Week 5

This week, we have spent a lot of time learning/discussing about students responding to music. I find this one of the most important aspects of music. If someone does not enjoy music enough to at least have an opinion about what they are hearing, why bother at all? As teachers, I believe one of our main goals is to develop a students ear and provoke thoughts about music. Of course I want my students to be able to tell me things about the melodies they hear, the form, instruments and rhythms used, style, and culture of the music we listen to. But, I also want them to have an opinion about what they hear- How does it make them feel? What does it make them think of? Is it enjoyable to listen to? How do the specifics they are hearing (such as form, melodies, instruments, rhythms) affect their listening experience? All of these are incredibly important questions as well. It is important to understand music technically, but it is also important to understand the music within yourself.

One of the best ways I have found to encourage this learning is by tying things to music my students already know and love. If you can get a student to understand some of the more theoretical concepts such as form through a popular song, they will be more likely to actually have some thoughts when they hear music that is different from what is common for them. One program we learned about this week that can help achieve this is www.zaption.com . Through Zaption, you can create Interactive Videos that can be accessed by students at school or at home. You have the ability to create slides that will either pause the music and ask a question or slide out and inform the listener of what you want them to know while listening.

This week, I used Zaption to create a review video for my students about form. Every spring when we begin reviewing certain topics, I take some time to work on some cup songs with my 4th and 5th graders. Cups are a very inexpensive instrument to purchase, and my students adore learning the different patterns and the success they feel when they are able to put it together as a class. Generally this is a time that I try to gear towards what they enjoy hearing. I have a cup song for Cotton Eyed Joe, but this past year I added one in using "Happy" by Pharrell. I was impressed with how much of a hit this was with my students. Usually we spend half of a class reviewing concepts heard in the song and discussing the form, then spend some time learning the patterns with cups. On the second week, we practice the patterns and put it together. The reviews tend to be a lot of me talking, so Zaption is a great way to efficiently review what I want them to know. The videos on Zaption could be viewed at school individually in a lab or in small groups, and discussed as a class.

Below is my video that I created for Zaption to review form.
In addition to Zaption, we also reviewed a music software program or website. I chose to review Carnegie Hall’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”.

It is a website I used with my 2nd graders every year and every year after they still ask about “the orchestra game”. Using a safari theme to find instruments, a girl named Violet finds each instrument of the “extinct” symphony orchestra and learns about each one along the way. It teaches the students about the orchestra as a whole, the families of the orchestra, and each individual instrument.

The game is incredibly interactive and could be used at home individually, or as a full class activity. If at home, the student simply creates a secret username and password (no personal information is required), or a teacher will create a class username and password. I would highly recommend this software to anybody in an elementary music classroom. Students enjoy interacting with the IWB (Interactive Whiteboard), and for the most part, if the students have experience with an IWB, the game is self-run. The teacher simply facilitates discussions about what they are hearing from each instrument and assists with the games as needed.

Tools such as Zaption and YPGO are great tools to enhance a students listening. With Zaption you can create a guided listening environment for the students, whether it be songs they already know, or songs you want them to hear. With YPGO, it teaches the students along the way about the sounds of different instruments as well as important concepts such as theme and variations.

In our readings this week, one passage about listening really stood out to me. It said, “Students frequently differentiate between the music they experience in and out of school, expressing a preference for listening to music at home. School music is often perceived as passive and difficult, with students indicating they engage with it to please their parents and teachers. At home, they are able to listen in private and can choose what they will listen to. Students often use music as a means of emotional regulation while at home.” (pp. 107). If we as teachers can connect to students musically by tying our standards and curriculum into things they enjoy such as pop music and video games, we should take advantage of it. If we can use that same music they enjoy to invoke deeper thoughts about what they are hearing, I think it is even better. If we can connect to what they want to know and learn, they will probably have these same thoughts when they are listening for enjoyment at home. Musically, if we can engage them in class with music they know and appreciate, I believe we are more likely to have a chance to engage them in the music they perceive as passive and difficult.

Week 4

This week’s reading was all about music performance.  The main objectives from the chapter that stood out to me were the research and practices leading to skills and knowledge and the affordances and constraints of technology with application to performance.

There are so many factors involved in acquiring performance skills, including practice, motivation, modeling, and feedback.  It should go without saying that practice is crucial in learning a skill.  Simply spending a lot of time practicing does not make a great musician, but rather the quality of practice as well.  If a student studies for a test for hours on end, they are less likely to retain the information than if they break up the studying into smaller chunks.  The same goes for practicing an instrument.  According to the reading, “The brain needs time to solidify newly developed neural networks; frequent breaks and adequate sleep are important in this process.  These breaks become even more important when the brain is dealing with complex material (Altenmuller & Schneider, 2009).” (Bauer, pp. 81).  One of the main struggles with practice, though, is motivation.  Some students need to be extrinsically motivated to practice- i.e., being rewarded for their work.  Eventually, these extrinsic motivators should be designed to encourage intrinsic motivation.  As I look back on my practice, I cannot quite remember when my motivation changed from extrinsic to intrinsic, but at long as I can remember, I have always played because of my love of music.  I loved the feeling of making music, and improving every time I practiced.  One thing that has always encouraged this is by never being given an assignment that was out of my reach.  I was very lucky to have the teachers I did because they always challenged me and pushed me to be my best.  If a student does not have this, I think it makes the switch to intrinsic motivation take longer to acquire.

Modeling and feedback are two other very important parts to acquiring performance skills.  By observing and imitating others, students are able to gain skills such as proper tone, embouchure.  As teachers, we do not always have the skills needed to be a perfect example of every instrument.  This is where technology can come into play.  It is proven that people learn better through pictures and words, so by showing students video and audio of high quality musicians and recordings, they are able to improve their own musicianship.  From here, students also need to receive feedback in order to progress.  This allows students to have an idea of their progress and set goals for where they can improve.  Feedback also includes students themselves diagnosing their own problems and coming up with solutions.  This can be done utilizing digital audio software and having the students listen to their own performance.

One example of digital audio software we learned about this week was Audacity.  In my opinion, Audacity is more of an advanced software option.  When an audio file is put into audacity, you can see the actual waveforms.  This allows you to cut sections of the recording, add various effects, and mix and edit it in numerous ways.  Once you learn the program, I think it is very user friendly.  I already have past experience with Audacity so using the program for my assignment was simple.  I think for my elementary school students, Audacity would be out of the question, but for an older student I believe it has the potential to be a great tool. 

Our assignment this week was to create a remix of “Mahna Mahna” from the Muppets Show.  I had a tougher time with this assignment simply because I am not a huge fan of remixes.  I like everything to be in order and be neat and tidy.  However, I could easily see the benefit of an assignment like this in music education.  In fact, if I taught older students, it seems like something I would assign in a classroom.  It is a great assignment to reach “the other 80%”, as well as to be used in getting the other 20% of students to think outside of the box.  Though I did not use many effects besides fading the music in my composition, a program such as Audacity allows for so much to be done to a file, both through the program itself, and by things imported by the creator.  Though this did not bother me, the only downside I found was the lengths you have to go through to share your creation.  Some may think that having to download additional software to export your file as an MP3 and then uploading it through other outlets may be too much additional work.  The advantage to other cloud-based programs we have used so far, such as Soundtrap and Noteflight are that you can share your compositions and the simple click of the mouse.

Week 3

Our main project this week was to create a composition using Soundtrap, an online Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).  I used this project to take an opportunity push myself to try something different in terms of the sounds I used throughout the project.  It was interesting to explore a new program that I am certain I will be able to use one day, when I am working with older students.  In my current situation with elementary students, I do not think a project using Soundtrap would be feasible, but with older students, it would easily attainable.  Soundtrap was easy to use and understand, and with older students, it would be a great project to have them create either using the loops provided or adding in their own music.  The ease of Soundtrap allows for a teacher to suit a project to individual student no matter their skill level.  They can give as many or as few guidelines and constraints as needed.  For example, if there is a student who does not have much musical experience (whether traditional or non-traditional), the teacher could allow only the use of loops, assign a time signature, form, and set a constraint such as only being able to choose a certain number of loops from low voices, melodies, harmonies, etc.  For a student who has a background in music or theory and has explored programs similar to Soundtrap creating their own music, the teacher could give fewer constraints and allow more student creativity.

This project though, along with everything else we have worked on in class so far, has opened up my eyes to a whole different set of tools to use in my teaching.  I have always encouraged my students to create and explore, but never with a plethora of technological use.  I find that among my other elementary colleagues, the majority of them do not focus on any composition in their classrooms.  This concept astonishes me time after time.  Teaching, to me, is about using whatever works to reach the students and allows them to better themselves as musicians.  This includes composition.  As much as we hate to admit it, technology plays a huge role in our student’s lives.  From Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter to the newest IPhone or Tablet, students are constantly connected.  Even my younger students have up-to-date smart phones they carry around in their backpacks all day.  So, why not take this to our advantage as teachers, and incorporate it into something musical?  If we can teach them to use something like Incredibox, Soundtrap, Musescore, or Noteflight, there is a much better chance that instead of scrolling through the most recent pictures on Instagram when they are bored, they might open up one of these programs and explore.  If it is something they are already so consumed with, why wouldn’t we try to tap into this?

Over the past couple weeks when talking about improvisation and composition, it has made me realize that it is possible to see them both as one in the same, or improvisation as the road leading to composition.  There are so many similarities and overlaps that many techniques for teaching the students could be used in both situations.  In both cases, the musician is creating.  In composing, the idea is written down where as many times in improvisation it is simply played.  In addition, many of the same principles used in Kratus’ model of the development of improvisational abilities can also be applied to teaching composition.  The student needs to be able to explore sounds, develop the ability to audiate, progress to very structured creation and then slowly have constraints removed.  Teachers are to encourage the student to listen, practice transcription, and give feedback on their improvisational technique.  The same could be said for composition.  Whether traditional or non-traditional, students must be able to explore different sounds first and then create with constraints given by the teacher to develop their abilities.  Bauer states that some of the guiding beliefs to inform their work [a student learning to compose] are:

“1. Using notation software develops music literacy

  2. Begin composition with structured guidelines

  3. Reflect and critique frequently

  4. Encourage revision

  5. Promote composition for the teachers

  6. Provide opportunities for live performance of student work

  7. Composition is one element of a well-rounded curriculum.” (Bauer, pp. 60)

When comparing these guidelines to the Kratus model, it is impossible to deny the similarities between improvisation and composition.   As teachers, it is our job to open up student exploration into both of these worlds, no matter the level or age.

Week 2

This week, our two main topics of discussion were affordable alternatives to traditional notation software such as Sibelius and Finale, and improvisation.

I was pleasantly surprised with MuseScore and Noteflight after working with them this week.  Though both have positives and negatives, they are definitely a good tool for schools on a budget that could be used by both students and teachers alike.  Up until now, I have always worked off of an older version of Sibelius that I never wanted to replace because I simply did not want to pay an arm and a leg to upgrade.  I could also imagine schools would find it a waste to pay for an expensive program for student computers that constantly has a new version being released as well.

Upon discovering MuseScore this week, I feel that I may have found a great replacement for my current software.  I’m not sure that I would be able to use this with my current students, but I could see older students who are a little more advanced using this software with no problem.  I loved that it did not take me long to input an entire arrangement.  I actually think watching the videos took longer than writing out the music.  I also found that when I used my MIDI keyboard (for the first time!), it made the process move even quicker.  Though I do not have much experience yet with MuseScore, I have not found anything I dislike about it so far.  I found the keyboard shortcuts very simple and easy to remember, and especially formatting a score to be a breeze.   I am certain if I can handle this, a more advanced music student could as well.  They could do something as simple as transcribing music for another instrument and transposing it to what they could play, or creating their own melody or piece of music from scratch.

My experience with NoteFlight was as good as MuseScore, but I am not sure that I am sold on it as my go-to program.  It is convenient, however, for simple things such as writing out a quick song for recorder or another instrument if you don’t mind the playback being in a different voice. I also appreciated the fact that you can work on it literally anywhere without having to download software onto each computer.  As a teacher though, I find it limiting with how few choices of instrument there are, especially if you are coming up with something from scratch.  However, I think it would be great for students to use, possibly even as young as my 5^th graders for a short assignment.  I believe it is more user-friendly than MuseScore, and the input goes quickly once you are into a good rhythm while working.

Our other main topic of discussion this week was improvisation.  Personally, improvisation has always made me feel like an inadequate musician because of some awkward experiences with it, but that has not stopped me from being determined that my students will feel more comfortable with it than I did.  Even if they do not know they are improvising, I want them to be able to explore and create music in any way possible.  This was an experience I did not have in elementary school.  My school did not have any instruments- in fact, the only things I can even remember us doing is singing and playing recorder.  We never created anything- we spent the majority of our time singing songs from a paper.

The concept of Kratus’ seven level sequential model for the development of improvisational abilities made me think in a whole new way about this topic.  I always knew I was letting my students explore their musicality and create, but I never realized it actually fit into a process such as Kratus’ model.  Seeing as I work with elementary aged students, we spend a lot of time with levels one and two of the model.   To some who are looking in from the outside, it may not seem like much, but to my students, some days it means the world to them.  The majority of my students have very rough lives, but when they are at school and are able to see and hear something they created, especially when it sounds good, they feel like they are on top of the world.

In my opinion, level one is probably the most important step to becoming comfortable with improvisation.  I find that a lot of times, allowing students to try out various sounds without structure goes hand in hand with the development of the ability to audiate.  I think if a student is hearing the different sounds they can personally create from an instrument, it becomes a more meaningful kind of listening practice.  Then when they go to hear something they are being taught, they will be able to make a connection to something they were already able to do.  I also think this level is one students need to spend quite a bit of time participating in.  Within my music classes, when we are working on creating, I very rarely even attempt anything other than exploration until my students are in second grade.  Even then, my students in second through fifth spend time exploring as well.  And of course, this exploration level will need to happen again when they are introduced to a new instrument in band, strings, or even private lessons.

The other level my students spend a lot of time on (even though I did not realize it at first) is level two: process-oriented improvisation.  I begin with very strict constraints such as, “You may only use this rhythm and these notes- you only decide the order in which you play them”.  From here, we slowly take away different constraints to see what they can come up with on their own.  I think a process like this gives them time to figure out what they want something to sound like, but gives enough structure for those students who may not be fully comfortable with it yet so they can ease into the process.

After level two of the model, I think it progresses in a way that is very sensible.  This seven-level model gives a very clear picture of what each stage should look and sound like, as well as some things the teacher can do to facilitate the learning of the student.  In fact, I think the model is so clear that teachers who are not comfortable with improvisation themselves, could have a basis from which they could also improve.

A Bicycle Built for Two

As an educational tool, I think NoteFlight is great for short and simple work- something similar to "A Bicycle Built For Two". It is user friendly for the most part when you know the keyboard shortcuts and it is convenient that it is online as opposed to having to be downloaded. With this feature, you are able to take your work anywhere you have internet access, even if you do not have your computer with you. For a teacher if would be very convenient in working on something while at home and work. Some constraints however, are that I think it would take much more time to transcribe or write out a longer piece, and I was never quite able to figure out how to copy and paste a section of music. I also think the input of notes is a little more time consuming when you have to put in a note, then change the value. This makes it very easy to get lost in your piece and lose your place. I do not think this program would be very user-friendly for younger students. One last constraint is the instrumentation selection. There are very few choices in this department, which causes you to not have a realistic sound of the piece that some other notation software can give you.