Dear Me,
The first year of instrumental music is incredibly influential in students' future decision making. In Montana, most students will be in an instrumental music class beginning in 5th grade. This one year makes all the difference in whether or not a student will continue being in an instrumental ensemble. It also is usually a student's first experience playing an instrument; the majority of the student body will not have taken private lessons. As a teacher of first year students, you are not only responsible for their enjoyment of the class and the music, but also of their musical knowledge as a whole. During this first year, I think the most important thing for students to develop is a musical ear. Even if a student can read music, they still must be able to play with correct intonation. Many teachers will teach their first year students by rote, which I do not consider to be entirely bad. Students have to be able to put together their instrument and then tune it. They should be able to play in tune alone, but also in tune with the ensemble. First year students should learn to listen to the ensemble as a whole and know where they fit in. I also think that being able to read rhythms is important. Students will likely have picked up some rhythm reading in their general music classes, but it is important to address this and continue with rhythm reading. Articulation comes into play while reading rhythms, and students should know how to properly tongue, pluck, bow, or strike their instrument. As previously mentioned, I do not think that teaching by rote is bad, but I also do not think it should be taught that way the entire year. Once students are comfortable playing their instrument, they should be able to read basic scales. For band I would recommend B flat and F major. Strings should be limited to key signatures of 2 or less sharps or flats.
Another very pertinent thing students experience in their first year of instrumental music is the sense of community. Students have not had another class where their success depends entirely upon the success of the class as a whole. Students learn to work together, and in my experience, develop deep and lasting friendships. Realistically, students are most likely to join your ensemble if they have a friend that also does so. Students, especially in middle school and high school, are the greatest influence on each other. As a teacher you should be able to teach students important topics, like intonation and rhythm, while still making it enjoyable. If students do not like you or your class, they will likely not return the next year. I would love to say that the most important draw of my program will be the musical knowledge, but in many cases it probably will not be. I want to be approachable to both students and parents. I want my students to experience success in instrumental music, because the most fun thing for them is to play well. If the students are playing well and also enjoying themselves, parents will most likely want their children to be in my program. I want to make my program appealing by playing music that the students will recognize and enjoy. I will definitely work in other pieces, but I know that as a student I LOVED playing pieces that I recognized. Ideally, I would like to have a concert on a parent's night or open house so that I can really show off my students and their talent to parents of prospective students. I could talk to them all day about how great my band or orchestra is, but seeing (hearing) is believing. After the concert I would like to have a Q&A with parents and hopefully influence their decision to encourage their child to take my class.
Hope this is helpful,
Sal
Ok...a lot of good stuff here. First off, I would say that you have a very strong sense of value for your beginning program, which is good. I like that you made the connect between having an enjoyable experience and continuing with the program. You also discussed learning by rote and the playing of familiar tunes. Much of this is determined by what method book you choose to use. I would NOT attempt to teach a beginning instrumental music class without the aid of a method book. You may choose to teach some songs by rote before dealing with too much notation, but students should learn the notes fairly quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe other comment you made that needs some response is that beginners must play with good intonation. I completely agree that intonation is a vital part of playing a music instrument, but it is not necessarily the only--or even most important--thing. Remember that it is impossible to tune an uncharacteristic sound. Student must first learn the basic technique of playing (embouchure, bow technique, finger position). For beginners, we consider that good intonation is the outcome of good technique and not necessarily an outcome of musicianship (again for beginners).
There are a lot of good points in your blog, but you didn't answer the question of how you would recruit for a beginning instrumental program, so I can't quite give you full credit, but I do like your thought process on this.
.75/1 NS