Elemental Conversations with Victoria Boler

01:44 - Nesting Concepts in Elementary General Music

10:10 - Areas of Balance through Tension

12:16 - Emphasizing Music

12:18 - Emphasizing the Child Over the Curriculum Document

15:07 - Emphasizing a Functional Classroom

17:51 - Possible Applications

18:59 - Transferrable Understanding 1: Ensemble

27:05 - Transferrable Understanding 2: Complement

34:07 - Where to Read More

Full Show notes:

https://victoriaboler.com/elemental-conversations

In this Conversation….

00:00 - Intro

01:27 - About Aileen

04:05 - Benefits of centers

08:33 - Should we do one concept or more than one concept in our centers?

12:38 - Aileen’s “formula” for center categories

20:11 - Setting up for success

26:45 - Choices, classroom management, and assessment : What to think about and options for structuring

32:45 - Centers for student choice: keeping it manageable and giving students ownership

41:53 - Scaffolding centers throughout grade levels

44:33 - Centers for band and choir

48:30 - Final thoughts and advice from Aileen: Giving grace

50:43 - Aileen’s centers course

52:00 - Where to connect with Aileen

Find the full show notes: victoriaboler.com/podcast/starting-from-scratch-in-2nd-and-3rd-grade-music

Today we’re thinking through what it can look like to start at the beginning of the music sequence with our 2nd and 3rd grade musicians.

It can sometimes feel like these students are overlooked with teaching materials intended for both Kindergarten / 1st grade, and older beginners.

Let’s take a look at a possible roadmap for the first several months of the 2nd and 3rd grade school year when these musicians are starting “from scratch” at the beginning of the sequence.

In this Episode:

00:00 - Intro, framing the conversation

03:40 - Elemental Questions

04:19 - Skip to the end - a quick roadmap

08:31 - What’s the point of a sequence?

14:27 - What makes something a 2nd or 3rd grade song?

20:30 - What are 2nd and 3rd grade students like?

28:26 - A possible roadmap for 2nd and 3rd grade beginners

If your year is just starting and your voice is already feeling tired, I know you'll appreciate all the wisdom Dr. Caitlin Moore has to share about vocal health for music teachers!

Over the summer Dr. Moore took time out of her day at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp to talk about vocal care, vocal fatigue, vocal mechanisms, and much more.

Read about Dr. Moore and get in touch with her here:

victoriaboler.com/podcast/2023/9/12/vocal-health-for-music-teachers-dr-caitlin-moore

In this episdoe….

00:00 - Intro

02:00 - Dr. Moore’s work and story

09:30 - Soprano vs Alto Distinctions

11:20 - Tessitura and Passaggio

14:00 - What is “mixed” voice?

17:46 - Speaking and Singing with Tension in the Classroom

19:40 - Value of a Laryngologist

21:36 - Body Awareness, Amplification, and Tension

29:52 - Habit Stacking

32:38 - The Tongue, Tongue Tension, and Tongue Release Exercises

43:48 - When Your Voice Feels Fatigued…

51:25 - Where to Find Dr. Moore

Metric counting…. notation-based…. beat based…. What is the deal with these counting systems? Where did they come from?

And why takadimi?

As we look into some elemental questions around takadimi, we see that most of us are starting from the same set of core values. The differences in our choices come down to how we answer a few elemental questions:

1. What is the role of the symbol in a sound-before-symbol approach?

2. What do we want to emphasize?

3. What is the best communication system for the ensemble we’re working with?

Find the show notes and references here: https://victoriaboler.com/podcast/why-takadimi

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00:00 - Takadimi

03:47 - Elemental Questions

04:32 - Why Takadimi? TL;DR

10:20 - Beat-based system vs notation-based

11:36 - What is sound before symbol?

14:43 - What do we want to emphasize?

16:40 - History of rhythm syllables in Western music education

17:02 - French Time Names

19:09 - Branches of off of French Time Names

21:22 - Kodaly syllables

22:07 - North American Kodaly syllables

24:12 - Gordon

25:22 - Takadimi

27:31 - Arguments for and against beat-based systems

28:41 - “We want to prioritize sound to symbol”

29:56 - “Too many names makes everything confusing”

32:39 - “We use moveable do, so it only makes sense to use ____”

35:23 - What works best for the ensemble?

36:43 - Wrapping up, moving forward

This is such a great conversation with my friend, Matthew Stensrud!

We talk about structuring the first elementary general music experiences of the year through the lens of Responsive Classroom.

Find Matthew’s bio and connect with him here: https://victoriaboler.com/podcast/responsive-classroom-for-the-beginning-of-the-music-year-matthew-stensrud

In This Episode:

00:00 - Intro

01:35 - What is Responsive Classroom?

04:45 - “Misbehavior” through a Responsive Classroom Lens

07:00 - Holding Boundaries During Inappropriate Behavior (3 Steps)

10:16 - Following up with Positive Interactions

12:16 - Responsive Classroom at the Beginning of the Year

15:07 - Opening Routine

18:31 - Teacher Language

27:35 - First Day Activities

31:11 - Structured Choices

34:51 - Closing Routine & Reminding Language

39:50 - Beyond the First Day

41:37 - Procedures to Have in Place

44:11 - How to Connect with Matthew

Let’s think through some ways to set the tone for learning - both at the beginning of the lesson and at the beginning of the year.

Additional Podcast Episodes:

Opening the First Day of Music - An Elemental Conversation with Anne Mileski

Classroom Management for Elementary General Music (Before the Sticker Charts)

Lower Elementary Songs

Engine Engine

Feeling Fine, It’s Music Time

Hey Betty Martin

Caballito Blanco

All Around the Buttercup

Upper Elementary Songs

To Stop the Train

Bonjour, Mes Amis

Welcome Welcome

Yonder Come Day

Pop Songs: Sunday Best, I’m Good, Best Day of My Life

Today I’m sharing an elemental conversation with the fabulous LeslieAnne Bird, all about setting up music room routines. 

We talk about how to know it’s time to think or rethink routines, and we go over some very specific pain points a lot of us experience in class - things like getting students into the learning space and starting class, lining up at the end, and other things during the actual lesson like passing out instruments. 

Read LeslieAnne’s bio here

The Efficient Music Classroom: https://teachingwithorff.mykajabi.com/webinar-efficient-music-classroom

After the getting-to-know-you activities, after the name games, after the routines….. what’s next?

How do we know where to start the year from a musical content perspective? How will we know what students remember? How can we review and make sure kids aren’t bored? What if we’re at a new campus and we don’t know what students have done? How do we take information from singing games in a way that’s usable?

We probably all have at least a few of these questions, so let’s look at some possible ways to answer them.

This episode is a continuation of two other conversations:

This podcast episode with my friend Anne Milseki

This post on the review and assessment process

Today we’ll emphasize the data-collection piece of the process.

Join in on this conversation with my friend, Dr. Amanda Hoke! We talk about starting music at a new campus, where to begin instruction, her favorite games for older beginners, and the interwoven tie between curricular sequences and student relationships.

Throughout the conversation, Dr. Hoke maintains that building connection with students is a higher priority than any musical achievement we could reach. Specifically at the beginning of the year, Dr. Hoke encourages us to get to know students - their interests, their strengths, and their backgrounds. Her parting advice of “breathe and feel your feet” is a mindful invitation that will serve us all well, regardless of where we teach this Fall.

In this Conversation:

(01:25) - Amanda’s Current and Previous Teaching Situations

(09:20) - Feeling “Behind” with Older Students

(14:27) - Starting Instruction with Upper Elementary

(17:32) - Activities for Upper Elementary

(24:55) - Listening with Your Eyes, Ears, and Body

(27:13) - Where to Begin Musically

(33:09) - “Middle” Elementary, 2nd and 3rd Grades

(36:14) - Changing Sequence Directions

(39:40) - Macro Concepts as the Actual Goal

(41:33) - Doing things Differently From the Previous Teacher

(46:46) - Advice from Dr. Hoke on Starting a New Campus