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.