2025 General Music Fall Workshop

Saturday, November 8
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Michigan State University – Music Building

MMEA Member: $50.00
Non-member: $70.00
Collegiate: $20.00
State certification credit: $10.00

Tentative Schedule (subject to change)

9:00 am
Step Into the Circle: Building Community Through Dance – Rosalia Schultz
In this session, we will learn how simple folk and community dances can create a sense of belonging in the classroom. Through easy-to-learn movements, teachers will discover strategies for using dance to build connection, encourage collaboration, and support joyful music-making. Step into the circle and leave with ready-to-use activities that strengthen both musical skills and classroom community.

10:00 am
ABC’s of MLT – Maria Schoon
This session will give an overview of basic tenants of Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. Participants will explore concepts of audiation and what it means to audiate, stages of Gordon’s Skill Learning Sequence, and the notion of “sound before sight”. We will also cover many sample activities and supplemental teaching tips! Handout included! 

ABC’s of Kodaly – Melissa Stouffer
In this session, we’ll debunk common myths about using the Kodály approach in the classroom, break down the core components of the “method”, and explore how to put musical discovery directly into the hands of your students. Find out how the ABCs of Kodaly (Active Music Making, Building Blocks of Musical Literacy, Child-Centered and Culturally Rooted) can help you build a sequential, engaging curriculum that puts student led learning at its heart. See how even your youngest learners can become musically independent, apply their knowledge, and confidently create and perform music.

11:00 am
The Choir Before the Choir: Building Confident, Student Centered Singers in Upper Elementary – Rebecca Eaddy
How do we help students move from “I can’t sing” to “This is my voice, and it matters”? In this interactive session, music educator and conductor Rebecca O-G Eaddy shares practical, student-centered strategies for developing vocal skills, confidence, and community in grades 3–6. Participants will explore warmups, movement-based games, and accessible repertoire that support ensemble singing—even without a formal choir. Leave with tools you can use immediately to grow young voices with joy and purpose. 

Beyond Strumming – The Melodic Ukulele – Peter Conniff
Practical Ideas for getting your students to play melodies on the ukulele through audiation, and creativity.

12:00
Lunch (Lunch is provided with registration prior to October 30)

1:00 pm
ABC’s of Orff – Ashleigh Lore
The Building Blocks of Orff – Orff-Schulwerk is an active way to make “elemental” music with children.  This session will feature experiences with rhythmic speech, singing, dance, and creative movement activities to help the music educator better understand the approach.

ABC’s of ETM (Education Through Music: Learn to Play, Play to Learn) – Kris Ryskamp and Thomas Rhein
This workshop overview of Education Through Music (ETM) will offer a refreshing approach to teaching and learning through song, movement, and play. ETM is a child-centered philosophy focusing on promoting emotional, social, cognitive, musical, and language development through best-practice teaching of song and play. The study and enactment of ETM materials and philosophy with children yields results that include increased intrinsic motivation, sustained focus and attention, heightened musicality, greater regard for others, and stronger auditory and literacy skills. Participants in this session can expect a joyfully interactive session featuring whole group singing, movement, and play, with specific song games to use with children ages K-5.

2:00 pm
Creative Composing Projects, sponsored by Young Composers of Michigan – Kasey Julian
This session will give educators tools, strategies, and supports to structure, sequence, and provide feedback for students to explore composing in a variety of ways. We will discuss how specific assignments/criteria can aid students’ creativity, how to show understanding and differentiate through composing, and how to provide valuable feedback that will push students further into exploration musically. Please join us as we demonstrate these strategies, give specific lessons/project ideas, and show real student examples.
Learning Outcome #1: Strategies to support students through composing a piece
Learning Outcome #2: How to give meaningful feedback about composing
Learning Outcome #3: How to structure/sequence lessons that allow students to differentiate their own learning and explore

Voices in Bloom: Nurturing Singing Skills in Early Childhood – Stephanie Schall-Brazee
Come and learn about one of the most joyful and foundational experiences in early childhood: singing! Tuneful singing is a powerful blend of musical thinking and physiological awareness—a skill that, when nurtured early, can blossom into a lifelong gift. Using the First Steps in Music curriculum by John Feierabend, we will explore how young children learn to “catch the tune” and reproduce it using their head voice, and why the window of opportunity in early childhood—particularly in kindergarten and first grade—is so critical. We’ll look at how to guide children through this process using playful, imaginative and developmentally appropriate techniques that work!

New this year – Music Materials Swap table! Bring items you would like to swap and choose something to take. If you have no items to swap but see something to take, no problem – items will be available for a small donation to MMEA.

General Music Fall Workshop 2024 Highlights

Highlights from our 2019 Fall Workshop