Music Learning

,

051 - The Pokémon Piano Lesson

,
051 - The Pokémon Piano Lesson

I have a new 1st-grade student this fall, a younger sibling of another student. Their temperaments and personalities could not be more different and I feel like I'm still learning how best to relate to the younger brother in lessons.

Aaron is very smart and artistic but also has a rebellious streak. Sometimes he'll come into his lesson and say he doesn't want to play the piano or he'll resist reviewing a concept or piece from the previous week and give me only a half-hearted attempt.

After one particularly challenging lesson, I made a plan to incorporate a few more fun activities the following week—movement, creativity prompts, and musical discovery. Little did I know that Aaron would bring all the creative inspiration we needed for a 30-minute lesson: a binder of Pokémon cards.

,

045 - The Blues Composition Project

,
045 - The Blues Composition Project

Do you incorporate composition into your teaching?

If you didn't grow up improvising or composing, you may feel intimidated by the prospect of nurturing these skills in your students. But it's never too late to stretch those creative muscles!

Today, I'm sharing a behind-the-scenes look at how I organized a blues composition project in my studio, how I structured and guided the composition process each week, some blues examples we studied from the repertoire, and a few of my students' final compositions.

,

044 - What Do You See? The Power of Observation in Music Lessons

,
044 - What Do You See? The Power of Observation in Music Lessons

I was in grad school at the time.

I remember the warm, wood-paneled walls of the recital hall where we gathered; the blue theater chairs and parquet floors; the tall windows along one wall and narrow stage at the front, large enough for only a Steinway grand piano and a few chairs and music stands.

I liked to sit toward the back because, since the hall was small, it gave me a good visual perspective. I pulled out my wooden notebook with the leather spine, flipped to the next clean page, and began to write.

,

043 - Rediscovering the Joy of Scavenger Hunts

,
043 - Rediscovering the Joy of Scavenger Hunts

It all started when I was writing a lesson plan for a 2nd-grade student. She’s in her second month of lessons.

I was planning to introduce a new piece and I thought we'd start by exploring the rhythm since three of the four patterns were the same in this particular piece. Let me preface this by saying these were rhythm patterns the student had experienced aurally in previous weeks through imitation and clapbacks. I was looking for a way this week to introduce the written notation.

038 - The Secrets of Interleaved Practice: What We Can Learn From Cognitive Science

038 - The Secrets of Interleaved Practice: What We Can Learn From Cognitive Science

In the last episode, Episode 37, we talked about playing your instrument for fun and why that is vital to your music career. Today, we're going to follow that up with a conversation about practicing.

If there's one thing we know it's that practicing is fundamental to developing skills as a musician. And as music teachers and educators, we're always looking for new ways to encourage and inspire our students to practice at home.

Interleaving is an approach to learning and practice that involves mixing up the sequence of topics, skills, or strategies so they are woven together throughout a practice or study session. In this episode, we’ll talk about what it looks like and how it’s beneficial to longterm learning.

037 - Do You Play Your Instrument for Fun?

037 - Do You Play Your Instrument for Fun?

When was the last time you sat down at your instrument and played music for fun? I mean, not music you had to practice or prepare, not the music you're teaching this week, but music you chose to play for yourself, for your own enjoyment?

In this episode, I'm sharing four reasons why playing your instrument for your enjoyment and creative expression is really vital to your music career:

,

036 - Let's Talk About Improvising

,
036 - Let's Talk About Improvising

It's one of those words that makes some of us uncomfortable: improvisation. Did your palms start to sweat when I said that?

In this episode, I’m sharing a story from the early days of my studio when I was still a student myself. It's about a lesson I had one October with an 11-year-old student.

,

033 - How to Teach Music Literacy Using Color

,
033 - How to Teach Music Literacy Using Color

When first introducing music-reading, it can be challenging for young students to recognize patterns and organize the content visually when everything is black and white.

For this reason, color can be a helpful tool. In this episode, I’m sharing four simple, unique strategies to use color to teach music literacy.

,

032 - "I Make Music Because..."

,
032 - "I Make Music Because..."

Today's episode is a special one because for the first time on this podcast, you'll hear someone other than me talking. In fact, you'll hear 22 other voices — my students!

031 - A Summer Reading List for Music Educators

031 - A Summer Reading List for Music Educators

One thing I love about summer is picking out a new book (or three) to read.

I love having a book with me when I travel, but also the everyday times like sitting by the lake on a hot summer day, relaxing on the porch with a glass of sweet tea, or curled up in the sunroom on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

During the year, I like to read a mix of books from different categories: Business, Spiritual & Lifestyle, Fiction, Personal/Intellectual, and Nonfiction/Memoir.

In the summer, I like to have at least one book that's an easy, light-hearted read — easy to pick up and put down, read outside or on a plane or in the car. I also like to choose a lifestyle-related book that will challenge me in some way or help me assess the rhythms and routines I've developed so far this year. And finally, I find summer is a great time to catch up on my development as a musician and educator, so I like having one book that I can learn from in that way.

If you're looking for a few books to add to your summer reading list, you're in the right place. Today, I'm sharing a few of my favorite summer reads (plus a couple I’m planning to read myself).

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

In honor of #smallbusinesssaturday2024, here are my ✨2025 predictions✨ for musicians and creative entrepreneurs: 1️⃣ Pivoting will still be essential: Flexibility and adaptability will define success—embrace change and be willing to evolve.
 2
Let’s be honest, this month (year?!) has been hard. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this: As an independent, self-employed musician and small business owner, you’re resilient. You don’t give up when s
Halloween 2024… …The Lion King 🦁 Swipe to see the outtakes, including lion-wrangling and the 20th photo we took before we realized Rafiki had his mask on upside-down. 😂