Who We Are
The SongWorks Educators Association (SWEA) is a community of educators who engage learners through SongWorks, a principles-based approach to teaching music.
SongWorks principles and practices offer teachers both grounding and flexibility in making purposeful, caring choices in their interactions with people and music. Songs are the foundation for study and learning experiences that nurture playfulness, responsiveness, and musicality.
Through developing and sharing ideas centered around the SongWorks teaching approach, SWEA members support each other in growing as educators and learners.
Events
Certification Courses
Summer 2025
Salt Lake City, UT
Annual Conference
April 4-5, 2025
Dallas, TX
SongWorks in Practice (SIP)
2024-2025 Season
Monthly Sessions Online
News
From the President
As we celebrate another school year coming to a close and experience transitions with our students, we invite you to take a moment and reflect on the year. This is the perfect opportunity to note for ourselves what successes we had and want to repeat next year!
Reflections on SongWorks Certification
Anna Shelow recently completed her Level 3 SongWorks Certification Teaching Practicum to become a SongWorks Certified Educator. Here she shares her reflections on how the experience has enriched her teaching practice. I am extremely grateful for the experience of...
2025 Emerging Pioneers
The Fleurette Sweeney Fellowship was initiated in 2010 to honor founding member and teacher extraordinaire, Dr. Fleurette Sweeney. We are pleased to announce this year’s Emerging Pioneers in Music Education!
2025 Conference Recap
Alice Nordquist (MD) & Lisa Schoen (MN) What an inspiring and fulfilling experience we had at our 2025 SongWorks Conference! We welcomed friends old and new as we sang, played, danced, strummed, read, arranged, created, laughed, and learned during 20 sessions over...
From the President
As we celebrate another school year coming to a close and experience transitions with our students, we invite you to take a moment and reflect on the year. This is the perfect opportunity to note for ourselves what successes we had and want to repeat next year!
Resources
Looking for Songworks I & II or other printed resources?
Head over to our Books page for these and more!
Get Involved
• SWEA Newsletter & Teaching Ideas
• SWEA Membership
Available in Members Access Area
Become a Member, Gain Access to 50+ Sturdy Songs & Study Activities
From the Archive
Playing with Sally
“Sally Go ‘Round the Sun” is a classic game to play with younger elementary students! You may have read many variations of how to play the game, add partner songs, and more in the Sturdy Songs Collection on the SongWorks website. I have used this song with grades K–2...
Looby Loo Scores and Scrambles
Playful Teaching – Vibrant Learning! What an inspirational tagline! Yet we easily fall into ‘habitual teaching’ where we take the same route to achieve a specific learning goal. This group of lessons is suggested as a pathway to vibrant learning. The ultimate goal is to be skillful in reading and musical in performing several different scores for “Looby Loo.”
A Musical Evolution of Notation: Introduction
Often, conventional music notation is studied on an elemental level by pulling visual symbols, representing rhythm and pitch, out of their musical context for study. What happens when we consider that complex traditional music notation has become so rigid that its study at an elemental level lacks value, function, or power?
We’ve Had a Good Time Playing the Game: Now What? (Revisited)
From the ArchiveHave you ever felt stuck or unsure what to do next after you’ve played a game with your students? In this article from the August 2013 MEI (SWEA) Newsletter, Dr. Peggy Bennett gives us specific ideas for how to progress from sounds to symbols in order...
Playing with Sally
“Sally Go ‘Round the Sun” is a classic game to play with younger elementary students! You may have read many variations of how to play the game, add partner songs, and more in the Sturdy Songs Collection on the SongWorks website. I have used this song with grades K–2...