{"podcast":{"title":"Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning","slug":"field-notes-on-music-teaching-learning-265376","podcast_index_feed_id":265376,"rss_url":"https://www.ashleydanyew.com/episodes?format=rss","website_url":"https://www.ashleydanyew.com/episodes/","image_url":"https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/585c710603596e2c47dad93e/1676469296913-E6Y2ESYKXHE6TL3M58LD/Field+Notes+on+Music+Teaching+%26+Learning+Cover+-+Ashley+Danyew.jpg?format=1500w","author":"Ashley Danyew","episode_count":103,"summary":"This podcast is a collection of creative ideas, practical strategies, and thoughtful observations from the field of music teaching and learning. Music educator Ashley Danyew will dive into topics like how we learn, developing musicianship, time management, teaching sequences, planning tools and strategies, the art of teaching, practicing, and the creative process, and share personal stories from her own experiences and observations. You’ll find creative and pedagogically-sound teaching tips; fresh, new approaches you can use in your teaching; and insight into a few tried-and-true systems and creative processes designed to help you do your best work.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T00:18:52.276354+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/field-notes-on-music-teaching-learning-265376"},"episode":{"title":"085 - Everyone Can Improvise (+ 3 Examples From My Studio)","slug":"085-everyone-can-improvise-3-examples-from-my-studio","published_at":"2025-07-23T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/field-notes-on-music-teaching-learning-265376/085-everyone-can-improvise-3-examples-from-my-studio","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/field-notes-on-music-teaching-learning-265376","url":"https://www.ashleydanyew.com/episodes/085","audio_url":"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/585c710603596e2c47dad93e/t/687e568815966a024ae7e2ee/1754669808100/085+-+Everyone+Can+Improvise.mp3","summary":"When I was in grad school, I took an elective class on Improvisation. I remember shuffling into the 3rd-floor classroom that first day, pulling a blue chair into the semicircle like everyone else, unfolding the desk and preparing to take notes. Everyone was quiet. There was a palpable uncertainty among the group—all classical musicians by training. When had we ever been asked to improvise? No one wanted to be put on the spot. We started by talking about where to start with improvisation. “Improvisation is something we can all do,” our professor, Dr. Christopher Azzara began. “We’re born improvisers.” The challenge sometimes is trusting that creative process. Trusting that we have something interesting and musical to say. Improvisation is a skill like anything else; it can be learned and developed. Of course, there’s safety in writing it down, but learning the fundamentals of improvising and giving yourself time to experiment and practice this can be really fulfilling, especially in teaching. Today, I’m sharing a few simple ways to build improvisation into your teaching practice in meaningful ways, even if it’s new to you. You’ll learn what improvisation is and how to get started, how to find inspiration and musical ideas, and activities to do with your students in lessons. I’ll also share a few examples and recordings from my studio recently. For show notes + a full transcript, click here . Resources Mentioned *Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support! Developing Musicianship Through Improvisation, Book 1 (Azzara & Grunow) A Systematic Intr…","meta_description":"When I was in grad school, I took an elective class on Improvisation. I remember shuffling into the 3rd-floor classroom that first day, pulling a blue cha…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1222,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/field-notes-on-music-teaching-learning-265376/episodes/085-everyone-can-improvise-3-examples-from-my-studio/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/field-notes-on-music-teaching-learning-265376/085-everyone-can-improvise-3-examples-from-my-studio.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}