Kjos Education Center

It is April 2020 and we are living with the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. Schools across the United States have been closed for about a month and we are teaching from home in the middle of a new experience called distance learning. Some days my colleagues and I feel like we’re drinking from a fire hose. 

It is April 2020 and we are living with the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. Schools across the United States have been closed for about a month and we are teaching from home in the middle of a new experience called distance learning. Some days my colleagues and I feel like we’re drinking from a fire hose. 

Many of you are beginning to teach online piano lessons as we all come together in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). If you are using Bastien New Traditions: All in One Piano Course, you already have everything you need.

Many of you are faced with the need to create plans for online orchestra instruction as we all come together in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). I want to remind you that if you are using String Basics Books 1, 2, or 3, you already have everything you need to facilitate distance learning!

Many of you are faced with the need to create plans for online band instruction as we all come together in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). I want to remind you that if you are using either the Tradition Of Excellence Comprehensive Band Method or Standard Of Excellence Enhanced Comprehensive Band Method Second Edition, you already have everything you need to facilitate distance learning!

When selecting repertoire, the best results will usually occur when a methodical approach is taken. One such method is to consider each piece of music by three distinct measures: 1) Technical 2) Aesthetic 3) Curricular. Applying these criteria can be a balancing act but will more often than not result in the selection of materials that motivate and inspire students while developing their performance skills, and overall musical understanding and appreciation

Matching Students to Instruments One of the most exciting and important events in the life of a prospective band student is when he or she selects the instrument they are going to play. There are many factors that influence a student’s decision such as the availability of an instrument, the popularity of an instrument, parental preference, peer pressure, perceived musical opportunities, and band director needs and suggestions.

In my earlier years as a band director, I was pretty good at fixing problems as they occurred in my band. I could address wrong notes, rhythms, basic articulations, musical phrasing, and intonation issues. I gradually learned, however, that I was working too hard and my students generally did not know how to solve these problems on their own. I was putting out “fires” as they happened, rather than giving my students the necessary skills to address these “fires” as (and before) they occurred.

When working on intonation, no matter the exercises you use, the skill of listening must be a constant 24/7 component. Students need to discern what is and is not in tune. For some students this will come naturally and for others, time and extra reinforcement will be a must. For all students, it’s important that they gain confidence as good listeners, and in combination with execution of accurate finger patterns...

Hitting the ground running is key to a successful years. As an educator who's taught strings at the middle school level for 30 years...