Several music blogger friends and I have joined together for a blog hop. We’ve teamed together in order to collaborate as bloggers and bring you music education ideas using a variety of methodologies and approaches. However, before diving into music education topics, we thought it would be fun to organize a blog hop!
Getting to know
Shelley from Pitch Publications
What state/region you are in?
I am in Atlanta, GA and have lived in the south my whole life. I grew up outside of Birmingham, AL and have been in Georgia for 13 years.
What is your background education/experience?
I grew up playing in the band program and got my bachelors degree in instrumental music from the University of Alabama. My original goal was to be a middle school band director and I had one little class on elementary methods. Then I did an internship at the elementary level and fell in love with it. However, I was a bit on the clueless side of what in the world I was going to do. Luckily I had a GREAT internship and a wonderful co-teacher the first year. I learned sooo much but knew I needed more.
So I went back to school and got a master’s degree from the University of Georgia in Vocal/Elementary methods. I am so thankful for the experience and connects from this program.
A few years later I decided I wasn’t quite done learning. I knew I didn’t want further degrees in music. It’s not that I don’t think I can learn more (I can, every day!), but I knew that what I would learn at the academic level was beyond what I could apply to my elementary classroom. Plus, I wasn’t sure I could pass another round of music history 🙂
So I got my Educational Specialist degree in Technology in Schools from the University of Missouri. I LOVED every single aspect of this degree program and have applied almost everything I learned there! I have been able to use my technology skills to help students and other teachers.
Who is your favorite musician(s) of all time?
This is so easy for me! Hands down, The Piano Guys. Check them out. If you aren’t in love after this, I can’t help you 😉
In case you still don’t get it, here is why I love them so much:
Their music is GOOD! – Seriously! From both a listening standpoint and musicology standpoint. The arrangements are fabulous and always seem to be the perfect blend of instruments, harmonies, everything!
Their music is classically inspired – Many, many of their songs are either a cover of a classical piece or a mash-up of a classical piece with a more modern tune. What better way to teach my kids that “old dead guy” music rocks! We can then take that piece and compare it to the original! Win-win-win!!!
Their music is clean and yet they are super successful– I love showing my kids you can have a future in the recording business and still keep your clothes on and lyrics/music clean. There are some AMAZING musicians out there and it makes me so sad I can never share their music with my students. Plus, the guys CLEARLY love their job and are just having so much fun!
They are just the nicest people – Yes, I know this from (almost) personal experience! Last year shortly after we studied them in class, two of my students came back from a trip and said “Guess who was on our plane??” My kids introduced themselves and mentioned they studied them in music class! They (and their parents) said they were just the nicest, most gracious people and even stopped to take a picture!
Are you a fan yet? You should be! 🙂 I’m THRILLED that just in a few short weeks I’m going to see them perform LIVE!! That was my Christmas present from my husband – isn’t he the best! Can’t wait!
After you’ve commented with your answer to the question below, simply click on the image below to go to the next stop in the blog hop!
Tell me:
Who is your favorite musician(s) of all time?
Wrapping Things Up
My final advice? When in doubt, bake cookies! (Pillsbury makes an excellent pull apart cookie dough, I must say). A dozen cookies on someone’s desk can make them feel warm and gooey inside (pun intended). This strategy has been around since the beginning of time and is a tried and true method.
If you are new at school and looking for lessons for the first day, you might also enjoy this post on first day lesson plans!
Who did I miss? Any other key people in school we should add?
Musically,
Shelley
I love the Piano Guys as well and show some of their videos to my classes. But my absolute favorite musicians are the members of Pentatonix. I love them for a lot of the same reasons you love the Piano Guys: they are very talented and write amazing arrangements, most of their music and videos are clean enough for students, and their music often gets even my stubborn students super excited! One of them can even do throat singing. I’ve seen them in concert once, and I’m seeing them again in August!
Hey Lauren! Ok, I am a little behind the times with Pentatonix. I have of course heard of them but have not investigated. It is on my to-do list now! 🙂 Have fun at the concert!
Oh my goodness! That’s not even a fair question for a music person! 😉 I love all kinds of music and musical artists and groups. To answer this I think I’ll go with some artists that got into my ear as child and have stayed there. The Beatles, ABBA, and The Carpenters. There are many others I listen to and love, but those are the ones whose music has always been there and always will be.
Oh my gosh, Malinda. ABBA. Seriously gets me every time. LOVE LOVE LOVE. And yes, I am with you on “always been there and always will be.” There are just some things that do stand the test of time.
GLENN MILLER
Awesome!
My favorite is Piano Guys too! Love them! Had the chance to see them live both before and after they were officially “Piano Guys!”
Oh how cool! We loved every second of the concert! One of the highlights of my year!
My favorite band of all time is The Dave Matthews band. I fell in love with them before they even hit it big. I love that they composed their own songs and going to a concerts was AMAZING because they would do a TON of improv on a song…I still love them:)
I still love them even so many years later! 🙂
Well, I kind of hate to admit it, but my all-time favorite group to listen to is the Bee Gees. I would have loved to have seen them in concert. It’s sad to me that only one of the four is still living. They harmonized so well and just looked like they loved working together. My husband is a big Elvis fan so I have probably listened to more Elvis music in the past 31 years than any other artist. As for classical music, I have favorite pieces as opposed to one favorite composer.
There is no shame in loving the Bee Gees!! 🙂
I have many musical favorites. Lately, I am thrilled with Pentatonix. I have had fun sharing them with my middle schoolers!
Thanks for sharing! I am just now getting in to them!
Favorite musician… Dang that’s hard. I think I’m going to have to go with The Carpenters. I had their album “The Singles” memorized by the time I was in 4th or 5th grade.
Love the Carpenters!
Wow! This is difficult for me. Honestly, I don’t really know that I have a favorite. I like the Piano Guys too, but I also like some classical, pop, classic rock, and Christian artists. I guess if I had to play something from my playlist right now, it wouldn’t be an artist, but instead a genre.
I like a variety too!
I don’t think there is enough room here for the list of my favorite musicians. I am going to narrow it down to an old standby favorite – The Carpenters. And a new favorite – Pentatonix. LOVE that they sing a cappella.
Not enough room, lol! Love it!
My favorite musician… hm… I love listening to lots of different genres and artists, but my favorite would have to be my father, Steve Gluzband! He is a professional trumpet player (in addition to teaching music) and plays latin jazz. He released his debut album in 2008 (Hot House: A Cuban Tribute to Charlie Parker) and has another one on the way! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Gluzband
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!
My favorite musicians of all time are my sweet husband and children. Hubby is a drummer, daughter plays trumpet and even marched in a DCI corps for a couple of years, son plays bassoon & baritone. My favorite musical memories are getting to play in church together. I had to create special arrangements for guitar/voice, trumpet, bassoon & drums. Nobody publishes that particular combination!
Awww, that is the sweetest thing!
There are TOO many to choose from, but I love me some Ella Fitzgerald! She could sing the phone book and make it sound soulful!
She is AMAZING!
I love the piano guys too! OK, this question is so hard for me to answer. It’s like when someone asks you what you want for Christmas or your birthday and you can’t think of anything on the spot, but an hour later you suddenly have a ton of ideas. That’s how I feel picking a favorite musician! I guess I’ll start with some of my favorite classical musicians. Despite being a music teacher and a classically trained musician, I don’t listen to much “classical” music in my spare time, but I do have a couple that I just have to listen to sometimes. I have a ridiculous love for Stravinsky. I’ve loved Rite of Spring all the way back to my childhood days of watching Fantasia (I loved dinosaurs too so that may have had something to do with it. LOL) I also love a good Beethoven symphony or piano sonata. Another musician that really sticks out in my mind is Hans Zimmer. I love soundtracks and he always has the most beautiful and epic ones. I also need to keep an eye (and an ear!) out for Ramin Djawadi, the composer for the Game of Thrones TV series. I had never heard him prior to watching the show but the soundtrack is AMAZING and if his other stuff is anything like it then I will most likely have a new favorite! One more random person that sticks out in my mind is Loreena McKennitt. She writes what I suppose would qualify as “new age” but its all very beautiful (she has a gorgeous voice!) and has a lot of world influence. It inspires a lot of fantasy stories in my mind (I love fantasy stories…) You may have heard some of her music if you’ve ever seen the movie “The Mists of Avalon”.
Thank you for sharing some new artists with us!
So awesome! I’ve never used Piano Guys in teaching before. I will have to include them somehow! My all-time favorite musician is Garth Brooks. He is such an amazing entertainer and musician. When you go to a concert, you know you are getting the real Garth and not a fake electronically enhanced version. I have nearly every Garth song memorized! Plus, his fiddler, Jimmy Mattingly, grew up in my hometown! I went to church with his sister and he learned to play his violin in the same room I practiced my trumpet!! He came back to our high school one day and a select group of students got to do a Q & A with him in the music room. I got him to autograph my Sevens CD!
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing the story! I wish I could meet some of these famous musicians!
I’m still in awe that your students met the Piano Guys. I loved showing their videos in class!! The kids loved it too 🙂 My favorite musician of all time is Beethoven. Sometimes, I think it sounds like a cliché when I mention him, as if the choice is too obvious for a music teacher. However, it’s more a mixture of love for his music as well as love for his perseverance. The life he lived was not easy, and I admire him for turning his pain into beauty through composition.
I tagged them and Cello Steve liked the post! I about swooned! My husband loves Beethoven too. He gets giddy over his music! 🙂
Shelley, I love the fact that you are so passionate about everything you do. Your enthusiasm inspires others! I love the Piano Guys too! They are awesome. Thanks for sharing about yourself–it was a fun read.
You are so welcome! 🙂
Oh my goodness this is a hard one! Ummmmmmm….. My taste is pretty eclectic but I’ll say Bela Fleck because he is just so cool 🙂
Good one! My taste is eclectic too!