Free Summer Professional Development Sessions
ShedTheMusic will host three weeks of free professional development online this summer, aimed at creating opportunities for non-traditional music students in middle and high school. These sessions will be delivered via The Shed's professional development platform, featuring asynchronous activities and discussions through posts and comments. Additionally, synchronous sessions will be held each week, focusing on implementation strategies for the curricula. Participants who complete the weekly activities will receive six PD credits as a digital badge issued through BADGR, along with weekly giveaways from our sponsors, IK Multimedia and Yamaha. Access to ShedTheMusic resources and curriculum items will be available throughout the duration of the professional development sessions. Each participant will also receive an extended EDU trial of Soundtrap.
Week 1 (July 8-12): Beginning Guitar - This session will cover how to implement the fretboard fundamentals curriculum. Participants will learn to use the notes on the Low E and A strings to play bass lines, incorporate power chord shapes to play punk songs, utilize dynamic chord charts to create shapes from the 5 main open chord shapes, and solo using authentic blues language.
Week 2 (July 15-19): Performance Based Production - Focusing on Production Through Performance and Rewire Theory, this session will teach participants the benefits of instructing students to play drums, bass, chords, and melodies to compose and record their own music. Participants will also produce their own verse/chorus pop song using performance-based production techniques.
Week 3 (July 22-26): Non-performance Based Production - Developed in collaboration with Eric Jao, former DJ for Madonna, this session introduces the new Electronic Music Elements curriculum. Units of study include: Thinking like a DJ, Sequencing Drums, Triggering Chords & Bass, and Composing Purposeful Melodies in the Piano Roll. Application projects will cover creating ringtones, podcast intros, YouTube intro music, jingles, and product/service commercials with voice-overs. This course is perfect for late elementary, middle, and beginning high school music tech classes.
To accommodate various summer schedules, the window for the asynchronous work will remain open for two additional weeks beyond the scheduled sessions.