International Music NavigatorMar 231 minMusic for a Purpose - Composing Background Music Teaching Middle- and Highschool about chords and chord sequences is essential, however, at times it can be a bit "dry" or boring. By...
International Music NavigatorJul 17, 20212 minResponding Musically to a Challenging TopicThis year, during our last MYP 5 unit, which is taught in conjunction with History and German, we explored the concept of music and...
International Music NavigatorApr 8, 20213 minCreating music - getting students out of their comfort zone. Most of my IBDP students are quite confident creating music. The challenge is to cover all four Areas of Inquiry in their PRESENTING...
International Music NavigatorFeb 28, 20213 minExperimenting With Music as a PerformerExperimenting as performer is a fascinating concept of the new IBDP Music course. However, it can lead to some confusion. In order to...
International Music NavigatorNov 24, 20202 minExpanding the musical horizon - and keeping the students engaged in distance learning. With the new IBDP curriculum, with no "set pieces" and no exam at the end of the course, I had to find a different way of exposing the...
International Music NavigatorNov 7, 20203 minTaking the Guesswork Out of MYP MusicAfter 24 years of teaching MYP music, I am absolutely thrilled that FINALLY an MYP music textbook is available for purchase! I had the...
International Music NavigatorOct 3, 20202 minThe power of a checklistCurrently, my students are getting ready to turn in their draft for the Musical Links Investigation for the IBDP (May 2021) music course....
International Music NavigatorSep 24, 20202 minTeaching Band in times of Covid-19A summary on how we teach wind instruments in times of Covid 19.
International Music NavigatorSep 13, 20202 minSome thoughts about the Performance Portfolio (May & Nov 2021 exams)After more than 20 years of teaching different versions of the "old" curriculum, it almost feels bizarre that this will be my last round...
International Music NavigatorSep 3, 20202 min "Experimenting with music" vs "Exploring Music"in the IBDP music curriculumIn the past few months, I have had many conversations with educators about the difference between these two portfolios in the music DP...
International Music NavigatorAug 28, 20201 minFinally! So excited to meet my IBDP students next weekAfter weeks of preparation, I am absolutely thrilled to meet my new cohort for IBDP music next Tuesday. We will start with lessons in...
International Music NavigatorAug 18, 20202 minPlanning units for IBDP Music in 2020 - a challenge!Planning the units for a new curriculum is always truly exciting! Add in the pandemic and many additional factors need to be considered....
International Music NavigatorJul 20, 20202 minTOK and IBDP musicTheory of Knowledge (TOK) is, together with the Extended Essay and CAS, at the heart of the diploma course. While it is also taught as a...
International Music NavigatorJul 1, 20206 minExploring music in context- Viennese SchrammelmusikFor my sister's birthday, we all gathered at a "Heurigen" in Vienna to enjoy some excellent wine, fun company and listen to really good...
International Music NavigatorJun 21, 20201 min8 bit video game music examples In one of my previous post, I shared a tutorial I made for my MYP 1 (grade 6) students. We investigated pentatonic music in different...
International Music NavigatorJun 5, 20201 minIBDP Personal Project CompositionEvery year, I have the privilege to work with students in Grade 10 on their Personal Project. It is a challenging process, which requires...
International Music NavigatorMay 20, 20201 minPentatonic Scale - a tutorial for ELA learnersIn the past few weeks of distance learning, video tutorials have become an important part of my daily teaching. When I was looking for a...
International Music NavigatorMay 5, 20201 minFrancesca Caccini - a baroque superstarClaudio Monteverdi heard her perform in 1610, and subsequently wrote to his friend Cardinale Ferdinando Gonzaga, "...udi a Firenze la...
International Music NavigatorApr 21, 20201 minDonne Barocche - Part 1A few months ago, I listened to a fascinating feature on Ö1 called "Donne Barocche". Verena Gruber presented the culmination of her...
International Music NavigatorMar 29, 20202 minSimple strategies that work: a summary after four weeks of online teaching.I have now completed four weeks of online teaching MYP and DP general music. Having spent hours searching for the "perfect" way to...