In
this week’s readings, we learned about how to enhance students’ abilities to
create music, especially through creativity in improvisation. Regarding
creativity, we must remember that Bloom’s taxonomy lists it as the highest
level of understanding (Bauer, 2014, p. 48), which can often be the most difficult tier to
reach. In the music classroom, this tier is within reach when students
understand the concept of creativity while also feeling comfortable in the
classroom environment, so as to be willing to try new things when being
creative. When I first met my students, they were terrified to make mistakes,
for they did not want to embarrass themselves in front of their peers. It’s okay to make mistakes! In fact, they
are encouraged! became the motto in my classroom. My students often heard
me say, “If we can’t hear mistakes, we
can’t work to fix the mistakes!” Together, we created an environment where
students were free to make mistakes, ask questions, and work as a team to
improve each day. Bauer said, “there are often false starts and dead ends” (Bauer, 2014, p.
50) in the creative process. When my students began to see that these times of
trouble are just opportunities to take a different approach to the task, they
began to realize that mistakes are not always a bad thing. When we, as educators,
start to teach our students that it is okay to make mistakes, I believe we have
sparked the creativity process, for this process will never be perfect.
Improvisation
is often connected to the jazz genre, which may lead people to believe that it
should only be taught in jazz ensembles. While its importance is clear in these
ensembles, all musicians should have a basic understanding of how to improvise.
Using the TPACK model, music educators could begin the seven-step process of
teaching improvisation (Bauer, 2014, p. 52). The content and pedagogy aspects of the craft
may be taught through explanation and/or demonstration, but I believe the
process will be more exciting for the students once it includes technology. SmartMusic
would be an excellent resource to supplement the beginning stages of
improvisation for middle school students, as there are several lesson books
that include improvisation excerpts, as well as books written specifically for
the jazz musician. I imagine a setting where a bass line is played, students
are instructed to use certain pitches to create a solo, and several students
play their solos at the same time to decrease anxiety. Later, I imagine a
setting where students volunteer to play a solo alone to demonstrate their
understanding. Whether this resource was used in a lesson, sectional, or large
group setting, students would recognize that every piece of improvisation is
unique, which would further develop their creativity. As I begin a new job
teaching 5th-8th grade students, I look forward to
increasing students’ knowledge of improvisation using technological resources,
including SmartMusic.
Bauer, W.I. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for
Creating, Performing,
and Responding to Music. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Thanks for sharing Stephanie. I appreciate how hard you have worked to make your students comfortable improvising and creating in your classroom. I have been thinking about how to incorporate more creativity into my classroom. I have found that in the past when I have tried to incorporate lessons where students were creating music students have been hesitant to take risks and felt uncomfortable throughout the process. It seems like you have set up a culture for risk-taking and an ability for students to make mistakes. This is something that I have been reflecting on how to better implement in my classes for this school year and I will keep your phrases in my mind throughout the process.
ReplyDeleteAs you stated, creativity is the highest level that can be attained on Bloom's taxonomy. It shows greater understanding than students being able to perform at a high level, or being able to remember musical terms. Creativity is the apex and culmination of all the skills and knowledge that students learn in the classroom. I believe that improvisation can be a great stepping stone to help students become more creative since it isn't meant to be written down or replayed like a composition might be. I also believe that technology can be a great help in providing backing tracks or allowing students to listen to their progress and analyze their performances. Maybe another possibility to explore with improvisation would be adding looping software that would allow students to record one track at a time and add to their compositions or improvise on a backing track that they create.
Thank you for sharing and instilling a culture of risk-taking in your classroom!
I use the same motto in my class that you shared about your choir being encouraged to make loud mistakes. I truly believe that this is one of the most important keys to unlocking a student's potential in both regular performance and improvisation.
ReplyDeleteIn the technology-driven world we live in today, it is exciting that we have so many tools at our fingertips to make the sometimes daunting prospect of improvisation so accessible and engaging. I believe the examples you provided to get students started in improvisation are a good place to start. Perhaps students could also record their improvisations and create a mix using GarageBand that they could then share on the class website or blog where students could discuss each other's contributions.