That Music Podcast: A Podcast for Elementary Music Teachers

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share a conversation with Charissa Duncanson on her music teacher journey. Charissa Duncanson (kuh- rih-suh dung-kin-sen) has taught K-5th grade general music in the Metro Detroit Area since 2014. Born and raised in Michigan, Charissa began her musical journey in elementary school. Throughout her childhood Charissa participated in choirs, bands, and theatre withi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share a conversation with Katherine Miller on her music teacher journey. Katherine Miller proudly teaches Kindergarten-5th grade music in Waukesha, WI as well as serving as a model tech classroom for her district. In 2018, she was recognized as a WPT Education Innovator by Wisconsin Public Television Education. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Music in Education deg...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share a conversation with Anne Mileski on her music teacher journey. Anne Mileski is an elementary music specialist in Eastern Washington. She is certified in Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy, Music Learning Theory Elementary General Level I, and has completed coursework in Dalcroze Eurythmics. She is a regular clinician at local...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share a conversation with Taylor Nardone on his music teacher journey. Taylor Nardone is an elementary music teacher based on the eastern shore of Massachusetts. Passionate about giving each student an equitable opportunity to build a love and joy of music, he consistently strives to blend the newest teaching techniques into his practices through technology, move...

Send us Fan Mail This week we’re gonna keep it real. This year has been so hard. In this week’s episode I reflect on my last couple of months teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. My music room has been silent for 83 days. During that time all of my students were receiving music asynchronously at-home. I was able to “push in” to the homeroom classes for five minutes a week, but that wasn’t cuttin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I chat with Vicky Weber about her journey as a music educator and a children’s book author. Vicky Weber is a musician and an elementary educator with a love for children's literature. While she has taught a variety of grade levels, primary level education is where her passion lies. It has long been a dream of hers to teach children through the magic of books a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I chat with Meghan Kennedy about using picture books in the music classroom. Meghan Kennedy is in her fourth year of teaching elementary school music. She has taught elementary general music (K-5) and chorus (3-5) for the past 3 years in Georgia. Before moving to Georgia, she taught elementary general music and band in New Jersey where she grew up and began her mus...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share my conversation with Darlene Machacon about how we can be sure we are respecting the identities of our students by allowing our curriculum to allow all students to feel seen and accepted in our music classrooms. Darlene is a TK-6th grade elementary music educator, chorus director, private piano teacher, and podcaster in southern California. Her experiences...

Send us Fan Mail This week’s podcast comes from an Instagram live I did with a General Music Mastermind alumnae. Kate took the course when we did our beta launch over the summer and is going to be taking it again with us this time around. Kate shares her experience with the course and helps me answer questions about the course for those who were tuning in live. If you want to learn more about Gene...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share my conversation with Rainy Barton about how we can advocate for music education and our programs. Especially now during the time of COVID-19, it is important for us to make sure we are advocating for high-quality music education for our students. Rainy Barton is a K-5 elementary music teacher in Central Fl, and has been teaching for six years- all at the sa...

Send us Fan Mail In the first (real) solo episode of the season, I share my experiences with teaching piano lessons to students with exceptional learning needs. Whether it be using a visual schedule or a color-coded curriculum, there are so many easy ways to make private music lessons fabulous for our exceptional learner students. Links and Resources: Join the FREE Renew & Recharge email chall...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share my conversation with Stephanie Powell about adaptive music education, and how she (accidentally) began teaching adaptive music lessons. Stephanie Powell is a wife, mother of 4, special needs teacher and adaptive music instructor. She has lived in Pensacola, FL for 6 years and loves serving in her church, serving the community and spending warm days on the b...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share my conversation with Lauren Marcinkowski about the intersections between music education and music therapy. Lauren Marcinkowski is a PA, K-12 certified music teacher and board-certified music therapist. She also has Pennsylvania certifications in special education and elementary education. Lauren lives in Bucks County, PA, which is in the greater Philadelph...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share what I’ve been up to over the past months. While I didn’t anticipate for the podcast’s hiatus to last this long, life had other plans. Like many of us, COVID-19 completely changed what my job looked like, and while I had every intention of launching season two at the beginning of the school year, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do everything . So h...

Send us Fan Mail That Music Podcast is back . Season two launches on January 6th, 2021 with three brand new episodes! Make sure you are subscribed so you won't miss a new episode every Wednesday! 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 Wow, is it really the end of season one? I am so incredibly grateful for all of you for supporting me over the past six months as I started this new adventure. On this week’s episode I take a look back at season one and break down a few of my all-time favorite episodes and the takeaways that have helped me in my classroom during this crazy year! I’ll be taking a break from new epi...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week’s podcast is about things that I learned during this past year of teaching. As the year comes to a close, I have been thinking back on the past year. And let’s be honest, it's been a crazy year. Links and Resources: Start the Year Strong (free webinar) This episode is brought to you by my free webinar on...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week I’m sharing a few things that I learned about teaching elementary music that I didn’t know when I came out of undergrad. Links and Resources: Start the Year Strong (free webinar) This episode is brought to you by my free webinar on Starting the Year Strong. If you’re ready to take the first step towards a suc...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week I’m taking a step back and looking at the last few weeks of remote teaching. Links and Resources: FREE Music Teaching Portfolio Template This episode is brought to you by my FREE editable music teaching portfolio template. Whether you are looking for your first job, or are just trying to find something new, t...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week I’m talking with Katie Wonderly about how she has adjusted to teaching remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Katie Wonderly is a fourth-year teacher, making music with 650 of her favorite musicians in Oklahoma City. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Music Education from Oklahoma City Unive...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week I’m talking with Jackie Sunga about different ways that we can make sure we are taking care of our mental health during these unprecedented times. Jackie Sunga is finishing her fifth year as a K-4 music teacher in Fort Worth, TX. She completed her Kodaly certification at Texas State University with the author...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week I’m talking to my good friend Melody Oberschlake about Little Kids Rock. Melody Oberschlake received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2017. During her time at Ohio Wesleyan she majored in vocal music education while also minoring in clarinet and piano. She is in her th...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week I’m talking to my friend Kelsey Burkett about culturally responsive music education. Raised in Solon, OH, Kelsey D. Burkett is a 2006 Graduate of Capital University, where she majored in Music Education and served as the alto section leader in the renown Chapel Choir.  She completed her Masters of Music in Mu...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening to this episode of That Music Podcast. This week I’m talking to Michelle Rose about teaching music remotely over the internet. Michelle Rose teaches middle and high school general music and directs the extracurricular virtual band/orchestra and choir at North Carolina Virtual Academy. She is also the director of the International Music Education Summit Virt...

Send us Fan Mail As many of us transition into teaching remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to offer my support and remind you that we are still all connected through the power of music, even if we aren’t in the same room. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes of That Music Podcast. You can check out show notes and more at www.thatmusicteacher.com . While you’re...