Music History Discovery: Printable Music History Timeline

In prepping for group lessons this week, I stumbled upon this excellent music history resource available on the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra's website.

 

The timeline has a brief summary of each era of music history with information on the characteristics of each era, information on the role of the conductor, and a handy list of famous composers from each period. Along the bottom is a running world history timeline to provide some context. I'm really excited about using this in my group lessons (more on that in a later post)!

 

The site also has some great handouts on the instrument families, activity pages, as well as some music notation worksheets. It looks to be a great resource! I love it when I stumble upon a great resource like this completely by accident! It makes my day. :)

I'm interested if any other teachers have found some great music history resources on the web. Please comment if you have any to share!

Are You a Martha Stewart Fan?

I have to admit...I am :) I receive Martha Stewart Living and Whole Living and love all the ideas on organizing, decorating and space management (I'm kind of obsessed with organizing- just ask my husband ;) ).

Anyway, the facts that I like Martha Stewart AND organizing made me really excited when I received an email from Staples about their new line: Martha Stewart Home Office! I was there in an instant, taking a look at all the great products available. If you're interested, you can follow this link for more information.

Something else the email from Staples contained was notification of a Martha Stewart Daily Giveaway for February: one different item each day from her new line! I've been entering every day in hopes that I might win something. Follow this link if you're interested in entering.

While we're on the topic of organization, is there anything you've done in your studio for 2012 that's worth sharing about!?

Resource for FREE Printable Music Certificates

My spring term starts up TOMORROW, and I've been busy making sure I am all set and ready to go. One item that was still on my to-do list this afternoon was printing certificates for the Fall 2011 practice incentive winners.

I've used multiple sites in the past, but my current favorite that I've used for several terms now is Certificate Street. They have creative, colorful, FREE certificate templates, many of which can be customized for specific uses.

Here's what the certificate I chose this time around looks like:

If you visit this link, you'll find all the music certificates in one place.

What other great places have you found for free certificate templates over the years? I'd love to add some more sites to my resource page!

My Favorite Holiday Resources!

Good morning! My presence on the blog will probably be scarce as Christmas looms closer and closer, but I wanted to share a brief list of some of my favorite places for Christmas resources for my students. I've been using these worksheets and games in lessons this week, and plan to use them at our term party in just another week as well.

1) Susan Paradis' website has a wealth of Christmas-themed activities and individuals and groups alike. Check out this post for a complete list of all the Christmas materials on her site.

2) D'Net Layton has some adorable sets of flashcard ornaments and stockings that are perfect for the Christmas season.

3) Jennifer Fink at Pianimation has several excellent games and theory activities as well. All of her Christmas resources can be found in this post.

Did I miss anyone? If you know of other great resources, please let me know! Merry Christmas to you all! :)

Fun New Rhythm Instruments for the Studio!

Yes, it's recital week at the studio, but in the midst of planning group lessons and getting all the recital details taken care of, I came across a few items on Amazon that I just had to purchase for my studio!

The first was a Band-In-A-Box kit which contains a variety of musical instruments perfect for rhythm activities both in individual and group lessons.

I also picked up a set of 4 egg shakers at the same time. I've been wanting to get a few of these for some time now, and this was the perfect opportunity.

The box arrived yesterday, and while I'm dying to use them in lessons, that's going to have to wait until lessons resume after Thanksgiving, giving me lots of time to come up with some creative ways to use these instruments in lessons. :)

I'd love to hear ideas from other teachers out there. Do you ever use other musical instruments in your lessons? How do you incorporate them?

I got something else very special in the mail yesterday as well; a lovely Thanksgiving card from one of the families I teach. In the midst of a rather hectic week, it was such an appreciated gesture, and gave me the extra boost I needed as I went about my recital preparations yesterday evening.

New! Teacher Resources Page

It's finally up! I hinted last week that I might be compiling a teacher resources page to put up on my blog. As a teacher, I am always looking for good sites that offer free resources as well as items that I need for various musical projects at inexpensive prices. I've come across a few really wonderful resources over the past few years of teaching, and wanted to share them for the benefit of other teachers.

I don't want my list to stay it's current length though! It's my goal to continue to grow the list as I discover new resources- whether through my own research or from the input of other teachers. So...please check out the list and let me know if there are any sites I might have missed!

I hope you enjoy this new blog resource :)

Another Great Resource for [Almost] Everything Musical

I have to confess- I LOVE getting magazines in the mail! And when I received a catalog from Music Treasures Company earlier this week, I couldn't wait to look through it to see just what they had to offer.

I was completely blown away by the variety of items they offered, and at pretty reasonable prices too! Not to mention a clearance section (always where I look first ;) ). From apparel to accessories and fun gifts, certificates and trophies to classroom and studio decor, they have a little bit of everything.

So I'm curious. Have any other teachers out there heard of this company or had experience with their service and products? What other companies have you ordered from in the past? Do you have and standard go-to places that offer hands down the best selection and deals?

I'm thinking of adding a page to my blog with a list of great resources like this, so any additional companies you can recommend would be great!