Skip to main content

Rachel Grimsby

Assistant Professor of Music Education
School of Music
Office
Center for the Visual Arts - CVA 206B
  • About
  • Education
  • Research

Biography

Rachel is a passionate educator, with experience teaching elementary general music, choral music, and music in early childhood. She holds degrees from East Carolina University, The University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, and Michigan State University. Her research interests include the professional development and collaborative needs of inservice teachers and paraprofessionals, course work for undergraduates and graduate students in teaching music to students with disabilities, and music and language acquisition in students with disabilities. Rachel is the co-author of two publications; First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk, and Conversational Recorder. She also has been published in the Orff Echo, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Research Studies in Music Education, and Arts Education Policy Review. Rachel is fully certified in Feierabend, Kodály, Orff, and holds GIML Elementary I and II certificates. She lives with her husband and two children in Bloomington, IL.

Current Courses

278.001Arts For Early Childhood:Music

277.001Arts For Elementary Schools:Music

217.001Foundations of Music Teaching and Learning (General Music I)

262.001Foundations of Music Teaching and Learning (General Music II)

285.008Honors Undergraduate Research I

371.001Teaching Music to Diverse Learners

419.001Teaching Music to Diverse Learners

Ph D Music Education

Michigan State University
Lansing, Michigan

MMEd Music Education

University of Hartford's Hart School of Music
West Hartford, Connecticut

BME Music Education

East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina

Book, Authored

Feierabend, J. & Grimsby, R. (2021). Conversational Solfege for Recorder. GIA Publications.

Book, Chapter

Hammel, A.M. & Hourigan, R.M. (2020). Teaching music to students with autism. Oxford University Press.

Journal Article

Grimsby, R. & Knapp, E. J. (2022) A comparison of federal and state special education laws: implications for music educators, Arts Education Policy Review, https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2022.2077872
Grimsby, R. (2022). “A meeting of equals”: Music educators and special education paraprofessionals in a community of practice. Research Studies in Music Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X221078521
Grimsby, R. (2020). “Anything Is Better than Nothing!” Inservice Teacher Preparation for Teaching Students with Disabilities. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 29 (3), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083719893116
Grimsby, R. (2018). Prepare, practice, present: A “sound before sight” approach to teaching recorder. The Orff Echo, 51(1), 22 -27.
Grimsby, R., & Allen, A. MTE Mothers: Finding Balance During the Covid 19 Pandemic. no. Qualitative Research in Music Education

Presentations

Common Discord: Working with Paraprofessional / Folk Dancing Tricks from K-6. Ohio Music Educators Conference. (2022)
Elemental First Steps and Conversations in Orff Schulwerk. Elemental First Steps. Heart of Illinois Orff Chapter. (2022)
One Piece Many Pathways / Assistive Devices in the General Music Classroom. Illinois Music Educators Conference. (2022)
Common Discord: Music Educators and Paraprofessionals in a Community of Practice. American Educators Research Association. (2021)
Common Discord: Music Educators and Paraprofessionals in a Community of Practice. Desert Skies Symposium for Research in Music Education. Arizona State University. (2021)
Common Discord: Music Educators and Paraprofessionals in the Music Classroom. Michigan Music Educators Conference. (2021)
Conversational Recorder / UDL in the Elementary Classroom. Missouri Music Educators Conference. (2021)
Hip-Hop in the Elementary Music Classroom. Mountain Lake Symposium. (2021)
Perceptions of Preservice Music Educators Working with Students with Disabilities / MTE Mothers Navigating Covid-19. Society for Music Teacher Education. (2021)
UDL in the General Music Classroom and One Piece Many Pathways. Illinois Music Educators Conference. (2021)

Grants & Contracts

SAGE Grant: Fifth Element Education. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2021)
Sage Fund: SoSoonArtists. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2020)