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Attention All Teachers!
Tuner Giveaway
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Teachers, may we ask for a few minutes of your help?
Please assist us in making the song materials we provide for you better and more relevant in the classroom.
Every song you learn to play in a GITC class can and should contain educational content standards to help you decide where it fits in your lesson planning. Your expertise can make a world of difference.
Volunteer to match a song with standards and, courtesy of The D'Addario Music Foundation, we will send you a fabulous new Planet Waves Universal Chromatic Tuner!
Interested? Please write to GITC's executive director, Jessica Baron at jess.gitc@sbcglobal.net
We hope to hear from you soon!
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Make New Friends This Summer!
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And show off your gear and playing at Acoustic GuitarCommunity.com
Whether
you are a guitar pro or enthusiast, the Acoustic Guitar Community has
an array of great social networking tools for you to use free of
charge. Teachers: you can post instructional videos for your students
or create a group for them to use to interact online. New guitar
players: you can chat with your fellow guitarists and gain insight and
advice about your favorite instrument.
We welcome you to check it out.
Read the editors' blogs, discuss technique in the forum, or find out
about the latest guitar events in your area. It's free to join, and one
of the many ways Acoustic Guitar supports the guitar-loving community.
Sign up at AcousticGuitar Community.com!
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| Photo Gallery
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Guitars in the Classroom is proud to present...
The GITC Classroom Guitar Pack™!
 You can now
get guitars into your classroom - at a savings only available to
GITC registered teachers.
The
GITC Classroom Guitar Pack is generously subsidized by D'Addario, Dunlop,
Greg Bennett/Samick, Levy's Leathers, Planet Waves, and Saga, and comes
to you at approximately 1/3 of retail cost.
Before ordering, please verify your registration in our
database. To learn more and find out how to order, click here. |
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Teachers may purchase up to 6 instruments for classroom use.
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From Jessica Baron, our Executive Director...
Congratulations to each and every teacher who courageously picked up a guitar and learned to strum and sing with Guitars in the Classroom this year! Your accomplishments brighten the lives of your students and heighten their academic engagement. All of us at GITC applaud your creative spirit!
Below, Encinitas teacher Nancy Kamp (left) is receiving a completion certificate that
she worked hard to earn - like so many teachers, Nancy juggles a very
busy life and many demands on her time. For the last two years, she has been determined to make enough time in her schedule to come to Guitars in the Classroom trainings. Her perserverence has really paid off. In the photo below, everyone is celebrating this accomplishment.
In case you don't know this about our program, we understand that teachers sometimes need to skip sessions when they are needed elsewhere. This is never a problem. It's fine for teachers to drop into classes and also to repeat course levels. Our philosophy is that it takes time to become a musician, and the process should not be stressful. This is why GITC instructors do their very best to make every class easy, meaninfgul, and fun. If you know a teacher, daycare provider, or parent music volunteer, with a desire to become a musical leader, please be sure to forward this newsletter and let them know they are welcome to join us.
 Photo by Thom Wolke |
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Get on Board! Meet Peter D'Addario
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Peter
D'Addario is the National Sales Manager for D'Addario & Company, a
family owned music accessories business whose brands include D'Addario
Strings, Planet Waves, Rico, and Evans Drumheads. Headquartered on Long
Island, NY D'Addario Strings was founded in 1973 and are today world's
best selling music instrument strings.
Peter is amongst the 9th
generation of string makers, which beg an with the D'Addario Family in
Salle, Italy in the early 1800's and was brought to America by Charles
D'Addario in 1905. Peter grew up in Rhode Island and has a B.A. in
English and Sociology from Boston College. Since joining D'Addario
& Co. in 1995 Peter has been part of the tremendous growth at the
company, serving as Artist Relations Director, Brand Manager, Media
& PR Coordinator as well as in his current managerial role.
An
amateur guitarist and mandolin player, Peter had a family of 3 children
and enjoys playing music with friends and family. Based out of St.
Louis, MO, he has an active role in the bluegrass community, serving as
the chair of the IBMA Marketing Committee and attending many festivals
and bluegrass events annually on behalf of D'Addario & Co.
Peter's commitment to GITC stems from his early childhood, when his 1st
grade teacher taught several hours per week using her guitar. He
explains, "Teaching children through songs and music is an incredible
gift a teacher can give to their students, the GITC mission is one I
believe in deeply."
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Sponsors Make Our World Go 'Round
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Thanks so much to Ibanez guitars and Mr. Paul Specht for bringing their gorgeous guitars to our newest programs in Los Angeles.
 Larry Mitchell - Chyna Photography
Tony James - Chyna Photography
Guitars in the Classroom sincerely thanks Guitar Center for its generous grant that has made this program and one in Santa Monica possible.
GITC Sherman Oaks - Chyna Photography
To learn more about Tony, Larry, and other GITC Artist Advisors, please visit our Artist's Registry (under construction).
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GITC Thanks the D'Addario Music Foundation
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Meet Dr. Diana Wagner, from Salisbury University in Maryland
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 Diana and her Gibson
What made you want to start training educators with GITC?
Diana: I saw the GITC ad when I was reading Acoustic Guitar magazine and visited the web site. As a musician and a professor in education, I thought this was a perfect way for me to reach out to local schools. Teaching and singing! And I get **paid** for this?!
Where besides GITC do you teach?
Diana: I'm Assistant Professor in the Education Specialties Department at Salisbury (MD) University. I also teach at folk festivals in the summers. I especially love Folk College and Heart of the Alleghenies Festival in Pennsylvania.
Who do you train and where are your classes?
Diana: I bring GITC to local P-12 teachers on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They are a very dedicated group of people! And because one of our counties and several individual schools are art-integration schools, there is a lot of demand for professional development for teachers. We meet in our wonderful new Teacher Education facility on the SU campus. I also visit local schools, helping teachers and doing workshops for youngsters.
Diana (bottom middle) and her class of rockstars in Salisbury, MD
What guitars and other instruments do you play?
Diana: I have a nice guitar collection, ranging from my 1958 Gibson arch-top to my concert Cordoba classical. I specialize in traditional and historic music, so I also play some banjo, Appalachian dulcimer, native flute. This summer, I'm starting the fiddle! I also play and build diddley-bows, which are fantastic traditional blues instruments. If it has strings, I tend to play a little of it.
What are your favorite teaching songs?
Diana: My absolute favorite is "Oh, Freedom." Anytime a song can bring the souls of people, their history, and our current experiences together, I'm moved beyond words. In baseball, pitchers have a "walk-up" song--the song that is played as they walk from the bull-pen to the pitching mound. "Oh, Freedom" is my walk-up song!!
I also love, and my teachers love, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." The
great structure, South African rhythms, and beautiful images make that a very versatile song to use with classes.
Anything in particular you want people to know about you?
Diana: I released my first CD, Tradition Bearer, in summer 2008. It's a
collection of traditional and historic music with lots of nice guitar, dulcimer, and mandolin work. It was produced by Common Ground co-founder and well-known hammer dulcimer teacher, Bill Troxler. Folks can listen for themselves at www.dianawagnermusic.com
Please tell us about the role of music making in your life
Diana: My dad was saved from the Korean front-line because he played sousaphone well enough to go to the Air Force music school instead of combat duty. When I was in high school, a first period music class was the reason I walked *into* the school building instead of past it. Music freed me to become what I am today, a singing professor! Music literally saved my life, I think. To me, music is freedom. What we give to children who are touched by GITC is the freedom to let their voices and creativity out in an educational system that undervalues both. Musicians are liberators.
Student artwork from a Salisbury, MD classroom.
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Teacher Feature: Meet Lisa Gurkin from the Prince Street Middle School in Salisbury, MD
 Please tell us about yourself...
Lisa: I am a Special Education teacher and I work with Emotionally Disturbed students who are self-contained in my classroom.
What made you join GITC?
Lisa: I know how much I love music and wanted my students to be able to enjoy and learn from music. GITC gives me another outlet to expose my students to music.
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Lisa: Guitars in the Classroom has helped me to get some of my more challenging students to open up and become active participants in the classroom. They engage with others during this time and are eager to become leaders. I have seen their self-confidence swell when they are able to play the guitar or piggy-back write a song to help teach a concept. Because of their disability, some of them are not able to access the Music/Art curriculum. GITC has given them a chance to experience learning through music!
Is integrating music effecting your school in some way?
Several other teachers in the building have requested our class to come in and play/sing for them. They have also asked us to help them piggy-back write songs for concepts they are currently teaching.
What are your favorite teaching songs and activities?
My favorite moment is when my students are being assessed on a particular skill, and they quietly sing the "song" that we made up in order to teach that skill and then beam at the fact that they were able to respond correctly!
What message do you want to give other teachers?
Use any method available to teach a student. Music should be an integral part of your day. It should never be withheld because of behavior....often the most challenging students become leaders when given the chance. Guitars in the Classroom has given my students that wonderful chance!
Favorite music related or educational websites?
Since taking GITC, I frequent the homepage often. I also like SongsforTeaching.com!
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A huge thanks to Diana Wagner and Lisa Gurkin for the inspiring insight into their experiences with GITC, and to all who contributed to this edition of the Newsletter. We look forward to seeing you next time!
Many Thanks,
Nick Sinutko
Guitars In The Classroom | |
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