Preparing for Success: Clint Hardy's Back-to-School Strategies
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
Release Date: 08/22/2023
Drum Roll Please! Welcome Back to School with Rhythm and Speech
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
Want to get your students speaking, playing, and learning on day one? Here's the perfect piece to use with your older elementary students. Learn a new speech piece that allows students to review/learn class expectations and procedures while making music. Head to TpT to get the Welcome Back to School Resource ! Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica
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Annual Halfway Goals Review
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
We are just past the halfway point of 2024! It's a great time to review how you're goals are going. In today's episode, we'll look at three areas: Long term goals Short term goals Task oriented goals You'll hear how I'm doing on a few of mine and gain a few ideas for continuing to go after yours. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica
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AMLE Institute Insights: Educating Middle School Students
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
I recently attended the AMLE Institute in San Diego, CA and am excited to share some insights from my experience as well introduce you to AMLE, if you've never heard of it before! Hear an overview of the Institute and takeaways from homebase and different sessions I attended. Head to Instagram and follow me @howtoteachmusicwithjessica! I'd love to connect with you! LINKS Association of Middle Level Educators
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
We’re continuing the series for arrangements inspired by pop music for the classroom. The Pirates of the Caribbean Theme is a great piece in 12/8 that is so much fun to play and a great opportunity for students to explore intervals of thirds in the chorus! Get your free Google Slides and full arrangement of the piece ! You'll be prompted to make a copy. For other barred instrument arrangements, listen in to: E289-Paint It Black E290 - Look what you made me do E291 - Down Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica!
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Down: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
Learn a fun xylophone arrangement to use with your students that focuses on a verse/chorus form and movement activity with the song Down performed by Marian Hill. Get the free Google Slides presentation at and click on the shop. Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website:
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Look What You Made Me Do: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
The first single from Taylor Swift's Reputation album is a fantastic way to teach musical form and provide opportunities for students to compose original melodies. Particularly with aaab form! Listen in to hear how I have used this piece with my students to learn melodies on the xylophones and get your free resource at my shop at Website: Instagram:
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Paint It Black: Arrangements Inspired by Pop Music for the Classroom
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
The first arrangement of our series: Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones! I share the inspiration behind this arrangement, steps for teaching the piece to students, ideas for form, and how to expand on the original theme with rhythmic variations. The arrangement is written for xylophones. Get the free arrangement Follow me on Instagram .
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Five Tips for Finding and Creating Pop Song Arrangements to Use in Your Classroom
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
Using pop music in your music classroom can be so much fun! Students love learning something they know or have heard before, playing music that they listen to at home, and performing songs for an audience who also knows the music. For the next several episodes I’ll be sharing pop song arrangements that I’ve created and used with my students for xylophone ensembles, but before we get to the actual arrangements I thought I’d share some tips for how you can find and create pop song arrangements to use in your classroom. What to look for, how to determine if a song would be a good fit for an...
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Feeling the Sunday Scaries...Again
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
Now that we're a few weeks into the new year, you might be feeling the Sunday Scaries…again. Here is how I’ve worked through - and continue to work through - my Sunday Scaries. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica Website:
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Five Classroom Procedures to Review in the New Year
How to Teach Music with Jessica Grant
January is a great time for a reset of classroom procedures. Here are five procedures to review that will help re-establish expectations and set a positive start for 2024 in your classroom. Pay close attention to number five - it's likely the most important one that will make a difference. Follow me on Instagram @howtoteachmusicwithjessica or head to my website at to access teacher materials and join my mailing list!
info_outlineClint Hardy, Middle School Choral Director in Keller, TX, is here to share several great ideas for teaching expectations and sharing information, activities to help you learn about your students, helping students get to know each other, and teaching us a fun music game involving rhythms. These are fabulous ideas to use at the start of the year or integrate at other times as well.
Instagram - @choirwithclint
Twitter - @tsms.choirs
Podcast - The Choir Chronicles
Facebook Group: The Choir Chronicles
Teachers Pay Teachers - Choir with Clint
Facebook Group: Choir with Clint
Meet Clint:
Clinton Ray Hardy is in his fifteenth year of directing choral music, and is the head choral director at Trinity Springs Middle School in Keller ISD. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Texas Christian University and earned his Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas.
At Trinity Springs, Mr. Hardy directs seven choirs and serves as the head of the fine arts department. His choirs consistently have earned Sweepstakes awards for superior ratings at the yearly University Interscholastic League Concert and Sight-Reading Contest. Mr. Hardy’s Varsity Treble Choir was invited to perform at this past year’s 2023 Texas Music Educators Association Convention. Previous to this, his Varsity Treble Choir performed at the 2022 Southwestern American Choral Directors Association Convention, his Varsity Tenor-Bass Choir performed at the 2021 National American Choral Directors Association Convention. In addition, his Varsity Treble Choir performed at the 2019 Texas Music Educators Association Convention and in 2018 his Varsity Treble Choir performed at the MS/JH National Cambiata Institute Convention. The Keller Honor Choir, under the co-direction of Clinton Hardy, performed in the elementary division for the 2017 Texas Music Educators Association Convention, and in 2014 his Varsity Tenor-Bass Choir was invited to perform at the MS/JH National Cambiata Institute Convention.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Mr. Hardy currently serves as the National ACDA JH/MS R&R Chair. He also currently serves as the TMEA Region 30 MS/JH Secretary. Mr. Hardy is frequently requested to be a clinician/conductor for All-City, All-Region, and All-State Choirs. He is an adjudicator for UIL Concert and Sight-Reading contests throughout the state and is a judge for Solo and Ensemble contests in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Choral Directors Association, the American Choral Directors Association, and the Texas Music Adjudicators Association.
He is proud to have had 120 students selected for the TCDA All-State Choir and 663 Middle School All-Region Choir members selected during his thirteen years of teaching. Mr. Hardy has been named Teacher of the Year three times in teaching career. The first happened in 2013-2014 for Linda Jobe Middle School in Mansfield ISD, and the second and third were at Trinity Springs MS for the 2016-2017 and the 2020-2021 school years. In 2014 he was awarded the TCDA Young Director of Distinction Award.
He strives to first teach his students how to be the best humans possible and then to be excellent musicians.
Jessica's Links:
Website: www.jessicagrant.org
Instagram: @howtoteachmusicwithjessica