FIND YOUR VOICE AS AN EDUCATOR
I have dedicated my life and career to cultivating a strong yet gentle voice that engages both teachers and learners in the energetic and collaborative study of music. My approach is designed to nurture virtuosity in myself and others.
V — Variety in our approaches to and expressions of music sparks engagement
O — Our music becomes ourselves as we strive to nurture its performance
I — Iteration is our journey … we try it, assess it, improve it, repeat it, together
C — Collaboration, reflection, and self-critique unlock our creativity and craft
E — Excitement is the magic we get when we make music together
Now, I strive to share my experiential research, to guide educators in utilizing the tools and techniques I’ve collected, and to help them to design their own. Here are some of the music education touchstones that have influenced my approach.
PERSONAL MANTRA:
I CAN DO THAT
One of the most critical factors for music educator success is creativity, innovation, and the confidence to go for it. My personal mantra in life has been, “I can do that.” And across my professional journey, it has served me well.
What it means is that once you’ve articulated a problem, it becomes easier to focus, to break the challenge down into smaller goals, and to implement experimental solutions until those goals are reached.
For example, the pandemic posed the challenge of developing young voices to sing together in harmony, in tune and on time while wearing masks. I added ukuleles when school restarted in person to help blunt mask frustration, and to aid in teaching harmony and rhythm.
To re-spark flagging interest in choir during pandemic, I added Little Kids Rock to my curriculum, and helped interested students learn guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards to provide backing music for popular songs we sing as a choir.
I love sharing the results of many an “I can do that” experiment with music educators looking for innovative solutions to common — and uncommon — challenges like these. Solving for music education is my passion, and the core of my approach.
EL SISTEMA NUCLEO
The Venezuelan music education program known as El Sistema manifests all that I believe about children and music. The founder, Joseph Abreu says “Teach children the beauty of music, and music will teach them the beauty of life.”
How El Sistema has influenced my teaching:
Since studying his methods with a cohort of teachers at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I started my own nucleo in Boyle Heights, East LA. My staff and I worked without pay for one year and were then able to support ourselves through a Strategic Giving program I implemented. My learning curve for running a non-profit was steep, rewarding, and successful.
In serving more than 300 students for a five year period, some of whom went on to study music at the Colburn School, Interlochen, and at various colleges and universities as music majors, I learned all that is possible through music. I learned that children as young as six years old can play flute and trumpet, that orchestras can have eight clarinets, not just three, and that string students learn best in groups, not one-on-one.
I learned that parental involvement is everything, regardless of the income of the family, that gratitude fuels desire and success, and that community service is often performed by people one would imagine need the services most.
Most of all, I learned how to distill instruction into the most efficient and effective methods possible for the best results. Inspired by El Sistema, and programs worldwide that teach using this methodology, I realized that, with the right instruction, very young music groups from all backgrounds and cultures can create a sound that is polished and expressive.
Most of our alumni have gone on to participate in their school and neighborhood music programs, and to excel academically and socially as result of their participation in the Boyle Heights Community Youth Orchestra. We made a professional, Grammy-winning music video with White Sun, performed with Platinum-selling artist and Grammy-nominated singer Aloe Blacc, and with Rusty Anderson, the guitarist for Paul McCartney at the opening party for Ron Howard’s HULU movie, “Eight Days a Week.”
The El Sistema philosophy fuels my daily lessons as a public school educator. I now see my job as an opportunity to guide the limitless potential in each student, and that the path itself is a creative endeavor.
MUSIC MATTERS
While in Europe in 1998, I visited the University of Limerick whose music department is overseen by David Elliot. Author of Music Matters, Elliot’s book is a groundbreaking treatise on empowering students’ musicianship skills within ensemble rehearsals.
After meeting him and reading the book, I immediately instituted student-led interpretations of music into my classes and groups.
STUBBIE METHOD
In 2017, I attended a workshop to learn Dr. Dale Lonis and Dr. Ardith Haley’s S.T.U.B.B.I.E. Method, and to provide conducting instruction to attending educators and college students.
By arming students with the vocabulary and techniques to critique their own sound, students can engage directly with the repertoire in the same way the director would. The music then becomes a collaboration guided by the director, not dictated.
This democratic approach to ensemble instruction echoes prevailing 21st-century pedagogy trends that prioritize the collaborative, student-centered learning in all academic subjects. This method empowers individual musicianship at the beginning through advanced levels, allowing for much greater musical excellence within an equal amount of rehearsal time.
My students have benefitted daily from this method ever since, and I hope to bring it to as many US music educators as possible. I am eager to help spread knowledge of this incredibly engaging method, and firmly believe its popularity will grow in this country the same way it has spread across Canada.
BEGINNING WITH BEGINNERS
Though the age and stage vary, we are all music beginners at some point in our lives. I feel fortunate to have built my music educator experience from the ground up, working with the littlest beginners.
My first two years of teaching were spent at a private pre-k through 8 school. There, I wrote and executed an original music curriculum based on public school curricula of Michigan. Even with this first teaching job, I immediately instituted techniques gleaned from a brief training with John Feierabend, and from the methods of Orff and Kodaly.
To reach my three-year-olds, I used Kodaly, and the Frierabend concepts of simple tunes, engaging lyrics, and ensuring student success. For beginning band, I used the same Kodaly vocal methods of solfege, singing everything they played with syllables first and found that their tone quality and intonation improved beyond expectations. I added the notes names after their first concert!
Today, I still teach in this low-barrier-to-entry way, relying only loosely on method books. My beginning students learn by listening, mimicking, and game playing. They also conduct concerts, write and speak performance scripts, take on solos, and learn to improvise.
NEED A GUEST CONDUCTOR, GUEST SPEAKER OR ENRICHMENT WORKSHOP?
A quick conversation with Dr. Gindin is a great way to get started.
213-595-9092