music class room - blog

More About the Website

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:41:47 +0700

We haven't talked about the website for a while, but this morning Briana IMed and asked "How did you get your website so high up on Google?"
This reminded us to talk about the website a little bit more.
"The website" is JosephaHaden.com.
This is sort of an experimental website, intended to do a little marketing for Josepha. We said we'd share what we learned.
First off, we learned that having a website is worthwhile. Josepha has had a couple of job offers from it, and it gives her more of an air of authority, sitting there on her business cards as it does.
We also learned that you have to keep up with it. For example, one of the job offers arrived when Josepha was on tour in Italy, and it was too late by the time she saw it. For another example, she hired someone to do a linking campaign, got happy with the 300 or so links from that, and never did anything else.
So it was good news when we heard that the site's PageRank went up this month, but she still doesn't have as much traffic as she wants.
So the main thing we've learned here is that it's great to have a website, but it won't really just take care of itself.
How do you get it up on Google?
* Start with a good design, good content, and good programming. Google cares about that stuff.
* Get some links. This has to be an ongoing effort.
* Flash it around a little IRL. Put it on your business cards. Put it in the signature of your emails. Add it to your resume. Google won't know that you've done this, but traffic helps you get links, and it also helps you get jobs.
And that's really the whole point, isn't it?

Dynamics

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:19:56 +0700

Josepha and Rebecca got their book proposal in. It was harder than expected. We were writing about dynamics, a small and manageable-seeming part of the big topic of music theory.

Except that it wasn't. Sometimes it didn't even seem as though it was part of music theory at all. It seemed as though decisions about dynamics were all part of music practice -- musicianship, artistry, expression, stuff like that.

It seemed extremely imprecise, too.

One morning recently I was singing "Come Sunday" in church. This seems to me to be a song that is all about dynamics. I ran through it in the sanctuary for the sound guys and it seemed fine. Then the saxophone came in, and we ran through it together. Of course, I adjusted my dynamics. Then the sound guy came down.

"I never thought I'd say this to you," he said, "but you need a microphone."

So I got plugged in and we ran through it again, and I adjusted my dynamics again.

How can you put all that onto paper?

The Website: results

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:52:31 +0700

Josepha had an email from someone who had visited her site and heard her sing, asking her to sing at a wedding. Unfortunately, Josepha was on tour in Italy!

Well, that wasn't unfortunate. The unfortunate part was that, two weeks later when she returned and responded to the email, it was too late.

I guess the moral is: you have to keep up with your web site.

Aside from that, Josepha has just had friends admiring her website. The designer, however, has gotten some business from it.

We'll keep you posted on the continuing results.

A post from Dexter

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:30:16 +0700

July is a big month in pop music history. It was in July that Billboard started keeping track of which songs were national hits, in July that the first rock album was released (by Bill Haley and the Comets), and in July that the Rolling Stones played their first public performance. It was also in July that Bob Dylan was booed for playing an electric guitar on stage for the first time, but that probably doesn't count.

Why not have a rock music theme for your classroom? Whether it's summer school, Sunday School, or you're getting a jump on next year, you'll find it's a lively theme.

The Carson-Dellosa jukebox is the only choice for a ready-made bulletin board. It's convertible -- with the face and arms it has a goofy friendliness, but you can leave it un-anthropomorphised for a slightly more serious effect. The CD cutouts are also available in packages for use in word walls, desk or cubby labels, and centers.

The "Books Rock" banner can set the tone for your reading corner, and the slogan works for your bulletin board or door, too: "School Rocks!" "Mr/s X's Class Rocks!" "Math Rocks!"

Ask around or search your own attic or garage, and you can probably find some old rock concert posters to decorate the walls. Some teachers like to go with a '50s or '60s look for rock music themes, but you can let this choice be dictated by how much vintage stuff you can find by scrounging around in your friends' or your parents' storage areas. After all, rock music has been around for over half a century, so there's no need to limit yourself to one rock era.

Borders, stickers, die cuts, and so on with musical notes and musical instruments are readily available to round out the look.

Here are some online resources:

Download Print Shop files to make student photos into "American Idol" posters. Check out the giant keyboard bulletin board at this teacher's site, too.

The Rock and Roll Library has an impressive collection of lesson plans using rock music across the curriculum.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a collection , too. Check out one on 20th century rock and social protest.

A new adventure

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:21:26 +0700

Josepha and Rebecca are doing an audition for Head First books for a book on music theory. We're planning to do 10 pages that absolutely completely teaches the scoop on dynamics, from ppp to fff.

Feel free to give us advice!

A post from Dexter

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:45:38 +0700

Rhythm Lesson Plans Recognizing and practicing with rhythms is an important pre-reading skill, and it can be both calming and energizing -- something you'll appreciate if you're still in school at this point in the year!

How can you teach about rhythm if you're not a musician? Here are some easy ideas using books, recorded music (your computer will do this part just fine), and simple rhythm instruments.

Every elementary classroom ought to have some rhythm instruments. You can buy a little rhythm band set, or follow the link below to make your own. However, you can always use clapping, stomping, or knee-patting, so don't let a lack of instruments deter you from exploring rhythm in your classroom.

Here are easy ways to bring rhythm into your lessons:

Clap along to rhythms in music or in stories. For example, when you read or tell "Chicken Little," have the whole class clap along to the rhythmic recitation of "The sky is falling! The sky is falling! and we must tell the king!" every time it comes up. Do the same with the giant's rhyme in "Jack and the Beanstalk" and similar opportunities. Use a call and response pattern to practice rhythms. Clap out a rhythm and have students clap it back to you. Start with simple rhythms (1,2,3,4) and work up to more complex ones (1 and a 2, rest, 4). Once the class has the concept, have students take turns being the leader. Play or sing familiar songs and clap, tap feet, or pat knees to the beat. Work up to unfamiliar ones.
Here are some fun online resources on the subject:

The Website: Getting Visible

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:17:53 +0700

Once you and your web designer have created a terrific website for you, you may think you can just sit back and wait for clients to call

No such luck.

Go type your name into Google. We'll wait.

Did your website show up? Probably not. The website will be invisible until you submit it to the directories. Google, Yahoo, and MSN are the big ones. DMOZ is another useful one. Click on the links below to submit your site. Be sure to read all the directions carefully.

Yahoo!: http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
Google: http://www.google.com/addurl/
MSN: http://search.msn.com.sg/docs/submit.aspx
DMOZ: http://www.dmoz.org/

Once you've done the major directories, choose the smaller, more specific directories that your clients will be looking in. These would include directories for your specific area of instruction, and also your geographical area. Josepha went to directories for singers, singing teachers, and for musicians in the Kansas City area, since that's where she is.

How do you find these directories? You probably use some of them yourself already. You can find more by going to your favorite search engine and typing in "music directory add site" or "singing teacher suggest site" or similar phrases.

Josepha had an SEO professional do this for her, and was #1 on Google within a day and a half. Your results will depend on how good you are and how well your page is designed. Here's where it can be worth paying for some services up front. On the other hand, you can definitely do these things yourself if you have more time than money.

The Website: Choosing a Web Designer

Mon, 26 May 2008 20:00:43 +0700

Here's that website.

It's a thing of beauty, isn't it?

The first decision about your website -- once you've decided to have a website --is what web designer to use.

You may be thinking that you need to find a spot on the internet first, but often that decision follows the question of who should design your site.

Lots of web designers will host your site for you once they've designed it, and most companies that host websites will design your site if you host it with them. Not all, though. There are web designers who just do the graphic design part of the job and then you have to go find your own host. You can also design your own site, either by hand with your HTML cheat sheet on the desk beside you, or by using templates, and use a free or low-cost web hosting service.

The website you're reading right now is free. It's a place for the authors to sound off and share, not a marketing tool. Maybe a free website could be used as a marketing tool, but maybe your art deserves an artist, too.

Designing your own, or hiring someone just to design the page and then finding your own host, also usually means that you have to keep up with the site yourself. We'd say, don't commit yourself to that unless you're sure you can do it.

Josepha's site was built by a web designer with a template that he designed himself, much as we designed this website with a template from the Weebly people. Well, okay, his work is art and ours is just a recipe, or maybe a frozen dinner that we heat up, but the point is this: Josepha's website isn't 100% custom work, so the cost is less than it otherwise would be. If you want to step up from making your own with free templates to having something designed for you, a service like this one can be a good option.

The big question in choosing a web designer and then in choosing among the services the designer offers has got to be this: what kind of investment are you prepared to make, and will it pay off?

We'll let you know how Josepha's experiment works out.

Do Music Teachers Need Websites?

Mon, 26 May 2008 16:05:32 +0700

Most of the music teachers we know are as busy as they want to be and turning away students, too. They fit in performances when they can, or perhaps they've given up performing.

Where do they get their students? Mostly word of mouth. Mark and Mary Ann both started at a music school, and their highly successful students are the best advertising they could ever want. Debbie's private students come from the congregation of the church where she directs, or the classrooms of the school where she teaches. When Stacy left the stage for the studio, she had fans lining up to study with her.

That's fine for established musicians. What about the newcomers? Josepha's been out of school for just about two years, and has had her first conducting job for one year. She still relies on her day job. She can't rely on word of mouth for all her students.

So she is trying out a website for marketing. Josepha's site was designed by a company called SharpHue. We'll be following the progress of the site -- and her career -- in these pages.

Thoughts and Prayers for Teachers of Music

Thu, 22 May 2008 16:24:14 +0700

You stand in the middle of a giant, masking tape music staff, hands on hips and surveying the glorious mess around you. There are hollow reeds in a pile behind you with red and black tape on the ends, a musty stack of newsprint at your feet covered in simple tunes written large and happy. The piano waits, top gaping, for new found tuning skills and the open windows allow a breeze to send loose scraps of paper flying in circular patterns about the ankles. A black tape player crackles the music from the curriculum, filling you with inspiration to create more exciting games and more colorful bulletin boards.

The brilliantly red and orange sunset oozes in the windows while you raise dusty plumes from long slumbering books in a dingy closet.

"I pray," you exclaim aloud from the center of the room, "for God to give me patience, to grant me a persevering heart and a well focused mind. I pray for guidance and for a willingness to learn as well as the strength to teach. I pray for the children I will be guiding and I pray for their parents who will, hopefully, be constantly hearing the fruits of my labor. I pray for love and hope and Christianly bearings to better lead and be better lead."

And until then, you continue the mad cleaning and planning and organizing.

Afterall, what's teaching without a little inspiration?