Thomas J. West Music

Over the past two years, I have endeavored to add more opportunities for students to create their own music, both in improvisation and in written composition. It is definitely a slow process, taking a long time to build into my program, but that's why I know it is going to be very impactful over the next several years. I am finishing my fourth year teaching in my current school setting,...

I do not follow many bloggers regularly, but Seth Godin is one of them. In his recent e-newsletter from The Domino Project, Godin tells the story of Amanda Palmer, a musician who built her audience one listener at a time, one burnt CD at a time, all on the internet. Her Twitter ...

Image: SoundCloud.com

Looking for a way to use online tools and social media in your music classroom? You can't get much easier or more effective than incorporating SoundCloud into your curriculum. SoundCloud is social networking for recorded sounds. Accounts are free and ...

Image: Palenque - Juan Gnecco freedigitalphotos.net

About a year ago, I started composing and recording my own a cappella vocal tracks. It was an exercise in using a digital audio workstation and an exercise in creativity in the same project. I have done several recordings and uploaded them to my SoundCloud page. T...

In a successful performing music curriculum at an American public school, students move successfully from their first experiences in singing, instrument mechanics, tone production, ensemble techniques, and so on and upon graduation have acquired a skill set for performance in the intermediate to lower advanced range. Their exiting proficiency depends on many factors: their aptitude level, the music learni...

This article is the fourth in an ongoing series called "21st Century Artistry". You can read the other entries in this series here.

People dream of being rich and famous as an athlete, musician, or entertainer of some kind. The competition in such fields is extremel...

There is no question that there is value to everyone involved in a traditional band, chorus, or orchestra program in America's public schools. If there weren't, those programs would have faded long ago. There is no doubt, however, that the times have changed, and communities across the country are finding themselves in need of changing the paradigm...

I am in my last few months of my twelfth year as a music teacher. I have helped hundreds of children learn more about music, create some great music of their own and watch them grow before my eyes. Yes, in many ways, I am still trying to reach my goal of being able to help every student learn as much as they possibly can about music. Being involved in my high school marching band was a transformative experience ...

Today, I am beginning a new series of articles on my website grouped under the theme 21st Century Artistry. These articles will discuss the use of technology to redefine what it means to be an artist of any kind, whether it is music, fine art, photography, filmmaking, literature, or any other form of human expression.