2022 Colorado Music Educators Association Conference
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Bow Guides, Wrist Guards, Chapstick? A Guide to Teaching Aids and Their Many Uses
Parents are busy and tired of fighting with their kids, students can't remember everything to practice and as a teacher, you know you can't move on until technique is correct. Sometimes technique feels like an uphill battle and can be very discouraging to students and parents. There are so many teaching aids, common and uncommon, to use to help with this exact scenario and this session will focus on what can be used to help the many different technique pitfalls our students succumb to. These teaching aids help the student focus on what's really fun about learning music: The Music!
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West Music Presents: Music Theory That's Fun!
Denise Gagne
Managing editor of Themes & Variations, Preschool music teacher and frequent visitor to elementary school music classroomsChildren who are musically literate are given the tools to become life-long music makers. In this session we’ll explore fun ways to teach theory: games, ball bouncing, bean bags and many activities!
Discovering a Treasure Trove of Melodic Games
Folk music resources are the roots of the Kodály curriculum and literacy skills are one of the many branches. In this session participants will learn some golden treasures to add to their collections. Through the materials presented in this session, melodic literacy skills will be presented, experienced and explored. Participants will walk away with new song materials as well as music literacy activities to implement in their classroom.
Presider: Paul Maley
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The Silent Canon - Repertoire by Composers of African Descent
Anthony Trecek-King
The Hartt School, University of Hartford and a Resident Conductor with the Handel and Haydn Society, Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral ActivitiesA workshop on Singing Spirituals - History and Performance Practice
Journey Around the Globe with Recorder
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Native American Music into the General and Choral Music Classrooms
This presentation will include an introduction to Native American music, culture, differentiation, and history from tribes in the United States, as well as lesson plan ideas, songs, and resources for implementing Indigenous music into the general or choral music space. The audience will also receive critical insight into the lives of First Nations students, and how teachers can make these students feel validated in their classrooms in any age group.
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Friday, January 28, 2022
The Silent Canon - Repertoire by Composers of African Descent (Part 2)
Anthony Trecek-King
The Hartt School, University of Hartford and a Resident Conductor with the Handel and Haydn Society, Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral ActivitiesA workshop on Singing Spirituals - History and Performance Practice
West Music Presents: Listening Fun!
Denise Gagne
Managing editor of Themes & Variations, Preschool music teacher and frequent visitor to elementary school music classroomsListening and responding to music is important for the emotional well being of our students. In this session, you’ll explore engaging and fun listening activities for all age, from your littles to Middle school. We’ll move and create movement with scarves, ribbons, cups, plates and more. We’ll explore form and cultural context. This session is fun – and will give you many lessons to use in your classes!
Teaching Music to Students with Trauma
We all have trauma-- but as education grows and develops, we are finding better ways of helping students to heal from trauma through the classroom interactions we have every day. In this session you will learn what a young brain does when it has experienced trauma, how Adverse Childhood Experiences can be at the root of a lot of frustrating behavior, and the best ways to help students whom you may not have had any clue what to do with before. We will also discuss how a music educator's personal healing from trauma is crucial to helping your students heal from theirs.
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Social Justice Music Education
As the country reckons with injustice, educators, especially arts educators, possess one of the greatest tools to help young people understand and take action towards social justice. Based on two years of pedagogical research on the intersection of social justice and arts education, join Creative Generation for a hands-on session to integrate the National Core Arts Standards for music with the Teaching for Justice’s social justice education standards. The workshop will culminate with music educators crafting their own conception of an integrated music education/social justice lesson plan.
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Additional Resources
Diversify Your Curriculum and Instruction Through Community Arts and Cultural Resources
Trying to juggle equity, diversity, inclusion, culturally responsive instruction, student voice and empowerment, among other values in the classroom and feeling overwhelmed? How do you begin to incorporate so many important ideals so it’s relevant and engaging to students? In this session, we'll talk about how community arts organizations can help you create a curriculum that embraces these practices and how they can support interdisciplinary, diverse, and impactful programming in your classroom.
How Vocal and String Pedagogies Can Enhance One Another
Michael Linert
Westminster High School, Performing Arts Department Chair & Director of Orchestras, Mariachi, and GuitarString teachers tell their students to play like a singer, while voice teachers tell their students to sing like a string player. What does it all mean? Join this session to learn and experience some specific techniques and concepts to improve the string and vocal techniques, musicality, and creativity of your students!
Instant Ukulele Ensemble
Join the rush to use ukulele in your classroom with solo and ensemble skills. You'll walk out with skills to play ukulele tablature, arrange music for presentation by your students, and conduct ukulele musicians on the spot. We'll introduce you to the resources available through the Rocky Mountain Ukulele Orchestra.
A Brain-aligned Approach to Fostering Belonging in the Music Room
How can we create a safe place where students have agency and feel cared for as they engage musically, socially, and emotionally? Learn what practical insight educational neuroscience has for those seeking to forge authentic connections to students and how these apply specifically to elementary and middle school music classrooms.
Learn how educational neuroscience help teachers create a safe place where students have agency and feel cared for as they engage musically, socially, and emotionally.
How to Hook 'Em: Using Movement to Refocus and Engage Our Students - presented by RMC-AOSA
From sun salutations to uneven meter to creating drums with our bodies and more, movement is a powerful ‘hook’ to reach even our most challenging students. Explore tried and true ways to effortlessly and playfully move with our students and find entries to creative movement that all students will love.
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Using Children's Literature to Teach Melodic Literacy
When we think about teaching music literacy to elementary-aged children, most music educators’ minds turn to Zoltan Kodály. In this session, children’s literature serves as the inspiration for melodic music reading via the Kodály sequence. Your students will enjoy singing, dancing, playing barred instruments, creative movement, and improvisation as they learn to read music notation.
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The Path to Personal and Professional Antiracism: an honest look at my journey so far
A period of difficult personal & professional reckoning led me to confront my own racism, internal bias, & privilege. As a Filipina-American woman, I was surprised to discover how oblivious I was to the pervasive nature of systemic racism in education, the US, & in myself. Every day I grapple with how to eliminate these in my classroom by doing the hard work of shedding my former “colorblind” philosophy to put on one in which I see, acknowledge, value, & celebrate each student. This has resulted in many necessary challenges to me in my philosophy, practice, & pedagogy, but with each step on the path I know I am moving in the right direction. While my story is imperfect, I hope that sharing it provokes thought & encourages other educators to join me on the journey to create a more equitable, musical, thoughtful, & just world for students, their families, & our communities.
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Culturally Sustaining Practices Among Music Educators: Commonalities Across Varied Contexts in the United States
Based on a two-year long research study, the presenter will share narrative examples highlighting how six music educators incorporated Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy into their varied musical contexts, including choir, orchestra, and elementary music. The researcher will also share qualities of the music educators in the study that transcend their contexts and provide possibilities for translation into new contexts and communities. The music educators in the study had different teaching styles, experiences, musical upbringings and ensembles, yet all maintained strong levels of musical excellence (as defined by their students and communities), cultural competence, and sociopolitical consciousness. Implications include effective ways to integrate principles of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and a hopeful trajectory in music classrooms.
Live Audio 101 for Vocal and Instrumental Music
Whether mic'ing a single voice, giving that jazz soloist the extra little push, or amplifying a Marching Band, knowing the ins and outs of your sound system will save you time, and result in a better experience for everyone. In this session, we'll dive into the basics of running sound so your next program can really pop! This crash course will cover how to identify your equipment and get it physically set up, how to choose microphones and gear for your application, and how to achieve a nice, natural sound through sound check.
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“I Don't Have Time for One More Thing - Supporting and Incorporating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into the Secondary Music Classroom”
So many of us are tired of having to do ONE MORE THING in the music classroom. Here’s a secret...we already do so many AMAZING things. Let’s renew our faith in our ability to help students grow through SEL. Mental health concerns among students and staff are nothing new in our schools and communities, but the concerns and needs have increased after COVID-19 shutdowns and various learning environments. This session will look at ways to incorporate Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into the music classroom and how it can enhance your rehearsals and strengthen the connections of your students. Specific examples will be provided, as well as access to additional resources that are ready to use.
Socioemotional Learning through Music: Ideas for Teaching the Whole Child
Elementary-age children need socioemotional skills to become both strong musicians and thriving adults and citizens later in life. Even if your school has not adopted free-standing SEL standards, SEL can be integrated into your regular teaching! Come learn how the five SEL core competencies can be taught simultaneously with music standards and help you respond to students with compassion and understanding. We will provide strategies and planning ideas for songs, games, and activities that promote prosocial skills like self-awareness and responsible decision making for your learners.
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West Music Presents: Potpourri of w
Denise Gagne
Managing editor of Themes & Variations, Preschool music teacher and frequent visitor to elementary school music classroomsHow can you have a life when you spend so much time planning your lessons, dealing with student behaviors, assessing and doing report cards? Teachers spend a ton of time dealing with their students emotional well being, sometimes forgetting to look after their own emotional well being. This session is full of tips and ideas for making your job easier!
Moving to multiple genres of music: increasing student connection, engagement, and musicality
Movement is integral to true understanding in music - helping students better comprehend expression, form, and other musical concepts. When a student develops movement competence in the early years, the learning is even more powerful and continues into adulthood. Learn how to boldly and joyfully include all genres of music, including Pop, Global, R & B, to your repertoire to meet students where they are and draw them into this crucial (and fun!) component of being musical.
Honest Conversations About Mental Health
It can be challenging to talk about how we feel and what we think, especially in our very public roles as music teachers. Our session is a friendly environment to start conversations about improving our mental health in a relatable way as musicians, teachers, and people.
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5 S.M.A.R.T. Steps to RETAINING Our Beginners
Would you be surprised to learn that within one short year, 60% of beginning students are no longer playing? You've worked hard to recruit—and even re-recruit—beginners into your instrumental music program so this year, more than ever before, it’s all about RETAINING them! Actionable steps that can be taken by parents, administrators, and the students themselves will make all the difference whether in an urban, suburban or rural setting. In this on-target session, directors of all experience and expertise levels will learn about the role they can play in these 5 S.M.A.R.T. Steps to RETAINING Our Beginners.
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