The Anacrusic Podcast

Welcome to the kickoff to Season 2 of The Anacrusic Podcast! Today on TAP is an episode all about learning sequences, a topic that has been a recent passion project of mine. Not sure what learning sequences are? You are 100% in the right place, because today I’m unpacking all of that for you. . What I love about using learning sequences is that it’s not a method, or a prescription for the exact th...

Fresh off of teaching Kodály Levels at SMU in Dallas, in this bonus episode I give you some behind the music insight to what Kodály training is really like. If you’re interested in learning more about Kodály-inspired teaching, check out  TAP 006 here .   If you’re interested in being a part of the exclusive #TAP Insiders book study, click here to join the FB group and get started !   Resources men...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, I'm talking about where Anacrusic has been, and how TAP has formed what's to come for me, the podcast, and Anacrusic.com. If you're new, this isn't the best place to start. Check out episode 002 or 003 to get to know me and my mission a little bit better! Click here to become a member of the TAP Insiders Group on FB. | Become an Anacrusic Insider...

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing how I approach composition in the music room. Spoiler alert: it’s part of a sequence, and improvisation is the main scaffold to get to all things composition. This episode was inspired by a blog post I wrote earlier this year.  Check it out by clicking here.   Become an Anacrusic Insider Here | Join The Anacrusic Podcast Community Here

Today on TAP, I’m sharing the 5 things I’d tell my First Year Music Teacher Self. There are about a million and one pieces of advice everyone spouts at you when you’re a first year teacher. Helpful hints about this curriculum, that activity, and the other classroom management plan you should definitely subscribe to that will magically fix your classroom. And while that’s all well and good, the thi...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, I interview my good friend Kelli Wise about what it really means to have all the different areas of your life feel the way you want them to feel, no matter where you are in your personal life and your teaching. We talk all about balance and what that really means, if it really exists, and how Kelli gets a handle on all things teacher life. Click here to check out Ke...

Today on the Anacrusic Podcast, I’m sharing an essay I recently came across that I wrote in 2012. Although this isn’t something I wrote recently, it’s still so much of what I believe in as a music teacher. I hope some of these thoughts resonate with you as the year comes to a close.   Click here to become a member of the TAP Insiders Group on FB. Become an Anacrusic Insider here.

On this episode of The Anacrusic Podcast, I’m talking to my good friend Shelley Tomich all about how to get started with ukulele in the music classroom. Today on TAP, we’ll talk about: Why you should be using ukulele with your students Ideas and resources to purchase ukuleles in your classroom What a ukulele curriculum looks like How assessment works with ukulele And lots of other fun tips and tri...

This episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is about reflecting, reseting, and restoring this summer so that next year can be your very best year yet.   Today on TAP I’ll talk about Why it’s important to reflect on the school year now, instead of waiting until before school starts back up again. What “reset” really means when it comes to prioritizing the different roles you play in your life. How to res...

On this episode of The Anacrusic Podcast, we are talking all about Project Based Learning, aka PBLs in the music room. Today on TAP, our special guest Jess (aka The Whimsical Teacher) shares: What PBLs are, and how they are different from any other project The 5 steps to creating a PBL Examples of PBLs she has done in her classroom Ideas for music teachers to incorporate Project Based Learning int...

Today on The Anacrusic Podcast, we’re talking all about why you should start program planning for next year, right now. This isn’t necessarily the podcast that tells you how to put a program together, but rather how and why to start planning and talking with people on your campus about what programs are going to look like for next year.   On this Episode of TAP, you’ll hear: Why you need to start...

Today on TAP, I'm talking with Michelle from Music with Miss W all about how to engage and build relationships with your older kids. Michelle shares her experience in the secondary world and we talk about how you can front load classroom management strategies to create a positive and trusting learning environment. Get Michelle's FREE exit tickets here. Follow her on Instagram here. Join...

On this episode of TAP, I'm answering your questions from emails, instagram private messages, and comments from inside our FB Group . I do a rapid fire answer session with these six questions: What do I do if I can't take my levels this summer? What do you do for classroom management? How do you engage older students? How do you prepare for concerts? What do you do with your lessons when...

Today on TAP, I'm giving my 5 tips for Classroom Management. These tools are important for your music teacher toolbox if you want to keep your students motivated and participating in the Elementary General Music Classroom.

This week on TAP, I'm talking about all the things that have to do with professional development for music teachers. This episode is one of the longer editions of The Anacrusic Podcast, and even still is no where near comprehensive in giving you all the different ideas and options out there for music teacher PD. But if you're looking for some fresh ideas to reinvigorate and refine your t...

In this episode I'm defining "active music making" and what it means for your teaching sequence and your students' experience. None of this belongs to just one pedagogical approach, but is a way of thinking and teaching that gets beyond covering concepts and enables your students to be active participants in your classroom.

Today on TAP we’re talking all about what it really means to be a Kodály-inspired teacher. I’m going to bust a few myths, give you my short and sweet elevator speech about what Kodály pedagogy really is, and give you an all around sneak peek inside my head space as a Kodály teacher and teacher educator.

In today’s episode, I talk about why it’s so important to stretch yourself, step out of the box, and start trying new things. As I prepare for my workshop at this year’s OAKE conference, I share some of the ways you might incorporate new modes of music making into your classroom to ignite student curiosity and musicianship. Check out the show notes at http://anacrusic.com/podcast

What we do each and every day as music educators can be so incredibly taxing... if we let it. Today I'm talking about why and how I set intentions, and giving you some action steps to try today. Check out the show notes at http://anacrusic.com/podcast

Today I'm talking about my three favorite not so little words: purposeful, sequential, & joyful. I'll explain what they mean to me, and why they're at the core of everything I do. Check out the show notes at http://anacrusic.com/podcast

In this episode, I relaunch The Anacrusic Podcast with my story. I tell you all about my own little music teacher journey, how I changed my mind... a lot, and found my true passion and path. Check out the show notes at http://anacrusic.com.

Today I talk all about why I use solo singing right off the bat with my kindergarteners. I explain how I integrate solo singing into my classroom procedures and my three favorite songs for solo singing. Check out the show notes at http://anacrusic.com/podcast