Boonshaft’s Blog

#8. Scatter

#8. Scatter

The next time you see your band, tell them that you are going to do a “scattered” rehearsal. Explain that they can sit anywhere in the room they want, as long as they are not in...

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#7. Repeating Directions

#7. Repeating Directions

I got into a routine, well, more like a rut. During rehearsals, after stopping to correct something. I would identity the problem spot, state what was troubling me, and what I...

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#6. Where Are We Headed?

#6. Where Are We Headed?

"If we don’t change the direction we are going," a Chinese proverb suggests, "we are likely to end up where we are heading." Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education KHS...

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#5. Mr. Jacobs

#5. Mr. Jacobs

I recently met a young man – a college freshman – who excitedly talked about his goal of someday being a music teacher. I asked him about what led him to...

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#4. One More Rehearsal

#4. One More Rehearsal

If you knew that your next rehearsal would be your last rehearsal, how would it be different? Time is a gift promised to no one. Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education KHS...

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#2. Habitual Sight

#2. Habitual Sight

Have you noticed yourself looking at the same few students as you teach or conduct? I do, and I find they fall into two categories: those who are always looking back at me,...

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#1. Hmmm…

#1. Hmmm…

I saw an advertisement while walking through an airport today. It read, “Tomorrow will be nothing like today.” And it bothered me, but I couldn’t figure out why. As I thought...

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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.