The great Non-Traditional music class experiment
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Sphere: Related ContentWell, time to put my “money where my mouth is”…I have transformed my 2nd block “A” day class into a non-traditional music class. This was done mostly out of necessity and desperation (the father of invention?). When we had registration last year I was pleased to see that my 2nd jazz ensemble was overflowing with students. Eager to start the year, I began the plan for a jazz journey- to my horror, when the students arrived they all played guitar or drums (except for a few band instruments) so I knew that I couldn’t have a traditional jazz band.
I have been an advocate of “teach what walks through the door” for some time now- championing the cause that if we do not accept entry-level students into our band programs, we are doomed to extinction or worse yet- relegated to the “dumping ground” of the guidance department. Now for the experiment:
I have set this class up to be project based. We are running the class as a sort of reverse music theory class. The premise is that students broke up into groups by interest in genre of music and have the option to work on an original or a cover of their own choice. The only stipulation was that it had to have wide appeal (read NO death metal). After several weeks of listening and discussion on what makes certain music stand the test of time, we dove headlong into our projects.
Currently, we have 8 groups of anywhere from 2 to 8 students each all working on their projects in class. I serve as a resource and not the fountain of knowledge. When students have questions, they ask (believe me, they get stuck a lot!) and I offer feedback on where they should go next. Even my toughest kids have warmed to the idea and are happily composing. I am recording their progress and posting it on the class website (closed to the public for the time being) asking them to comment on each other’s performance. Eventually, we will perform the works in public and publish their portfolios on teacher tube. We are also looking into collaborating with a school in Tallahassee that has an excellent guitar program so that our kids can collaborate over distance.
If anyone is interested in following our progress or participating with us in our collaborations, please contact me and I’ll be glad to discuss the possibilities further. Until then, I’m just happy living in the moment day to day with them- you would be pleasantly surprised at their talent and motivation!
Technorati Tags: non-traditional music, music education, music technology
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October 25th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Sounds interesting. You should have a look at the Musical Futures project which has been running here in the UK for the last couple of years. It foundational tenet is that young people are naturally interested in music and, rather than force feed them a stable diet of music that we (i.e. teachers) think is important, it is better to facilitate their engagement with music through informal learning processes. There is plenty of material about this approach on their website at http://www.musicalfutures.org.uk. However, I think this approach is not without its problems and you can read my response to some of this at my blog: http://www.jsavage.org.uk
October 25th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Jonathan,
Thanks for the great tip! I was not aware of the musical futures projects and they have alot of interesting ideas. This is why our “global conversation” about these topics is necessary. I will definetly be checking your site to get your “take”.
Here it the introduction from the Musical Futures site:
The ‘Musical Futures’ project is a £2m, four-year music education action research project. The aim has been to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11-19, in music activities. Following a year of consultation in 2003, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation identified the following objectives:
To understand the factors affecting young people’s commitment to, and sustained engagement in, musical participation;
To develop ways in which the diverse musical needs of young people can be met and their experience of music making enhanced;
To realise viable, sustainable and transferable models which can support a national strategy for music and young people;
To investigate, and make recommendations on, the most appropriate methods of mentoring and supporting young people’s preferences and skills;
To find ways of validating and (where appropriate) accrediting all forms of young people’s musical experiences, including those undertaken without supervision;
To facilitate support for music trainees, leaders, teachers and performers/composers through the provision of development opportunities which highlight collaborative working practices
The site is here: http://musicalfutures.org.uk
~J. Pisano
October 30th, 2007 at 1:12 am
Joe, Owen, and Jonathan,
The introduction Joe posted alone has my interest. The objectives they are laying out are something we should certainly consider for the other 80% - allow me to remind Mustech.net readers that there were a couple of guys who did a really nice podcast about that awhile back…
Owen, I am definitely interested in hearing your progress. I really admire your ability to illustrate ways to better use technology in the public school classroom. The peer evaluation on the website probably is very appealing for those students. I am sure it also keeps them on their toes because they know their peers are more than looking over their shoulder.
Thanks guys for the new information!
Sincerely,
Travis J. Weller