Body Rhythm Creator - Great Music Teaching Tool

Here's a very simple version for younger grade levels. Click on the image to save and print. :)

Here's a more complete version for older students. :)

Created by Peter Kruse

Should Music Be Taught in Public Schools?

I'm always trying to encourage people to see the importance of music class. Not everyone who studies science will become a scientist, and not everyone who studies music will be a professional musician. However, both of these subjects are still important because they make people think.

Reading and performing music can be extremely difficult because there are multiple notes at a time and it involves hand/eye coordination. Perfecting a composition is even more difficult because there are subtle techniques that are very important. When students perform a song in front of the class, they're often nervous at first. However, by the end of the year, they've developed a confidence for performing, which also helps them become more confident in everyday life.

Also, creating music can even be more challenging and rewarding. By incorporating music in schools, students increase their intelligence, knowledge, confidence, coordination and personal creativity. All of these things are essential in music and also in real life situations.

Guitar Teaching Tips

1) Keep things fun. In my opinion, this is the most important thing to remember about teaching, and it's the thing that took me the longest to learn. If your student loves blues, don't spend the entire lesson focusing on classical music. If your student simply wants to learn how to strum some chords, don't spend your time learning heavy metal solos. Listening to your students and understanding what they are wanting to learn will help keep the lessons fun for them. This will help keep your students motivated to continue learning their instrument and also hopefully keep them coming back to lessons.

2) Use a book (or two). There are many excellent guitar teaching books available that help provide additional structure for a guitar lesson. I'm a fan of using the Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1 for beginners. After that, there are countless options of books that were written by very professionals for us to increase our musical knowledge. Generally, I like to spend roughly 1/3 or 1/2 of the lesson in a book. The rest of the lesson can be spent learning other songs or theory that the student may be interested in.

3) Bring a laptop and printer. Bringing a laptop and printer to lessons allows a teacher to immediately print out songs that a student is interested in. This saves time and let you jump right into a song that is on their mind. Remember to edit and save your charts for future lessons!

4) Don't be afraid to ask for your payment. It is human nature to forget things. We all do it sometimes, and it isn't rude to remind people if they accidentally forget to pay. In fact, I've found that most people appreciate you reminding them for your payment, as it's one less thing they have to always worry about.