General Music Lesson Reflection

My assignment of giving a series of 8th grade general music lessons on Louis Armstrong has been more difficult than I initially expected. Most likely this is because of my thought process that Louis Armstrong, while an incredibly important person in music and our history, might not be especially relevant to our students. My aim is to find an overarching concept that allows me to incorporate his innovations in music with historical context without having it seems like a purely academic endeavor. I have been using many of the common anchors of the national music standards to facilitate discussion, and to generate questions and activities in an attempt to humanize Louis Armstrong, the artist.

The 10 minutes of the lesson that I presented was the introduction. I was worried somewhat that my ideas would be a little too abstract, and I think that played out. I don't think there was enough structure to the initial exercise, and I also forgot to explicitly tie it in with the Louis Armstrong quote. However I do think it could be augmented with a little more direction and feedback to speak more accurately to what I was intending. Perhaps using cards, magnets, or some kind of props, as suggested by Professor Schneider, would be beneficial. In general, I think I could have been a little more succinct with the lesson outline regarding what awaited the students. I like the idea of a long(ish) introduction. but with only three 40 minute periods, I'm afraid there wasn't enough concrete information and too much abstraction to justify the time spent. I think it would be better to jump in after the first common anchor idea into some history or possibly "set the scene" to add some context to our discussion.

I also forgot to ask what the class knew about Armstrong so as to generate some communal understanding of who we're talking about. I had that in my plan pretty early, but I accidentally skipped over it.

This run-through gave me a little better of an understanding of how to steer discussion, but also how much time can be taken up doing this when a hands on activity might have been better. It was observed that I "lost the class" at some point, and this is especially a problem in the introduction to a long lesson. I need to add more structure to these discussions and with structure comes easier assessment of the students. These self-observations, along with much of what I saw other students do with their lessons, have given me some idea of how to better approach my lesson for my final.

The Moneygoround

The question of whether music educators should have to rely on parents and fundraising to fund their music program is theoretically easy to answer: absolutely not. The numerous benefits of having music in schools have been well-documented. A recent survey speaks to the desire of parents and teachers to keep a music program in their schools despite trending budget cuts in the arts. Unfortunately, good will isn't currency.

One could see certain music programs, particularly in financially stable districts, as being able to sustain themselves on fundraising and parental contributions. But this model may not work as well in low-income areas where music is too low a priority to see any of a family's money. This is unfair on a variety of levels, but probably not enough to make political waves.

Of course, there are scholarships and foundations that donate to music and art education, so teachers can certainly go after those. But this puts undo pressure on a teacher who is already overburdened, and makes financial planning almost impossible.

Unfortunately, I lack the experience to speak to this question through my own experience. I am hopeful through future education reforms, we can better examine the varied needs of our students in this country, and potentially shift away from the "teaching to the test" approach that has inadvertently pushed a well-rounded education, including the arts, to the sidelines.

The Technicality of Music

In spite of my undergraduate degree being in sound recording, I would not have considered myself even remotely adept at music technology for quite a few years after graduating. It wasn't until a friend needed music for a video production that I really started to open my eyes to the immense growth of musical production oriented technology available. In the years since, I have managed to compile a pretty reasonable library of virtual instruments and plug-ins that I believe supply me with the tools I need to express myself musically in the digital realm. While not completely up to date, much of what I've composed almost completely virtually can be found on this website.

To make a long story short, my cursory knowledge of MIDI and DAWs allowed me to contribute musically to many productions I would absolutely not been able to as someone with limited proficiency on melodic instruments. It has also empowered me to accept recording and mastering projects I otherwise would have balked at, and to take on a role as a sound designer and in-house composer I've had for 4 years now with a company in Bethesda called GraphicAudio. Through simply taking the time to learn how to use some elements of musical technology, I was accepted to a Film Scoring Workshop last year at NYU, where I was able to work with renowned film composers and studio musicians in their incredible facilities. I am an example of someone who uses music technology professionally with moderate success.

While there are countless avenues to pursue in regards to using music technology in an educational capacity, the main thing that still blows my mind is the quality of virtual instruments available. With these fantastic sounding and easily used virtual instruments, composing takes on a life of its own. Years ago, well before I decided to become a music teacher, I felt that having a student sit down with an orchestra at his fingertips would be a potentially life-changing experience. I still feel that way today, and I am hopeful that I will someday find myself in a situation where bringing this experience to students is possible. As educator Scott Watson wrote in his book Using Technology to Unlock Musical Creativity, "music teachers, using a certain methodology and technology tools, can draw out authentic musical creativity from students of all levels of experience and, in the process, deliver meaningful education."* I am a firm believer in this concept, and I'm only just starting to see how to do this in the real world. 

A great example of this concept put to use is in Melissa Salguero's class at an elementary school in New York City. I was fortunate to see her give a presentation at a CMEA conference this year at the University of Bridgeport. Music technology takes the front seat in her class via various interactive websites, DAWs, and remote MIDI controllers which enable her young students to sing, create, learn, and work together in new and exciting ways. In addition to having an inspiring story, she has received acclaim and awards for her approach of meeting the students where they are and building a successful music program out of nothing.

While I have much to learn and more classroom experience to gain, using music technology as part of my curriculum is potentially the most authentic thing I can provide for my students. By meeting them where they are, I believe we can make music an important part of their development and self-expression even with limited traditional musical expertise.

 *Watson, Scott. Using Technology to Unlock Musical Creativity. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. 

Choir Lesson Reflection

Choir has only recently become a part of my musical world. In school I was always in concert and jazz band, and only once did we ever interact with the chorus in the form of Mozart's Requiem. Last year, I became a member of the small choir at my church in Milford, CT. Luckily for me, the music director is very good at what he does (and helpful to those of us who need it most). I have learned a lot by observing how he warms us up, presents pieces, and works through them. I was able to use some of that experience in helping my very competent group formulate a mock lesson plan.

Some techniques I saw in other groups that I found particularly effective were having the choir sing in various intervals and in rounds. I thought this generated great sounds and also could be used when tricky intervals within a piece are common. In fact, all of the differing warm-up exercises were helpful insights into different approaches.

Some other insightful comments from Professor Schneider regarding the efficacy of movement while singing to promote expression, making a conscious choice regarding conducting vs. snapping, and the accepted norm of warm-up exercises descending from head voice to chest voice also proved extremely helpful. I feel like this exercise has given me many approaches to getting my feet wet in leading a choral group.

The Assessors and The Assessed

Assessment and rubrics and the ways in which educator's interact with students seems to be increasingly under the microscope. This is understandable as data begins to mount regarding the ways in which we best learn, and how significantly these ways differ from the ways we were (are?) taught. Alfie Kohn's article on "The Trouble with Rubrics" equates rubrics to putting lipstick on the pig that is a one size fits all approach to teaching and student assessment, removing any need for a teacher to reformulate and reassess their craft in an effort to more meaningfully educate their diverse collection of students.

At this point, I have never had the opportunity to grade or evaluate a "student" having never been a teacher of any kind, so I am still learning the myriad approaches to assessment, especially in a music class. One important thing that I've learned is that assessment should be something that occurs daily in an attempt to make plain the expectations you have for your students.

Robert Duke's essay on assessment in his book Intelligent Music Teaching speaks to clear objectives and goals in your teaching that are effectively conveyed to your students through constant assessment and feedback. An effective teacher needs to be actively involved in this process to better dictate the course of curriculum, and, most importantly, creating opportunities for the students to use all of the information and techniques they've learned. If these opportunities are plentiful, theoretically the student isn't completely concerned with what's on the rubric or what's on the test. Put simply, more interest is placed on formative assessment than summative. This may also enable the teacher to make music less of an academic endeavor, and more of a means of authentic artistic expression.

A rubric can absolutely be a useful tool for assessment. When it comes to the finite "nuts and bolts" elements of music that can be easily judged correct or incorrect (rhythms, notes, etc.), a rubric would absolutely be a great practice guide for a student. But a rubric's existence shouldn't be used as a crutch or to undermine a teacher's duty to adjust and augment the class when it's in the students' best interests. When it comes to making great musicians of our students, a one size fits all approach won't do. As the tide washes your mandala away, start building a better one.

Source: Duke, Robert A. Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction. Austin: Learning and Behavior Resources, 2005. Print.