The Anacrusic Podcast

I'm not okay. I hit a MAJOR wall this week. We had a massive home improvement project finally wrap up after six months (YES, seriously), and half of our house is boxed up... yes with two toddlers running around. I started a new collaborative project which took up way more of my time and energy than I expected it to (which is classic Anne, by the way, total recovering people pleaser over here)...

Assessment is one of those things that I really really struggled with when I first started teaching. I think I mostly didn’t have a lot of knowledge about how assessment in the music room relates to assessment in other subjects, whether it should be the same or different, and how it could fit in the same box as the other grades my students are receiving on a report card. I’ve learned over time a c...

I don't know how to start. If you've ever thought this to yourself, you're not alone. As a matter of fact, it's one of the first places we go, our default, if you will, when it comes to trying new ideas and incorporating new approaches to our teaching practice. It's something I often hear when I share an activity at a workshop, or I'm sharing different modes of active...

If I could count the number of times I've been influenced on Instagram... oh boy. There's a reason that influencer marketing is so effective. We can see the change in people's lives, see how they can be transformed... whether we're talking about a new vacuum cleaner or a meal delivery service. Why is this important? Because I could tell you about a million different times, a mi...

Okay, real talk... do you feel like you have this lesson planning thing completely mastered? There's no doubt that whether you just started teaching this year, or you've been doing this for what feels like a thousand, I'll bet you're looking for a few tips to shape up and refresh your teaching practice. Well, this past weekend, I did a series of free workshops called, "the...

Truth be told, even in the midst of pandemic teaching, I am not the most tech savvy person on the block. As a matter of fact, I have really resisted implementing it in my classroom, because I was under the false assumption that if I was using tech in my classroom, I was forgoing active music making opportunities that my students need to really live and breathe music fluency and literacy. You know,...

It's a word that strikes fear into the heart of teachers everywhere. Okay, maybe just me.... assessment. Yes, assessment. This is a word that used to totally send me running for the hills. I thought it was a trap for music teachers. Like, how on earth are we supposed to collect data and give tests for a thing that is so un-test-able? Well, that's what I used to think. I used to think tha...

I know I talked last episode about how resolutions aren't my jam... but I'm  fan of the idea of resolutions. It's like, taking out a clean sheet of paper to rewrite your list because the first one wasn't clean enough... and if there was ever a year to start fresh, this is it. But notice, I said "re-write" or maybe a better word is "re-frame". I'll bet t...

It felt tricky to figure out exactly what to say for this episode. It's one that I've done each year in some shape or form since I've started this podcast. I've thought about different titles like, "reflecting on the past year" or "my goals for the new year" and none of that really seems to fit. I've seen the memes on the interwebs. Everything from &quo...

On the last episode of The Anacrusic Podcast, I talked all about the importance of seeing yourself as a teacher musician instead of just a music teacher. This is such an important distinction, because it puts the emphasis of the label we use for ourselves on our intention. It's my musicianship that makes me an amazing teacher for my students. It's my musicianship that brought me to my te...

When I first made the transition from being a music "performer" to a music educator, it was... interesting. I had a lot of weird feelings about the fact that I was giving up what I had spent my entire life working toward, winning an audition for a full time performing ensemble. After hours of orchestra rehearsals, brass quintet recording sessions, banging my head against a wall in the pr...

Guess what...? It's another Anacrusic in Action Episode, where I give you specific, actionable steps you can use in your classroom to apply the things we talk about here on the Anacrusic Podcast. And this week, we are continuing on from Tuesday's episode, where we talked all about how to increase engagement in your lessons. So today, on The Anacrusic Podcast, we are going to take a peek...

There's no doubt that music teaching right now is just plain hard. Whether you are in person with masks and socially distanced, teaching virtually, or doing a mix of all the things, there are new challenges and things to figure out way beyond what we are already used to as educators. And perhaps, one of the biggest, is to find new ways to engage with our students in meaningful ways that allow...

Something that I’ve been thinking a lot about is how I can make what I share with y’all on the Anacrusic Podcast into something much more actionable. Like a thing or two that you could literally drag and drop and use in your classroom right now. Something that highlights a process, gives a concrete example, and illustrates exactly the type of processing I use in my music classroom. Well today, I&a...

If I had to rank questions I get from the Anacrusic community... well there's always a few that come back again and again. And one of them is always from eager new teachers or teachers new to sequencing who are like, "this is amazing!!... but how do I do it with the older kids?" And y'all,  get it. When you first start to implement a meaningful scope and sequence, it's eas...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, I'm a liiiiittle bit late to the Thanksgiving party. Yes, it's a week after Thanksgiving here in the United States, but I'm still taking advantage of the spirit of the season to share three pretty big things I'm grateful for. Here's a peek at what I'm sharing this week: The new ways we all have to create communities with music teachers...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, I'm sharing about Active Music Making and how you can make it work for your classroom, even in the midst of pandemic teaching . I don’t know what I was expecting out of this year, but I do know this: the only constant is change. And so today on the podcast, I’m going to chat with you a little bit about all things change—how to stay focused when you literally ha...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, I'm sharing all about The Learning Sequence Framework and how I know it can make a difference in your teaching. I didn't create this because I thought we needed another "thing" in music education, but instead I share it with teachers like you because I know it can 100% be the catalyst for change in your teaching. Here are some of the things I’m s...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, we are kicking off season 6 with a little mindset refresh. This is the perfect time to reframe our teaching practice and get grounded on what the rest of 2020 and 2021 are going to look, feel, and mostly think like for us. Here are some of the things I’m sharing on this week’s episode: My journey with virtual youth chorus (it's not all sunshine and rainbows...)...

It's the 100th Episode of The Anacrusic Podcast!! Today on TAP, I'm celebrating 2.5 years and 100 episodes (with a few bonuses too...) of sharing teacher tips and cultivating community and collaboration. This episode is full of a few of the most meaningful snippets from the last 99 episodes, going all the way back to the beginning. PLUS, did you hear about the BIG GIVEAWAY?! If you are a...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, I’m talking with my friend Ally all about Social Emotional Learning in the music classroom. This is one of those hot topic issues in education and music education right now, and for good reason! In the midst of teaching in a pandemic, and especially teaching music in a pandemic, incorporating social emotional learning strategies into our lessons in meaningful ways i...

There are so many unknowns in our music teacher lives and our world right now. Today on the podcast, I'm sharing a few ways to recenter yourself in thinking about the things that you can control, especially when it comes to lesson planning. In this episode, I share my three tips for planning whether you're teaching virtually, in person, or using a hybrid model. Here's a peek at what...

This week on The Anacrusic Podcast, I’m talking with my good friend and virtual music teaching expert, Michelle Rose. Michelle has been playing this virtual music teacher game since before the rest of the world took the plunge. She has tons of advice for music teachers who are navigating this new-to-us space, and I know you’ll gain so much from this episode, whether you’re teaching in real life, v...

Today on the podcast, I am thrilled to be chatting with a fellow podcaster, The Sequencing Solution member, and my friend Darlene Machacon. In this interview we talk about all the things: instagram, the podcast she co-hosts Coloring the Melody , and her journey in music education. Darlene is one of the bubbles on instagram stories that always makes my heart jump a beat, because I know she's g...

Today on the podcast I’m talking with Dr. Sarah Gulish, PhD of FFlat-books about all things research, practice, and publishing. I loved this conversation with Sarah because I identify with her on so many points, from thinking about how teachers should be sharing their work and being in community with one another, as well as how we wish music education research was more accessible to music teachers...