If your young students are anything like mine were, getting them to understand the concept of first and second endings created a challenge, to say the least. Let’s face it, it is a bit counterintuitive when you think of it through the lens of a beginning student. But a graphic like the one that follows can make it abundantly, startlingly clear. The next time you go to teach it, put something like this on the board and you will get those students to understand the concept in short order. Eating elephants, indeed.

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.