Clearing the Path: Leadership in the Age of Change

Leadership in the Age of Change

Leadership development is a crucial element in ensuring success for students, teachers, districts, and any organization. Development isn’t just reading the “Top 5 Leadership Strategies” as you scroll through your Linkedin timeline; Leadership requires constant engagement with your personal habits and their relationship to external forces. 

March 2024 Repertoire Update

march 2024 repertoire update

In the last month, MakeMusic Cloud added 403 interactive tracks across 100 new publications. 

Browse below to discover new favorites among the continuous new repertoire included with your regular subscription.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

International Women's Day

For International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the amazing members of the MakeMusic and Alfred Music teams. Our teams are filled with amazing people who are passionate about supporting teachers and students in their musical journeys.

Power Up! French Horn Tone

French Horn Tone
Characteristic tone

Horn is such a versatile instrument, thus the concept of characteristic tone is actually quite situationally dependent. But for our purposes as teachers, horn sound should be really round, warm, open and resonant.

Lights, Camera, Practice! An interview with Brian Balmages, creator of the new Foundations Series

Lights, Camera, Practice
Tell us about the Foundations Series. What is it and why are you so excited about it?

I believe this series solves several problems that ensemble conductors and private teachers struggle with on a daily basis:

Motivating their students to practice more Helping students make more of an immediate connection between the music they are playing in band or orchestra and the world around them Achieving more meaningful student engagement during the technique portion of ensemble rehearsals (and for that matter, making technique more fun for students in general!)

Essentially, the Foundations Series is a collection of technical exercises that are set to actual movie soundtracks.

Power Up! Taking Your Clarinets Over the Break

Over the Break

Taking clarinet students “over the break” can be a daunting task for many band directors.  Often, a single method book does not give the students enough access to the needed skill for them to be successful. 

January 2024 Repertoire Update

January 2024 Repertoire Update

In the last month, our Repertoire Development team added 73 interactive tracks across 57 new publications to the Music Catalog.