trust and lean on; but for the reader, especially young reader, it’s his moral qualities that are most engaging, it is instructive.”

— by Igor Webb, Hudson Review

This set is a wonderful “chestnut” to acquire, sit back in your leather recliner, and devour over the coming months. Even though it may take you some significant time to finish Forester’s eleven novels (one unfinished) and five short stories, I promise you, it will all be worth it!

[If you like the Hornblower assortment, also checkout the works by Alexander Kent and Dudley Pope, all drawing parallels to the exploits of real naval officers of the time: Sir George Cockburn, Lord Cochran, Sir Edward Pellew, Jeremiah Coghlan, Sir James Gordon, and Sir William Hoste.]

Now, how can you personally glean new leadership habits from this treasure chest? Coincidental to doing some research for this blog, I bumped into the article on LinkedIn “Leadership Lessons Learned from Horatio Hornblower.” My sincere thanks and “attaboy” go to Amro Masaad, Education and STEM Leader at Middlesex County Academies, who gave me permission to share his documentation and insightful interpretation of the following leadership tips learned from Hornblower that we can all employ as “best practices” in the education profession:

Don’t be afraid to stand up to a bully.
Don’t insist that all of your successes be praised.
Don’t let employees sabotage your mission.
If you want excellence, you can’t look the other way.
Prove yourself when the situation demands it.
Take one for the team.
Show sacrifice and honor, even with your enemies.

I have always been inspired by the adventures of Hornblower, mostly because of his displays of humanity at a time in history when things were inhumane and primitive. Hornblower consistently modeled his intentions for the care and success of his subordinates while other officers “stepped on them” to get advancement, his unimpeachable moral code that guided his every action, and “taking it on the chin” when necessary for his shipmates and the good of “god and country.”

Leaders Eat Last

I was struck by this quote by Simon Sinek, the author of Start with Why – How Great Leaders Inspire Action, who posted a popular TedTalk lecture of the same name:

“There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold the position of power or authority, but those who lead, inspire us. Whether they are individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves. And, it’s those who start with ‘the why’ that have the ability to inspire those around them or find others to inspire them.”

— TEDxPugetSound

His latest book, Leaders Eat Last, brings up the rationale of mutual collaboration and prioritizing the mission and the needs of your team members. Sinek observed that some teams were able to trust each other 100%, so much so that they would be willing to put their lives on the line for each other, while other groups, no matter what enticements or special incentives were offered, were “doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure.” Why was this true?

“The answer became clear during our conversation with the Marine Corps general. ‘Officers eat last,’ he said. Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line. What’s symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: great leaders sacrifice their own comfort – even their own survival – for the good of those in their care.”

— Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Throughout his book of vivid narratives from armed conflicts to business “revolutions” of take-overs or new CEO transformations, Sinek dives into the precepts of what constitutes “great” leadership:

The value of empathy should not be underestimated.
Trust and loyalty exist on a two-way street – to earn them, leaders must first extent them to their team members.
The role of leadership is to look out for (and take care of) those inside their “circle of safety.”
For the success of the team, goals must be tangible, visible, collaborative, and written down.
Leaders know: There is power in “paying it forward.” It feels good to help people, or when someone does something nice to us, or even when we witness someone else doing something good.
It’s also a big deal when leaders express that final personal touch and shake hands.
Leadership is all about service… to the “real, living, normal human beings with whom we work every day.”

I have never found a better source for defining the four “chemical incentives” in our bodies (also known as hormones) and numerous actual examples of their daily use (and misuse): endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.

Also intriguing is an expanded Chapter 24 and Appendix section in the book called “A Practical Guide to Leading Millennials.” Similar to another suggestion for summer perusal, UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World by Michele Borba, Ed.D (Simon & Schuster, 2017) which focuses more on our current young “charges,” Sinek’s differentiation is provided to inspire and educate the ultimate multitaskers of the “distracted generation.”

“This is what it means to be a leader. It means they choose to go first into danger, headfirst toward the unknown. And when we feel sure they will keep us safe, we will march behind them and work tirelessly to see their visions come to life and proudly call ourselves their followers.”

“The biology is clear: When it matters most, leaders who are willing to eat last are rewarded with deeply loyal colleagues who will stop at nothing to advance their leaders vision and their organization’s interests. It’s amazing how well it works.”

— Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Extreme Ownership

This next leadership philosophy, the core premise of the book Extreme Ownership – How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, will not surprise anyone who has ever taken on the inherently risky task of programming a student concert, marching field show, dance recital, or musical/play: the music director assumes full responsibility for the failures and faux pas that may occur during the performance, but instrumentalists, singers, actors, and/or dancers should get all the credit for a successful production.

“Combat, the most intense and dynamic environment imaginable, teaches the toughest leadership lessons with absolutely everything at stake. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin learned this reality firsthand on the most violent and dangerous battlefields in Iraqi. As leaders of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, their mission was one many thought impossible: help US forces secure Ramada, a violent, insurgent-held city deemed “all but lost.“ In gripping, firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories, they learned that leadership – at every level – is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails.”

— Front panel of the hardback Extreme Ownership

This is a comprehensive textbook on Leadership 101. Admittedly, the rehash of their battle scenes are scary. This is a world so far apart from anything I have ever experienced. We do owe all our veterans a massive depth of gratitude to face such dangers to defend our freedoms and way of life. (As an inexperienced teacher, the worst fear I ever had to face was a homeroom of 99 excitable and talkative Freshman girls in my first year as the high school choral director.)

When possible, I try to share the Contents (chapter titles) of my book recommendations, giving you a broad glimpse of the outline of their publication:

Extreme Ownership
No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders
Believe
Check the Ego
Cover and Move
Simple
Prioritize and Execute
Decentralized Command
Plan
Leading Up and Down the Chain of Command
Decisiveness Amid Uncertainty
Discipline Equals Freedom – the Dichotomy of Leadership

From these sections, we can explore these fundamental building-blocks and mindsets necessary to lead and win.

Part I: Winning the War Within (Chapters 1-4)

Leaders must own everything in the world. There is no one else to blame.
A leader must be a true believer in the mission.
Even more important then “the how” and “the what” is “the why” of any plan. Not knowing the rationale of a decision or goal is a recipe for failure. It is a leader’s job to understand the mission and communicate it to his/her team members.*
During situations lacking clarity, leaders ask questions.
Leaders temper overconfidence by instilling culture within the team to never be satisfied and to push themselves harder to continuously improve performance.
Leaders know that over-inflated egos cloud judgment and disrupt everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to except constructive criticism.

* Who said “great minds think alike?” (Answer: Carl Theodor von Unlanski.) The concept of “the why” is also described in great detail in the aforementioned TedTalk by Simon Sinek.

Part II: Laws of Combat (Chapters 5-8)

Elements within the “greater team” are crucial and must work together to accomplish the mission, mutually supporting one another for that singular purpose.
In life, there are inherent complexities. It is critical to keep plans and communication simple. Complex goals and plans add to confusion which can compound into disaster.
Competent leaders can utilize their own version of the SEAL’s prioritize and execute. It is simple as, “relax, look around, and make a call.” Prioritize your problems and take care of them one at a time, the highest priority first. Don’t try to do everything at once or you won’t be successful.
Leaders delegate responsibility, trust and empower junior leaders to make decisions on their own as they become proactive to achieve the overall goal or task.

Part III: Sustaining Victory (Chapters 9-12)

Effective planning begins with an analysis of the mission’s purpose, definition of the goals, and communication of clear directives for the team.
Effective leaders keep the planning focused, simple, and understandable to all of the team members and stakeholders.
Leadership doesn’t just go down the chain of command, but up as well. Communication to your supervisors is also key.
Leaders must be decisive, comfortable under pressure, and act on logic, not emotion.
In challenging situations, there is no 100% right solution, and the picture is never complete.
Leaders have self-control and “intrinsic self-discipline,” a matter of personal will. They “make time” by getting up early.
Self-discipline makes you more flexible, adaptable, and efficient, and allows leaders and team members alike to be creative.
A leader must lead, but also be ready to follow.

A Leadership Recap for Music Teachers

I am probably not doing justice to these incredible resources. They offer an exhaustive body of knowledge and examples on leadership ideology as well as a dazzling array of practical advice on what habits/skills are essential to become an effective leader. You need to sit back and devour these books one-by-one, apply their relevance to your situation, and come to your own conclusions about prioritizing the needs for your own personal leadership development.

To sum up a few of the theories from all this literature, we could revisit page 277 in Extreme Ownership and quote “The Dichotomy of Leadership” by Jocko Willnick.

“A good leader must be:

confident but not cocky;

courageous but not foolhardy;

competitive but a gracious loser;

attentive to details but not obsessed by them;

strong but have endurance;

a leader and follower;

humble not passive;

aggressive not overbearing;

quiet not silent;

calm but not robotic;

logical but not devoid of emotions;

close with the troops but not so close that one becomes more important than another or more important than the good of the team; not so close that they forget who is in charge;

able to execute Extreme Ownership while exercising Decentralized Command.”

“A good leader has nothing to prove but everything to prove!”

— Extreme Ownership

Many years ago, my wife and I were fortunate to participate in almost all of those early PMEA Summer Conferences that were basically leadership training workshops. Initiated and inspired by our first guest clinician Michael Kumer (who was then “modeling leadership” first-hand as Dean of Music for Duquesne University), we were exposed to a rich curriculum of “the greats” on leadership, team building, time management, and professional development. If you have not consumed them yourself, a few of these resources from the first couple years should be added to your reading list:

One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
First Things First and other sections from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People series by Stephen Covey
A Kick in the Seat of the Pants: Using Your Explorer, Artist, Judge, and Warrior to Be More Creative and A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative by Roger Von Oech

As a part of fulfilling “total ensemble experience” and to make the learning meaningful, I have always “taught” leadership to my students. The settings may have varied, whether it was as a part of the longstanding tradition of training marching band leaders, student conductors or principals’ who ran sectionals, our spring musical “leadership team” of directors, producers, and crew heads, elected high school choir officers, participants (grades 6-12) in a six-day string camp seminar, or even booster parents in a “chaperone orientation.” Many of my own often-repeated leadership quotes were passed down:

“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.” – Vince Lombardi
“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” – Ken Kesey
“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln
“The very essence of leadership is you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” – Rev. Theodore Hesburgh
“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” – Stephen R. Covey

Finally, to close this seemingly-endless essay, I would share one of my regular but more unique lessons: “leaders flush.” We advise our plebe leaders-in-training that when anyone on the team sees an opportunity to take care of something that’s not right, or someone who needs help, or a problem that can be resolved on their own, they should take it upon themselves to do what is necessary for the greater good. We cite the example that, if you visit a restroom and discover someone before you did not flush the toilet, you do what’s right. Leaders flush.

PKF

Photo credits (in order) from Pixabay.com

The Future of Music Education

June 7, 2020June 7, 2020 paulkfoxLeave a comment

Spring 2020 Final Lecture to the Music Education Graduate Students

by Rich Victor, PMEA Past State President and Adjunct Instructor for the University at Buffalo Graduate School Online

Originally posted in the Facebook group PLAN: The PA Leadership Advocacy Network

This course, “Supervision of Music Learning Programs,” was focused on programs as they existed before this year. Obviously, some things have changed.

What has changed and what has stayed the same? To answer that question let’s take another look at this graphic from Unit 4.

All decisions should flow from the mission statement. That should not change.

As you discovered, most school district mission statements focus on ideals such as “success, life-long learning, and becoming responsible citizens in the community.” An effective music department mission statement will be in alignment with the stated district mission. It will inform the administration and the community how the study of music helps the district achieve their stated mission through the skills and knowledge children learn in music. It also explains what children would lose if the subject were not offered because no other discipline is available in the school district where children can learn those skills and knowledge as well as in music classes.

The school mission and the department mission define the WHY.

Once the WHY has been determined, then the district must determine the WHAT. WHAT learning activities need to be offered to the students in the district in order to help them achieve the desired outcomes stated in the mission? The answer to that question should help determine the curriculum for music.

The content for the music curriculum is determined partially by the district and department missions, partially by state mandated Arts Standards, partially by local school district inter-disciplinary curriculum requirements, and partially by the music department’s desire to provide each child with a comprehensive and high-quality music education based on National Standards.

The outcomes from those learning activities – the WHAT – should not change.

In pre-COVID-19 times, the next decision would be to determine how much time is needed for students to master the curriculum and succeed in their activities. How many years will each facet of that curriculum require? How many hours of instruction should be allocated in each year and WHEN should that time be scheduled in order to provide the maximum number of learning opportunities for each child?

The WHEN might stay synchronous or change to asynchronous instruction. The number of instructional hours provided to each teacher and each subject may need to be flexible. That is yet to be determined and we should prepare for all possibilities. However, keep in mind that the WHEN should not alter the WHAT.

Once it is decided how many hours of instruction should be allocated annually and when those hours would be scheduled, then the district must figure out exactly how many teachers will be needed to deliver that instruction and what qualifications those teachers should possess. The “WHO” part of the process – the staffing piece of the puzzle – should still be driven by the needs of the curriculum and should not change.

It will be the HOW and WHERE parts of this process where the largest changes will occur.

Obviously, the decision WHERE teachers and students will be in the fall will impact HOW music will be taught and what equipment and materials can be used for learning activities.

Facilities in school buildings must be adapted to provide appropriate space for instructional activities to take place and to conveniently store all of the materials and equipment used in those activities while following whatever social distancing protocols and approved procedures for safely handling musical materials are adopted. The WHERE may continue to be the student’s home or a combination of school and distance learning. Once again, we need to prepare for all possibilities.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the outcomes of the K-12 music curriculum – the WHAT – should not change. Teachers need to keep “the end in mind” rather than just focusing in on their own period of time with each student. Then, following the principles of Understanding by Design, K-12 music staff must work as a team to create appropriate learning activities that are designed to help each student make progress through each grade and ultimately achieve the specific learning outcomes of the K-12 music program using the WHEN, WHO, HOW and WHERE pieces that we will have to work with.

As my friend and colleague Bob Morrison said in a recent presentation “Change the HOW not the WHAT!”

Yes, it will be challenging. The challenges caused by these changes may appear to be daunting at first, but they are not insurmountable!

Fortunately, there are some great thinkers in our profession who are already coming up with ideas to make the best of the situation for both classroom and performance teachers. Even if you are the only music teacher in your school district – you are NOT alone! Wonderful ideas for solutions to these challenges can be found in social media and through webinars.

The most important thing to know at this time is that discussions are occurring right now in every school district throughout the country. When students might return to school, and how classes might be scheduled will be determined soon. You must be proactive and become part of that decision-making process BEFORE the decisions are made! Be at the table so that decisions affecting music education in your district happen WITH you and not TO you.

The future of music education is in YOUR hands. It will be what you make it. Good luck and keep in touch!

Editor’s note: As a follow-up to Rich Victor’s article, check out these PMEA webpages:

About the Guest Blogger

Richard Victor is currently Adjunct Instructor for the University at Buffalo Graduate School Online.

Richard Victor had a 37-year career as State College Area High School Band Director. In 1987, he was also appointed to the position of Coordinator of Music for the State College Area School District. He was President of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) from 2000-2002 and served as its Advocacy Chair. He was President of the PA Unit of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) from 1989-1993, the PMEA All-State Jazz Coordinator and PMEA News Jazz Editor from 1993-1998, and chair for the NAfME Council for Jazz Education from 2014-2018. He has also served on the advisory board for the NAfME Teaching Music magazine and held the office of President of the Penn State Alumni Blue Band Association. Other professional memberships include Phi Beta Mu and The Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML).

Mr. Victor has been a guest conductor and adjudicator for concert band and jazz events in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and currently serves as an instrumental adjudicator for Music in the Parks. He frequently provides services as a clinician, consultant, and/or featured speaker for school districts and music events throughout Pennsylvania. He has presented sessions at five NAfME (formerly MENC) national conferences, three NAfME Eastern Division conferences, and the 2008 Americans for the Arts National Convention. He also has been a presenter for six different MEA state conferences, three JEN National Conferences, and three International Conferences on Music Learning Theory.

Teacher Self-Care During the Pandemic

May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 paulkfoxLeave a comment

We thought our next article in this series on music teacher health and wellness was going to center around burn-out. But then… COVID-19 struck (was this really only 3-4 months ago?), we were forced into self-isolation, and all “brick and mortar” schools closed. In the ensuing panic, we all scurried about seeking solutions to reconnect and engage our students from afar in compliance with strict shelter-in-place restrictions.

“Seemingly overnight, the world changed. Teachers and school leaders have had to revamp their entire instructional systems with, in many instances, only a day’s notice. To say many of us are experiencing whiplash, disorientation, and anxiety is an understatement.”

“Our students are feeling it too. Typically, nationwide, one in three teenagers has experienced clinically significant anxiety in their lifetime (Merikangas et al., 2010). It’s probable that during a pandemic that heavily impacts everyday life, levels of anxiety in children and teens are even higher, and the possibility of subsequent trauma greater.”

“In these unprecedented times, teachers are rising to the occasion creatively and quickly to shift to remote learning amidst school closures. Even in a traditional classroom, it can be a challenge to support students with anxiety and trauma histories to stay calm and learn. With distance learning, this difficulty is magnified. However, there is much teachers can do to reduce anxiety in students even while teaching remotely. During this crisis, we need to prioritize students’ mental health over academics. The impact of trauma can be lifelong, so what students learn during this time ultimately won’t be as important as whether they feel safe.”

— “Maintaining Connections, Reducing Anxiety While School Is Closed” by Jessica Minahan in ASCD Educational Leadership, Summer 2020

overwhelmed-4592797_1920_franzroos_fotomacher

My opinion? The Internet and other forms of media can be a godsend or a contributing factor to our feelings of malaise. The 24/7 nature and immediacy of news programs and web posts updating the statistics of new coronavirus cases, hospital admissions, deaths, shortages of personal protection equipment and respirators, unemployment numbers, and the stock market’s roller-coaster ride, have added fear, stress, and “noise” to the real problem… our ability to cope with the ramifications of this pandemic!

Well, at least a lot of dialogue has been generated “out there” about recommended remediation and “success stories.” The purpose of this blog-post is to share some of this “advice from the experts.” Many of you (I hope) may say, “This is just common sense.” True, but however “common” it is, more people than you think are not applying these principles to their own personal lives. And like the one online post that caught my eye the other day, “Teachers Are Breaking” by Jessica Lifshitz, all of us should share our anecdotes… the trials, internal struggles, and tribulations… to make it through this emergency.

Together, we are stronger!

I have been accused of being a little too emotional and I should not “feed into the negativity,” as one reader complained in reaction to one of my blogs. However, according to this article by Christina Cipriano and Marc Brackett, “emotions drive effective teaching and learning, the decisions educators make, classroom and school climate, and educator well-being.”

“At the end of March, our team at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, along with our colleagues at the Collaborative for Social Emotional and Academic Learning, known as CASEL, launched a survey to unpack the emotional lives of teachers during the COVID-19 crisis.”

“In the span of just three days, over 5,000 U.S. teachers responded to the survey. We asked them to describe, in their own words, the three most frequent emotions they felt each day.”

“The five most-mentioned feelings among all teachers were: anxious, fearful, worried, overwhelmed and sad. Anxiety, by far, was the most frequently mentioned emotion.”

— Navigating Uncertain Times: How Schools Can Cope With Coronavirus

Almost in unison, the strategies that seem to be echoed most often by medical and mental health professionals, educators on the front line, and even technology specialists, are outlined by this “wellness map of to-do’s!”

Don’t obsess. Calm yourself. Set priorities.
Connect and communicate often with your family members and your students.
Set and maintain boundaries.
Practice mindfulness.
Take the necessary steps to maintain your own physical and mental health!

Avoiding Becoming Overwhelmed

As a retiree, I “only” lost the spring season of my community youth orchestra to this crisis. In my position as state chair of the PMEA Council Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention (PMEA Council TTRR), I tried to soothe the “hysteria” of many of my still-working friends and colleagues who were grappling with the instantaneous roll-out of distance learning. After researching online music education resources, we were able to place countless links on the PMEA Council TTRR website (here). After 7+ weeks, one of our “omnibus Google Docs” has grown to 15+ pages and more than 225 separate sources of virtual, remote, and alternative music learning media and methods.

For some, this has made matters worse… an “overload of abundance!” The multitude of venues and opportunities (too many unexplored “new technologies” for many of us baby-boomers!) included information about virtual ensembles, YouTube libraries, music games, lessons plans and platforms for synchronous and asynchronous e-learning, video-conferencing techniques, hardware and software reviews, etc.

Take a deep breath! Focus! Prioritize your goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Don’t try to consume all of the available resources “out there,” nor use every application or online lesson that you find on Facebook groups like https://www.facebook.com/groups/mecol/. What was it my mother used to say at the dinner table? “Sip and chew slowly… don’t gulp!” Take away what might help your situation, but approach anything brand new in moderation!

Go ahead and sign-up for a webinar or planned learning community meeting or two. Many professional development workshops are provided with “no extra fees” right now, like the NAfME library here, the aforementioned Facebook group and others, and if you already have a membership in PMEA, this website.

BUT… plan to take away ONLY one or two new “teaching tools” from each session… maybe consider trying-out one new app or lesson idea every other week?

As if to anticipate our needs, more than a year ago, Elena Aguilar published the in-depth piece “How to Coach the Overwhelmed Teacher” in Education Week blog, summarizing excellent stress-reduction treatments. (Share these if you think they will help you or some else! Read the entire article for more detail!)

Five tips for coaching overwhelm:

Describe it.
Recall previous experiences.
Identify one tiny next step.
Listen.
Plan for action.

“When coaching someone experiencing strong emotions, it’s important to know the signs and indicators of depression and anxiety disorders. Emotions can turn into moods, and if moods hang around long enough, they may become depression or an anxiety disorder. People who feel overwhelmed a great deal may be experiencing depression, whereas those who are ‘stressed’ a lot may be experiencing anxiety. This resource, AppD Depression_Anxiety.pdf, can be offered to your coachees or used to consider whether someone may need professional help.”

“When coaching any strong emotion, it’s useful to remember that emotions can be guides to self-understanding. They are a normal part of being a human being, and strong emotions show up to get us to pay attention to what’s going on. We can welcome strong emotions—in ourselves and in our coachees—and explore them to gain insight into ourselves and humans and educators.” — Elena Aguilar

Making Connections

Your loved-ones and friends probably need you now more than ever!

And, a myriad of research supports the assertion that social connections significantly improve our own physical and mental health and emotional well-being, such as published by the “Center of Compassion & Altruism Research & Education” of the Stanford Medical School:

“Strong social connection leads to a 50% increased chance of longevity, strengthens your immune system (research by Steve Cole shows that genes impacted by loneliness also code for immune function and inflammation), helps you recover from disease faster, [and] may even lengthen your life!”

“People who feel more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression. Moreover, studies show they also have higher self-esteem, greater empathy for others, are more trusting and cooperative and, as a consequence, others are more open to trusting and cooperating with them. In other words, social connectedness generates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional and physical well-being.” — Dr. Emma Seppala

There’s even evidence that “human touch” and close connections with other people increase our body’s levels of the beneficial hormones serotonin and cortisol.

Just more common sense? Right? Probably!

The first thing I did during that initial announcement of school/activity closures was to reach-out to my “musical kids.” Many music directors told me they quickly sponsored a Zoom/Google Hangout meeting of their ensemble members, mostly just to check-in with their players or singers and get everyone “on board” for future online interactions.

Perhaps COVID-19 has made me a better “citizen,” too. Much more frequently, I now call or text a friend, colleague, volunteer co-worker, or neighbor to see how they are doing. It’s terrible to admit that it took a world disaster to improve my interpersonal communications skills!

Finally, here’s a good “recap.” In spite of the need for social distancing, these examples of “safe connections” are suggested by Jennifer Wickham from The Mayo Clinic:

Use electronics to stay in contact with friends, neighbors and loved ones. This could include using video-conference programs, making voice calls instead of sending texts, or talking with a neighbor through windows while maintaining a safe distance.
Spend quality time with the people you live with, such as playing board games or completing an indoor project.
Make a family meal or dessert recipe that reminds you of friends or family you are unable to visit, and then call them to tell them about it. This way, you get an experience of internal and external connection.
Write in a journal about your experiences during this time of social distancing. Not only will this help you sort out what you are thinking and feeling, but also it can be shared going forward as a way for future generations to connect with the past.

Setting Boundaries

Something else I admit to NOT doing!

“Going Google,” “exploring e-learning,” or “doing digital” – it is easy to get carried away and not notice you just spent 12 hours in-a-row of “screen time” participating in online meetings or creating new remote learning opportunities for your music students. Exactly when are your classroom and office hours? You are likely pushing yourself too hard, even in your pajamas! This insane pace will only promote other health concerns!

The foresight of Elisa Janson Jones was evident for writing this in her blog “7 Self-Care Strategies to Prevent Burnout” back in September 2018 before the pandemic:

“It’s hard to create a work-life balance when life is filled with work. Teachers are known for working long hours off-the-clock for no additional compensation. This is even more prevalent in music education. We add performances, competitions, musicals, individual lessons, fundraising, data entry, and even music composition and arranging to our task list.”

“We may find pride in saying we worked 60 hours this week, flaunting to our friends that we got to school in the dark and left in the dark. Perhaps we find self-importance in their pity and admiration.”

“However, to thrive in our profession, we must remember that teaching music is our career, not our entire life. Hobbies, families, volunteering, and other ways we contribute to our communities and our homes are also aspects of who we are.”

“Setting clear boundaries between when we are working for our paycheck and when we are working for ourselves helps us carve out space where we offer ourselves time to be free of obligations and burdens of our career. Whether it’s a few hours per day, a full day per week, or both, setting strict boundaries for when you’re on-the-clock and when you’re off is essential.” — Elisa Janson Jones

Mindfulness and “Living” in the Present

Another concept that Elisa Janson Jones covered in her Smartmusic blog: mindfulness.

Now is the time for a little nonjudgmental “free reflection,” or what the psychologists call the best practice of “mindfulness” – a focus with full attention on your thoughts, feelings, and sensations “in the moment.” I think the “Teaching with Orff” website really nailed it in the article “7 Self Care Tips for Quarantined Music Teachers.” Read co-author Zoe Kumagai’s examples of affirmations: “How do I want to feel today?”

I allow myself time and space to reflect.
My mind is aware of the present.
My heart feels compassionate and is full of love.
My mind is stimulated by books, stories, art, scholarly articles, music that inspire me to be my best self.
I maintain boundaries with technology and intake of the news.
My body is free to dance.
My voice is clear to sing, laugh and converse authentically.

According to this Harvard Medical HelpGuide, the habits and techniques of mindfulness can improve well-being, physical health, and mental health:

“There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment… Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to your focus on breath or mantra.” — HelpGuide

Band director, best-selling author, and acclaimed clinician Lesley Moffat devoted an entire chapter to mindfulness in her book I Love My Job But It’s Killing Me. You know what they say, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” After learning the techniques for herself, she adopted mindfulness practice at the beginning of each band rehearsal for her students, a 4-5 minute routine of guided breathing and relaxation exercises leading up to the daily warmup chorale.

I love the symbolism in her “snow globe” analogy:

“Just like a snow globe that’s been shaken up, it takes time for your mind and body to settle down. If you try to get the snow globe to settle down while you’re still holding it and carrying on with your regular activities, the snow may fall slower, but it won’t completely stop and allow you to see the objects in the snow globe. You must allow it to be completely still long enough for the water to stop swirling and the glitter to follow the pull of gravity and settle on the bottom. It only takes a matter of minutes until it settles, revealing the magical scene inside, and the very glitter that was covering up the view when it was moving around has become a lovely blanket of snow that grounds the scene in the snow globe. But without a few minutes of stillness, it is impossible for it to become completely settled. So it goes with a mindfulness practice. Your mind and body needs time to go from hyper-speed to a pace that serves you well, a place where you have space to think – and space to not think. That begins by bringing stillness to your body and to your mind. Easy to say – hard to do… until you practice it every day and it becomes habit.” — Lesley Moffat

Her book should be required reading for all music teachers, even retirees who want to remain active in the profession. (Read my previous review here.) It serves as a true treasure-house of practical applications for de-stressing and re-centering your life. Her “mPower Method of Meals, Movement, Music, and Mindfulness” may be the solution to improving your situation.

FYI, her next book, Love the Job, Lose the Stress, is on the way. You can request an advance e-copy here.

“Do as I Say… Don’t Do as I Do!”

The worst part of this? We seldom take our own advice. Hey teacher, “heal thyself,” and “practice what you preach.” Taking care of our children or elderly relatives, we are probably the last to comply with the tenets of our own sermons on health and wellness.

Lesley Moffat also devoted a chapter in her book to the airline safety bulletin “Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First.” You cannot take care of someone else (your family members or your music students) unless you first take care of yourself!

Make self-care PRIORITY ONE for YOU! I know, you have heard all of these before:

Eat a balanced diet.
Hydrate.
Get enough sleep.
Exercise daily.
“Flex your brain.”

The latter “exercising your mind” is referenced in the Teaching with Orff website, and is a frequent emphasis on my blog-site (with examples here, here, and here). Pursue your own avenues of creative self-expression, and grow and learn something new every day!

According to charitable organization Waterford.org, the definition of “self-care” is “any action that you use to improve your health and well-being.” They cite extensive research from the National Institute of Mental Illness (NAMI), corroborating the statement that there are six elements to self-care:

Physical
Psychological
Emotional
Spiritual
Social
Professional

And, as explained in the article “Why Teacher Self-Care Matters, and How to Practice Self-Care in Your School,” self-care is not about selfishness.

“Self-care is an important component of a teacher’s mental health, but there are misconceptions about what it is. It’s common for educators to dismiss the self-care movement as ‘selfish’ or ‘superficial.’ But for teachers, self-care is so much more than breakfast in bed or treating yourself to a spa day. It’s about taking care of your health so that you’re prepared to be the best teacher you can be for yourself and your students.”

— Waterford.org

These endorsements probably represent just “the tip of the iceberg!” Peruse all of the resources listed below. In addition, perhaps we should take a close look at Alex Wiggin’s ASCD article, “A Brave New World: A Teacher’s Take on Surviving Distance Learning” (Educational Leadership, Summer 2020), considering the adoption of these four lessons learned from the past four months:

Relying on a team reduces work and stress.
Connecting with students boosts morale.
Learning new technology isn’t so bad.
Model being a life-long learner

I predict that the hardest part, coming to the end of May and the completion of our first-ever “virtual spring semester,” is coming to grips with our “fear of the unknown!” At the date of this writing, no one really knows when “we” are going back to “in person” schools, how we will resume large group music instruction like band, choir, or orchestra rehearsals, and what will the “new normal” look like to successfully “move on!”

Summer break is just around the corner… a good time to stop and reflect! And yes, we will make it through this.

Please stay safe! PKF

References

Photo credits (in order)

From Pixabay.com

“school” by Alexandra_Koch
“virus” by HoagyPeterman
“overwhelmed” by Franz Roos
“stress” by Gerd Altmann
“books broken pencil” by Myriam Zilles
“burnout” by Tumisu
“computer” by Free-Photos
“online meeting” by Tumisu
“desperate” by Peggy_Marco
“coronavirus” by enriquelopezgarre
“human” by geralt
“timetable” by Comfreak
“bulletin board” by geralt
“yoga” by laurajuarez
“snowglobe” by jojokejohn
“salad” by stevepb
“self-care” by Wokandapix
“park” by Queven

Engaging Music Students Online

April 2, 2020May 5, 2020 paulkfox1 Comment

Once the COVID-19 emergency was declared and universally all schools and outside activities were cancelled (for who knows how long?), the 37th spring season of my community youth (of all ages) orchestra was also “clobbered!” Up to this time, the Western PA-based South Hills Junior Orchestra (SHJO) regularly met on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the school from where I retired: Upper St. Clair High School.

It immediately became apparent I must reach-out to my instrumentalists and keep them “at it” to continue their music practice and artistic enrichment. How should we stimulate our music students and embrace those activities most of us “traditional” music teachers may be less skilled/experienced in approaching:

digital
virtual
remote
alternative or
distance music learning?

First, using a free-version of Mailchimp, a software tool that helps generate and send out group emails, we messaged our ensemble players, trying to inspire “re-connections” and independent learning, and giving them “pep talks” like this one on March 30, 2020: https://mailchi.mp/129b1cfdc54e/music-and-artistic-enrichment-3922957.

Then, it was time to research the wonderful world of online music education, such as this huge collection of ideas from “professionals in the know.” (See my last blog-post at https://mailchi.mp/129b1cfdc54e/music-and-artistic-enrichment-3922957 OR this regularly updated link on the PMEA Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention website.)

The results of all of this are the following SHJO.clips, being distributed to our SHJO families several times a week. This is an ongoing process, and we welcome YOUR COMMENTS – questions, concerns, and new suggestions, too.

[All of these and future posts are available as PDF files at http://www.shjo.org/clips.]

CLIP #1

Inspire: Have you ever tried the “experiments” in Chrome Music Lab?

What can you create?

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments

Listen: Critique this YouTube recording of the Fugue in G Minor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmZURoUJQe0

Questions for self-reflection:

What are a few of the strengths or positive attributes of this performance?
Generally, how were the quarter notes articulated? Legato, marcato, staccato? In your opinion, how should they have been played?
What improvements would you offer for the posture of the performers?
What sections in the music did the ensemble “hang together” and when did they “fall apart?”

Practice: Select and play your favorite major key…

…performing a scale up and down on your instrument:

Long tones (quarter notes), focusing on good tone and intonation. Quarter note = 60
Four eighth notes per pitch in a legato articulation (same tempo).
Two eight notes per pitch (same tempo)
One eighth note per pitch (same tempo)

Every day you practice, change the key (start on a different note).

CLIP #2

Listen: Easy Guide to Appreciating Classical Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v11OJNEdIn8

Sit back (wash your hands and pass the popcorn) and enjoy this introductory video for listening to Classical Music.

Did you know the definitions of opus, fugue, subject, recap?

How was the nickname “Moonlight” assigned to Beethoven’s famous Piano Sonata?

How many different periods of Classical music does the moderator mention? Could you name them?

Inspire: Are you a little bored staying home from school?

Just for fun, here are a few online music games your parents would approve of you playing to review terminology, composers, and notation.

Music Expressions and Terms Hangman http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/hp_quiz_hangman002_musicexpressions/hangman002_musicexpressions.htm
Treble and Bass Note Name Space Invaders http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/cg_quiz_invaders_music_note_names.htm
Composer Concentration (easy) http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/quiz_concentration_composers_easy/quiz_composer_concentration001_easy.htm
Composer Concentration (hard) http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/quiz_concentration_composers_adv/quiz_composer_concentration.htm

Practice: “The Ladder of Music Achievement”

Ever wonder how a music teacher knows what and when to teach a specific musical concept? Here’s the “rubric!” Start at the bottom and work yourself up “step by step.” Take a passage from our music. How high can you go?

Level 12: I played expressively.
Level 11: I played with self-confidence.
Level 10: I played with phrasing.
Level 9: I played with the dynamics as marked.
Level 8: I played with characteristic tone (with vibrato).
Level 7: I played with the correct bowing style (legato/detaché, staccato/martelé, or spiccato).
Level 6: I played with the correct articulation (legato, marcato, or staccato).
Level 5: I played the bowings (down and up) and slurs correctly.
Level 4: I played the pitches with accurate intonation.
Level 3: I played the correct fingerings and pitches.
Level 2: I played the rhythm accurately.
Level 1: I held a steady beat.

CLIP #3

Create: Learning to Hear & Compose Harmony for Our Favorite Theme

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RomMDJmMUUc&fbclid=IwAR1TKISv7ICT7DouuQo5CZsyIQ6z7w_WTtQRoc3s-QykJFHopT8uvv5QARo

Score: https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/f7c3185d04f2c9307dff1114e7ad6596eb46da3c

Website for Noteflight: https://www.noteflight.com/home

Not sure if SHJO members have access to Noteflight, a free program for generating sheet music, but just watching the video, you can learn a lot about creating harmony. If you are interested in “jumping into” learning Noteflight, go to their website above (ask for permission to sign-up – purchasing the premium version is not needed).

Listen: “Warren Music” series

Although focused on “popular” music and at times a bit repetitious, WARRENMUSIC provides a library of music theory and ear-training (even play-by-ear) lessons, enough to keep you busy for hours! Do you play guitar? You’ll love Warren! See samples below. If you want to “hit the street running,” peruse #5 and then videos #9 on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wAux1hh9wU&list=PLz4ee9SDzhrpJ1v-o5VSqHSyMC3-rXjtP&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWD5-xmSovo&list=PLz4ee9SDzhrpJ1v-o5VSqHSyMC3-rXjtP&index=5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7l6Y6fTPDw&list=PLz4ee9SDzhrpJ1v-o5VSqHSyMC3-rXjtP&index=9

Practice: “The Ladder of Music Achievement – Part 2”

Now let’s assess your practice. Pick out a passage from the SHJO folder or any excerpt (several measures or lines) from other challenging solo/ensemble repertoire. Play the same section every day for a week. Create a journal with the date, problem solving observations, other comments, and rate your daily achievement using this meter:

Level 12: I played expressively. _______________________________________
Level 11: I played with self-confidence. _______________________________________
Level 10: I played with phrasing. _______________________________________
Level 9: I played with the dynamics as marked. _______________________________________
Level 8: I played with characteristic tone (with vibrato). _______________________________________
Level 7: I played with the correct bowing style (legato/detaché, staccato/martelé, or spiccato). _______________________________________
Level 6: I played the correct articulation (legato, marcato, staccato). _______________________________________
Level 5: I played bowings (down/up) & slurs correctly. _______________________________________
Level 4: I played the pitches with accurate intonation. _______________________________________
Level 3: I played the correct fingerings and pitches. _______________________________________
Level 2: I played the rhythm accurately. _______________________________________
Level 1: I held a steady beat. _______________________________________

Inspire: 126+ More Musical Games and Quizzes!

http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/music_quizzes.htm

Check the above link of MusicTechTeacher’s entire collection! You can review concepts while having fun GAMING!

CLIP #4

Inspire: “A Message from The Foxes’ Favorite Master Motivator”

“Dr. Tim!”

Did you sit down and view “A Message from Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser” we sent out in the last Mailchimp newsletter? If you do nothing else today, this should be your number one priority! (Share this with your family members.)

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MwWVkBBREw

Think about trying one or two of the things he suggested for helping yourself and others during this break.

Listen: Pittsburgh Symphony “Extraordinary Measures”

We are always looking for more SHJO.clips, and Mackenzie Cloutier researched and found this link of five videos! Even live performances of the PSO have been cancelled, but they are playing “on the web” just for you! Go to:

https://pittsburghsymphony.org/pso_home/web/extraordinary-measures

Practice: “The Wheel of Fortune”

SHJO Practice Spinner

Do you need help deciding on WHAT TO PRACTICE? How about going tech with an online SPINNER to SELECT what you should work on? Mrs. Fox found this cool website: https://pickrandom.com/random-wheel/.

Spin to cover at least 3 categories a day. Use the setting that removes the number after you spin it (no repeats).

Zero = WARMUPS
One = SCALES
Two = ETUDES
Three = SOLOS
Four = ENSEMBLE MUSIC
Five = MEMORIZE A TUNE
Six = SIGHT-READ SOMETHING NEW
Seven = “OLDIES”
Eight = RECORD A SELECTION
Nine = PLAY A DUET WITH YOURSELF
Ten = PERFORM FOR SOMEONE

Share: We’re looking for more online games…

…that review music theory, history, notation, terms, etc.

Did you try all of these? http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/music_quizzes.htm

Sometimes music learning can be a lot like GAMING! Mr. Fox found another website with which to experiment:

Ultimate List of Online Music Games: https://cornerstoneconfessions.com/2012/08/the-ultimate-list-of-online-music.html

If you find something interesting – any game, recording, or website – share it by emailing Mr. Fox at pfox@shjo.org.

Create: BINGO CARD!

We are also looking for someone to design a fun practice card like this one: https://christina-yunghans.squarespace.com/s/Music-Bingo-Cards-sample.pdf.

Send a single copy to pfox@shjo.org.

CLIP #5

Share: “On the Ear” News Reporter

Broadcast your own music review!

For this activity, you will need a device with voice recording capabilities, and a different device to listen to music selections, such as a radio or a record player, CD player, tape recorder, Music Choice channels on cable TV, or a computer on which you can view a YouTube selection, etc. Listen to an orchestral music selection or a recording of a selection for the instrument you play. (Examples: Bach Fugue in G minor, “The Lesser” or Haydn Trumpet Concerto, and so on.) As you listen to the music on one device, have you voice recorder ready to make running comments, just like a music reviewer or “play by play” sports event reporter. Download all of the instructions here: http://www.shjo.org/s/Music-Reporter-032620.pdf

Inspire: “The Musicologist”

Free music theory review, courtesy of musictheory.net

We learned a lot last year using our Alfred Music Theory series. How much of it can you recall defining the “fundamentals of music notation?” (You do not have to purchase their Tenuto app as advertised on the website, although it is a reasonably priced option for further study! If you are a serious musician, Mr. Fox recommends it.)

Complimentary online instruction is available at https://www.musictheory.net/lessons.

To test your knowledge, here is the free link: https://www.musictheory.net/exercises.

Listen: “How Bad Can It Get?”

Classical music “fails” – just for fun!

Do you need a good laugh… conductors losing batons, concert disruptions, and much more? If you can get past the hideously out-of-tune and badly played introduction, see if you can find a violist making fun of a cell phone going off during his recital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPA31kvEUyY

Practice: “Mr. Fox’s Music Bingo”

A few ideas to keep on practicing and “give back” your music!

If you want to print your own copy of the card or re-arrange the order of the activities, download from this link: https://christina-yunghans.squarespace.com/s/Music-Bingo-Cards-sample.pdf.

Practice: “Mr. Sheehan’s Practice Guide”

If you prefer a more cerebral plan, download/read/apply the excellent manual “What to Do When You Practice” written by the band director from Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School (PA), and the new President-Elect of the National Association for Music Education: http://www.shjo.org/s/What-to-Do-When-You-Practice-Booklet.pdf

CLIP #6

Share: “Easy Classical Music Games”

Teach a younger sibling or neighbor the “basics of music!”

SHJO has a membership of all ages. Some of these clever activities are pretty easy, so “show your stuff” to a friend or family member: https://www.classicsforkids.com/games.html

Inspire: “Budding Composers: How to Avoid Getting Sued”

Mr. Fox’s latest YouTube video “find!”

How many Classical music themes seemed to be “borrowed” in popular music? A few tips on copyright law, too! Closer to home, do you remember SHJO’s playing of “Aura Lee?” Do you know the origins of the tune, who originally wrote the lyrics and music, and what popular piece/group used the melody? (Hint: Elvis Presley)

“14 Songs That Rip Off Classical Music” from the UK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknBXOSlFQs

Practice: “Musical Dice”

A roll of the dice can lead to different pathways of music learning.

If you don’t have a dice, use this random number generator: https://www.random.org/dice/

Start off with a “scavenger hunt” of researching music. First roll is the row, second is the column. (SEE ABOVE GRAPHIC)

Then, try a simpler dice game for individual practice on your instrument, rolling only once:

Major or minor (alternate) scale and arpeggio
A band or orchestra warmup (long tones, tuning, etc.)
Slow lyrical section from your SHJO music (alternate)
Favorite piece (solo, school ensemble, or SHJO)
Fast passage from your SHJO music
Section of a memorized piece (solo, school or SHJO) OR play along with a recording

Create: “Musical Dice II”

This time, YOU create-your-own practice game with the dice!

Write down and number six musical objectives you have, short school or SHJO sections, technical exercises, or solo pieces you want to learn. Divide up each “goal” into gradually more challenging success levels – focus on different excerpts, more measures, faster speeds, add dynamics, phrasing, articulations, etc.

CLIP #7

Listen: “YouTube Kids Playlist”

Discover new online music videos!

Parents: Did you know you can set up a free account for “completely safe viewings” of YouTube media? Go to https://www.youtubekids.com/. Mr. Fox took an entire afternoon off perusing these recordings, a little something for everyone (a flute player, cellists, sax quartet, etc. who will “knock your socks off!”) The marble machine is just for fun… one link is a machine, the other a live band. What is “looping?” Registration may be required to access links:

Carnegie Hall 360 Video featuring The Philadelphia Orchestra https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=YERHP5wp_zw
2CELLO Pirates of the Caribbean https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=Xj3gU3jACe8
Foo Fighters Meets 70’s Bobby Caldwell – Live Looping Mashup by Elise Trouw https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=Gl9GtO_vQxw
Shake It Off – Taylor Swift | From the Top & Time for Three Classical Cover https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=HlzEHobggRs
Wintergatan – Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles) https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q and the LIVE Band Version https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=F22DCvJ24Eg
Let It Go (Disney’s “Frozen”) Vivaldi’s Winter – The Piano Guys https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=6Dakd7EIgBE
Battle of the Alpine Horns https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=YEoFgDGuThY
The Rev Saxophone Quartet: Watermelon Man https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=OQq-trsg0W8 and J.S. Bach https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=q6lfdkBUmS0
Alex Christensen & The Berlin Orchestra – What Is Love feat. Carlotta Truman https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=B3zIhU4X4O0
Fanny joue “Badinerie” & “Le vol du bourdon” à la flûte traversière https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=8aUfQw6N1Vc
UCLA Marching Band Walk-through (start at the beginning for student leadership interviews, 13:13 for “a walk through the band sections”) https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=U4Ap2c7xigc

Share: “Whack-a-Note”

Name these notes… fast!

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/steprightup/whackanote/

Like “Easy Classical Music Games” in CLIP #6, teach someone basic notation… or just have fun with it yourself.

Create: “Song or Music Writing”

A Few “Basics” for Getting Started with Composing (sample websites)

Level 1: Writing a Melody https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/composing-music/writing-a-melody/
Level 2: How to Write a Song in 10 Steps https://mysongcoach.com/write-a-song-in-ten-steps/
Level 3: Composition for Dummies https://www.dummies.com/art-center/music/music-composition-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/
Level 3: 15 Ways to Create Musical Ideas & Crush Creative Block https://www.edmprod.com/15-ways-to-generate-ideas/

Inspire: “Music Exploration and Reflections”

Maintain a journal to keep track of your work.

(SEE ABOVE GRAPHIC – Special thanks to the Greeley-Evans Weld County School District 6 for sharing their music grades 6-12 materials.)

First, download the original, full-size two-page document (so that the links will work with “click and go”) from the SHJO.clips page: http://www.shjo.org/clips. (Word file is best so you can write on it; if needed, this PDF version is also available: SHJO Music Exploration).

The grid on the second page will allow you to write down your progress, time spent, and reflections.

You act as your own music teacher – seeking out ways to enrich yourself with new knowledge of music.

Virtual/Remote/Alternative Music Ed

March 21, 2020May 24, 2020 paulkfox1 Comment

Resources for Teaching Music Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The dreaded messages came to almost every educator:

EMERGENCY ALERT:

Out of an abundance of caution relating to the prevention of spreading the coronavirus, beginning on _____, all after-school, extra-curricular, and outside group meetings and rehearsals are postponed until further notice.

* * *

Dear Students, Parents, and Staff:

All ______ school programs such as sports, band and jazz concert, spring musical, choir festival, dance and voice recitals, booster meetings and fund-raisers, and the music department adjudication trip, are cancelled.

* * *

Important announcement:

The spring concert scheduled for March 28 at the Performance Hall will not take place. A decision about whether to cancel this performance or postpone it to another date will be made as the community health situation continues to evolve.

And then, the Governor closed the schools for two to eight weeks (or more?).

Governor Wolf — Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf

Dear Families,

Thanks for your patience as we work through the events that have been occurring and planning for what lies ahead. We hope you and your family are staying well, and we know that many of you are looking forward to a Virtual Learning experience for your child.

We want to share some important information with all of you as we prepare this transition. While we do not know how long our buildings will be closed, we want to be prepared for ______ Virtual Learning for as long as it is necessary.

The immediate effect? Suddenly, our kids were sent home for an extra-early spring break, hopefully remembering to bring their instruments and music! Trying to “embrace” this world emergency (from a safe distance, of course), no one had a “crystal ball” to predict or even imagine the far-reaching effects, many of which we are still awaiting answers!

When will we be able to go back to school?
How can we collaborate, grow, and share our music learning, personal progress, repertoire and skills learned over the past year?
What will happen to everything all of us were forced to leave unscheduled, unfinished, or “in production?”
Will commencement be cancelled, too?
Worst yet, will our seniors fail to graduate, receive their diplomas, and start college on time next fall?

Every music teacher I know cried out, “How can I reach-out to my students to help them find alternative avenues to making music? The challenge is now thrust upon us to find ways to inspire our students to continue building on their “musical momentum” in daily practice, as well as stimulate other sources of artistic enrichment and the self-motivation to create new music goals.

My first act as a community youth director was to “fire up” my orchestra’s website and Facebook page. We regularly send out Fox’s Firesides of articles on practice tips, music problem-solving techniques, goal-setting, keeping a journal, developing teamwork, learning to conduct, acquiring college references, showing concert etiquette, etc. and other notices to the members and parents using a free-version of Mailchimp.

In addition, we launched something called SHJO.clips, low-tech but hopefully effective in “exciting” future music enrichment and exploration: online music games, worksheets, sample recordings and videos, practice excerpts, music theory exercises, sight-reading and ear training assignments, and much more… a treasure chest of FUN things-to-do or c.l.i.p.s. to do ON THEIR OWN: Create, Listen, Inspire, Practice, Share.

Archives of both Fox’s Firesides and SHJO.clips are available by clicking the menu at the top or visiting http://www.shjo.org/ (look under “resources”).

Are we permitted access to our students and classes online during the official closures? Does your school use Canvas or other virtual educational environments to hold digital classes, post learning activities, make assignments, provide feedback, and/or assess your students’ achievement? (Are you even allowed to do so? I cannot answer this essential question because I do not know school law and I retired from the public schools in 2013.)

Are you one of the “lucky ones” who had previously set-up either the Smartmusic or MusicFirst online platforms (and the students know how to use the it) and can continue encouraging your band instrumentalists, string players, or vocalists to sight-read, practice, explore new literature, perform, record, and assess themselves?

Do you and your students need cheering up with a “pep-talk” by Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, the famous “music educator’s guru,” guest speaker and expert motivator often presented as the kick-off keynote session at music conferences. “Dr. Tim” challenges us all to focus on what’s important and how we can put our time to good use:

“Life is about 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”

The pessimist sees the challenge in every opportunity, but the optimist sees the opportunity in every challenge.”

Set aside 17 minutes to recharge with this video. Then, share it with your students!

I am proud to admit that, in a single act, our profession has so far risen to the occasion. In an effort to help our “stranded” programs and motivate music educators and their students, so many tech experts jumped into the fray to post their recommendations and resources. At the end of this blog-post is a (very long) list of links from them, at least active as of today, for distance learning strategies and virtual music education.

https://www.pmea.net/council-for-ttrr/

We have taken the time to compile many of these suggestions and warehouse them on the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association State Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention website here. Look under the heading “Virtual Music Learning – Engaging Students During the Break.” This is the impetus for this article. The samples provided below (probably only the “tip of the iceberg” and already out-of-date) are by no means all-comprising and fully comprehensive. With every minute of the day dragging on during this crisis and we are still “shut in” our homes away from our music students, new solutions are being posted to Facebook groups like Music Educators Creating Online Learning.

Click here if you would like a printable PDF file of this revision of resources.

Take the time to research what might work for you. At the very least, pass on the music games and puzzles offered at sites like Music Tech Teacher or Cornerstone Confessions. Venture into learning new apps like Zoom.com for webinar/meeting management.

Music does make a difference in all of our lives… and we need to keep our musicians and singers “at it” even during this catastrophe!

Best wishes to you and yours. Stay safe and healthy! Thank you for your dedication and contributions to music education!

(Editor’s Note: We have continued adding many more updates to the list below at the website of the PMEA Council for Teacher Training, Recruitment, and Retention accessible from this link.)

PKF

Sources of Online Music Media and Instruction

Virtual Learning Resources – Ideas from NAfME Members for Music Educators https://nafme.org/my-classroom/virtual-learning-resources-for-music-educators/
“App”lying Music Skills: Rethinking Technology for Assessment and Creativity – and other previously recorded PMEA webinars https://www.pmea.net/webinars/
Elisa Janson Jones https://www.elisajanson.com/ and https://www.musicedmentor.com/blog
Facebook Group – Music Educators Creating Online Learning https://www.facebook.com/groups/242289003466971/
Blogs by Michelle Rose https://themusicalrose.com/category/technology/
BANDing Together Webinar by Lesley Moffet https://zoom.us/webinar/register/rec/WN_yirPclmUR2yRGjExSyzvpA?meetingId=5MdYHaDK9T5IerP8xUGCB5EEF7z-T6a81HRIrPBbyRsyZjuCTJasj4GPTx1THcgQ&playId=7MJ8dO38_T83HYaT5ASDUfd9W9S8fPms0XBI8_RezUe1AiMCNgf3M-dBZuPuembrWvU6uKsFdMAM_C5Z&action=play
G Suite Music Theory Curriculum by Nicole Laborte https://nicolelaborte.wordpress.com/2020/03/15/g-suite-music-theory-curriculum/?fbclid=IwAR2lCakxjLAQOCrY7zOzeVSrOnQxuWY1rqxoFuMedi-346Rf6hyvP3D0C44
Online Tools for Teaching Music (Google Doc – sharing) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vrwLVQGDFuhK7RyMyz5m5FuG6NvaHfOW9DcrT0AK9-k/edit?fbclid=IwAR1fIIfxb7bhe7XoKp3Ckt-WEqb94TvIQbT-c3Lcuvh03z6Br7v0uM9cujs#heading=h.3xzpu7fohtt2
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2018/03/10-good-educational-websites-for-music.html
Great Apps, Games, and Websites for Music Ed https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/great-apps-games-and-websites-for-music-education
MusiView’s 15 Best Music Education Websites https://musiview.com/15-best-website-music-education/
EMEA Music Websites for Students http://www.emeamusic.org/music-education-websites.html
MTNA Websites for Kids https://www.mtna.org/MTNA/Learn/Parent_and_Student_Resources/Websites_for_Kids.aspx
How to Engage Students Utilizing Music Education Tools & Technology https://musiceducation.arts.ufl.edu/resources/how-to-engage-students-through-music-education/
Google Tools & Activities for Music Education by Eric Curtis https://www.techlearning.com/news/google-tools-and-activities-for-music-education
Christopher Bill Guide to Remote Music Education https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SoERjaLMA1Tro1FTf5i8iLckaL03bL8Xuugr7el77Iw/mobilebasic
Music Tech Teacher by Karen Garrett http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/music_quizzes.htm
Teaching Online Lesson Basics 101 by Susanna Sonnenberg https://paulfox.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/teaching-online-lesson-basics-101.pdf
During Coronavirus, a Teacher Describes the Scramble to Go Digital by Carly Berwick https://www.edutopia.org/article/during-coronavirus-teacher-describes-scramble-go-digital and other Edutopia.com posts at https://www.edutopia.org/
Resources for Teaching Online Due to School Closures by Kathleen Morris https://www.theedublogger.com/teaching-online-school-closures/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10_tips_for_parents_teaching_young_children_at_home&utm_term=2020-03-17
AEP Partner Resources for Serving the Arts Education Field in the Time of COVID-19 https://www.aep-arts.org/covid-19-resources/
Noteflight Distance Learning Resources by John Mlynczak https://notes.noteflight.com/distance-learning-support/
Modern Band Play-Along Videos, Chord Charts, Diagrams, and How-To Videos from the team at Little Kids Rock https://www.littlekidsrock.org/jamzone/
Nontraditional Music Instruction: Environmental Percussion by Mrs. Dennis https://musicwithmrsdennis.blogspot.com/2020/03/nontraditional-music-instruction.html
WARRENMUSIC Tutorials on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenmusic
Band Scoring Sheets and Exercises by Matthew Provino (under “Band Cave”) https://svms-hlpusd-ca.schoolloop.com/band
The United States Army Field Band Instructional Video Series https://www.armyfieldband.com/education/instructional-video-series
Society for Music Theory Teaching Resources and Videos https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Oi0jxL1Eo7anc523qcyaHA5NIeV_YKipiInbqHY3I1M/edit#gid=417689111
Letter from a Fellow Remote Teacher by Anthony Granata https://www.smartmusic.com/blog/letter-from-a-fellow-remote-teacher/ and other SmartMusic blogs https://www.smartmusic.com/blog/
Resources for Choral Professionals During the Pandemic https://acda.org/ACDA/Resources_for_Choral_Professionals_During_a_Pandemic.aspx
ASTA Teaching Resources/Update: COVID-19 https://www.astastrings.org/Web/Resources/Update__COVID-19.aspx
Teaching Music Online with Zoom by Simon Powis https://theonlinemusicteacher.com/teaching-music-online-with-zoom/
Music Service Learning by Marci Major (West Chester University/F-Flat Books) – General Information: https://fflat-books.com/musicservicelearning/?fbclid=IwAR09-qeJS9AhPU4xvpv0vz_al9tlNNPOzPgAZ9kwyqAxhTOZRnzPwCql3Cc
Music Service Learning by Marci Major (West Chester University/F-Flat Books) – Volunteer Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5LY-1J8RsmxxrVL5KEluCeRxMA-fZpKtNSBiy8xA1odTpEQ/viewform
Music Service Learning by Marci Major (West Chester University/F-Flat Books) – Request Project Help Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5LY-1J8RsmxxrVL5KEluCeRxMA-fZpKtNSBiy8xA1odTpEQ/viewform
Teaching Music Online: Strategies and Resources by Sarah Gulish (F-Flat Books) https://fflat-books.com/teaching-music-online-strategies-and-resources/
Webinar for Online Learning by NAfME and NAMM https://youtu.be/CSUaMeIyCVc
Comparing & Contrasting FREE Platforms & Procedures for Online Music Instruction by Bradley Mariska, Scott Agster, Erin Holmes, and Heidi Stodola https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yQkpa7yVXRVXNNtchiS7_unIXgv5crvGiLMYlF7yYXA/preview?fbclid=IwAR0hQ53O3gsGFK6dVF_SHT_eM8hVDNR wH8TPEgC2t-LLx-XMqow0yNdfEoI
Compilation of Online Teaching Resources for Music Educators by Keith Hodgson https://www.dropbox.com/s/nb68bplz46fmvw0/ONLINE TEACHING RESOURCES.PDF?dl=0&fbclid=IwAR1siEGvS6DPQKyA630TIfk4mTAr9pymqhSzMG-iWtSKqO93gmU9He0ax_Y
Ultimate List of Online Music Games by Kathy Gossen https://cornerstoneconfessions.com/2012/08/the-ultimate-list-of-online-music.html?fbclid=IwAR06uxDzntYEs9l89Wwx14VuRSJcbYE7prIBzR6i26jvSUbE0s_MAwbg8-Q
What to Do When You Practice by Scott Sheehan https://drive.google.com/open?id=13Ltjf3_sqgHi-bSCPU28EfsDCtE7EFrk
NAfME Music Educators Journal Articles Applicable to Online Music Learning https://nafme.org/community/elearning/free-nafme-academy-webinars/
NAfME Music in a Minuet (new article) “Music Teaching Resources for School Closings” by Elizabeth Caldwell https://nafme.org/music-teacher-resources-school-closures/
SmartMusic Offer of FREE Subscriptions (until June 30) https://www.smartmusic.com/
Music Prodigies on YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/psprodigies
Ideas to Deal with Coronavirus and Distance Learning for Ensembles (and Conducting Class) by the College Band Directors National Association https://www.cbdna.org/ideas-to-deal-with-coronavirus-and-distance-learning-for-ensembles-and-conducting-class
Virtual Learning: Taking Your Choir Rehearsals Online by Tori Cook https://blog.chorusconnection.com/virtual-learning-taking-your-choir-rehearsals-online
VAPA Distance Learning and Online Resources from the California Arts Council https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/117RcF-eZuV4Vdt_yWUyn8UVrsddrrOBV
“App”lying Music Skills: Rethinking Technology for Assessment and Creativity in the Classroom” PMEA WEBINAR on March 24, 2020 by Kristy Piper https://www.pmea.net/webinars/
Distance Learning Resources for Music Educators from Teaching with Orff https://teachingwithorff.com/distance-learning-resources-for-music-educators/
Teaching Elementary Music Online/Distance Learning/COVID-19 (Frau Musik) https://fraumusik.com/2020/03/13/teaching-elementary-music-online-covid19-distance-learning/
MusicFirst COVID-19 Special Training Blogs/Videos https://www.musicfirst.com/about-us/blog/training-webinars-march-2020/
Technology Lesson Plans, Presentations, and Books by Dr. James Frankel http://www.jamesfrankel.com/
MusicFirst Podcast: Profiles in Teaching with Technology by Marjorie LoPresti https://soundcloud.com/musicfirstpodcast/musicfirst-profiles-in-teaching-with-technology-s2-e14-marjorie-lopresti
The Cloud: Empowering Developing Sight Singers from Choral Director https://www.choraldirectormag.com/articles/performance/the-cloud-empowering-developing-sight-singers/
Surfing Web-Based Music Software from Choral Director https://www.choraldirectormag.com/articles/technology/surfing-web-based-music-software-2/
The 6 Best Places to Learn Music Online by Jamie Ehrenfeld https://bandzoogle.com/blog/the-6-best-places-to-learn-music-online
Get Started Making Music https://learningmusic.ableton.com/
Classics for Kids from Cincinnati Public Radio https://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers.html
Teaching Music Remotely by Jennifer Bailey https://singtokids.com/teaching-music-remotely
MusicEd Blogs https://musicedblogs.com/
Making Your Own Music with Noteflight (example) YouTube by Melody Quesada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6gOh6-XqKE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2A9GX8I6O4j8tPO8cqHbuWYInxZqrNzL4CY0sVrxahZctA_5d1XdfpRk4
House Concerts – A Legacy of Music in Our Home https://concertsinyourhome.org/
The Definitive Guide to Throwing a DIY House Show by Evan Zwisler https://flypaper.soundfly.com/hustle/the-definitive-guide-to-throwing-a-diy-house-show/
How to Host an Online Concert by Anna Ditommaso (AudioTheme) https://audiotheme.com/blog/host-online-concert/
Connect with Fans Around the World (Vimeo) https://livestream.com/solutions/music
How to Put on a House Concert and Host Them Successfully by Liam Duncan https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/how-to-put-on-a-house-concert-and-host-them-successfully-a-guide-for-musicians/
Zoom in “Music Mode” by Jim Daus Hjernøe https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=50NoWIiYECA&feature=youtu.be
How to Use “Breakout Rooms” in Zoom meetings by Jim Daus Hjernøe https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TKOUl_6WVJE
Using Zoom for Music Lessons by Andrew Williams https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdif33umD0
Mock Virtual Band Rehearsal by Michelle Rose https://www.facebook.com/ michellew92/videos/ 10162988784645244/
Mock Virtual Choir Rehearsal by Michelle Rose https://www.facebook.com/ michellew92/videos/ 10162982619670244/
Play Along with Brian Balmages (Smartmusic) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222360663628172&set=a.1279662994404&type=3&theater&ifg=1
Google Forms for Playing Test Submissions by Sarah Moulder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjny8KZI0xA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3V2Kl58RAImtG9HPkUzrplTFTWmq7DoObG24sNLYeAoj7bTMTVGFx8j20
Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Lesson Plans https://www.ti-me.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=25&Itemid=1625
Teaching Music Online by Aaron Booz https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kYc_mfh0s2fzibfjPAi0ZQ38Pc1ftqrsf-fUc0bVpyE
Teaching Arts Online https://www.pmea.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Teaching-Arts-Online.pdf
Teaching Online Lesson Basics 101 by Susanna Sonnenberg https://www.pmea.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Teaching-Online-Lesson-Basics-101.pdf

Photo credit from Pixabay.com: “child-play-game-technology-3264751” by ExplorerBob

Stressed Out?

February 13, 2020May 5, 2020 paulkfoxLeave a comment

More Remedies for Reducing Teacher Stress & Burnout

Welcome back to our series on music teacher (and other professionals) self-care.

First, as presented in this insightful article by Chris Mumford, we confirm the notion that “stress is inevitable,” but “how you respond to it can spell the difference between a long, rewarding career or one cut short by burn-out.” Based on new research, he offers some surprising (and even counter-intuitive) techniques to better deal with it, including these “9 Stress Management Strategies Every Teacher Needs to Know.”

Breathe (properly)… When you’re experiencing intense levels of stress, breathe in deeply (put your hands on your stomach and feel it expand out), for four seconds, then exhale evenly for four seconds. Keep this up for two-three minutes for maximum effect.
Embrace the stress… Viewing your stress in constructive ways [reframing] will actually cause your body to respond to it differently and prevent long-lasting physical damage.
Be imperfect… Teachers are often prone to perfectionism and its ill effects: they often feel that they aren’t doing enough, or that their mistakes are magnified because of the importance of their job. If you find yourself feeling this way, fight back.
Practice emotional first aid… Do you beat yourself up when you experience failure or make a mistake? [Find] ways to break the negative patterns of thought.
Be grateful… We have to stop, quiet our minds, and create “stop signs”—little reminders of things that we should be grateful for every day.
Limit “grass is greener” thinking… You will have challenges anywhere you go.
Work smarter, not harder… Find ways to delegate some of your work, or invest in tools or technologies that will make your life easier.
Ask for help… doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you better at your job.
Make a connection… When you connect with another person, your body produces oxytocin, which is a chemical that helps repair the heart. If you help your neighbors, family, etc., you’re much less likely to experience the negative effects of stress.

Just Breathe… According to the Navy SEALS!

The calming, deep-breathing practice (#1 above) can be learned by reviewing a host of resources, including the book Maximizing Your Human Potential and Develop the Spirit by former Navy SEAL Mark Divine, as well as these websites:

Examples of two different NAVY SEALS breathing exercises advise us on how to reach a more relaxed state:

TACTICAL BREATHING (to alleviate “fight or flight” tension)

Place your right hand on your belly, pushing out with a big exhale. Then breathe in through your nostrils, slowly drawing the breath upward from your belly to your upper chest.

Pause and exhale, starting from your chest and moving downward to the air in your belly. Imagine your belly button touching your spine.

Once you’re comfortable with a full, deep breath, repeat it, this time making the exhale twice as long as the length of the inhale. For example, inhale to the count of four, pause briefly, and exhale to the count of eight. Repeat three times.

— Stephanie Vozza

BOXED BREATHING (to help ground you, sharpen concentration, and become more alert and calm)

Expel all of the air from your lungs
Keep them empty for four seconds
Inhale through your nose for four seconds
Hold for a four count (don’t clamp down or create pressure; be easy)
Exhale for a four count
Repeat for 10-20 minutes

— Reuben Brody

Mind Over Matter

Our own minds may be our own worst enemies. Have you read the insightful article “Sustaining the Flame – Re-Igniting the Joy in Teaching Music” by Karen Salvador in the December 2019 issue of Music Educators Journal? She offers research-supported strategies for nurturing courage, peace, and resilience as well as suggested habits of thinking and action. Samples of “cognitive distortions,” a term of which I had never heard previously defining “irrational beliefs,” is addressed by “reframing” our inner voice during specific incidents of emotional distress.

Her common examples of cognitive distortions include the following. Do any of these sound familiar?

Disqualifying (discounting) the positive events
Jumping to conclusions
Filtering (focusing entirely on the negative elements of a situation)
Double standard (placing unreasonable/unattainable expectations for ourselves)
Personalizing (or “taking something personally”)
Polarized (placing people or situations in unrealistic “either or” categories)

Additional recommendations by Nicole Stachelski for combating stress and burnout are listed in the article:

Laugh with your students
Eat your lunch (take a break or enjoy social time)
Schedule regular physical activity
Drink more water (and visit the bathroom as needed!)
Prioritize your work and set boundaries
Keep a consistent bedtime
Delegate – don’t be afraid to ask for help
Focus on what’s really important

More Ideas — Just Pick One!

Take a gander at this excellent Scholastic.com teacher blog-post by Nancy Jang summarizing “15 Ways to Reduce Teacher Stress.” Can you try at least one new strategy this week that resonates with you and your life?

Close the door during prep time.
Make a SHORT and DOABLE “Must Do” and “May Do” lists.
Delegate items to parent volunteers.
Lay out your outfit and prepare your healthy lunch the night before.
Get a full eight hours of sleep.
Don’t correct every piece of paper.
Work out!
Get up early!
Stay away from negativity.
Don’t take things home.
Plan time every week/day to enjoy something that is not remotely related to teaching.*
Learn something new.
Plan a trip.
Don’t over-commit.
Take ten minutes a day and mediate.

*Probably one of my own worst habits was not modeling number 11 above. No matter how busy you are with your daily in-school teaching and extra-curricular music/coaching activities, the full recommendations are important to consider:

Spend time with your family and friends, travel, work on your garden, read for pleasure, take a hike. Learn how to turn off being a teacher. Balancing your time to just be YOU (not the teacher you) allows you to be renewed and have more mental energy for your students.

— Nancy Jang

A few more ideas are offered by Jennifer Gunn in her blog-post from Concordia University “How Educators Can (Really, Honestly) Unplug – And How Stress Affects Us.” As always, it is suggested that you read the entire article at the link provided.

Practice mindfulness
Get a change in scenery
Focus on some serious self-care
Make plans with friends
LOL
Unplug, literally
Schedule your work time and your fun time

Balance

In almost every health and wellness article, we hear the emphasis of prioritizing and seeking a more equitable use of personal time, achieving what Ernie Zelinski, author of the best-selling book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, refers to as “work/life balance.” Future blogs on samples of “super stress reducers” in “setting boundaries,” time management, and innovative organizational tools will be forthcoming.

Several books are also recommended readings for addressing the issues of teacher health and wellness. We have already reviewed several of these. More to come.

Our next journey to an in-depth look at music educator self-care will explore more fully TEACHER BURNOUT. To stay up-to-date on past and future articles, publications, and workshop presentations on this topic, be sure to revisit the “Care” section of this blog-site.

Resources

“15 Ways to Reduce Teacher Stress.” by Nancy Jang at Scholastic
“9 Stress Management Strategies Every Teacher Needs to Know” by Chris Mumford at HeyTeach
Exhausted by Paul Murphy
Fewer Things Better by Angela Watson
“Here, Have a Secret Breathing Technique From a Navy SEAL” by Reuben Brody at InsideHook
“How to Reduce Stress Like a Navy SEAL” by Michael Finn at Gear Patrol
“How Educators Can (Really, Honestly) Unplug – And How Stress Affects Us” by Jennifer Gunn at The Blog by Concordia University/Portland
I Love My Job But It’s Killing Me by Lesley Moffat
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free by Ernie Zelinski
“Sustaining the Flame – Re-Igniting the Joy in Teaching Music” by Karen Salvador in NAfME Music Educators Journal, December 2019
The Weekend Effect by Katrina Onstad

PKF

Photo credits (in order) from Pixabay.com

“laptop-woman-education-study-young” by Jan Vašek
“stress” by johnhain
“stress-despair-burden” by Davidqr
“boat-teamwork-training-exercise” by skeeze
“mental-health-wellness-psychology” by Wokandapix
“stress-relief-help-sign-relax” by Pete Linforth
“meditate-meditation-peaceful” by Pexels
“handstand-beach-sea-ocean-sand” by MatanVizel
“wooden-train-toys-train-first-class” by Couleur

Success = How Many Hours?

December 27, 2019May 5, 2020 paulkfox1 Comment

Fox’s Fireside article for adult learners

What Does It Take to Master Your Craft?

Practice with your fingers and you need all day. Practice with your mind and you will do as much in 1 1/2 hours. — Leopold Auer

Mastering music is more than learning technical skills. Practicing is about quality, not quantity. Some days I practice for hours; other days it will be just a few minutes. Practicing is not only playing your instrument, either by yourself or rehearsing with others — it also includes imagining yourself practicing. Your brain forms the same neural connections and muscle memory whether you are imagining the task or actually doing it. — Yo-Yo Ma

If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, the critics know it. And if I don’t practice for three days, the public knows it. — Louis Armstrong

It is a mistake to think that the practice of my art has become easy to me. I assure you, dear friend, no one has given so much care to the study of composition as I. There is scarcely a famous master in music whose works I have not frequently and diligently studied. — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

How much practice is enough? 2 hours? 4 hours? More or less? What constitutes too much practicing?

To grasp this essential question, a tug-a-war of time vs. attentiveness, Noa Kageyama quotes Arthur Rubinstein, Leopold Auer, Jascha Heifetz, Donald Weilerstein and others in his article “How Many Hours a Day Should I Practice?” He centers around the basic premise that deliberate practice is more efficient, engaging, and builds self-confidence.

When it comes to understanding expertise and expert performance, psychologist Dr. K. Anders Ericsson is perhaps the world’s leading authority. His research is the basis for the “ten-year rule” and “10,000-hour rule” which suggest that it requires at least ten years and/or 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve an expert level of performance in any given domain — and in the case of musicians, often closer to 25 years in order to attain an elite international level. Note that the real key here is not the amount of practice required (as the exact number of hours is debatable) but the type of practice required to attain an expert level of performance. In other words, just practicing any old way doesn’t cut it. — Kageyama

The famous “10,000 Hour Rule” was described in the book Outliers: The Story of Success written by Malcolm Gladwell, Based on studies in elite performance, Gladwell contended that it’s “an extraordinarily consistent answer in an incredible number of fields… you need to have practiced, to have apprenticed, for 10,000 hours before you get good.”

Gladwell’s message — “people aren’t born geniuses, they get there through effort” — was seized upon by popular culture.

There is a lot of confusion about the 10,000 rule that I talk about in Outliers. It doesn’t apply to sports. And practice isn’t a SUFFICIENT condition for success. I could play chess for 100 years and I’ll never be a grand-master. The point is simply that natural ability requires a huge investment of time in order to be made manifest. Unfortunately, sometimes complex ideas get oversimplified in translation. — Gladwell

View his explanation on YouTube about his “metaphor for the extent of commitment that’s necessary for cognitive-complex fields” (how long mastery takes) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uB5PUpGzeY.

The 10,000 hour rule was also cited in a book by Sean Patrick: Nikola Tesla – Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century:

The rule’s premise is that, regardless of whether one has an innate aptitude for an activity or not, mastery of it takes around ten thousand hours of focused, intentional practice. Analyzing the lives of geniuses in a wide range of intellectual, artistic, and athletic pursuits confirms this concept. From Mozart to Bobby Fischer to Bill Gates to the Beatles, their diverse journeys from nothing toward excellence in their respective fields shared a common denominator: the accumulation of ten thousand hours of unwavering “exercise” of their crafts. — Patrick

To be fair, many have taken exception to the 10,000 hour rule, in articles like “The Great Practice Myth: Debunking the 10,000 Hour Rule” by Michael Miller.

According to Ryan Branstetter in his November 2019 “The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Habits of Mind,” creating or reforming “patterns of thinking” and habits may instead take anywhere from 21 days to a year:

Have you ever heard someone tell you that it takes 21 days to form (or break) a habit? Well, scientific studies have found that to be unfounded. When it comes to something easy, such as grabbing a coffee at your local Starbucks on your way to school, it might take only a few days for a habit to form. But if it is a habit that is challenging, studies have shown that the 21-day myth may actually more like 66 days. Or for very challenging habits, it could take up to a year! — Branstetter

How about translating this prescription of 1-10 years to a weekly figure of five hours? With reading being the major focus for any stellar success in a profession, review the blog-post by Michael Simmons in Accelerated Intelligence: “Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah All Use the 5-Hour Rule”

If 10,000 hours isn’t an absolute rule that applies across fields, what does it really take to become world class in the world of work?

…I’ve explored the personal history of many widely-admired business leaders like Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg in order to understand how they apply the principles of deliberate practice.

…Many of these leaders, despite being extremely busy, set aside at least an hour a day (or five hours a week) over their entire career for activities that could be classified as deliberate practice or learning. — Simmons

Here are the “three buckets” (principles) of Simmon’s 5-hour rule:

Read
Reflect
Experiment

Specific to number one above, apparently billionaire entrepreneurs like to read a lot, quantities of time, frequency, and number of sources (quoted in the article):

Warren Buffett spends five to six hours per day reading five newspapers and 500 pages of corporate reports.
Bill Gates reads 50 books per year.
Mark Zuckerberg reads at least one book every two weeks.
Elon Musk grew up reading two books a day, according to his brother.
Mark Cuban reads more than 3 hours every day.
Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, reads two hours a day.
Billionaire entrepreneur David Rubenstein reads six books a week.
Dan Gilbert, self-made billionaire and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, reads one to two hours a day.

By the way, how many books do YOU read a month? What publications do you have sitting on the coffee table or bed stand awaiting to be started/finished? A quick glance at my own collection of recent nonfiction acquisitions includes these titles:

Fewer Things Better – The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most by Angela Watson (Due Season Press and Educational Services, 2019)
UnSelfie – Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World by Michele Borna (Touchstone, 2016)
The 100-Year Life – Living and Working in an Age of Longevity by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott (Bloomsbury, 2016)
The Microbiome Solution – A Radical New Way to Heal Your Body from the Inside Out by Robyn Chutkan (Penguin Random House, 2015)
The Weekend Effect – The Life-Changing Benefits of Taking Time Off and Challenging the Cult of Overwork by Katrina Onstad (Harper Collins Publishers, 2017)

(You see, I do not exclusively survey the current best-sellers or today’s fads/trends… ideas, insights, and innovations can come from anywhere and any time frame. Now that I am retired, I can “catch-up!”)

Back to musical preparation. You may have heard that saying “practice makes perfect,” generally debunked in several of my “Fox’s Firesides” for music students. I revise this concept to “perfect practice makes perfect performance” promoting “the ten times rule” in applying focus, problem solving, and repetitive drill. Check these out:

Finally, citing the initial reference in this blog-post by Noa Kageyama, here are five tips for deliberate practice by which we should all abide:

Keep practicing limited to a duration that allows you to stay focused.
Utilize times during the day when you tend to have the most energy.
Write down and keep track of your performance goals and what you discover during your practice sessions.
Work smarter, not harder.
Apply various techniques of problem-solving to practicing.

He also recommends this 6-step general “problem-solving model” as adapted from various problem solving processes online:

asq.org

Define the problem (what do I want this note/phrase to sound like?)
Analyze the problem (what is causing it to sound like this?)
Identify potential solutions (what can I tweak to make it sound more like I want?)
Test the potential solutions to select the most effective one (what tweaks seem to work best?)
Implement the best solution (make these changes permanent)
Monitor implementation (do these changes continue to produce the results I’m looking for?)

More ideas can be researched by reading The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle or The Practice of Practice by Andrew Mason, or visit these links for further study:

The bottom line? Working “brainlessly” does not promote significant improvement. However, use of sufficient repetition, exploration, problem solving, and mindful and deliberate practice will stimulate your success in the pursuit of anything worthwhile… especially the self-realization of creative self-expression.

PKF

Photo credits (in order) from Pixabay.com:

“band-philharmonic-orchestra” by Dimitris Vetsikas
“practice-emoji-words-mindfulness” by John Hain
“recycle-practice-circulate-symbol” by John Hain
“orchestra-music-musical-concert” by Ernesto Eslava
“drummers-drums-soldiers-historic” by skeeze
“piano-playing-music-hands-fingers” by “crystalle” or Sophie Lecat
“guitar-music-man-play-strum-chord” by Ryan McGuire
“singer-bbface-singing-voice-mike” by Quim Muns
“saxophone-music-gold-gloss” by Christoph Schütz
“wooden-train-toys-train-first-class” by Couleur

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music education and professionalism

Category: Training

Psychology of Music

Why Does Music Affect Our Emotions?

by Trishna Patnaik

Music is a Universal Language…

Why Do People Listen to Music?

The Benefits of Listening to Music

The Effect of Music on Intellectual Capacity

Music as a Therapy

References

Photo credit from Pixabay.com by Gerd Altmann: “music-sheet-in-a-shadow-flute-piano.” Vector graphics by Gordon Johnson.

Leadership Lessons

Summertime Reading Suggestions for Music Directors

Who is Horatio Hornblower?

Leaders Eat Last

Extreme Ownership

Part I: Winning the War Within (Chapters 1-4)

Part II: Laws of Combat (Chapters 5-8)

Part III: Sustaining Victory (Chapters 9-12)

A Leadership Recap for Music Teachers

Photo credits (in order) from Pixabay.com

Stressed Out?

More Remedies for Reducing Teacher Stress & Burnout

Just Breathe… According to the Navy SEALS!

Mind Over Matter

More Ideas — Just Pick One!

Balance

Resources

Success = How Many Hours?

Fox’s Fireside article for adult learners

What Does It Take to Master Your Craft?