Every semester we receive questions asking how students should approach the “Putting It All Together” sections in the Discovering Music text. Many of you know that each unit contains a set of projects organized around three principles: traditional academic research; exercises in comparison and contrast; and … Read more
I commend you for including Discovering Music in your learning plan this year! An inspiring and informative journey awaits you, for I consider Dr. Reynolds to be one of the most effective teachers I have ever known. How I wish that such a resource had … Read more
Well, it was a smash. The Gala Concert celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Van Cliburn Competition exceeded anything we dared hope. Most marvelously, Mr. Cliburn addressed the audience right at the beginning. The crowd roared its love for this lion of a man who … Read more
You asked for it . . . And now it’s available on CD-ROM. The Discovering Music Teacher’s Manual gives you a syllabus, unit-by-unit course plan, four comprehensive exams with answer keys, and a new detailed listening plan. See sample pages here. Highlights: Exams designed for high-school … Read more
That is the question. You are at a concert. It certainly seems like the piece is over, and it was amazing, so you enthusiastically applaud . . . alone. Since recent posts have explored where to find concerts and performances which your family might enjoy, … Read more
I guess it’s the heat. I’m feeling a bit draggy. Are you? Our Texas drought has dashed any hope of a normal agricultural season. The barn is hot. The animals are hot. It’s hard watching our livestock foraging for anything that resembles grass. Yet, I … Read more
Which part of Conference Season 2010 is more fun: experiencing the new conventions or returning to the ones we first visited in 2009? The answer is “both.” It’s rewarding to look up and see the families we first met in 2009 who ordered Discovering Music … Read more
Thomas Hampson. His name keeps coming up, or, better said, I keep bringing it up. Sometimes it’s at a workshop called “The Roots of American Music” that I like to give at conferences. Or maybe I’m simply talking with students who, finishing Unit 16 of … Read more
A few years ago, buried in term papers in my 2nd-floor office at the Meadows School of the Arts, I couldn’t have imagined spending Spring traveling cross-country for “convention season.” And yet, here I am, doing just that. Without question, the greatest delight is the … Read more
Wednesday, pre-dawn, we’ll be heading out for the Bay Area Homeschooling Conference – CHEA. It starts Friday evening at the Santa Clara Convention Center. We’re in booth 405, so do come by and visit. Also, please join me for two talks on Saturday, May 1st: … Read more
