Workshop Registration
Questions or problems registering? Contact Jill Wilson at wilsji01@luther.edu.
Music Literacy for All Registration (May 23, 2024)
Developing the Independent Musician
The purpose of this face-to-face experiential course is to explore the purpose, process and pedagogy of developing independent, literate musicians. Helping students become musically literate is central to the school, community, and church music curriculum. While there is much agreement about why we should teach sight singing and musicianship skills, there is less agreement about how we should teach those skills. Far too often students are taught to be savvy symbol decoders rather than independent literate musicians.
Working from the premise that students learn musical skills in much the same order as they do language skills, participants will explore how we ‘learn’ music through hearing and imitating patterns before reading (translating notation into sound) and writing (translating sound into notation). The pedagogy also includes a sequence of instruction that results in a strong link between sound and notation.
The TAKADIMI rhythm-pedagogy system, a beat-oriented system whose originators see it as evolving from Gordon’s syllables, will be incorporated. The rhythm syllables can easily be adapted to elementary through adult choral and instrumental rehearsals in the church and K-Collegiate setting.  To aid the development of aural-oral tonal skills, the moveable do and la minor tonal system will be incorporated. In addition, a sequence of vocal pitch exercises will be presented in a graphic form to further aid in the acquisition of tonal skills.
This activity-based workshop will focus on developing musical literacy and musicianship in the K-12 music classroom/rehearsal. Music educators will learn practical and positive ideas and techniques for cultivating music reading, audiation, dictation, elementary composition, musical memory and aural skills. Participants will explore how we ‘learn’ music, be given specific techniques for developing reading readiness and tonal, rhythmic and melodic literacy, and be presented with teaching strategies and techniques for integrating and applying reading skills to choral literature. Materials and teaching strategies will illustrate how the State and National Music Standards can be put into action in the music classroom. Music teachers at all levels will find this workshop highly beneficial for their students and for their own teaching.
As a participant, you can expect to engage in these workshop activities.
Dr. Krueger formerly served as the Director of Choral Activities at Valdosta State University, Emporia State University, and Florida Southern. She also served as the Associate Director of Choral Activities at the University of South Carolina and the University of Montevallo.  A native of Wisconsin, Krueger received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and both an M.M. and D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from the University of Miami.
An active clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor, Krueger has most recently conducted festivals and honor choirs at the collegiate, high school and middle school levels in Maryland, Arkansas, South Dakota, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas, New York, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Washington, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Dakota. In addition, Dr. Krueger served as the guest conductor of Vivaldi’s Gloria in Carnegie Hall (2010), the Adult Chancel Choir and Chamber Singers at Montreat Presbyterian Association of Musicians Conference (2010), and multiple performances of Epcot’s Candlelight Processional and Massed Choir Program (2005).
Krueger has presented interest sessions at the American Choral Directors National Convention in New York, the OAKE (Kodaly) National Convention in Charlotte, the ACDA Southern Division Conventions in Nashville and Louisville, the Southern Division MENC Convention in Charleston, the North Central Division ACDA in Madison, the Eastern Division ACDA in Providence, the Eastern Division NAfME in Hartford, as well as interest sessions or workshops in twenty-seven states (Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky,  Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia [2019]). Krueger is also widely recognized for her work with music literacy. Oxford University Press publishes her book, Progressive Sight Singing.