That Music Podcast: A Podcast for Elementary Music Teachers

Send us Fan Mail So many of us have an increasing population of English Learners in our classrooms. Especially for those of us, me included, who are not bilingual, this can be an incredibly difficult population of students to serve. In this week’s episode of That Music Podcast I bring in a wonderful expert, Betha Maust, and ask her to share her knowledge of English Learners, and what that means fo...

Send us Fan Mail I often get questions about how a Kodály-influenced classroom can also be one that asks questions to allow us to be anti-racist and anti-biased. Today’s episode of That Music Podcast is all about refocusing the Kodály classroom to ensure that the repertoire we choose to perpetuate is one worth teaching, while also making sure all of our students feel seen and included in our class...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of That Music Podcast, I get a little bit personal. I share my thoughts and reflections on this past year. Links and Resources: Grab your FREE copy of the Elementary Music Newbie Guide Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh -> www.thatmusicteacher.com/summit Have questions or want to share feedback? Reach out to us at hello...

Send us Fan Mail Assessment doesn’t need to be scary. Data and assessment are truly invaluable in the elementary music classroom. In this week’s episode of That Music Podcast, I share my thoughts on assessment, and how we can use nearly constant informal assessment to truly guide and drive our instruction. Links and Resources: Grab your FREE copy of the Elementary Music Newbie Guide Grab your free...

Send us Fan Mail Whether we like it or not, we must advocate for ourselves and our programs. On this week’s episode of That Music Podcast, I share a conversation I had with Sarah OIiver about advocating for ourselves and our students. Sarah Oliver lives in Xenia, Ohio with her husband Kevin, her three beagles, and two bengal cats. She is a music educator on a mission of sharing her passion and kno...

Send us Fan Mail I had a mindset shift a year or so ago about teaching Solfege, and it was an absolute gamechange r in my classroom. On this week’s episode of That Music Podcast, I share that mindset shift and talk about how we as music educators can really think about the why of what we teach in a more meaningful way. Links and Resources: Check out That Music Teacher Store! Grab your free ticket...

Send us Fan Mail Vocal health is important for all teachers, but we as music teachers have an added struggle if we don’t take care of our voices. Even those of us who went through undergrad as vocal majors often lack the knowledge of how to truly use our voices in a safe and sustainable way. Today’s guest on the podcast is Dr. Jennifer Whitehead. Dr. Whitehead was one of my professors in undergrad...

Send us Fan Mail On the podcast today we have our first international guest! I am so excited for you to hear this conversation with Hendrik Marais about music education and character development, as well as his experience hosting the 2021 Creative Arts Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. Hendrik Marais was appointed as Head of Music and Specialist Subjects at RGJS in January 2005. He served as...

Send us Fan Mail Music is so much more than notes and rhythms. Music is something that activates parts of our brains in truly unique ways. My first course I took in my master’s program was a music psychology course. I was instantly hooked, and loved being able to dive further into how music affects our brains. For this episode, I brought the amazing Jen Rafferty as a guest to talk more about just...

Send us Fan Mail What if I told you that you could easily implement more student choice in your classroom while at the same time increasing the level of differentiation in your lessons? Today’s episode is all about how learning centers can do just that in your classroom! I brought in the expert on centers in the music room, Aileen Miracle, to share why she believes learning centers belong in the m...

Send us Fan Mail I never liked the recorder. Even when I was in school it wasn’t my favorite. But once I discovered how the recorder can be used as another tool of music-making rather than just another unit, I changed my tune (see what I did there?). This episode is all about why the recorder ISN’T an instrument of torture, and why I think they belong in every elementary music classroom. Links and...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is all about ukulele in the music classroom. You’ve probably heard of people using the ukulele in their classroom, but if you’re like me you still don’t quite have the administration support for the funding for these instruments, as well as where to start once you get them! I hope this episode can help you get some talking points to help you convince the stakeholders...

Send us Fan Mail My lessons were a bit of a jumbled mess my first year of teaching. I’ll be the first one to say that I spent the majority of my first year just trying to survive. But once I started mapping out my curriculum, everything changed. This week’s episode is all about the process of curriculum mapping, and how starting this process not only made my teaching better, but also saved my time...

Send us Fan Mail There are so many ways to teach a song, so how do we choose the best ways? In this episode I share five ways to teach a song so you aren’t just using the same methods day in and day out. Links and Resources: Grab your FREE copy of the Elementary Music Newbie Guide Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh -> www.thatmusicteacher.com/summit Have ques...

Send us Fan Mail What can we do to combat teacher burnout? That's what I chatted with James Robinson, II about on this week's episode of That Music Podcast. Unfortunately, burnout is a very real problem within the teaching profession as a whole. Add on the fact that music teachers are often isolated on our own 'islands' and you have an even more exacerbated problem. James Robin...

Send us Fan Mail Transitions can make or break a lesson. By thinking through the ways in which our students (and us as the teachers) move from one activity to the next, we are able to help make our lessons more streamlined and seamless. This year I’m challenging myself to lesson plan in a way that focuses more on the transitions in my lessons. It’s definitely a bit more work on the front-end, but...

Send us Fan Mail There are SOOOO many things I wish I knew before I walked into my music classroom. In this week’s episode I share a few of the things I truly think would have been a game-changer had I known before I started teaching music. Links and Resources: Grab your FREE copy of the Elementary Music Newbie Guide Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh -> www....

Send us Fan Mail This week I’m stepping back and thanking YOU for all of the hard work you have done this past school year. Links and Resources: Grab your FREE copy of the Elementary Music Newbie Guide Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh -> www.thatmusicteacher.com/summit Have questions or want to share feedback? Reach out to us at hello@thatmusicteacher.com -...

Send us Fan Mail Today I share a few steps that you should take once you accept a teaching position. Whether it is your first position, or you’re moving onto something new, there are so many things that you need to do to help set yourself up for success. Links and Resources: Grab your FREE copy of the Elementary Music Newbie Guide Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refr...

Send us Fan Mail A lot has happened in the past few days in my professional and personal life that has made me think about what it means to be inclusive in my classroom. I’m not going to lie and say that the past few days have been easy. But I’ve been reminded why it is important for me to be an agent of change. I’ve been reminded why it is important for us as educators to stand up against the sys...

Send us Fan Mail This week we talk about some ways to keep students (and ourselves) engaged at the end of the year! Links and Resources: Grab your FREE copy of the Elementary Music Newbie Guide Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh -> www.thatmusicteacher.com/summit Have questions or want to share feedback? Reach out to us at hello@thatmusicteacher.com - we’d lo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share a conversation I had with Katie Holbrook about how we as elementary music teachers can build meaningful relationships with our students. Katie Holbrook is a Georgia-based third year music teacher and creator of 130 Music. She firmly stands on the belief that music is vital to a well-rounded education and seeks to integrate music with other subjects. Her hea...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share a conversation I had with Lesley Schultz about the fate of our teenagers after they leave our classrooms. Lesley shares her experience with teaching general music at the secondary level and how we as elementary music teachers can work together to help better serve our students. Lesley Schultz currently teaches Secondary General Music and Orchestra at Prince...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share some ways that you can make your classroom more LGBT-friendly. Links and Resources: Grab your FREE guide on better serving students with exceptional needs! Grab your free ticket to the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh -> www.thatmusicteacher.com/summit Have questions or want to share feedback? Reach out to us at hello@thatmusicteacher.com - we’d...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I share my conversation with Rachel Ammons on her music teacher journey. Rachel Ammons is a music educator in Central Ohio. Currently, she grades 2nd through 12th. She was a substitute teacher for three years after obtaining her Bachelors in Music Education from Ashland University in 2016. Before taking a full time teaching position, she was an Assistant Marching...