basics basics basics

Being that today was the last day before Thanksgiving break, the kids were (of course) a little antsy. We still managed to get a fair amount accomplished, though. I spent most of my time working with the flute choir. There are three seventh grade flute players who are playing the piece and about eight eighth graders. The seventh graders are a little slow, but they are getting it. I was actually very impressed by the eighth graders - the lowest part is in some ways the hardest, because it's in the very bottom of the flute range. The eighth graders ROCKED it today and I was really proud of them. :) I had an interesting moment with the seventh graders the other day . . . I was demonstrating how I wanted them to play something, and one of the girls stopped me immediately afterward and said, "How do you get it to sound like that? You know. . . . how do you make it sound pretty?" She was referring to my tone and vibrato. It caught me off guard because I think so easily, music teachers (myself included) are quick to ignore tone because
1. it is difficult to teach in a group setting
2. it is difficult to work on no matter what. . . . it's a very individual skill, and
3. we fall into the "prepare ourselves for the concert" trap where all focus gets placed on learning notes and rhythms so that we can perform particular pieces, rather than working on big-picture skills (which would be useful, because they then apply to other pieces and the student's musical development).

The more I student teach, the more I find this similar in many ways to the academic curriculum's struggle with No Child Left Behind. NCLB forces teachers to "teach to the test," and when testing is the only emphasis in a classroom, so many learning experiences and possible discoveries get pushed to the backseat. We want them to do well on tests, but teaching them only by testing doesn't help them get there. They need a safe atmosphere with questioning and exploration and the opportunity to work together, discover things themselves, etc. If we just drill and drill and drill exams, of course they won't learn well. How does that engage or motivate anyone?

I think it's the same with music. When all we focus on is being able to run through a piece from beginning to end without letting it fall apart, what have we really accomplished? Sure, they can place something for a concert, but it isn't their best work. They aren't being musical or expressive or creative. They still have flawed fundamentals, like instrument position and posture and articulation. Getting through isn't enough. It's tough because you need to have enough faith in yourself as a teacher to know that if you take yourself away from the concert repertoire, you will teach them valuable skills that will enhance the concert music when you return to it. . . I think too many teachers are concerned that if they use the non-concert/test-related teaching strategies that they'd really like to use, they're somehow wasting time, and that the kids will then be behind on the tests or concerts. This cannot happen. Music is so much more than starting at the top of a page and making it to the end at the same time. By only teaching kids to make it through a piece, we are cheating them of musicality and expression and all the things that make music worth pursuing in the first place. To refer back to my flute choir example, the seventh graders were frustrated that they couldn't sound as "pretty" as I did, but they had no idea what they needed to do to improve their tones. Students get easily frustrated when they feel that they can't do something, and teachers get frustrated when they aren't doing it. . . . but we need to give them all the tools to succeed. And we need to do it all the time. Basic fundamentals need to be reinforced all of the time. No matter how you look at it, a strong foundation benefits the teacher and students and allows for higher levels of musicality and performance.



On a different topic, I had a great day teaching music theory at the high school. I've had a slightly difficult time making personal connections with kids at the high school, whereas I was able to relate to the middle schoolers almost immediately. A lot of it had to do with the scheduling, but I'm finally at the point where I think the high schoolers and I feel comfortable with each other. Several students sought me out to ask for help, and a few just kind of wanted to talk and hang out, which is really cool. Working on music theory one-on-one with high schoolers reminded me what I like about that age level; I like that they are able to think about complex topics and reason things out for themselves. I like the advanced conversations you can have with high schoolers. Musically, I like that you can work on broader musical topics rather than mechanics. However, I think the challenge is to have high expectations from the get-go. If you aren't constantly trying to push the boundaries for younger students, they aren't just going to wake up as competent high schoolers one day.

To end with two positive anecdotes from my day. . .
1. Since it's almost Thanksgiving, one of the beginner band flute players left made a little card for my cooperating teacher and me thanking us for teaching her and encouraging her to do her best. It was pretty cute.
2. I had this conversation in the hallway today when I ran into another beginner band student:

me: Hi, Kaitlyn!
student: Hi.
me: You don't sound very excited.
student: No.
me: Not even a little? It's almost time for break!
student: I know . . . but I love school.