Jazz Pedagogy
Richard Grennor, Ed.D.
Teaching Jazz Band: Jazz Band Set-Up & ...
Teaching Jazz Band: Jazz Band Set-Up & Rehearsals
Jazz Pedagogy
Richard Grennor, Ed.D.
Teaching Jazz Improvisation: The Two Bar Jazz ...

Once the students have mastered the blues and minor pentatonic scales as discussed in the previous post Teaching Jazz Improvisation: What Notes Do I Play? Teach the students to perform as a group ten 2-measure blues riffs, which the entire ensemble learns to perform together as a part of a warm-up.

Teaching Jazz Improvisation: The Two Bar Jazz Riff
Jazz Pedagogy, Lesson Ideas
Richard Grennor, Ed.D.
Teaching Jazz Improvisation: What Notes Do I ...

The middle school/junior high school years provide an excellent opportunity to begin to introduce kids to jazz performance and improvisation. Most middle school and junior high level jazz ensemble music arrangements involve only a few chord changes making it an excellent time forstudents to practice the art of improvisation. Here are a few jazz improvisational exercises that are not usually taught and sometimes forgotten.

Teaching Jazz Improvisation: What Notes Do I Play?
Lesson Ideas
Richard Grennor, Ed.D.
Benefits of Music Instruction for English ...

Music and English language arts have three fundamental learning processes in common. First, music and language learning are auditory and involve the ability to hear and manipulate sounds (Butzlaff, 2000; Hansen, Bernstorf, & Stuber, 2014). Second, music and literacy uses a system of written symbols as a means to communicate information to others (Hall & Robinson, 2012). Finally, music and literacy involve encoding and decoding systems used to process and construct meaning (Hall & Robinson, 2012; Hansen et al., 2014; Jancke, 2012; Rautenberg, 2013; Tierney & Kraus, 2013). In today's post, I’m sharing four benefits of music instruction for English Language Learning (ELL). 

Benefits of Music Instruction for English Language Learners (ELL's)
Lesson Ideas
Richard Grennor, Ed.D.
My Favorite Documentaries for Music Class ...

Today, I'm writing about two of my favorite music documentaries my middle school music students enjoyed watching during African American History Month. The two movies are Keep on Keeping’ On and Thunder Soul. These films provide a great platform for meaningful discussions in the instrumental music class.

My Favorite Documentaries for Music Class During African-American History Month

Music

The Two Best Accessories in My Instrument Case You Can't Live Without!

The Two Best Accessories in My Instrument Case You Can't Live Without!

As many of us music teachers, students and professional musicians return back to school and the performing arts. There is concern around keeping the performance arts safe amid the pandemic. The preliminary results of the a study focusing on the distribution of respiratory aerosols released while playing wind and brass instruments, singing, acting, speaking and dancing conducted by an International Coalition of Performing Arts has released recommendations for creating the safest possible environment for bringing performing arts back into classrooms, band rooms, rehearsal spaces, and performance halls.

5 Keys to Maximizing Student Practice Outside the Music Room

5 Keys to Maximizing Student Practice Outside the Music Room

Traditionally, music teachers have required students to record the amount of time a student practices each week on a practice chart, but how many of our students really know how to practice for success? Whether you are struggling with the time honored question of how to get your students to practice –or frustrated when the results of their efforts are less than acceptable -this post will give you some ideas for inspiring students to practice effectively.