This
week’s readings further explored creativity by suggesting ways to incorporate
composition in the music classroom. Bauer refers to several studies within the
excerpt from Chapter Three, my favorite of which is the study by Kaschub and
Smith (2009) that lists the reasons why composition is important in the
classroom (Bauer, 2014, p. 59). In a beginning band setting, where students are
learning new concepts every day, a short composition project could assess their
understanding of the material while also encouraging them to be creative. As
Bauer stated on page 62, it is crucial that educators who teach composition
give feedback throughout the process, but not too much at one time (2014).
Students who receive adequate feedback will be encouraged to continue to revise
drafts, while those who receive too much may feel defeated in their attempt to
be creative. As educators, we spend much of our time giving feedback, so it
should be natural when implementing new projects. Another important part of
creating music is the opportunity to share it, whether it is within the school
or in the community (Bauer, 2014, p. 67). Students who are able to perform
their pieces with other people may feel a sense of pride because they created
something that others can enjoy. Sharing compositions is also a great way to
display learning to parents, administrators, and community members.
When
reading this week, I was intrigued by the suggested guidelines regarding incorporation
of composition in the classroom (Bauer, 2014, p. 61). I have been interested in
adding composition to my curriculum, but I have never found a way to do so
without interrupting rehearsal time. As I mentioned last week, I have assigned
short composition projects in the past, but I do not believe I introduced them
in a clear manner. In addition, I am sure that my projects were not structured
enough for my inexperienced students. As I brainstorm about future projects, I
imagine several projects throughout the year that are taught using the spiral
teaching method, where the first projects are very basic and the remaining
projects build off of the first ones. Using a software such as MuseScore or
Noteflight, this may be a great way for beginning band students to show their
understanding of music notation (bar lines, placement of key and time
signatures, direction of stem, etc.) in the first months of school. Throughout
the year, these projects can be showcased at various times: parent-teacher
conferences for administrators and parents, elementary lunch times for younger
students, or weekly school masses for community members. I can already imagine
the smiles on my students’ faces after they perform their own composition!
As
music educators, we understand how important composition is to the music
curriculum, but we often find ourselves struggling to fit in enough rehearsal
time for the next concert, fundraiser, or upcoming community event. If we were
to give up a small amount of rehearsal time each semester to incorporate
composition, we may see a change in our students’ understanding, interest, and
excitement about music.
Bauer, W.I. (2014). Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for
Creating, Performing,
and Responding to Music. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteYou have an insightful view toward how you want to use composition. In your first paragraph, you wrote about beginning bands producing a composition to assess their musical understanding. While the new method books contain small composition assignments, I do not feel there are too many to use as an assessment nor do they really challenge creativity. In my school district, we have started requiring interim assessments per every nine weeks to measure student progress in each academic area. These assessments are supposed to reflect the state-based end-of-course exam and every nine week assessment is given on the same day. In ways I find this to be too much testing, so I have wanted to come up with a way to have composition as the main focus of my interim assessment.
After reading your reflection, I too want to have composition assignments that build as the students mature in musical understanding. I also would like to do this without interrupting too much rehearsal time. I think the Noteflight software will be a great tool for students to work with from day one of musical training and show progression during each step. I could use Noteflight for nine weeks assessments by introducing the software at the beginning of the year and set weekly composition expectations that must be complete. During each week, feedback would be provided to the student. Each complete composition can then be published the week of assessment.