2021 NAfME Music Research & Teacher Education Conference

The NAfME Music Research and Teacher Education Conference and PreK-12 Learning Collaborative was presented virtually February 25-27.  More than 1,000 people registered for the event, participating in 212 live sessions, and viewing and discussing 236 posters. 9,000 minutes of Zoom meetings encompassed the live offerings of the weekend, with 6,692 session participants across the sessions. Our keynote address was given by Mackie V. Spradley, Clifford K. Madsen, and Marie McCarthy. View the complete program book. All conference sessions are archived with all content available for an entire year to registrants.

2021 NAfME Conference FAQs 

Live and Asynchronous PreK-12 Sessions Powered by

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Harmony Helper Facilitating Harmony in a Virtual World
How do we teach our students to recognize relationships to melody and harmony in an ever-changing virtual world? Harmony Helper CEO & Founder Andrew Goren shares his journey towards the creation of a tool that puts the ‘plunk out my part’ days behind us.

Malmark, Inc. — Bellcraftsmen Using Choirchime® Instruments in the General Music Classroom & Concert Stage
Come explore Choirchimes and all that they can offer to students from the elementary to high school ages.  This session will introduce and explain Choirchimes.  Basic ringing and damping techniques will be demonstrated.  Examples of how they can be incorporated into lesson plans for the classroom and suggestions for using for using them in performance will be presented.

Newzik Teaching music online with digital scores: 3 experiments to try with your students
Last year, we all learned to teach music remotely using digital tools to maintain the connection with our students. Besides the technical difficulties involved, the real challenge was to find engaging ideas and musical projects to keep kids motivated while not in the same room. Digital scores are incredibly helpful for this, allowing us to collaborate online in real-time to recreate the classroom experience. Join Newzik’s Paul Leverger for this session and explore 3 collaborative musical experiments you can try out with your students right away.

Songs Children Sing An Introduction to Songs Children Sing – a catalog of songs by Aline Shader
Originally composed for K – 6, many of these songs are performed by multi-generational choruses with optional vocal solos, instrumental accompaniments and audience participation. Dr. Trecek-King introduces this 44-song catalog that offers sheet music and lyric sheet downloads plus full-length recordings. He will focus on teaching approaches for Aline Shader’s partner songs that blend timeless lyrics and lilting melodies and celebrate the power of music to build confidence, spur imagination, and foster the unity that singing together brings.

Musical Overture The Gig Room: Distance Learning in Real Time
Musical Overture’s Gig Room allows musicians to rehearse, perform and teach using cutting edge, low latency video/audio conferencing technology designed by and for musicians.  Learn how to conduct online lessons and rehearsals as musicians play and sing in real time, with access to tools such as an onscreen metronome and tuner, .PDF sharing and more.  Ensemble templates make it easy to create digital classrooms and ensembles, while end to end encryption keeps students and their data safe. 

Notetracks How to Improve the Student Online Learning Experience – Presented by Notetracks Inc.
A presentation on tips and best practices to keep music students inspired, engaged, collaborative while enhancing their remote learning experience with technology.

Uku Global The Happy Helpful Guide to the Ukulele
Make waves this year and bring the ukulele into your classroom. Uku Global is here to share our Happy Helpful Guide to the Ukulele, written by renowned ukulele teacher Anne Ku and the Uku Global Team. The Happy Helpful Guide to the Ukulele puts music educators on the fast track to teaching their students how to play. Use the Guide to teach yourself, then your students. In 10-Steps, the Guide teaches skills from posture and positioning, right and left-hand coordination, tuning, strumming, chords, and concludes with the student playing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. With helpful diagrams, exercises, and accompanying videos to use virtually or in-person, the Happy Helpful Guide to the Ukulele will not disappoint. Stop by our workshop to learn more about this tried and tested method to learning the ukulele.

MusicLink Foundation MusicLink Foundation: The Path to Equity in Your Classroom
Have you ever taught a student in your ensembles who had great potential but couldn’t afford their own instrument or private lessons? At MusicLink Foundation, we believe that every one of your students should have as many opportunities to study music as possible, regardless of their economic or social standing. Find out what we are doing to provide those opportunities, as well as what you can do to help.

The mPowered Music Educator Academy Music Ed 2.0 – Ready or Not, Here We Grow!
Not being able to play music in traditional ensemble settings has been devastating for student musicians and teachers around the world…and the music programs in our schools. The future of our programs depend on how we handle the next few months as our students are deciding what classes to take next year, but where do you start? Come to this session and get proven strategies for (re)building your program in a way that supports your own and your students’ social and emotional needs so you can get back to making music. Without strong social and emotional connections, kids are far less likely to sign up for music classes, and they need music now more than ever! Attendees will receive a FREE copy of Love the Job, Lose the Stress: Successful Social and Emotional Learning in the Modern Music Classroom. This best selling book is the complete guide to identifying and addressing your students’ social and emotional needs and gives you the tools you need to usher them into Music Ed 2.0 in spite of all the challenges ahead.

Music and the Brain General Music and Music Literacy Through Whole-Class and Virtual Piano Curriculum – A Keyboard for Every Student
Since 1997, Music and the Brain has supported schools around the country with a sequential, general music curriculum incorporating music literacy and whole-class piano instruction. Synchronous and asynchronous instructional challenges inspired the launch of Music and the Brain All Access, a new web-based platform providing comprehensive lessons and a recordable virtual piano for students. Learn about Music and the Brain’s unique approach to strengthening student skills for school and life, our dedication to helping music teachers succeed, and our use of the piano as a classroom tool for critical thinking and comprehensive musicianship.

Varsity Performing Arts Reimagining Performance Opportunities with a Focus on Connection, Recognition, and Improvement
How to be intentional with performances to drive inclusion, safety, and encourage lifelong participation in music and performing arts.

Macie Publishing Flipgrid: Easily Exchanging and Creating Videos with Your Students
The pandemic has thrown us into a new world of distance teaching and required us to search for the best, most effective online platforms for staying connected with our students. Rina Sklar will demonstrate Flipgrid, a free platform that will enable you to easily create and exchange videos with your students.  She will use the Be A Recorder Star Curriculum for illustrations of materials that may be exchanged such as Rhythm Charts, Music Theory Pages and Tooltips for suggested listening and composer and historical background.

Dancing Drum Teach to the Virtual Beat! Drumming and S.E.L. in the Online Classroom
Learn how to effectively teach drumming and S.E.L. through character rhythms and raps about Caring, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courage and more in the virtual online classroom! Using buckets, food containers, pencils, body percussion and drums, all of your students can join in the rhythm while reinforcing important character lessons at the same time.

Quaver The Future of Music Ed with QuaverMusic
With a cloud-based platform and a growing resource library, QuaverMusic has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years and is ready and able to meet the needs of today’s music teachers —in the classroom and via hybrid or remote teaching models. Come learn what’s new and what’s coming from digital curriculum partner QuaverMusic.

Artusi Tools for Teaching Music Theory
Find out how Artusi’s online music theory platform can support your teaching! Save time with our interactive workbooks, customizable textbook, and automatic grading—available on any device. We’ll show you how Artusi works, sign you up for a free account, and answer all your questions! (Note: Artusi is designed for students ages 13 and above.)