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Skills Leaders Can Learn From Musicians – Leading Thoughts
Musicians are highly disciplined, skilled, and independently motivated individuals capable of learning and performing well in stressful, fast-paced, and competitive environments. Now, I’m sure many of you nodded your heads at the above statement but here’s the thing — though this is a worst-kept secret and universally recognized as true by those who understand music…
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What Drives Us – Leading Thoughts
In a previous post of mine talking about employee engagement and disengagement, I cited both a reason for engagement and disengagement that had to do with intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. For purposes of that post I opted not to go into detail, however I still wanted to provide deeper insight on what exactly the role…
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Top 3 Reasons for Employee Engagement and Disengagement – Leading Thoughts
Understanding what drives employee engagement, or what hinders it, is a critical skill for any organizational leader. During a change management course in my graduate studies at Johns Hopkins, I was asked to identify three reasons why employees feel engaged at work, and three reasons why they don’t. While the question was simple, the answers…
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When Change Shakes the Foundation of Privilege – Leading Thoughts
Lucretia Mott, a pioneering abolitionist and suffragist, famously said, “One should expect resistance with any great change. It shakes the very foundation of privilege.” But what did she really mean by “shaking the foundation of privilege,” and why does change often trigger such strong resistance? Privilege, how I’ve come to understand it, is the concept…
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5 Ways ANY Parent Can Support Musical Practice
Over the last 10 years as an educator, one of the biggest misconceptions I’ve heard from parents of my young students, is that because they aren’t musically trained or knowledgeable, they can’t be hands-on in their child’s practice or musical progress. But the truth is, some of the most helpful ways to support your young…
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Let’s Be “SMART” About Practice
As I’ve completed my master’s degree in Organizational Leadership, I’ve begun to really deeply think about how to utilize this degree in my current career path as a music educator. After all, I did enroll in the program during an attempted career pivot, and never intended or imagined I would have the opportunity to utilize…
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The Accidental Voice Teacher: Foundational Skills for Working with Pre-Pubescent Singers
I never thought I’d be a voice teacher. If you’d asked me a few months ago, I would’ve confidently said, that voice would be one of the only things I’d never touch as an educator. The stakes are too high, with someone’s voice “on the line” so to speak. The teaching voice felt like crossing…
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Joy: The Secret to Successful Lessons
When we think about what makes a student “successful” in music lessons, we often focus on things like discipline, technical skill, practice habits, performance ability, and other traditional markers of progress in mastering their instrument. But there’s a deeper question we should be asking. . . are they experiencing joy? Not just enjoyment, the kind…
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Elbow First: The Bowing Tip Every Violinist Should Know
What if I were to tell you that you’re not supposed to lead your bow strokes from your shoulder? Or that when you change strings your shoulder actually does less than you think? Now what if I were to tell you that the most important joint, in your arm was actually your elbow? That your…
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Listening Like a Musician: Active Listening Classroom Activity!
Are you looking for a fun, reflective and group centered activity to help your students explore active listening? Complete with a pre-made worksheet that your students can fill out to track their guided observations? Well then keep reading, and because this group activity is one that I’ve been using individually on my students for years…
Jennifer E. Walls 