Help Mr. Dunkin Study with Bobby McFerrin

I want to be the best music teacher possible. I want to provide my students with the best opportunities. And I need your help.

I was hired to teach music in the 2019/20 school year. I could hardly read music and I had never taught full-time. It was a STEM school focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math. I was never strong in those subjects while in school. But I gave myself a college level music education education with the internet and the public library. I passed my licensure exam, which was incredibly difficult. I completed a lateral entry program and am now certified to teach K-12 music and theatre arts. But in August of 2019, I did not know what was coming. I did not know about pandemics or if I would pass my exam and be able to keep my job. All I knew at the time was that I needed some strategies for teaching music in a STEM school. So I searched the internet. The first video I clicked on was Bobby McFerrin at the World Science Festival, playing the audience's voices like an instrument. That was my inspiration. He was the type of music teacher I wanted to become. And now I have the chance to learn the circlesongs technique from Bobby McFerrin himself. And I have to take it.

Check out Bobby McFerrin's TED Talk!

About Circlesongs:

“This experiential workshop also cultivates and develops the traditional skills required for ensemble singing—blend, balance, tuning, and sensitivity. circlesongschool also builds the fundamentals of musicianship, including harmony, counterpoint, rhythmic precision, and deep listening. The program is transformational for singers, teachers, group facilitators, instrumentalists, conductors, activists—for everyone who loves to sing. Make music, create community, build trust, nurture creativity, and embrace life to the fullest. Every song, every voice, has a place in the circle.” From circlesongs.com.