Bill Evans gets it…

I had never seen this video before and only recently stumbled upon it. A wonderful lesson and bit of educational advice from Bill Evans.

Creative Process and Self-Teaching

Advice for Student Teachers

I suppose this isn’t specific to music educators, but I just thought I would give some advice to those of you who are getting ready to begin your professional journey. There are many things that you can do in your student teaching experience to help and/or harm your development as a future educator. Having been through a great student teaching experience myself, as well as observing student teachers in the professional and academic setting, I feel pretty well-qualified to make these comments. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Yes, you need to write out your plans. Yes, you need to practice in a mirror. Yes, you need to keep some sort of candid journal that you will actually use once you finish. Given all of these, here are a few things that might help you take the biggest step of your life…from pre-service teacher to music educator.

In no particular order:

1. Start early – you will have an official begin and end date according to your college’s calendar, which you should completely ignore. If possible, contact your coop and get in there 2 weeks ahead of time, and stay until school is not in session. Is this convenient? No. Does it say a lot about your professionalism and work ethic? More than you know.

2. Start early – try to beat your coop to work every day. Not only is it a fun game, but you’ll earn some serious teacher-cred. Bring coffee for him/her if you need points.

3. No job is too small – every mundane job should automatically become the greatest thing you’ve ever done. The best way to get bigger, more important jobs is to master the small ones. Get familiar with the copier.

4. Ask for, and take, critique – most practicing teachers are happy to offer constructive guidance. However, they will also stop giving such comments if you do not persist in requesting them.

5. Try something new – when you get the opportunity, try a lesson plan that does not follow the normal rehearsal routine. Do a guided listening activity, a group composition, or something that meets those dreaded National Standards 9 and 10. Be as creative as possible. You’ll notice that if you are committed to these kinds of class activities, your students will be as well. The rewards are infinite.

Last, but not least: listen to sage advice (from myself and others…mainly from others). Take heed of what has been learned by veteran teachers, then realize that you will invariably forget most of these wise words and be doomed to repeat the same history you spent so much time trying to avoid. It’s OK. We’ve all been there. If you keep ALL of your students as the primary focus, you will not fail. Many people throw around statistics about how few music education graduates are still teaching after 5 or 10 years. This is a natural phenomenon. Have a good sense of humor about all of it, and you’ll come to realize that teaching music is a great career…that some people are meant to do and some are not. Whether or not you choose to continue down the path will primarily depend on your experiences (good and bad) and how they shape you as a professional, but more importantly, as an individual.

Now get out there and rock the boat!

The One Rehearsal Composition Challenge

I am challenging all interested ensemble directors to take one day on their calendar to try something a bit different. Amazing, musical results will follow…I guarantee it or your money back!

1) Take one rehearsal and break your group into sections (the smaller, the better). Have each section come up with a short (10-20 second) pattern. Explain that they may use their instruments in a typical fashion, or they may ‘gently’ use them to create other types of sounds.

2) Once they decide on their short sound pattern, ask them to incorporate music ideas (dynamic contrast, varied articulation, etc). Then give each group a single, blank staff and ask them to graphically notate their pattern. Because many will have used sounds instead of notes, a system for notating may need to be invented.

3) Have groups perform their short ideas, then ask if there are complementary passages. If so, can they be played in ‘harmony’ with another section? If you have time, try combining these patterns to create a piece that was written for your group by your group.

4) If you decide to continue to a 2nd day and beyond, you may have a few students collect and arrange the notated passages in order to create a formalized arrangement. Have one student organize a score and allow him/her to conduct it. The teacher records the rehearsal and posts to YouTube.

Covers MENC National Standards for Music Education:

2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.

Good luck and let us all know how it goes!

Tweet, tweet.

I’ve decided to join the Twitter universe as well…mainly to publicize this blog. Follow me @TheSchlip.

Here we go again…

One thing from the year past, one thing for the future:

The Past

I wanted to do something with my orchestra that really pushed the boundaries of my students’ concept of music. The idea being that we had a good start on melody, harmony, intonation, articulation, and the like…but that ‘concept’ is something that so often lacks in high school music ensembles. In times such as this, I am happy to work with a brilliant colleague who leads our electronic music program. Together, we tossed around the idea of doing a collaboration with our orchestra and laptop orchestra. We found a piece that was manageable for each group (Blue Calx by Aphex Twin). I had a student volunteer score the wind and string parts while the laptop orchestra prepared their parts. When it came time to prepare for the performance, both groups were very prepared for what was going to transpire. At that point, it became mostly about communication (understanding musical connections and how the piece would ‘work’).

I am sure that there were many who heard this piece performed and wondered if there was something a little off about me, or what kind of ‘medication’ I was on. And that’s fine. What I know is that my students got a different perspective on music making and a broader sense for what is possible therein.

The Future

This year, we are experimenting with a new structure in ‘Freshman Foundations in the Arts’ (which is basically an all-encompassing survey course for ALL freshmen). Before, this class had been very segmented into the various disciplines: music, drama, and visual art. Students were not asked to connect these at all…nor were the teachers (myself included). My colleagues and I decided that this should change. With our school focusing on interdisciplinary learning, we thought it would be a great opportunity to revise the class. Add the awesome element of all students and teachers receiving iPads for classroom use, and you can imagine the ideas that were bandied about.

What we came up with is a class based around creative, cross-curricular projects. Students will be utilizing their iPads as often as possible and incorporating ideas presented in a group setting. From there, it will be up to the students to identify the concept of their project. For example, all freshmen read Lord of the Flies over the summer as their first English assignment. Coming into the class, we want them to gain experience working with the iPad, specifically in creating art. With the concept of Lord of the Flies in mind, students will create a movie trailer that identifies the main themes of the book. We will encourage them to utilize existing movie trailers (within fair use) as well as record their own video clips to be assembled in iMovie. Then, students will compose a soundtrack to their video utilizing Garageband and other tools. As of right now, the integration is going to be cumbersome. You cannot export directly from Garageband to iMovie. Hopefully the ‘cloud’ integration with iOS5 will solve this problem. Anyway, there are multiple other projects that I will describe and evaluate at a later date. Stay tuned.

It’s Been Such a Long Time…

Wow. I haven’t posted anything here in a looooong time. I suppose that could mean one of two things: either I’m working too hard, or I’ve completely given up the fight. Well, I will tell you for sure that I haven’t given up. I’m still trying to implement the progressive ideas that I think music education urgently needs, and I’m still trying to make these changes in all classes…including the performance-based class that I have.

So now that you know I’m still at it, I thought it might be good to write some reflections from the first few weeks. I’ll focus on my new class, which is called music creation and production. For those who do not know, this is a class based on constructivist ideology. Students create their own music (with little guidance from me), and then we have critiques. They may ask myself or any of their peers to evaluate their work, for which I have made a form to fill out. The form is very basic – things you liked, things to improve, suggestions for future revisions. They then revise their work, and turn in a total of three projects at the end of the semester – all ‘drafts’ and evaluation forms included.

Here’s how it’s going:

- Our first challenge was space. I have eight students in the class, and while they are encouraged to work in groups, their immediate tendency is to pair up or work alone. This necessitates the need for at least 4 areas for work. We are fortunate to be able to accommodate, but obviously not everyone can record at the same time (as we only have one computer for multi-tracking, and one handheld for getting ideas down).

- Another issue is scheduling. It was great that the administration gave us 5 days out of 7 to have class (we’re on a 7-day cycle schedule), and we even have a double period on one of those days. Time is certainly not an issue in terms of quantity. I will say that I would much prefer to have another double period rather than meeting during one 45 minute class most days. It is difficult for students to come into class and just turn on the creativity switch in a span of one 45-minute period. Understandably so.

- Equipment is always a challenge. You always wish you had this and that without knowing whether or not it would actually be used. Ultimately, I think we have almost the right amount of ‘stuff’…except for a MIDI controller. I will ask for another laptop next year if the number of students warrants it.

- In the future, I will look for group improvisational activities to start the class out with. I think the students are agonizing too much in the early stages of their work. In my way of thinking, it is important to get a few good ideas down, and then expand them. Improvisation skills will benefit these ‘brainstorms’.

- I will have specific dates for turning in drafts for evaluation. Many of the students are not doing these on a regular basis. They feel as though they need a completed project before it is evaluated. There is also quite a bit of inconsistent focus. A few of the students tend to jump from project to project without really completing any of them. Having required ‘check-ins’ will help.

That’s all for now. Thanks to those who have inquired about my class, and have  expressed interest and support. It is a very new process to me, and one that I think is very relevant in modern education. I will continue to reflect on how I can best provide a forum for creative exploration in music. I hope you do the same.

PS – I went to see Wilco the other night, and have never seen a better live performance in my life. Go see them when you can. Pay whatever the asking price is for tickets. You will not be disappointed. Bravo, Wilco!

The Future of Bands, Choirs, and Orchestras

My most recent post reminded me of a conversation I once had with a conductor of a college wind ensemble program. This person is very well-known and respected amongst their peers. We got to talking about the progressive ideas that I so often ramble about. And this professor asked whether I thought that ensembles would continue to play a role in school music programs in the future. This baffled me because…of course they will (I thought). But it also made me realize that there was this entire community of music educators that either thought ensembles would not remain a part of school music programs, or questioned their relevance in a society where music making is evolving into something much different than our traditional way of conceptualizing music-making.

So I continue to think about this. Will our school ensembles still exist in 20, 50, 100 years? Should they? Music has always been a part of education in this country. Instrumental ensembles are a phenomenon of the mid-1950′s. Before this, we had great ensembles and instrumentalists who would meet and rehearse on their own. Music was a class like any other. Removing ensembles from schools would allow teachers the flexibility to focus on a student-centered curriculum based on a constructivist ideology – I’m all for that. But I can’t help this feeling that something would be missing if we did not have these ensembles in school. Perhaps it doesn’t seem right because I was raised that way, and the generation who taught me was raised that way.

I often wonder what school music education was like for my grandparents and great-grandparents. Would it be different now that we have technology to make music and music making available almost anywhere? Would ensembles have become as prevalent if teachers were using Garageband, Sibelius, and Audacity back then? At the time, were ensembles considered a better way of teaching music? Is our generation (or a future generation) ready to move on to something else if it is thought to be so? I’m asking because, frankly, I don’t know.

The ‘Director of Bands’ Syndrome

I just returned from the IMEA convention, and was pleased to see greater representation of progressive ideas related to music curriculum in our schools. I do, however, feel the need to comment on some of the peripheral aspects of this conference. Namely, the overwhelming majority of junior high and high school teachers who refer to themselves as Director of ______ when describing their craft.

Let’s approach this from the perspective of an administrator. Here we have a teacher who tries to advocate for the many benefits of music education in the context of a holistic education by anointing themselves as what essentially equates to a music coach. Just think…what would happen if chemistry teachers started calling themselves Directors of Bunsen Burners? Bands, orchestras, and choirs are a vehicle for music learning, but in no way do these terms summarize what we do. Your job (and my job) is much larger than that. The title Director of _____ constrains the scope of your job. In the age of music education needing to extend to other disciplines as well as shoring up our own priorities, dressing ourselves in straight-jackets by worrying about glorified titles is the last thing we need.

If you teach at a college, and your only job is to be a conductor of a top-level ensemble, and you consider that to be all that you do, then you may consider yourself a Director of ____. If you feel that your reach is a little greater than that, consider changing your business card to read ‘Music Educator’ or ‘Purveyor of Sound-Based Art and Culture’…anything that accurately describes the scope of what we do. If your administration lists this as your job title, take the opportunity to educate them about the many things you do besides direct bands, choirs, and orchestras. Our advocacy efforts will only stand tall once we stop cutting ourselves off at the knees. Consider the words of our newly-elected MENC President, and use your personal forum as part of a larger effort that will benefit all the students of your community and the art of music as a vital part of a holistic education.

Creative Music Class

I’m trying to write curriculum for a new class proposal at school. I want this class to be completely independent from our ensembles, and geared toward the school’s general population of students who have little or no experience in music. The question I keep asking myself, and now you as well, is, “What kind of music-specific knowledge should I plan to teach in the class?” Music theory is offered at the school, both as an introductory course and AP(one semester each). Should this be a prerequisite? Take the intro theory course before you’re able to enroll in the creative class? My concern with this is that it takes the opportunity away for any student to take it – as some students do not have two free semesters. If I offer the class with no prerequisite, there are still theory-related issues to be dealt with. Should these be dealt with on an as-needed basis?

My feeling right now is that a very quick introduction to theory would be appropriate, and then tackle other issues as needed. This would allow for the maximum amount of ‘constructivism’. These types of student-driven classes are starting to be prevalent in Great Britain, and I see no reason why they would not work here either. In fact, they may very well exist and I’m simply not aware of them. Have you ever experienced a class such as this? What are your feelings about having a class where the teacher acts as an advisor/facilitator rather than a supreme being of knowledge?

My assumption is that a class like this will be wildly popular – especially amongst student who are ‘amateur’ musicians (the rock dudes). Currently, the program at my school is ill-equipped to serve this group of students, and I would imagine we are not alone in this shortcoming. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on this type of curriculum, I would be happy to get your input. As it stands, this program would be highly experimental, but I am interested to observe instances of success as part of action research in implementing this class.

My Resolution

2009 will hopefully prove to be a year of hope and change in the world. The masses have come out in support of a new kind of civil revolution. So too shall we have an uprising in the music education community of progressive thought. I have made it my goal to make this the year that I formulate my philosophy statements into a conference presentation as a contribution to this much needed critique of music in schools.

What I would encourage all who read this or are involved in music education to do is give serious thought to the state of music in the schools. Are we, as teachers, providing student-centered programs that are available to the entire population in addition to our traditional performance classes? Is creativity (and not re-creativity) a major part of the curriculum? Is music learning made meaningful for all our students? These are the questions that will drive me probably for the remainder of my career (as change is never a simple, overnight matter), and I am always appreciative of the thoughts of my friends and colleagues. Cheers to you all in ’09!