Introduce Yourself and Say Hello!

[matt]

Hi Sean and welcome! We're here to help you get started with any ideas you might have. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part so don't hesitate to ask any questions whatsoever.
Good luck!

[pianojodie]

A huge hello from Colorado Springs. My name is Jodie Jensen and I am a independent music teacher with a private music studio. I teach piano, digital keyboard ensembles, chamber music, music theory and music composition to private students and groups. My students are very connected to technology and music creation.

A friend and I started a new organization in the west called Colorado Composes with Friends Project. The friend and I are most impressed by YCIW and hope to learn more about the program and learn ways to approach composition through the YCIW classes. We want to assist our students and community to love the process of creating music. There is much to be learned. Thank heaven for Matt and Robin.

My personal background is as a pianist, accompanist, and teacher. I have taught in the USA and Japan and have assisted the Department of Defense Schools in Daegu Korea and Yokosuka Japan with their school musicals and music education needs. The cello is my secondary instrument. There is nothing quite like playing in an orchestra.

[jsnow]

Hello! My name is Jennifer Snow and I teach middle school choir and general music in a rural school in Wisconsin. After years of teaching music and arts integration at the high school and elementary levels, I am now teaching at the middle school level for the first time. I am really enjoying middle school students and I'm excited to introduce them to the world of composition. I think it is really important for kids to experience positive music-making as a first step, and this approach to composition seems to be in line with my point of view.

[matt]

Welcome @jsnow ! It's so great to have you here. I teach MS and HS also and I am continually struck by how creative and thoughtful MS students can be when it comes to composing music! We look forward to helping you along the way and learning from your experience!

[jgardner]

Hey everyone!
My name is Jessica Gardner, and I teach middle and high school music at Portsmouth Christian Academy of Dover, NH. I teach Chorus, Guitar, World Drumming, Worship Band, and will be introducing Music Technology & Composition this Fall, which includes this curriculum. Sooo excited!!

Outside of this great gig, I'm a private voice, piano, and guitar instructor, and a composer. I'm a bass player in a bluegrass band (so fun!), and a singer songwriter.

[matt]

Hi @jgardner and welcome! We're so glad you are here!

Do not hesitate to ask questions or post any insights that may help others.

[mrgordon]

Hello! I'm David Gordon in central New Jersey. I was trained as a composer and began teaching as a "day job," but now (15 years later) I'm definitely a teacher first and occasional composer. I've taught pretty much every music subject through elementary and middle school, and have always tried to integrate composition in some way, though usually not as much as I'd like to. Currently, though, I am in charge of a year-long general music class made up of the kids who didn't choose a performance-based music class, so I am pretty much free to teach whatever I want, and have been enjoying spending more time on composition. I've been using Noteflight for the past 2 years and love it, but I've been wanting to come up with a more systematic way of using it to teach composition to non-musicians. I think that YCIW is just what I've been looking for and I'm excited to try it out! If it works well, the challenge will be to convince my colleagues in the performance classes to work it into their curriculum as well...

[jyoung]

Hello!

I am an elementary music teacher in Scottsdale, AZ. I have been teaching general music and piano for 20 years. I am now working at a STEAM focused school and I would like my classrooms to be more composition-focused. Our Music, Art and Technology departments collaborate and I would like to become more proficient at using technology with composition. I have been using soundtrap.com with my students this year. My instrument is piano.

[matt]

HI @mrgordon ! Welcome! It's great to have you hear.

[matt]

Welcome @jyoung Jeanette! We so glad you're here. Please feel free to ask questions and let's know what you are working on.

[bmaisonp]

Hello there!
My name is Barbara M and I teach K - 5th grade in Westport, CT. I am using Noteflight with my students this year and they will be composing for their band/orchestra instrument.

[matt]

Hello @bmaisonp and welcome! Sounds like you are doing some great things. We look forward to hearing about your experience. Please do keep us posted. If you have Noteflight specific questions community member @mcclellan may be able to help you out.

[rhenry526]

Hello YCIW Community! My name is Ryan Henry, and I am a general music teacher in District 204 (located in Naperville/Aurora Illinois). I teach K-5 general music, 4th/5th grade chorus, 4th/5th grade Orff Ensembles, and our new Young Composer's Club. I also direct the Young Naperville Singers Boys Choir. I hope to gain a sequential approach to helping students bring their musical ideas to a practical reality! I also hope to hear from experience teachers of young composers what has worked for them.

I'm 31 years old, a father of five amazing kids (ages 8, 6, 4, 2, and newborn), a husband for 10 amazing years, and I love love love songwriting. I LOVE the creative process! Looking forward to learning with you all!

[matt]

Hello Ryan @rhenry526 and welcome!

It sounds like you are doing some awesome things. We are so happy to have you here!

[rwwixson]

Good evening from Minneapolis. My name is Reid Wixson and I direct the instrumental music program at Minneapolis Southwest High School. I teach two bands, two orchestras, and teach IB Music. Right now I'm starting small by using Noteflight as a way to help students apply music theory skills and compose historically stylistic pieces with the framework of my IB Music course. For example, today they learned how to read and realize figured bass notation and they are doing this all on Noteflight. Cheers, RW

[matt]

Hello @rwwixson and welcome!

Sounds like you are already doing some awesome work with your students. Please keep us posted on your work and do not hesitate to reach out to the community with questions.

[web]

Hello,
I am a private piano teacher in Phoenix Arizona, I teach students from 2nd through 12th grade. I love music and I love teaching. My students and I use Noteflight to prepare their compositions for a yearly composition festival sponsored by Desert Valley Music Teachers Association. As a teacher I am always learning, and I look forward to expanding my ability to teach composition.

[matt]

Hello Bren and welcome! Let us know if there are specific ways you might want to use the YCIW curriculum with your students. Sounds like you are doing great stuff already.

[raucmusicstudio]

Hello YCIW Community!

My name is Kristi Campbell-Giannini, and I am music teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I lived and taught in New York City for three years during graduate school. My interest (and biggest challenge) in teaching is engaging and challenging students from so many musical entry points ranging from never seeing/playing notated music to students who are performing Chopin on the piano, and have had intensive musical experiences since early childhood, from very focused students to those with learning and language needs. Essentially, this is the challenge of every teacher! I am a violinist and occasionally perform with a New York City-based group, and also teacher elementary general music and chorus!

[matt]

Hello Kristi and welcome!

We look forward to helping you out along the way. Feel free to leave questions here or ask for any kind of help.