What got you hooked on music? Was it practicing scales in a practice room? If it was, you are a sick individual in need of professional help. It was performing music! Sadly, I don’t think our beginners perform enough. My hope is that as soon as beginners can play “Hot Cross Buns,” they are in front of people performing it. Whether it be in the school’s main office, the faculty room, or in the lobby before a PTA meeting, those receptive and supportive audience members will bring smiles of joy – and far more – that will last a lifetime.

Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America

About the Author

Dr. Boonshaft, Director of Education for KHS America, is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. He was honored by the National Association for Music Education and Music For All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education.” Dr. Boonshaft was selected for the Center for Scholarly Research and Academic Excellence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where he is Professor Emeritus of Music.

RECENT BOONSHAFT'S BLOG POSTS

#300. Review More

#300. Review More

When I start to feel the weight of all that we have to teach our students, and the tiny amount of time we have to do it, my pace starts to get faster and faster. Often the casualty of that haste is my doing less review, practice, and reinforcement, all in an effort to...

#298. Just One Thing

#298. Just One Thing

At a music education symposium last week, I was asked a question that really gave me pause. Actually, it stopped me dead in my tracks. Ready? Here it is: “Dr. Boonshaft, if you could change one thing about yourself as a teacher, what would it be?” See why I was...

#297. “The Best Time…”

#297. “The Best Time…”

One of my favorite sayings is the wonderful African proverb that reminds us that “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, the next best time is today.” I know of no better – or more true – advice. So what “trees” will you plant today? Peter Loel Boonshaft,...