Music Educators

“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful poetic things to the heart.”
~Pablo Casals

"Music begins inside human beings, and so must any instruction. Not at the instrument, not with the first finger, nor with the first position, not with this or that chord. The starting point is one's own stillness, listening to oneself, the "being ready for music," listening to one's own heartbeat and breathing."
~Carl Orff

Teaching music is complex and multi-faceted. In the classroom, teachers are not just passing along information, they are creating well-rounded, creative, imaginative human beings.

This not only requires great knowledge and expertise, but lots of energy and a willingness to give. Teachers are tasked with the duties of taking care of hundreds of students and themselves at the same time.

This can be an overwhelming and exhausting challenge. The good news is that there are skills to help maneuver this obstacle course, both for you and for your students.

Some of the benefits of mindfulness training are:

Just as developing the skills and technique to play a musical instrument requires time, patience, and practice, so, too, does learning to be open to the moment and acquiring the tools to be present. Practice is necessary to be able to let go of negative self-talk and to either release performance anxiety or to put it to more productive use. An intimate relationship is necessary to understand one’s feelings and how thoughts may simply be thoughts or may or may not carry the truth. This path to a deeper relationship with oneself requires dedication and deep listening.

Mindfulness for Music Educators Program

With educators experiencing higher and higher levels of stress and feeling more anxious, worried or overwhelmed, many are turning to mindfulness to help. Mindfulness holds many benefits for music educators, both in regards to self-care and in the classroom. Mindfulness has been shown to develop skills to work with stress and deal with strong emotions, to reduce worry and promote relaxation, and to improve focus and concentration. This program is designed to help music educators integrate mindfulness into their lives so they can live life to the fullest and show up for their students engaged, attentive, and fully present. Information on how to introduce and share these skills with students will also be presented.

Up to five graduate level credits are available for this course through the University of the Pacific’s Courses For Teachers Program. Details can be found here.

Cost: $300

I've been playing drums for about 20 years with the only frustrating purpose of avoiding mistakes. With a few mindfulness lessons I learned how to enjoy music, getting into the flow and have fun! Thanks Michelle!"

Mindfulness can be done anywhere at anytime. Try it now with this 9-minute practice focused on relieving stress...

2023 Schedule

SUMMER

Mindfulness for Music Educators
Sessions conducted online through BlueJeans.com
(No BlueJeans account required)
  • Sessions
    Wednesdays, June 14th - August 2nd, 2023
    1:00-3:00pm PDT/UTC -7
    Time is flexible based on participant availability

Pre-Registration Form

Join us today!