Becoming A Different Kind of Ensemble Director

Teaching instrumental music with CMP techniques seems like a really good way to help students realize what they are supposed to be learning in an instrumental music classroom. After all, keeping learning goals a secret doesn't help students attain them. Providing explicit knowledge in a variety of ways will help students gather and use information for their own benefit and transfer into other areas. If the teacher knows as much as possible about the pieces he or she is teaching, it will enhance student learning. The teacher owes it to his or her students to do score analysis and perspective study to enhance the music education experience. Music is an active entryway into a variety of historical time periods and cultures. I think that studying and experiencing music can shed light on a variety of traits, from feelings to values, that all humans share, regardless of time, ethnicity, or location.

Making these connections through logical and sequenced activities over time will help students retain old ideas and learn new ones. Giving students opportunities to share ideas and knowledge will help them make the most personally meaningful connections, which will lead to transfer to the bigger understandings and ideas of history, culture, and the arts. One way to help students make these connections would be to have students create journals as they learn and play a specific piece of music. Doing this might help students ponder questions which will lead to active and meaningful discussion in class. These kinds of meaningful discussions will lead to active synthesis and evaluation.

Teaching Improvisation

I feel that it is important to integrate improvisation into instrumental methods classes. I feel that improvisation is often neglected in these classes. In my own experience as a middle and high scholer, the only time I had ever experienced musical improvisation was in a practice room, on my own, where nobody could possibly hear or see me. The first time I ever improvised in a group was as a junior in college, and it was not as part of an instrumental ensemble at all. It was a part of a music history class on the performance practices of the Baroque era. Part of this class focused on improvisation as a dynamic skill, and included an opportunity to improvise as part of an active learning experience. The experience of improvising in the moment with a group of people, especially as a part of a music history class, was a challenge. It was also a joy, and I was surprised to be exhilarated as a result of the active process of improvisation. This class put the Baroque period of music in a fresh, new light for me, and opened my ears and eyes to new ways of experiencing music.

Now, I really appreciate and enjoy Baroque music in a way that I never anticipated. I think that this is the result of the combination of excellent teaching and my willingness to open myself to new experiences. One of the things that made this teacher stand out to me was the fact that he allowed failure in the context of a musical performance experience. As a music performance major, this was a daunting, but revolutionary idea. I believe that the music learning process was partially exposed to me as a result of this music history class. This, in some way, has contributed to my desire to become an excellent music teacher.

I want to give these experiences to my students as a part of an instrumental music class in a K-12 setting. In order to make the experience fun and meaningful, it will be important to give the students certain parameters, especially at first, so they begin to feel comfortable with the process. Beginning with a pentatonic scale, they can improvise on any note and never sound "wrong." Teaching about good musical questions and answers is also be a way for me to integrate improvisation into my instrumental classroom at a slightly higher level. If the students know that a good answer to a musical question has some elements of the question in it (rhythm, pitches, etc.), they will have an idea where they can start improvising, leading to greater enjoyment and appreciation of music as an art form. I think that, above all, students will intuitively know what they like and what they don't if they are given an opportunity to just "do" improvisation. Giving a group of students an assignment to just jam together in a practice room and then perform for the class when they refine what they want to do would be a good way to integrate improvisation in an instrumental ensemble.

Assessment in Music Education

It is very important to accurately assess student's musical growth in music performance based classes. All too often, music educators of ensembles think that if students attend and participate in music ensembles, they will be able to simply "get by," learning necessary skills along the way as they spend more and more time in rehearsal. This is true to some extent, but without accurately measuring individual performances and knowledge learned in class, grades become a reward for good behavior in class instead of a tool for meaningful feedback.

Another danger in this approach to grading is that some students will end up with an inaccurate picture of what their skills actually are. This might lead to a student considering themselves ready to pursue a career in music performance when, in the larger world of music performance, they are inadequately prepared compared to their peers. This could have devastating effects for the students and families of students who are college-bound. While festival assessments provide a measure of reality for some students, some students whose districts do not attend festivals, the band or orchestra teacher's grade may be the only indicator.

In the instrumental music classroom, students should be assessed on the skills and knowledge to which instructional time has been devoted. If students are learning a new rhythm in a piece, grades on a cognitive assessment can provide teachers with an opportunity to gauge understanding and adjust strategies to make sure that all students understand the concept. This exercise would address the larger National Standard No. 5 (reading and notating music)and scores on the test would give individual students meaningful feedback. A good way for band and orchestra directors to provide lots of meaningful feedback and address National Standards 2 and 4 would be to have individual students leave the room, one at a time, and videorecord a prepared portion of a solo. The teacher could then review each videotape and provide meaningful feedback to each student. Keeping these videorecordings on file, in both the student and teacher portfolio, would provide an authentic record of growth for each student.

Competition: Is Music Education the Loser?

The music profession and competition go hand-in-hand. In the professional music world, high stake auditions are the primary way that music directors decide to hire musicians for their orchestras or bands. Similarly, professional ensembles have many opportunities to perform on local, state, national, and international levels for prizes and accolades. The idea of competition in instrumental ensembles in schools is a logical progression to prepare young musicians for the competitive professional music field. While the super-competitive approach to music in schools may be of particular benefit to the minority of students who seriously consider pursuing professional music careers, most students will not pursue music as an avocation. As such, music educators must make good decisions regarding competition that positively affect as many students as possible.

One thing that a music educator must consider is the constituency of the student population. What do the students need? Will bringing a competitive band or orchestra program into the school be a benefit and a boon to the community, or will it leave potential students behind? Will having a non-competitive "ya'll all come" type of ensemble (marching band, for example) affect more student involvement in music? Will parents and students respond to concert and contest competitions in a constructive way, or will concert and contest competitions deter students from participation in music ensembles? Obviously, the issues around music and competition stir up many questions, but the most important question for me to answer is, "what will be best for my students?" Being flexible about ensemble policies regarding competition with the needs of my students in mind will help me construct a program that will involve as many music students in as meaningful a way as possible.

If the students and parents in my school are receptive to competitive music making, I see it as my job to prepare my students in music classes for these competitions with constructive criticism. Constructive criticism can come in the form of assessment from me, from the students themselves, and from their peers. Creating a checklist style assessment that measures students in specific skill across a period of weeks with suggestions for improvement can help students realize that a solo and ensemble or marching band competition rating is only one more way to help students' grow and progress. If the students see a competition in this way, they will maintain a sense of worth even if they "lose" or "fail" in a competition.

If educators view competitive events as long-term goals that present opportunities for student growth, these events can be beneficial for the many students in his or her care. Giving specific feedback and suggestions for further growth after the competitive event can help engender the sense that nothing is acquired in life without hard work and motivation. These ideas will help every student grow in a meaningful way.