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nafmeadmin.
nafmeadminI might have picked a song that is too difficult for my 4th and 5th graders for the spring concert on May 9th. Part of me still believes they can do it (and i’ll just take out one section and jump to the coda, etc.) but we have 3 weeks left and I’m freaking out. At what point do I give up and pick a MUCH easier song they can pick up in a few weeks. MOST of the reason that they haven’t learned as quickly as I anticipated because of behavior issues.
nafmeadminHow do the kids feel about the piece? And how long have you been teaching it? If it’s been over a month trudging through the piece and the kids are not enjoying it, I’d say choose something simple and new which they can perform well. Their attitude about a piece effects the performance quality and how they appear while performing. If most still like it, stick with it and make your decided changes / cuts. …. Another possible problem if you continue with this song is that the kids who are well behaved may (if they haven’t already) get annoyed at the kids who are misbehaving and create more behavior problems!! Happened to me with a couple classes before.
Christopher M. Johnson, Professor of Music Education and Music Therapy, is currently the Chair of the Music Education and Music Therapy Department and Director of the Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas. Johnson earned his Ph.D. from the Florida State University.
Since his arrival at The University of Kansas, Johnson has taught courses in Instrumental Conducting, Teaching Instrumental Music, Managing Behaviors in the Music Environment, Psychology and Acoustics of Music, and Research Methods in Music Education and Music Therapy. Johnson served two terms as the editor of the International Journal of Music Education: Research, the research publication of the International Society for Music Education. He is currently serving his second term on the National Association for Music Educations Executive Committee of the Society for Research in Music Education. He also served on the editorial board of the Journal of Research in Music Education, and one earlier term as the Chair for the MENC Executive Committee of the Society for Research in Music Education. Johnson also served as the Chair for the Research Commission of the International Society for Music Education.
Johnson’s research interests include applied research in music education, and basic research in all aspects of the psychology of music. He has published articles in many journals including the Journal of Research in Music Education, the International Journal of Music Education, the Journal of Music Therapy, Journal of Band Research, Contributions to Music Education, and the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, among others. Johnson has also been an active member and contributor to the Research Seminar of the International Society for Music Education and World Alliance for Arts Education.
Johnson received a university teaching award – the Ned N. Fleming Award for Excellence in Teaching and received the recognition for Graduate Teaching Achievement from the Center for Teaching Excellence. Johnson was also awarded a lecturing & research award as a J. William Fulbright Scholar and recently received the Ella Scoble Opperman Citation for Distinguished Achievement from the Florida State University College of Music.
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