Confessions of a Traveling Music Teacher

Reflections teaching Orff workshops around the world.

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

A Tourist in Your Town

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  My daughter Talia’s boyfriend Matt grew up in Marin County and lived much of his adult life in Oakland. Now they are living together in Sa...
Monday, April 6, 2026

A Word to My Fellow Men

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This time last week, I was “cruisin’ and playing the radio, with no particular place to go.” Well, I was heading to Memphis on Rt. 55 north ...
Sunday, April 5, 2026

Easter Parade

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Last night, instead of the next murder in whatever Britt-box detective show we’re watching, I suggested we watch Judy Garland and Fred Astai...
Saturday, April 4, 2026

Theme and Variations

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Back to my home city and besides being back with friends and family, my piano, Golden Gate Park and more, two grand pleasures:   1)     Choo...
Thursday, April 2, 2026

Make It Funky!

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Well, the concert happened. My review:   • Was it spectacular?  Yes, it was.    • Did the kids make fabulous music while being relaxed and c...
Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Memorable Music in Memphis

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And so the turn of the calendar page finds me in Memphis and joyfully so. I spent most of the day in the Cannon Center, where folks like Ste...
Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Travel, Teaching and Music

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My unspoken Mission Statement for this Blog is to speak what’s on my mind and what’s on my mind is whatever the day brings me. No surprise t...
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Doug Goodkin
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” (E.B. White). Early on in my adult life, I was convinced that the world is a mess that needs fixing. But I also sensed that life is short, that miracles and beauty abound and that we would do well to pay attention to them. In a stroke of good fortune, I stumbled on a life that allowed both to happen at once. Teaching music for 45 years at The San Francisco School with children between three and 14 years old guaranteed a fair share of miracles and beauty. The sense that happy children playing, imagining, thinking and creating might help a bit with that improving-the-world side of things made it easy to plan my day. Alongside a half-century of teaching children is a parallel life of traveling and teaching the Orff approach to music education—some 50 countries to date banging on xylophones and slapping our bodies. This blog now in its fifteenth year sharing these experiences. Settle back in your armchair and enjoy!
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