
2024 Workshop Information
May 29-31, 2024
8:30am-4:30pm
Phoenix Conservatory of Music
1316 E Cheery Lynn Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85014
Phoenix Children’s Chorus is committed to quality music education within PCC as well as in K-12 schools. As such, we are excited to offer an innovative 3-day workshop for current and future music educators focused on research-based music teaching methods. Inspiring educator Dr. Carol Krueger will share her approach to building literate and independent 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 sequential techniques for teaching improvisation which is central to developing musicianship and demonstrates the student’s comprehension.
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 and chord progressions will be presented in a graphic form to further aid in the acquisition of tonal skills. The exercises explore various tonalities (major, minor, modes, etc.) and tonal functions (tonic, dominant, subdominant, etc.) as well as support the development of audiation, healthy vocal technique and application of skills to literature.
Workshop participants will also be presented with teaching strategies and techniques for integrating and applying literacy skills to appropriate repertoire with attention given to the development of music literacy curriculum maps and diction maps.
Workshop Details
Registration Fee:
General/Teacher - $175
1st Year Teacher - $60
College student - Free (based on availability)
Schedule:
8:30-11:30 - Morning Session
1130-1:00 - Break for Lunch
1:00-4:30 - Afternoon Session
Textbook:
Highly recommended, but not required
Progressive Sight Singing by Dr. Carol Krueger
Participants will Receive:
Professional Development Certificate (18 hours)
Tickets to PCC Tour Sendoff Concert

The PCC summer music literacy workshop with Dr. Carol Krueger has been so influential on empowering my students with the tools they need to become stronger musicians. By utilizing Carol's teachings, I have seen my students develop a deeper understanding of music literacy that has been so beneficial to my junior high students as both individual musicians and ensemble performers. I am so grateful to Phoenix Children's Chorus for offering this incredible summer workshop opportunity and blessing the lives of music educators and students!

Taryn Tidwell
Choir Director, Shepherd Junior High School
2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year Ambassador for Excellence


I was so privileged to have attended the Carol Krueger conference for both the summer of 2020 and 2021. Her approach to music theory in the classroom is important for educators to obtain during any year but especially became crucial during the pandemic. She shares with the educator ways to encourage independent learning to happen within the student. While I have heard many music educators discouraged from the pandemic, I have been encouraged from seeing how my students have benefited from what I have learned from Carol Krueger. I don’t know how I would have personally survived without this incredible experience. I truly enjoy coming into the classroom every day and seeing my students blossom into the incredible musicians they are becoming. I highly recommend Carol Krueger’s summer workshop to all educators wanting to elevate the rigor in their classrooms.
Kirk Douglas
Choir Director, Boulder Creek High School
President, Arizona Choral Educators