Posts by Melissa Tucker
Surprising Discoveries about Children and Race
As a music educator, you know how important it is to engage children in music at an early age. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers all respond with glee to inviting rhythms, melodies, and harmonies. They bounce, tap, sing, and swing their way into absorbing the language of music. A young child’s whole body and being is…
Read MoreEiko Ishizuka in Conversation with Melissa Tucker
This interview was conducted May 11th, 2021 Melissa Tucker: In 2019 you earned the Diplôme Supérieur, the highest level of Dalcroze achievement, from L’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, Switzerland. Along with Eri Inoue, Sachiko Muranaka and Kayo Nakaaki you are one of only four Japanese women to attain this credential. Tell me about your first experience…
Read MoreLesson Plan: Waltz of the Flowers
This lesson can be used for a wide range of ages and abilities. It may also be adjusted to fit a variety of classroom goals and settings. It explores measure groupings of 3’s and 4’s. Enjoy and please feel free to make it your own! Activity 1: Walks & Bows “Show me how you take…
Read MoreHeart to Heart: Music and Movement for Seniors with Dementia
How curious, poignant, and profound that when all is taken from us: our professions, our routines, our sense of ourselves, perhaps even knowledge of our own names, we still possess our deep capacity to respond to music: melody, rhythm, harmony, song. Why is this? Perhaps it is because our very being is music. Music is…
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