Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning
Ashley Danyew
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About This Podcast
This podcast is a collection of creative ideas, practical strategies, and thoughtful observations from the field of music teaching and learning. Music educator Ashley Danyew will dive into topics like how we learn, developing musicianship, time management, teaching sequences, planning tools and strategies, the art of teaching, practicing, and the creative process, and share personal stories from her own experiences and observations. You’ll find creative and pedagogically-sound teaching tips; fresh, new approaches you can use in your teaching; and insight into a few tried-and-true systems and creative processes designed to help you do your best work.
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Recent Episodes
095 - Schubert vs. Richter: A Studio Class Listening Project
In a recent class with three intermediate students (8th-11th grade), we compared the music of Franz Schubert and Max Richter. Schubert was a prolific Austrian composer, writing at the end of the…
094 - The Curious Mind of Pianist Josef Hofmann
What does it look like to be a musician who is also an inventor—someone whose curiosity about how things work shapes the way he approaches his instrument? Pianist Josef Hofmann spent his entire…
093 - What We're Doing for Informances This Year
March in my studio means one thing: informance season. We spend 10 to 12 weeks getting ready—learning and analyzing music, practicing demonstrations, preparing to talk to the audience. And this year,…
092 - Beauty, Artistry, and Intention (A Tribute to Marvin Blickenstaff)
At the end of January, we lost a wonderful musician, teacher, and pedagogue, Marvin Blickenstaff. You’ve probably heard me talk about Marvin on the podcast before—he had a profound impact on my…
091 - Seven Black Composers in the Piano Teaching Repertoire
February is Black History Month—a time to honor and celebrate the contributions of African Americans. As a music teacher, this prompts me to pause and evaluate what I’m teaching, but also why. I ask…
090 - Nine Supplemental Books for Elementary and Early Intermediate Piano Students
It’s my last week of teaching for the year, and I've been reflecting on the supplemental books that have been most successful with my elementary and early intermediate students this year. The new…
089 - The Science of Practicing: What I’m Learning from Molly Gebrian's Book
One of the things I love about teaching is that we can draw on many disciplines to make our work better—art, psychology, learning theories, and even neuroscience. Recently, I’ve been reading about…
088 - The Art of Practicing: What I’m Learning from Madeline Bruser’s Book
This fall, I read two books about practicing: The first is Madeline Bruser’s, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart. The second is Molly Gebrian’s 2024 release, Learn Faster,…
087 - 9 Creative Lesson Activities You Can Do with a Broken Arm
It was about this time last year when I got a panicked email from a parent: “Jack broke his left wrist this week. What does this mean for piano? He’s in a cast.”Has this ever happened to you? Some…
086 - Teaching Keyboard Skills to Students of All Ages
Learning to play the piano isn’t just about learning repertoire pieces. It’s about developing a set of keyboard skills that lets you make music anywhere, with anyone, in any style. Technique,…
085 - Everyone Can Improvise (+ 3 Examples From My Studio)
When I was in grad school, I took an elective class on Improvisation. I remember shuffling into the 3rd-floor classroom that first day, pulling a blue chair into the semicircle like everyone else,…
084 - Recital Recap & Year-End Reflection
Earlier this month, I hosted my 14th studio piano recital. There’s always so much that goes into planning and preparing for an event like this:Choosing repertoireBooking the venuePolishing…
083 - Bernstein & Bill Evans: Inside My Recent Intermediate Studio Class
It starts simply. Two blocked jazz chords with I-V in the bass. And then the vocalist comes in:“Twenty-four hours can go so fast. You look around, the day has passed…”This is Leonard Bernstein’s song…
082 - What Art Is Teaching Me About Music
Some of you may not know this about me, but I’m a musician and an artist.I always loved art as a kid—from finger painting in my blue smock at my Little Tikes easel to coloring and tracing to the…
081 - Celebrating Women in Music Month: An Inside Look at Our Studio Informances
March is Women’s History Month and by extension, Women in Music Month—an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate women’s contributions to our field.As a teacher, I love finding ways to honor and…
080 - 14 Ways to Practice Away From Your Instrument
When you think about practicing, what do you picture?Maybe you think about your instrument in the living room or your favorite practice room at school. Maybe you picture your studio with morning…
079 - From Technique to Musical Identity: Six Things I’m Focusing on in Lessons
The Spring semester can be busy. With extra performances, we end up focusing more on performance skills—starting and finishing well, lifting hands back to our laps, how to practice performing at…
078 - The Days of Auld Lang Syne: A Year-End Reflection for Music Teachers
It’s the middle of December, which means you’re probably caught up in the rush of holiday performances, concerts, and recitals, studio classes, parties, and general busyness as we wrap up the year.…
077 - A New Approach to Teaching Group Classes
I have a love/hate relationship with studio classes.I love the idea of them, and I love being able to offer them to my students. But I’ve never found a structure or approach that works. At the school…
076 - 7 Things to Carry Into the New School Year
It’s my second full week of teaching. I know some of you have been back to school and lessons for a month now, but I’m still getting my bearings, adjusting to a new schedule, organizing studio…
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Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning has published 101 episodes since January 2020, covering topics in Arts, Education.
Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 13m.
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