Tag: mlt

Professional Development

2026 Professional Development Opportunities offered by the Gordon Institute for Music Learning

Joy Morin

Hello readers,

Today, I thought I’d pass along information about a few professional development opportunities offered by the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML) this summer. Taking my first Professional Development Levels Course (PDLC) through GIML back in 2016 was pivotal in setting me on a course to continue to studying music learning more deeply and applying Gordon’s work to my practice as a piano teacher. Since then, I’ve taken three other PDLCs. I highly recommend them.

Below are details about three offerings this summer (2026) of GIML’s Piano Level 1 PDLC.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
Dates (in person): July 6-10
Dates (Online Theory): May 17- June 28

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Dates (in person): June 29-July 3
Dates (Online Theory): May 10-June 21

Kammermusiksaal Ehrenbreitstein (Koblenz, Germany)
Dates (in person): July 20-July 24
Dates (Online Theory): May 17- June 28

For more complete details as well as information about GIML’s other 2026 PDLC offerings (choral, early childhood music, elementary general, etc.), click here. For more details about what is covered in GIML’s PDLC Piano Level 1, please visit GIML’s website here.

My tips:

  • If you’d like to know what attending a PDLC is like, check out my blog post links below. If you still have questions, feel free to get in touch and I’ve be happy to correspond with you.
  • I highly recommend applying for a Teacher Enrichment Grant through MTNA to help cover the expenses of attending a PDLC. I know quite a few teachers (including myself) who have successfully gotten funds to cover PDLCs or other professional development projects.
  • It is helpful if you can start reading Gordon’s Learning Sequences in Music book before you start the PDLC, so you won’t have to do all of the reading during the PDLC.

Related:

Professional development has a way of reigniting your teaching like nothing else. I hope you have something great for yourself on the horizon!

Games

Rhythm Rotation Game (Free Printable)

Joy Morin

If you teach piano or music and love hands-on rhythm activities, this one’s for you. I’m excited to share a free printable for the Rhythm Rotation Game — a fun, structured activity to help students explore macrobeats, microbeats, divisions, and improvised rhythm. Continue reading to download the free printable and view a two example videos.

Continue reading “Rhythm Rotation Game (Free Printable)” →
Music Learning Theory

My First Encounter with Dr. Edwin E. Gordon and his Music Learning Theory (MLT)

Joy Morin

It was September of 2008, and I was an undergraduate college student at Hope College (Holland, Michigan) at the beginning of my senior year as a piano performance major.

One day, the professor of one of my classes announced that a guest by the name of Dr. Edwin E. Gordon would be visiting campus for a few days. Dr. Gordon was to deliver a lecture, lead a Saturday workshop, and join our class to tell us about his research and theories regarding music learning.

Continue reading “My First Encounter with Dr. Edwin E. Gordon and his Music Learning Theory (MLT)” →
Music Learning Theory, Professional Development

2024 Piano Level 2 Certification through the Gordon Institute for Music Learning

Joy Morin

Two days ago was the wrap-up of a Piano Level 2 Professional Development Levels Course (PDLC) through the Gordon Institute for Music Learning held at Eastern Michigan University, just 20 minutes from my home. It was such a great experience, and my heart is full.

We started each morning with Musicianship Time with Natasha Sigmund, GIML faculty member in Early Childhood Music.

Continue reading “2024 Piano Level 2 Certification through the Gordon Institute for Music Learning” →
Announcements

Announcing: Keys at Play, Book 1: 88 Progressive Pieces for Pianists of All Ages

Joy Morin

Hello friends,

I have an announcement to share today — one that’s been a long time coming. I won’t beat around the bush. I wrote a book! It’s called Keys at Play, Book 1: 88 Progressive Pieces for Pianists of All Ages. And it’s available for order now, across the world, in hardcopy form.

Continue reading “Announcing: Keys at Play, Book 1: 88 Progressive Pieces for Pianists of All Ages” →
Games

Playing my Trick-or-Treat Rhythm Game with my 3-Year-Old

Joy Morin

As promised in my last post, today I’m sharing a recent short video of my daughter, Aria, and I playing my Trick-or-Treat rhythm game. In fact, we took this video clip earlier today!

I’ve been playing this game with Aria daily for the past two weeks or so. I don’t ask Aria to read the rhythms on the cards, as I might with my older students. She’s three-and-a-half years of age, and my priorities are on developing her ear and musical understanding of that which she hears (i.e., audiation).

So, instead we use a variation of the game where the teacher reads and performs the rhythm pattern, and the student echoes it back. This is a valuable activity not just for young students, but for any student especially as they encounter new rhythm elements. (Read more about how I use this game with my students here.)

Anyway, please enjoy this short video and my time-stamped notes below. I hope you get some new ideas or inspiration from watching our interaction!

Continue reading “Playing my Trick-or-Treat Rhythm Game with my 3-Year-Old” →
Games

Trick-or-Treat! Rhythm Game – Newly Revised

Joy Morin

It’s that time of year! I have a recurring event in my calendar that reminds me at the end of September each year to get out my Trick-or-Treat Rhythm Game for my piano students. I use this game at the start of almost every lesson I teach throughout the month of October.

This game has been a classic in my studio since I created it back in 2018. I made it available for purchase in my shop a year later in 2019.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working on making some revisions to the game and am pleased to announce the new version now available. I’ve smoothed out the progression of difficulty a bit and created 5 levels of cards instead of 4, but the game is essentially the same. In this post, I’ll tell you a bit more about it plus share some insights into how rhythm is taught from a Music Learning Theory perspective.

(PS: If you purchased the game in the past, you are eligible to receive an updated PDF at no cost. In fact, past purchasers of the game will receive an email from me later today containing a download link to the revised version. If you don’t see it, please contact me here and let me know!)

Continue reading “Trick-or-Treat! Rhythm Game – Newly Revised” →
Announcements

Save the Date: 2023 Piano Teacher Retreat

Joy Morin

Hello, piano teacher friends!

After a three-year hiatus (due to the pandemic and having babies!), my piano teacher retreats are back! I’m excited to invite you to attend a retreat for piano teachers taking place at my home this summer.

Piano Teacher Retreat is a three-day getaway for piano teachers to connect, recharge, share, and learn from each another. During this unique experience, you will have opportunity to contribute and benefit from collective wisdom during group discussions, interactive activities, as well as relaxing downtime. You’ll leave you feeling inspired and connected, with newly formed friendships and fresh ideas for your teaching.

Continue reading “Save the Date: 2023 Piano Teacher Retreat” →
Games

Getting out my Trick-or-Treat rhythm game!

Joy Morin

It’s that time of year — time to pull out my Trick-or-Treat! rhythm game! During the weeks leading up to Halloween, I like to use my Trick-or-Treat rhythm game at pretty much every student’s lesson. It’s a fun way to make students “earn” their treat, and it’s such a great game for building their rhythm skills. Best of all, they LOVE this game!

Continue reading “Getting out my Trick-or-Treat rhythm game!” →
Early Childhood Music, Group Classes

Review: “Music Play” Early Childhood Music Curriculum by Edwin E. Gordon et al.

Joy Morin

In recent conversations with a couple of piano teachers, I was asked there is a review available here on my blog about Music Play, a book I like to draw from for movement and ear/audiation activities with my young daughter and my piano students. Look no further, friends — here’s my full review!

Continue reading “Review: “Music Play” Early Childhood Music Curriculum by Edwin E. Gordon et al.” →
Early Childhood Music

Early Childhood Music with my 17mo Daughter

Joy Morin

In my last post, I mentioned I am delivering a presentation for NCKP 2021’s Virtual Conference tomorrow. My presentation shares about a personal research project conducting early childhood music (ECM) activities with my daughter throughout her first year of life. It’s been fun and rewarding to see Aria’s musical development up close, and I am learning so much from the process. I have hundreds of videos I’ve been collecting, logging, and analyzing!

I thought it might be fun to share a video of Aria here on my blog, for my readers as well as for any NCKP conference attendees interested in seeing a more recent video clip. The video below was taken a few days ago, with Aria at 17 months old.

The ECM activities I do with Aria are based on Edwin E. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory (MLT). I took a two-week summer certification training Early Childhood Music Level 1 offered through the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (see GIML.org) back in 2017, and have been putting my training to good use since Aria was born in February of 2020. I took the Piano Level 1 certification the summer prior to that, which I blogged about here.

Here is the video, as well as a short description of what you’ll observe in the video.

Continue reading “Early Childhood Music with my 17mo Daughter” →
Announcements

2019 Piano Teacher Retreat Highlights

Joy Morin

This was definitely a highlight of my summer — hosting a third annual Piano Teacher Retreat! This involved three days and fourteen teachers exploring this year’s theme: rhythm and Edwin Gordon’s Music Learning Theory (MLT). I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed our shared three days of discussing, learning, laughing, and musicking. It was such an honor and pleasure to spend this time with this wonderful group of teachers. 

The event was held at my home in Bowling Green, Ohio, August 1-3, 2019. Nine of us stayed overnight here in my home, while the other five were hosted at my colleagues’ homes nearby.

These ladies arrived with coordinating black-and-white, and red-white-and-blue! 🙂

We began our first day by breaking out into small groups to research some introductory information about Edwin E. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory.

Continue reading “2019 Piano Teacher Retreat Highlights” →