Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you out there who are celebrating today and tomorrow!

Please enjoy this arrangement of Joy to the World by my clarinet quartet from college! We start performing about 30 sec. in.

Reflective practice and a summary!

So, last night, we had our first band concert: the big annual Christmas program. The 6th Grade Band, 7-8th Grade Band, and High School Band all performed. Overall, things went smoothly. The kids dressed appropriately, the music held together (in spite of losing rehearsals to Monday's snow day), and I even got to accompany the choir on electric bass (a real hoot for me, to be sure!). Today, I passed out Post-Concert Surveys to all three of my bands to gauge their feelings about the concert, the music performed, etc. I really believe in reflective practice. I think it's important for me to hear how the students feel about their performance, the music we play, and my teaching. I did not really expect too much from these surveys, but they provided a very telling portrait of my program that I felt a need to share.

I do not proclaim to be a statistician, and I am not writing a masters thesis or anything, but I do have a fledgling interest in research. Any comments on formatting, variables, etc. are welcome! If you'd like to check out the detailed percentages/survey questions, check out this document: Christmas Concert Survey Statistics. To see the survey I gave to students, look here: HS Survey MS Survey.

So, to spare you the nitty gritty details, I'd like to highlight a few interesting "findings." In all three groups, the majority of groups indicated that the music was too easy. Only four students in sixth grade through high school (98 students) agreed or strongly agreed with the music being too difficult. Twelve students in the program marked this item a "3," indicating appropriate literature. Eighty-two students in the program agreed or strongly agreed that the music was too easy.

I agree that the sixth grade band could use a push. The 7-8th grade band's program as a whole was a bit beyond them, though. I was most frustrated with quality of their performance, and they still insist that the music is too easy. I agree that some of the music the high school performed was not the most technical, but after a season of struggling with a difficult marching band book, I wanted to program something that would be successful in a month and a half of rehearsals. They resented performing "easy" music (at what I would deem to be a modest level).

My sixth graders demonstrated the most mastery of their program, followed by high school, and the seventh and eighth grade showed the least mastery. Interestingly, the sixth graders loved their music in spite of its "easiness." They performed two pieces that I arranged (We Three Kings and 12 Days of Christmas) and Carols in Concert, arr. Kinyon. You may remember my interest in arranging from this post. I hope to upload a video of their performance soon on the blog. They were successful! None of my sixth grade students reported strongly disliking the music. And 22 out of 32 sixth graders strongly agreed that they liked our program. That's awesome! Love that band, we have a blast.

My seventh graders could have been better with a few more rehearsals. I programmed two medleys (Christmas Angels, arr. Edmonsen and 20 Carols in Two Minutes, arr. Williams) plus a very "band" arrangement of Greensleeves (Variant on an Old English Carol., arr. Robert W. Smith). They really needed one simple "slam dunk" piece, and we didn't have one. So, this may have been a programming error on my part. In spite of their performance being less than 100% successful, only four students disliked or strongly disliked the music. Nineteen students neither liked nor disliked the repertoire, and twenty students liked it. Four students even strongly liked the music. In comparing these students to the sixth graders, there appears to be a lot more apathy to the literature, a disconnect. However, I was pleased with this generally positive result. Something about seventh and eighth graders makes me feel like they hate my guts all the time. Must be the start of hormones or something. But I had some nice comments. One student even wrote that Christmas Angels was her favorite piece because "It sounds wonderful to me." What a lovely comment!

The high schoolers are such a downer. Our band has twenty-one students and spotty instrumentation. None of the students "strongly liked" the music. Four students liked it. Eight students were indifferent. Three students disliked the music, and four students strongly disliked it. I thought I had programmed great music: Fanfare for Christmas (Curnow), A Christmas Canon (arr. Green), and Charlie Brown Christmas (arr. Strommen). Open with a fanfare, slow piece in the middle, and a fun medley as our closer .Wham bam, thank you ma'am! Nope, apparently not. They performed the music at a decent level, especially considering that our band completely lacks trombone, euphonium, and tuba. However, it was not stellar. *Cue inner monologue* If this music is so "easy," why doesn't it SOUND better?? Why don't you practice the parts that still sound like butt?? *end monologue* Aaaand from totally loving the music in 6th grade to being positive-meh in 7-8th grade to just not caring... about anything. Is there any quality literature these kids will like? Will they like the music better if it's "harder?" Do they feel like I'm teaching down to them by choosing what I would deem appropriate literature? I think it's pretty important that the kids not hate the music. In a PBIS world of extrinsic motivators everywhere, wouldn't it be nice if liking the music could get kids to put a horn on their faces?

To conclude, I hope to integrate some listening activities into my band classes to provide an aural model and perhaps help them realize that no music is "easy." I really hope that I can find ways to challenge and pique the interest of my high school group. The picture just does not seem pretty right now. On the bright side, I have a lot of hope for my younger students, and I know that we can be excited and face some more challenging music as the year goes on. I would love to hear comments about your experiences with student motivation, literature selection, or anything else!

Beginning Band Whoas

In my last post, I went into great detail about my attempts to come into my first year of teaching with my assessment and accountability guns a-blazing, and the lessons I learned from that. I left you with a cliffhanger of sorts, musing that as hard as things were with my 7th and 8th graders adjusting to my new system, at least I can rest easy and know that I have my 5th grade beginners. I can start them fresh and help them become super independent, internally motivated band geeks, right?

Well, as I'm discovering, that isn't exactly easy either.

The crux of any problem with a student learning something is largely motivation. I'm becoming convinced of that. Some of the problems my students are experiencing are inability to identify notes on a staff, inability to tell one pitch from another, and just no desire to prepare anything for lessons (as I edit this, I think the main issue is just that the students rarely practice to get familiar with the fingerings, and as a result, they aren't ready for lessons and are somewhat clueless when it comes to note reading). It's not that they can't read notes, work on their embouchure in order to get up to those Fs, or take 8 minutes to get familiar with the fingerings for #21, The Whole Thing in Essential Elements 2000. It's just that they don't care to.

So it's my job to inspire them to get them out of their musical doldrums and into the awesomely incredible world of music making. I think that my job as pedagogue is not as important as my job as motivator, and I am definitely still working on developing those skills.

I have tried several different approaches to light a fire underneath these students. Certainly, the most effective and longest-lasting motivation is intrinsic, and my main focus in all this is to give them an intrinsic love of music. Back in October, I burned a CD for everyone of my 5th grade students that had a lot of their instrument's "greatest hits." Trumpets got a trumpet CD, clarinets got a clarinet CD, etc. The purpose of this was mainly just to make them say "woah, that's awesome, I want to do that!" Unfortunately, I think few students actually listened to the CD, and when we discussed it during lessons, I didn't quite get that reaction I was hoping for.

So I have also tried a little bit of external motivation. Just yesterday was our 5/6 Christmas Concert, and many of our 5th graders performed #38, Jingle Bells. Now, we didn't start in the EE 2000 books until late October, and none of the groups were at that point in the book, so I presented our Jingle Bells performance as a sort of extra special challenge. I gave every student the opportunity to practice Jingle Bells on their own, come in during recess, and play it in a group to show that they had prepared it. This strategy did actually yield some results, as some students who had previously been dead-beats got really excited about playing a familiar tune and finally getting to perform. About 80% of the band class totally bought into it, prepared it to at least a decent degree, and had a blast with it.

I'm also going to start something called the 6 Second Audition with some of my groups that are floundering. The basic gist, as I read about in a recent issue of the Instrumentalist, is that you pick 4-8 measures of a song that the students were assigned, and just go down the line, allowing every student to play and compete for the "first chair" position. Hopefully a bit of competition will inspire them to get over the hump. (Don't worry, I will not over do it with this strategy - I'm not really big into competition, so I will be light and friendly with this).

So those are a few of the approaches I'm taking regarding motivation. I'm also super energetic and excited as a teacher, especially with 5th graders, so I'm also just trying to get that to rub off on them. As I analyze this struggle, I think that I am ultimately trying to balance FUN in band and EXCELLENCE in band. Maybe excellence isn't even the right word. Sure, I have high standards for all my students, and I will nudge them all toward the direction of excellence (some harder than others), but more than that I just want every student to at least be a positive contributor, someone who isn't clueless.

I'm ok with some kids not being superstar band geeks. I'm ok with them missing a note every once in a while, or note having a totally mature tone. I am not ok, however, with students being just totally clueless and dependent on me to show them how the song goes. I want for all my kids to at least be able to hash out a part to a decent level of proficiency and read rhythms independently. Band just isn't fun when you have no idea what's going on and you can't come close on any song you are working on. Nothing is fun when you are clueless.

So how do I motivate these students to get over the hump of helplessness and cluelessness without being so tough on them that they just want to quit?

As you chew on that, I should say that to be fair, many of my 5th graders are rocking. They are counting and clapping with confidence and accuracy, reading well, having a great attitude about preparation, and most importantly, loving music making. But I feel like these kids would be self-motivated no matter what I did or how I taught. And sometimes I feel like no matter what I do or how I teach, I just can't motivate the struggling kids.

But instead of despair and giving in, I'm rolling up my sleeves and working hard to get those lower-achieving kids participating at a high level, reading notes, and performing with confidence, all the while still having fun in band.

Gosh, and that's another thing. I was talking with my fellow blogger Sara, who reminded me that Chip Destefano at McCracken Middle School has said that his main job with 5th graders is to get them into 6th grade. The bridge between 5th and 6th grade can be the point where some kids just decide that it's not fun enough to stay in band, so I better darn well give make sure they are having fun in band.

So, pizza party. Balloons for breathing. General goofiness. Fist bumps. Letting students conduct and lead "My Turn/Your Turns." We Will Rock You. High fives. But even more than all that stuff, I try to show each of my kids that I care about them as people. I seek them out in the hallway, ask them about their favorite music, how class is going, who they hang out with on the weekends, and what kind of things they like to do. I'm working really hard to build a relationship with these 5th graders, hoping that they see that I genuinely care about them, resulting in staying in band and buying into what I'm selling.

Anyway, that's a lot of beginning band reflection. And there's a lot more to come, on specific pedagogy and teaching techniques, but that's for another time. Also, I hope to put up a post sometime that just catalogs a list of positive things that are going on, just so you know it's not all doom and gloom at Don't Smile to Christmas!

Concert Week

So our winter concert is this Sunday. Today during my largest band class we moved all the percussion equipment into the auditorium. It was an adventure that I tried to be prepared for. Overall it went allright, but of course there were wild unpredictable things.

Our band room is on the 3rd floor. Don't ask me who designed that or who approved the idea because if I knew, I would hunt them down. And probably all of their descendants as well. We moved 5 large pieces of keyboard equipment, timpani, chimes, bass drum, and all of the other standard stuff. Many of the students were very helpful and resourceful. As much as I tried to stress that everyone needed to help, there were of course 10 or 12 people who didn't do a thing. Whatever. It all got down there, and I spent my lunch hour setting the stage, and I am pretty satisfied. The whole process gave me more gray hairs though. I'm not sure what a 32'' timpani crashing down concrete steps sounds like, but I don't ever want to find out.

I learned that you can take the individual tubes out of a set of chimes. It was very easy and saved the dangerous hassle of carrying that thing as a whole! And, thanks to my high school co-op, I knew how to take a marimba apart, so I saved that one for my freshman percussion class and did it with them. That was a lot of fun.

At the beginning of each rehearsal that I started in the auditorium, I discovered something else that I forgot to have brought down, so there were invariably all kind of delays, all day long. Along with everyone else, I'm discovering that these kind of logistical events are what can really bite you in the butt as a music teacher, especially the first time around. Yet another lesson in the fact that skills, knowledge, and all around 'chops' aren't much until you have had plenty of experience and practice.

Overall the concert should go well. I am a little worried about some spots with the freshman band holding together. I know I could have taught many things better, but now is the time to simply do the best we can, and simply bank those reflections and implement them next unit. I don't want to come across as one of those directors who seem like they teach everything at the last minute. There are parts that have sounded like mud and the kids have recovered and kept going without dropping a beat, which for my 9th graders is pretty substantial. So hopefully the audience enjoys it. I'm still of course holding that belief that every single thing my students ever do is a direct personal reflection of me and my abilities, which I know I need to shake.

If the top group focuses they should make an excellent presentation, so I am very excited for that. I picked more substantial music than they usually play for this concert, and that seems to have gone over well.

When this concert is over, our semester is effectively over. We will have 6 school days left, during 2 of which I will be at the Midwest Conference. After scale tests, a little bit of sight reading, and a class party, that will wind us down. I cannot wait for Midwest! Let me know if you're planning on being there as well.

Even more than that, I cannot wait to be more than halfway done with the first year of teaching. Of course, that also means I'll have to contend with 2nd semester seniors...

"You Know What's Easy?"

"Nothing."

It's a saying that my parents lovingly said to each other, and still say, when they are faced with challenges of things going wrong. It makes a lot of sense to me now, as I have tried to establish some things at my middle school band program that have been met with some mixed reviews from students and parents. The main thrust of this post will be about my experiences with my attempts to have high standards and a thorough system of accountability, and kids quitting band because of it.

In order to fully grasp this, you need a little background information to set up the stories about quitting: In college, they taught us all these creative, educationally and pedagogically sound ways to enhance band, to make it more than just deficit style teaching. These methods include things like comprehensive musicianship teaching presentations, student centered questioning, and other activities that help students learn and do music that are a bit more than "no, that's wrong, play it again."

A big component of this new way of thinking about band is assessment. We were taught that it is crucial for music education to show that it is a serious, academic subject just like anything else, in order to appease administrators who are looking for evaluation tools, and to advocate for music programs by showing that we are not just an extracurricular, we are a core subject. Music (or band) is not just an activity where students are just given As if they show up. It's a course that requires lots of hard work that can and should be assessed and evaluated. So we have evaluation tools and assessments such as playing tests and practice reports.

I do believe in that, I really do. And as I sat in my undergraduate desk, I was so excited to get out there and give kids that well-rounded, comprehensive music education. Then I got a job, and now I'm trying to make it work, and it is tough (you know what's easy?)

My students, who have never experienced any sort of accountability, responsibility, or assessment, are suddenly getting smacked in the face with all this stuff that I'm introducing to them that I was taught in college. We're doing daily listening logs, playing tests, fingering worksheets, studying the rhythm tree, and other things that are completely foreign to them. They are used to barely scraping by at a sub-mediocre level, and the director singing their parts at them enough times to essentially memorize the few songs they are working on. They aren't used to being asked to figure things out for themselves, to work hard, and be held accountable for their playing. You've probably read me say that enough times now over the past few months.

The thing that really worked against me was, with all these assessments, some kids' grades suffered, because they turned in hardly any practice reports, if any, put forth no effort on listening log answers, and did not prepare at all for playing tests. But they idea that they are ingrained with is that you just get an A in band, right? That's what my they thought, that's what the parents thought, and that is naively not what I thought. I still believe in a band program based on comprehensive musicianship, assessment, and the like, but I made a big mistake in thinking it would work flawlessly from day one. It's something you have to build up and do piece by piece. I still think it was ok to do for me to start some of these new things, but I shouldn't have made it impact grades so severely from the beginning.

Because I had a bit of a revolution on my hands. Around progress report time, I heard rumblings about students quitting. I talked with some upset parents and some upset 8th graders about why their mid-term grade was what it was and how they can pick it up. Many of them did not make that effort, and when report cards came out, many students had earned Ds and Cs, which was the coup d'grace of their band careers. The best musician in the band quit, the worst behavior problem in the band quit (hallelujah?), and another 8th grader. Morale was low, from both me and the band.

I began to see that I made a real mistake. I still believed in the changes I was making, but I did not implement them in a way that would make the transition feasible for many of my students. After 3 years of a totally different system, they were unable and unwilling to jump into mine, baptism-by-fire style. So I carefully amended many grades, raising Ds to Cs and Cs to Bs, all the while trying to not compromise the solid A that most students earned. But it was too late. How could I slap my kids in the face with this new system, give them Ds and Cs for it, and then expect them to stay in this elective?

As I write this, I realize that the essence of my problem is that I am trying hard to find that balance of fun and high standards/accountability. They can coexist. They should. Some of my students don't know it yet. It's not fun to be lost every time you come to band. But it's also not fun to see a bar set too high for where the students are at this point. They weren't ready, and I just didn't realize it.

How can I create a fun, healthy, safe educational environment where standards are high and there are many systems of accountability without students feeling constantly pressured? I want the best for them. I want them to learn a ton and perform well, all the while having fun. Any teachers or anybody out there, how do you inspire and motivate your students to work hard to meet high standards while making it fun and achievable? This may be a dilemma that is solved with time, as the rebellious 8th graders are phased out, and my own kids are raised up through the program.

That's the perfect plan to turn things around, isn't it? Do as much as you can with the kids you inherited and then grow some super players who love band, love working hard, love music, and don't want to disappoint you. But then again, you know what's easy?

More on the subject of 5th grade band and motivation in the weeks to come!

Updates

Hey everyone! It has been a while since I have posted. Part of the reason was that LOTS of stuff has been happening, thus I have a lot to write about, and trouble deciding what to write. This isn't very cerebral or thought out, but maybe by spinning a general summary I'll be able to articulate deeper thoughts...

Marching band ended, and I was grateful for that. Successes on the season: Generally good musical execution throughout, especially given our size and instrumentation issues. Also, changes I made to the gametime routine (new pregame formations, placement in the stands, level of involvement in games) went over well. By the last two games, the kids were having a ton of fun, even paining their faces school colors! (Thank goodness none of it got on the uniforms!) Areas for improvement are mainly visual execution, discpline with posture and horn angles, and rehearsal etiquette. I think much of that will be improved with me simply being more demanding. This summer I think I will try my hand at writing drill, so I can have something that is really appropriate for who we are and what we're trying to do.

We're getting ready for our winter concert, and I think the kids like the music I've picked out, which is reassuring. I ordered a medley from the Nutcracker for the top band, which they actually really enjoy. It's playable enough where we can work on ensemble concepts (blend, intonation, dynamics, stylistic nuance) without being bogged down with technique. Hopefully this gets them to buy in to my rehearsal style and what I want them to accomplish musically. Then in the spring I think I'll ramp it up a bit to see if we can reach the same integrity of performance with a greater technical challenge.

The freshmen band is going well also, most of the time. We are reading out of Frank Erickson's "Technique Through Melody". We sight read one or two of the etudes, spend a day or two on each, and move on. They are actually reading them quite well. I think some of the rhythmic training and scale exercises I'm also having them do is paying off. Then again, we have yet to venture outside of B-flat, E-flat, and F in the etudes, so we'll see what happens. However they are already halfway around the major scale sheet and doing C-flat major pretty well, which is exciting. A few of the students in there are way behind, just from a recognizing notes and their fingerings standpoint. I'd hate to blame my feeders here, but I'm going to go ahead and blame my feeders. That's a whole other discussion/rant. But anyway, giving them the help they NEED and DESERVE without boring the rest of the ensemble is the biggest challenge in there. Still stumped.

Next concept to teach that group is every single chromatic concert pitch relationship for their instrument. When I ask for things other than concert Bb, Eb, F, or A, things can get pretty hairy, especially for the saxes. I'll take any suggestions for how to teach the class this, please!

Freshman percussion ensemble is going okay. Those kids can be a lot of fun but also extremely unfocused. So trying to keep it fun and positive while still making progress is always a hard balance to find. They have good fundamental snare chops (most of them have better buzz rolls than me, which we joke about) but next to no mallet experience. I'm struggling a lot with how to develop this, and getting them to actually read instead of just memorizing it by rote. We've done note flash cards and note naming games, started off with simple C major songs, done different scales to get them used to using the accidental bars, but learning anything new, regardless of the complexity, is a huge challenge. If anyone has any tips on this area of percussion instruction, please please share!!!

Choir is great when its working. Really great. But it really sucks when it isn't working. I wish I knew more. I'm trying to minimize and make fun the tedious but necessary aspects (note names, scales, basic rhythm, etc) and spending plenty of time emphasizing the simpler, more rewarding aspects like good vocal production, blend, and phrasing. Right now we are sight-singing simple melodies, and I'm having them label the appropriate scale degree numbers above the notes. They still need a guide with the notes and their equivalent numbers (I put that up on the SmartBoard) but I hope to wean them off that sometime next semester. They are starting to recognize key signatures, and understand the relationships between 1 and 5, and so on. To recap, it is fun when it is working well. However, I really hope my school is able to have a full time choir teacher next year, not because I don't like it, but because that is simply what these students deserve. End of story.

Trying to keep busy and have a life outside of work. I have been playing my horn around town quite a bit the past few weeks, which was very rewarding and fun. Exercise regimen is going well, and I'm trying lots of new recipes and stuff. Sometimes getting up and going in the morning is very rough, but overall, the good parts still outweigh the bad.

I'll try to keep my contributions more frequent and more succinct. Class is about to start, so I'm signing off!

The Power of ETM

ETM. It stands for "Education Through Music." It's difficult to explain, but simple to experience. On the most basic level, it is a philosohpy (i guess) of teaching music that suggests that children must EXPERIENCE a concept before they can EXPLAIN it. It also emphasizes the necessity of meaningful play. Children learn through playing! They are supposed to play! Meaningful play helps children of all ages develop intellectually, emotionally, socially, and even cognitively! ETM provides resources for music teachers to provide students with meaningful music games to help students learn how to sing, keep a beat, interpret lyrics, understand rhythm, and much more while also teaching them how to be confident and caring individuals. It's amazing.

With my jr high, I have not been using ETM as much as I would have liked these past few weeks (my co-op would be ashamed...) I've been so focused on doing other things that i've let it slide a little bit. Well, today, my 6th graders did a LOT of ETM, and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!! I have never seen either group of 6th graders smile so much, work together so well, or sing so loudly. One eleven year old (going on about 35...) was so happy to be the Farmer in "Farmer in the Dell!" I got picked as the "cheese" so she got to be the teacher for a little bit and "turn me into the farmer"... It was the first time that she let me see her softer side. I almost cried.

Anyway, if you have experienced ETM, you can imagine the beauty and the learning that occurred in my classroom today. If you have not, I high recommend looking up ETM online (http://richardsinstitute.org). Check out the video!


What a great experience for me kids today... and the best part was that they were CHOOSING to play this way. ETM was their reward for working hard on our Christmas program song. I gave THEM control over which games we played - and it worked out splendidly.

Break Time

Nothing in this blog post is really very substantial....

Some days never end. I'm taking about ten minutes here to actually do something OTHER than school work for the first time since waking up in the morning.

For those of you who have never put on a Christmas Program/Spring Musical/All School program of any sorts: It is harder than it seems. I have made so many mistakes already and the program is still a month and a week away! It is so nerve-wrecking to try and prepare the kids while only seeing them twice a week... Oh, and let's try and keep a curriculum, too, please!

Overall the two hardest parts have been the logistics of planning it/running the Christmas committee and giving the right song to each grade level. It's so great that I have help so I don't have to do it all myself, but sometimes I don't even know what I need, so that's a problem! I've discovered that a couple of the songs I have chosen for the grades are too hard... It's a little too late to go back now (they are actually making remarkable progress), but it's still frustrating. Honestly though, i think it's one of those things I have to learn from experience.

Any suggestions on how to get middle elementary (grades 4-6) boys match pitch??


Another huge undertaking: Our christmas program is a small easy play + each grade level singing a song. The small easy play needs only 2 people. I can't just pick two people out of over 300, so we're having auditions. (This will also prepare ME for when I have to do bigger auditions for the spring musical). I'm totally making the audition process up as i'm going along, so hopefully tomorrow (the auditions) won't be a train wreck. At least I have a plan period tomorrow to prepare! (Oh, wait... I only get those on tuesdays and thursdays)... Ok, so at least I have 5 minutes between classes to catch my breath (Oh wait.... not on wednesdays...)


Okay, I'm sorry that this post was sarcastic and negative... just had to get it out somehow!

Arranging for Band

I had the unique privilege of having an arranging junkie as a high school band director. (Although I'm sure that my extremely mild-mannered, staunchly anti-drug, and lovably nerdy Mr. B. would not appreciate being dubbed a "junkie.") Through the years he arranged our entire pep band book and all of our marching band shows. We did not play a SINGLE canned arrangement in all four of my years there. He even wrote an original "senior composition" for the jazz band every year to feature the graduating seniors. When I was in high school, that was just the norm. I never realized how special it was that he arranged all that music just for us.

Fast forward to present-day Emma. Five years past high school teaching all aspects of a 5th-12th grade band program in Smalltown, America. I enjoy arranging a lot, and I had no qualms about putting in the work because my high school band director utilized home-brewed arrangements to such great success. At this point, my motivation for arranging for band has been twofold: 1. to create literature that suits the level and instrumentation of my groups and 2. to help students "buy in" to what I'm trying to sell.

My first arranging foray for my groups was at the end of marching band season. The pep band library is a mess: there are no complete "master sets" for any of the tunes, and there is only a handful of tunes where every book has the printed parts. Plus, the tunes we do have are pretty old and stale. So, I arranged--WAIT FOR IT-- Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," Usher's "OMG," Benny Benassi's "Satisfaction," and Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart" all for pep band. I went on a mad arranging spree because I want to develop a more solid pep band repertoire and create tunes that will be playable by my developing high school band and the middle school band when they join in the pep band fun. You would not believe the response that these tunes got. It was like band Christmas for these kids to play pop music. I got a "you're the best band director ever!" We even played our new "Bad Romance" arrangement for a Halloween parade competition and placed second, our highest ranking in any event all year! (Which is ironic because we scrapped our old parade tune in favor of this one just three days before the competition, hmmmm). Of course, I do feel a little bit coercive and backward buying these kids' approval with junky pop music... but that's another post!

My second arranging project has been creating a version of "the 12 Days of Christmas" for my sixth graders to play on our holiday concert. Of course, with this being band, it is subtitled "On the twelfth day of Christmas, Ms. B. gave to me..." I altered the lyrics to the following scheme:

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Ms. B. gave to me,

12 drummers drumming (drummers play only)

11 woodwinds playing (ww's only)

10 brass a-buzzing (brass on mouthpieces)

9 ladies playing (girls only)

8 boys a-blowing (boys only)

7 bones a-sliding (trombones play a lick with a juicy glissando)

6 kids a-counting (1, 2+ 3+!)

5 SLIDE TROMBONES! (harmonized brass)

4 saxophones (sax soli)

3 broken reeds (squeaky squawky clarinets and alto saxophone+ ratchet in percussion)

2 clarinets (clarinet soli)

and a flute in the key of C! (harmonized tutti refrain)

At first, I passed out an arrangement that only included the introduction, all twelve days, and the coda. That way, they could learn the technical aspect of their part without adding the hullaballoo of playing the whole thing. I framed it like a video game. "Okay guys," I said, "imagine this is Level 1. For Level 1, we have to get all the notes and rhythms right and count entrances correctly. If you pass level 1, it will prove to me that you are ready for level 2 where you get to play the whole song in order with all the different days."

After they passed "Level 1," I passed out the full arrangement, and we played it through with good counting and correct entrances (Level 2). To spice it up, we added one more element of humor (Level 3!). At the end of the eleventh day, I would cut them off and bow as though it were the end of the piece. When I turn around to acknowledge the band, they all have their hands raised, and I say "What is it, band?" To which they respond (their words), "Yo, Ms. B! What's the dealio?! There are TWELVE days of Christmas!!" At which point I appear horrified by my mistake, jump back on the podium, and count them off at a fast clip and we play through all twelve days at lightning speed. We are still working on Level 3 (playing the entire sequence fast with controlled technique, solid counting, and good sounds), but they LOVE IT! They are so excited to get through the entire song, and they are counting rests, watching me, and having an absolute blast with all the silly elements of the arrangement. To top it off, I plan to create a slide show with the lyrics and photos of the kids to go along with our performance.

As a new teacher with a developing program, arranging has been worth the work (and I'm getting pretty fast at it!). My groups get to play music that is written with their success in mind. It works for our instrumentation and for our ability level. They also get to be on the front line of my creative process. I will ask for feedback and let them know that "this is a rough draft, I am working to make it better." Perhaps the most exciting part though, is that this is a very tangible way for my students to see the hard work and effort I put into them because I care. On all of my arrangements, I have started to write "Arranged for the 2010-2011 Smalltown High School Marching Band" or "Arranged for the 2010-2011 Smalltown Middle School 6th Grade Band." One of my sixth graders said, "You put in all those notes?? This piece is 130 measures long!! That must have taken forever! You're AWESOME!" "No, you're awesome!!" ::high five::

So. Worth. It.

Radiohead's National Anthem Project/Performance for Jazz Band

Two weeks ago from last Thursday, I had my first concert as a professional music educator. It was a chorus/jazz band concert, and our jazz band played a couple of tunes. They are pretty young, and if you'll recall, the group has a really odd instrumentation, including tenor sax, bari sax, flute, two guitars, one of whom has never really played a guitar before, two drummers who don't/can't read music, three trumpets, and one valve trombone. Yes, my school owns a valve trombone. No, I don't know why, but I'll take it!

Anyway, we played a very straightforward, fun arrangement of James Bond, even though we were missing a few parts. The other song that we played was an arrangement that I wrote of Radiohead's The National Anthem, from their landmark album Kid A. I introduced this song to the students on "National Anthem Day," which was September 14. My 7th grade bass player's mouth was agape when he heard the killer ostinato bassline, the drummers were excited about playing some rock 'n' roll, and kids just mostly all around dug it. So I thought I would write an arrangement that would play to our strengths and maybe even convince some students that improvisation, although dangerous and perhaps nausea inducing, can be an incredible experience.

Anyway, the arrangement was only part of the project. Also included was a recording session, CD releases, improvisation strategies, playing tests, rehearsals, and then the performance.

First, we did a lot of listening to the original and discussed what made the song "work" - lots of tension and release, as well as some insane soloing, including group improv. We then got the bare bones of the tune working so we could play it with reasonable facility, which in and of itself was an enormous challenge. Neither guitar player can read music, and the drummers don't care to. Also this is was challenging because classroom management is an enormous struggle in this class, but that's another post.

At that point, I brought in my Blue Yeti USB microphone and did a quick 'n' dirty recording session. We recorded the bass line and a drum beat so that every kid could take a CD home and practice improvising with it. This part of the whole project was really rushed and not well planned on my part. The recording was of poor quality and it didn't come together incredibly well, but it worked.

Anyway, I handed out the CD to all my kids and set a date for a playing test. The playing test had a very simple rubric - TRY hard, be a little creative, go for it and improvise, and you get a perfect score. Sit there and mope and you don't. Playing tests were to be administered in my office with our recording and were video taped.

In order to facilitate improvisation, I added in a new scale to our warm up regimen. I arranged the tune in Eb, so we had an "Eb Funky Scale," which was the Eb major scale with a flat 6 and 7, which has a very hip, eastern-y sound.

Play with it, and you'll see how well it lends itself to playing around and improvising. We memorized the scale, did lots of call and response, and encouraged a spirit of playfulness using this scale and the groove from National Anthem.

We rehearsed the tune a good deal (fighting behavior and focus issues the whole way - this is my first year, after all!). We played a lot with our Eb funky scale and talked about different improvisation strategies. I had students identify notes that had a lot of tension and notes that offered resolution. One strategy we used was to pick a few notes that felt tense and a few that felt relaxed, and make a melody that plays off of that tension-release. Another strategy was just to simply use the scale running up and down. Yet another approach we attempted was to play what you feel - I have a quote on the wall that says “music is what feelings sound like.” And for sections in the tune where there was a crescendo of multiple soloists going bonkers at the same time, we even worked on soloing by play random notes and sounds, which I believe has its place.

So there’s the narrative form of the lesson plan. Phew. It sounds great, doesn’t it? Heck, how many national standards did we address with this project? How much more did we do than just deficit style teaching? Even though the concert went well, the overall project had some very mixed results. Besides a few students, most were still mortified of improvising and I felt like I was pulling teeth. And I’m pretty certain that NOBODY took home their CD and actually played around with it to try and feel out some cool improv ideas. That’s what hurt the most - I tried to provide an extremely safe way for them to experiment with improvising to develop some self-confidence and nurture a healthy spirit of musical play. And that was a huge swingandamiss

This project mostly underscored for me the difference between a lesson plan on paper and the execution of a lesson plan. Sure, this lesson plan sounds glorious, like you might have read it out of Teaching Music or something, but in reality it was extremely messy and somewhat of a belly flop. My kids still have not bought into me at all, and it’s tough. To be fair, some kids really did well with the improv and you’ll see that on the recording. For now, though, I’m going to keep trying to do as much as I can to give these students great musical and personal experiences, with the idea that this will lead them to buy into what I’m selling.

Hello There!

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted! Prepare yourself, this is a long one.


It seems like each day holds enough exciting things to fill about a week. I am really starting to settle in to teaching. I just love it so much! Life is still extremely hard, though. I hit a major low point this week: I ate fast food TWICE and went to petsmart to pet the cats...and almost bought a fish. And no, Emma did not give me the petsmart idea.. I had already sat in the parking lot a couple weeks ago after running other errands debating going in... Kvetching... it's going around. :)

I thought I would share a few of the best moments of the past few weeks with you. Here's a huge one: Someone donated the money a Promethean board to me. Pretty much out of the blue. I feel so blessed to be a part of a community that is such huge supporters of the program I am trying to build. If I ever needed a sign that this is where I am supposed to stay for awhile, that was it! The board should be in anytime. I'm about going CRAZY waiting!

I have been doing a Listening Log every day with my jr. high students. This week, I hit a goldmine with the 8th grade and it sparked some AMAZING discussion. I played the song "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles. They listened to it once and then wrote and discussed the message of the song. For those who haven't heard it, you could look pretty deep into it! At the most basic level, it's about having something in your life that holds you back and ties you down. We talked about relationships, additions, bad habits, etc.. it also could mean something in your life that keeps you grounded, helps your stay on the right path. We talked about God, parents, friends, etc. It was awesome. They were so interested that it's going to lead to a cross-curricular activity (sort of) with the focus of dance as an art form and how dance and music complement each other. (There is a beautiful dance to this song). Sometimes, it's really cool to take a step back and see what the kids are taking from the music... to not be so caught up in what I want them to learn and let them learn what they are interested in learning!

We have been learning about the National Anthem in all grade levels. I was hurting for something to do with 5th grade, so I just made up a random assignment, and it was a HUGE HIT! I had parents coming up to me and talking to me about it... and all it is is for the kids to pick an event in their lives or something that has happened in America recently and write the lyrics to a song about it. (just like the national anthem started as a poem about the attack on baltimore during the war of 1812). They also had to answer a few questions like "What instruments would you use?" "Would it be major or minor?" etc.. Anyway, i'm pretty proud that i came up with that assignment all on my own. It doesn't happen often.

I'm not quite sure how to put this one into words....It's kinda more about my development as a person... I guess I could say that through conversations with students and other teachers, my students are showing me my character. Even though I find the balance between "close enough to make a difference and be an effective teacher" and "friend" a little on the difficult side sometimes, over the past few weeks, my students have shown me that I am the person that I have been striving to be - and they notice. They show it in funny ways, but I can tell that they KNOW that I love teaching and care about them as people... and that's a really good feeling... I'm not a master teacher by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm on the right path.... and even if my kids don't remember a lick of music, if they leave my care as better people, i've done my job.


Okay, funny story since we're on the topic of my relationships with kids... There's this 7th grader. We'll call her suzy. She's got kind of a rough home life, but she's a really good kid. She stops in my room in the morning to say hi, If we are in the hallway at the same time she'll stop to talk to me, you get the picture. I was walking down the hallways with her and another student today, when he friend turned me and said "Suzy said she wants you to be her big sister" (Say WHAT?!) Suzy proceeds adamantly to deny the comment, turn BRIGHT red, and shove her friend. The whole situation was just ridiculous... and funny. I have no doubt that she said it. We both know that I can't be her sister, and she doesn't expect me to be, so as long as things stay the same as they are now, we're fine, but man... it was funny. bright red. I love that girl.

Who knows how long it will be until I post again. I'm in the thick of preparing for the Christmas Program, so if no one hears from me until after Dec. 16th, that's why.

Evaluations

Well I'm sure this is a topic that all of the bloggers here will be experiencing sometime if they haven't already. Evaluations. I have my first evaluation by my principal tomorrow. I'm not terribly concerned because he has been dropping in to the classroom already and watching a few minutes of class here and there, and I can usually keep focused without getting too nervous that he's watching me teach. But there is that little part of me that, well, goes back to college and student teaching when I think about getting evaluated tomorrow. I get nervous and start thinking of how disappointing or just plain terrible I might come across to my principal, just like I felt when I used to get evaluated by my professors or cooperating teachers.

I find it difficult to teach when people are just sitting there watching me (I cannot understand how some teachers can handle student teachers just watching and critiquing all the time!!). I start to question everything I'm about to say and it really gets me unfocused and not myself.

To prepare for the evaluation, I had to fill out some paperwork about my lesson objectives, strategies, and plans. Then I had to meet with my principal to discuss them. As frustrated as I felt preparing to fill out those papers, I actually felt a sense of confidence when I was done filling them out. It made me think more about the big picture - the main objectives and goals I need to keep in mind for my band. And it made me feel like a competent teacher when I was writing things like "I will be using informal assessment during this class period by observing and listening to the students," or, "Students will improve their abilities to recognize and perform various rhythmic patterns through the use of rhythm flashcards," or, "Students will develop a better understanding of the importance of having good posture to create a quality tone."

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to just go for it. To act normally (...forget that he's there watching me) and just be the somewhat good teacher I think I can be. I'll let you know how it goes!

---UPDATE---

I just tried to pretend like he wasn't there, haha. I think I did okay. Nothing terrible happened. I'll update you after we meet to discuss the evaluation.

The only time I was really thinking about the fact that he was there was when a student walked up to me right in front of him right at the beginning of band and said "I forgot my snare drum again." (2nd day in a row) And i KNEW my principal would be looking for my response. How was I going to handle the situation??? So I was definitely on the spot. Well, I just went over to my gradebook across the room and said "Look, Billy Bob, this is the 2nd time in two days. And the 5th time this year already. What do you need to do to remind yourself? This is unacceptable so you need to do something to improve it!" I hope that was the right response......

Kvetching

kvetch

\ KVECH \ , intransitive verb;

1.

To complain habitually

*Disclaimer* Today's Dictionary.com Word of the Day was "kvetch." I have been in a kvetching frame of mind this week, so this seemed awfully appropriate. I don't like to complain in an non-constructive way, but it's kvetch day! Please forgive me, and let's hope I can get this funk out of my system.

*Begin Kvetching*

This week, after sixteen weeks of marching band season (ten weeks of school), I really feel like I lost it. Overtired, haven't seen boyfriend or family in a month, running a three-ring circus as my job (read: totally in over my head). Waking up early, commuting to work, 5 competitions (hosted 1), 5 home football games, two parades, two long weekends that weren't (a parade+IMEA).

Living alone, being the only band director in my district, and moving far from home sometimes allow me to sink too much into my neuroses. The stress buildup has peaked. I even went to the pet store and held baby bunnies as a possible source of company/entertainment. I have spent this week trying to bury myself in comfort food (mac n cheese twice in a week is a bit excessive), watching a minimum of 3 hours of TV/night, and hiding from reality about as much as possible with the unrealistic hope that I'll step outside having finished my first year of teaching. I know I can improve from now to next week, but I will be much more able to teach with the end in mind next year. Teaching is haaaaard.

*End Kvetching*

Just play like you used to

In my opinion...advice to all band teachers: If you have time, just play your instrument like you used to before you started teaching. Practice a little bit for the heck of it. :)

I'm currently in a community orchestra in a town nearby where I teach. We aren't professional or super amazing at what we do, but it is really fun to get together with other folks who love music and just play my clarinet. To just be the one sitting and making music directly instead of being in charge for once. It also helps me keep in mind what it feels like to be IN the band so I can relate with my students better in that way.

Just a thought ....as Nick, Glenn, Mary, Emma, and I all prepare to head back to our alma mater this weekend to play in the alumni band for our school's 100th homecoming!



flashback to freshman year with the Chief.....
they must've joined a bunch of different gamedays together in this video because sometimes the alumni band is there and sometimes it's not.....

Pleasant Surprises

As a first year teacher with a lot of plates spinning, I sometimes put off things that a. require lots of planning b. might be unpopular or c. I don't know how to do just yet. First quarter ends this week, and I have yet to really do any assessment with my middle schoolers. I was daunted because I have a full band with no pull out lessons. How do you do a performance assessment in a class of 48 kids? I have heard of people doing video or audio recording in a practice room with some success, but I just didn't get it together because it required prior planning and I didn't see my students jumping on board (and I'm not exactly popular with my 7-8th grade band yet). Assessment just kept getting pushed to the back burner.

My middle school cooperating teacher did a great form of assessment called "solo-tutti." In this arrangement, students alternate between playing an exercise in full ensemble and one student playing as a solo for assessment. There is a specific tempo and procedure, and the process goes on "auto-pilot" so the teacher can assess easily. Students are actively engaged the whole time because they need to make their entrance at the right time. My cooperating teacher did this in sort of a "sniper" style, where she would put kids on the spot, but I like to decide who will go before we begin to make the process a little smoother. The whole band can be assessed on, say, a Bb scale in 3-4 min. a day within a week. Of course, students have to be comfortable playing individually and be quiet as their peers play, but it is a good system for technical exercises with a goal of note accuracy (like scales).

Well, I introduced the idea in class on Friday, expecting a tepid response. Instead, I had students' eyes light up! "Can we play for you one at a time?? Great!" I had more volunteers to go on the first day than we had time for. We started assessment on both Bb and F scales because my students were so pumped about it. Wow, I guess I'm not the only one wishing I could give these students more attention. I thought they acted sullen in my class because they disliked me. And don't get me wrong, I am sure a few of my students don't like me! But I see now that they just want more attention and feedback than they receive in full band, which is exactly what I keep wishing I could give them. Wow! Really hoping that I can get some group lessons going. Have to keep exploring this with my administration over the course of the year. Wish me luck!

Little Victories, Small Catastrophes

Things really are getting better, bit by bit. I'm just going to toss out some recent highlights and low points from the past few weeks. In about a week and a half, I'll be writing a full blown post on my second take on teaching some improvisation concepts through Radiohead's "The National Anthem" in jazz band. Until then, however, pardon my randomness.

Victories:

I have been following David Newell's prescription for rhythmic independence pretty strictly since day one, and I have noticed significant improvement in most students. His method is based on the Pestalozzian principle of the thing before the sign. Say you want to pass out a tune that has dotted quarter note rhythms. Newell would suggest that a few weeks before you pass out the song, follow this process, spending just about 2 minutes per day:

1) Perform the rhythm. Using a call and response format (I call it My Turn/Your Turn), simply have your students perform the rhythm. Do this for a few days.

2) Count the rhythm. Newell likes to teach his kids that all rhythms have secret hidden lyrics known as counting words. Have the students perform the rhythm by singing it on "du" using call and response. Next, do the same rhythm again, except with its counting words, such as "1 and 3 4." Do this for a few days. Eventually you get to the point where you say the rhythm on "du" or "tu" and the students respond with the counting words.

3) See the rhythm. Make rhythm flash cards with the rhythm written in large font on it. Continue to sing, play on instruments, and use counting words on these rhythms, but each time students go, hold up the flashcards so students can begin to make the connection between the rhythm pattern they already know how to play and the notated pattern that they are seeing.

4) Apply it. After a week and a half or so of this process, students should be able to nail this in the piece. If they can't, keep working on it.

5) Understand it. At this point, you can get into the specifics of rhythm trees and note durations, etc. This comes last, not first.

I'm going to keep this up with the idea that we can become more and more independent in our rhythm reading to spend more time on music. (Of course, this approach doesn't work if you have a group of percussion boys who are determined to not even look up during this exercise. That back row can't read a lick, and it's a shame that they don't participate in this activity geared towards helping them read the music in front of them.)

-Speaking of that, I get percussion lessons with my 6th graders once a week, and we had our first one this past Wednesday. We went straight into rhythm tree and counting stuff and I had them write in the counting to their band music and an easy snare drum etude I pulled up. Hopefully this blossoms into something!

-Beginners started two weeks ago, and if nothing else, I have pretty nice instrumentation. 3 flutes, 5 clarinets, 1 oboe, 1 sax, 3 horns, 9 trumpets, 7 trombones, 2 baritones, and 1 tuba. Yes, no percussion. I have had such a tough time with my JH Band percussionists, that I wanted to give myself a chance to get a better grip on teaching percussion before I start a few next year.

I'm a brass player by nature, so I feel really comfortable helping brass players sound great, and my brass players are strong already. I'm seeking to feel as comfortable on diagnosing and solving woodwind problems. Workin' on it!

-I have a handful of kids who, for one reason or another, just need a heck of a lot attention. They are constantly by my side, in my office, raising their hand, sitting by me on the bus, and just telling me all sorts of random stuff. It's easy to get frustrated, especially when they all compete against each other for my attention and speak at the same time. I am trying really hard to just love these boys, however. Mr. Clark's comment the other day about the importance of character education really resonated within me.

Here's an example, with a 5th grade baritone player who plays alright, but he is a real space cadet. I do know, however, that his dad lives in another state and his mom just got out of jail. He really needs some attention and love.

The other day, he stayed after school to practice, and he played for a few minutes and then was running around, playing football with another kid outside. Instead of yelling at him and telling him to practice some more, I thought the best thing I could do for him was to do some good, solid, guy stuff. So I tossed the football around with him for a few minutes and waited with him until his grandma came to pick him up. I know that he rarely gets that kind of special attention from a positive male role model, so it was a feel good moment for me, and I hope it was for him, too.

-I had some kids initiate a "Clean Up the Uniform Room" afternoon the other day, which was awesome to see. I love kids taking some ownership about the state of the band program.

-I got to put away the marching percussion on Saturday after our last parade! I was elated.

Catastrophes:

- I am still having difficulty with my pacing. I often feel like class happens to me instead of me running class. Many times, I'll forget to check the time, make certain announcements, pass certain things out, etc. I'm working on slowing down the teaching process so that it doesn't feel like such a whirlwind.

-I still have lots of 8th graders and a few 7th graders who have not at all bought into me and what I hope to do with the band. They are fighting everything and intentionally ruining some things. I'm not sure if it's a case of me being the new guy they don't know or ineffective teaching or classroom management, or just breaking bad behavior habits.

-I had a parade about a month ago where we arrived too early and we just cooked in the sun for 2 hours before stepping off. We were dead tired before we even started. Yesterday, however, at our last parade, we arrived a tad late and stepped off about 2 minutes after lining up! I am still getting the logistics of dragging a gaggle of middle schoolers across the state down.

-The best student in my band wants to quit. He's an 8th grade trumpet player who got a D on his progress report because he did 1 out of 5 listening assignments and failed to turn in many other things. I have given him an opportunity to make up the lost points, but he hasn't even told me that he wants to do so. He very well could quit, but he might even get an F as well. I've talked with his folks and with him, but no progress at all yet. I am clueless. I just don't know the best way to approach the situation in a way that reaches out to this student so that he doesn't miss out on a chance for music education, but still does not compromise my principles as a teacher.

Anyway, that's a mouthful. After our jazz band concert, I'll update on our "National Anthem" project.

A personal goal

Life in the country schools is all-around good; my kids are pretty darn good kids and I work with good people. But I'm realizing more and more (through failure) that teaching is really about having a lot of patience and love.

The past couple of weeks I have been trying to get my kids to work super hard on a marching band song we're playing from memory in a Halloween parade. It's been slow-going, and I've been getting extremely frustrated with small things and with my students in general. I have been jumping all over them and giving them lots of talks about how they have to take this seriously and get memorizing and pay attention in class more. I get angry quickly. I snap at students who interrupt me or who just happen to be looking away at the moment I look to them to see if they're paying attention. I sometimes talk down to them when they irritate me. And I realized last week, that is not the teacher I want to be.

The teacher I want to be is one full of love and patience. I don't want to be consumed with getting my students to create the best performance they can and with doing whatever it takes to get them there. No; I want to be consumed with developing young musicians - young people - that are going to work hard but still enjoy what they are doing. ...That are going to be good people who have experienced love and respect from adults and who are eventually going to become those adults. I shouldn't have to jump all over them for small things just because MY patience is lacking and just because I may be getting frustrated. We should be able to get things done AND have fun. And I really do think that if the students are enjoying band and having fun, they will want to keep working and practicing and making things better.

So I've come up with a personal goal this week to just be more patient and loving towards my kids. Love is what they need most anyway; so many of them get yelled at enough at home and from other teachers - I don't need to contribute to that. And I think what will help me most with being patient is just trying to have fun with them and laughing more. Like, by remembering the day they all held their instruments on their heads as hats. Wish I had had a camera. :)

And for a nice laugh...you can enjoy watching this trombone tumble: (Look near the 40 yard line on the right side of the 50)

Student Ownership

A nice article I recommend reading on giving students a little more ownership of the band and giving them an opportunity to help you out more: http://www.keynotesmagazine.com/article/?uid=297

reading music? No problem!

I am seeing progress every day with my students and FINALLY feel like a teacher (instead of a big joke).. Once again, my middle school children are amazing! Yesterday, I had a several 7th graders start class saying "I don't get this, I can't, this will be hard..." and by the end were saying "This isn't so bad! It's easy!" and, to boost my confidence I even heard "Mr. X last year made this so much more complicated!" YES!!! Success! Kids can read music! Also, preschool is amazing. Seriously, how many other people get to say that they get to smile and sing with 4 year olds for their job?!


Also, to follow up from my last "life lessons" post; today one of my eighth graders told me "I save my science project twice last night! To my hard drive and my flash drive! I remembered your life lessons!" I felt good.

Life isn't all roses, things are totally stressful and crazy and frustrating right now too, but it's good to find some good moments. I feel like I had another cute story to tell from today, but I'm too tired to remember right now.. Oh well!

Planning

I am a "devil's in the details" individual. I specialize in what my mother likes to call "rearranging deck chairs on the titanic:" a myopic obsession with details that may not contribute to the end game. However, that tendency is rooted in what I think is a rational credo. I believe that successful, effective teachers are detail-oriented. They front-load learning with a plan that includes objectives, an assessment strategy, and logistical preparation.

My confession: over the past several months, I have only planned a handful of lessons. Unexpected schedule changes, assemblies, fire drills, and student absences have all limited my ability to control my beloved details. I am still finding my students' ability level and what works with them. What planning I've done feels wasted when it backfires for one reason or another. Plus, the range of courses I teach (6th grade band, 7-8th grade band, marching band, music appreciation, beginners) can be overwhelming. Usually, I feel like a full day of school takes so much out of me, I don't have the energy to look even two days ahead.

This is stressful for me. I have seen teachers that teach without a plan for twenty years or more, and I have seen first year teachers who put out fires instead of planning ahead. I told myself I was not going to be "that teacher." I imagine my college professors looking on with horror at the lack of preparation in my teaching. In particular, I just imagine Dr. M.'s signature concerned face: looking up from his clipboard with raised eyebrows and a slightly cocked head, and deciding your fate with a stroke of his pen (dun dun DUN!!!!!). Okay, so this anxiety is getting pretty out of hand.

As I described these problems to some of the other DSTC contributors at a meeting the other night, Sara said something along the lines of "but what about Rule Number 6?" (I.e. "Don't take yourself so god damned seriously"). And as I read this post and examine my thought processes, I realize that I haven't been doing a very good job of following that rule, even though I wrote about it. The sky is not falling; my program is not in dire straits; Dr. M. is not, in fact, going to rescind my teaching certificate and diploma based on my performance as a first year teacher. I think the biggest obstacle to actually planning is the anxiety/burnout caused by not planning. This cycle needs to stop. I love teaching effectively and helping students, and by not planning, I'm not giving myself the chance to enjoy my job.

I'm seeing a pattern here: Emma: Calm down. Move on. And remember Rule Number 6! For real this time :)

something new.

Instead of posting yet another blog about my mishaps with classroom management, how there is a really big difference between behavior in the fall and behavior in the spring, or the many annoyances and frustrations of the week, I am going to share with you two great stories about jr. high... (shocking, I know.)

1. "Life lessons with Ms.Blazier." I started doing this on a whim with my eight grade after someone asked why I had a bandaid on my hand. We had story time while I told how I burned my hand the day before (trying to make the story as funny as possible)... The life lesson? "Ovens are HOT!" About a week later, I lost ALL of my lesson plans. That day, I had eighth grade, so I continued my life lessons. This week's moral? "Save Twice!" and finally, that same week, the rain and humidity got to my projector and it stopped working during mass and class... Life lessons again! "Rain ruins things!" What started out as a quick story has turned into something that my eighth grades ask about EVERY TIME they see me! "Ms. Blazier! What are your life lessons for today!?" They've even started asking other teachers for life lessons in those classes, too! It's really awesome. I've got to hold on to their interest and attention for this, because it's about the only way that I have all the either graders focused and paying attention in music... At least they will know something about life at the end of the year!

2. 7th graders are awesome. Who knew? This week I went to see our 7th and 8th grade girls basketball teams play a home game. The game itself was really cool. I enjoy seeing the kids outside of the classroom environment. I felt like a parent, I was so proud of them! But more than that, the moment that myself and another teacher walked in the gym for the first game, the whole 7th grade team smiled and waved at us. After the game was over, the 7th grade team (minus the few who play with the eighth grade team) came at sat with me and their english teacher in the bleachers...for the WHOLE NEXT GAME. and do you think they were watching the game? not a chance..they were circled around facing us like my first grade playing the penny game. It was ADORABLE! they were so excited to just talk to us! (Granted, it was a little annoying cuz I actually wanted to watch the 8th grade game!) I would have NEVER EVER sat with my teachers when I was in jr. high. These kids are crazy! It felt really good to see that the kids don't hate me, and I feel that it helped me get to know some of the kids that I haven't connect with as well yet. Yay!

Inolvement

My school has a subscription to a teaching professional development online network with lesson plans, bulletins, research summaries and the like. We are currently perusing it independently for staff development today, and I found a bulletin on student engagement. It quotes a Chinese proverb that states "Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand". Think of how much involvement goes on in the average music class! At the very least, we are usually showing through modeling, listening to recordings, counting out loud, etc. This makes me quite happy!!

Good day.

Quickfire Teaching Thoughts, and Pedagogy Excitement

First, some thoughts scatter-gun style:

I started beginners this week. It's super exciting! I was so ready to send them all home ready to play "We Will Rock You" (Eb D C Bb C C for brass and clarinet, C B A G AA for flute, etc) for their parents so they would be hooked forever. And then, many of them simply could not make a discriminate pitch. Sure it was only day one, but how do we get around that? Are they going to go home and practicing making poor sounds that are in between partials and not really notes? Lesson two starts tomorrow, we'll see!

Another beginning band thought - this is where it all begins. It's incredible to think how influential my instruction can be for these 10 and 11 year olds!

Jazz improv is still on the shelf for now, but we're going to try to subtly and slyly back our way into it by having a "recording session" tomorrow, where we will record our rhythm section playing a sweet rock vamp groove, and then on Friday, I'll distribute it on CDs for everyone to solo along with. We have already practice a scale that sounds great with the groove, so hopefully this approach will have better results - they are very familiar and comfortable with rock grooves, they like this song in particular, we have a little better rapport, etc.

I just finished grading our first playing test, which consisted solely of a Bb scale played in half notes, quarter notes, then repeated 8th notes. Many students excelled, while others displayed some real weaknesses, and I'm a little wary about handing their scores out tomorrow. I tried to be generous, yet firm, remembering that 6th graders have really only been playing for a few months, whereas 8th graders have been playing at least three times longer. I plan on keeping playing tests around, though, because I love getting a chance to hear each student individually.

I attended my first Grade School Music Association district meeting today, and I knew nobody and had no idea what was going on! I'm looking forward to getting caught up to speed on this kind of stuff.

Finally, I put together a worksheet that I'm really excited about. Many of my students have a very serious note reading problem, and the worksheet addresses that. Right now, they are blank templates so I can increase the difficulty over time. I plan on assigning this once a quarter or so. Here's a look:


Any comments or suggestions for improvement? Part of what I want to communicate with this worksheet is that band (music) is just like any other academic class. You put hard work in at home and learn a lot. Hopefully this will help fingerings and note recognition become second for us. In the meantime, I'll remember that it's still very early and that growth and development will come - from myself and my students.

the Future

So things at the high school have been going well overall the last week or so. Classes are productive (usually!), I'm building some rapport with the students and late nights are less late. Joining a gym, catching up on fresh cooking, and some lull time in the marching band schedule have helped also.

However, I cannot help but worry about my instrumentation situation, especially for next year. Let me lay it out. In my top group I am sufficient in flutes, clarinets and saxophones (of course). However after this coming graduation, the only things left in the way of brass will be one trumpet, one horn, and one baritone. The freshmen level band only now has flutes, clarinets, alto saxophones, and two trumpets, so that is all I will be able to promote. I am not sure yet what will be coming up from the feeders for next year.

What bothers me most is that I feel powerless. I am totally up for the extra work of rewriting parts and carefully selecting repertoire. But I feel that in this coming scenario that may not get me far enough. I am also not sure how or when to approach students about switching instruments. I am also wondering how to approach my feeders about how we can work together to have proper instrumentation in the community's music groups.

I do not mean to complain or to sound overly bleak. However I am looking for some creative solutions and ideas towards mending this situation. What I really want is to provide my students with the experience of a characteristic band sound, and a shot at repertoire with diverse sounds.

Beginning band reminder

A reminder about teaching beginning band:

Save twice.

I would just like to preface this post by saying it is not my intention to complain, but to share a stressful yet comical story with you...


I have about 20 different lessons to plan for each week. Technically, they all have to be turned in and checked on mondays, so I usually spend one day of my weekend up to my neck in books, papers, and Word documents. Yesterday was that day. I spent about 4-5 hours working on lesson plans... Last week I had just felt really disorganized with the way I planned, so I was meticulous and really felt good about all of my lessons for the week. I knew what Is doing, all my powerpoints were ready, and the lessons were well sequenced... You can see where this is heading..

This morning, about 7:15, I was transferring my old lesson plans to a new location and saving my new lesson plans to my external hard drive so I could print them. Somehow, by a crazy wrong click of my hand, I save my old lesson plans over the new ones. There was no way of getting them back. If I had accidentally deleted them, then it would be a different story, however, saving OVER them? not so much... I lost every single lesson plan for the week, and had less than an hour before school started...

Luckily, the teacher across the hall was willing to change morning patrol shifts with me so I could work, and my dad was up so I could cry to someone.. Then I got down to work. I pulled together the 8 lessons that I needed for today, and all was well. Was I upset? of course! But, I was also really proud of myself... I took a few moments to grieve my lost work, and then moved on. I'm still not looking forward to re doing everything tonight and figuring out how to get my classes organized and on track again, but It will be okay.... The moral of the story? Save everything to two different locations. Period.

Making Mistakes

"Mistakes are okay, just learn from them!" This has been my number one lesson this past month of school. I have probably made more stupid mistakes in the past week than I did all of student teaching combined. (and I made plenty then, too!) And you know what? I still think I'm doing a pretty good job as a teacher! This has been a great opportunity (ehem, trial and time of suffering) to deal with and overcome my perfectionism. Change happens slowly. Remember that 5th grade class that I wrote about a few weeks ago? It's still a mess. I still spend more time angry at them than smiling at them. I am still too inconsistent in my punishment. I am still afraid to make parent phone calls. I am still learning. That one out of control K class? Still completely out of control! My fault? Partially, partially not. All I can do is continue to reflect and improve, and overall love the kids. Newsflash to the world: I have learned more about how to be a good teacher from the classes that DON'T go well than the ones that do. Here is what i've learned so far this week.

1. About school: It's seriously okay to be mean. It's okay to punish kids. It's okay if they cry. About me: I am afraid of being mean. Somewhere in my messed up brain, I have discovered another one of my many irrational fears. You ready? I am afraid that if I punish kids for talking and not meeting my expectations every single time and for minor offenses in the beginning, instead of leading to a respectful learning environment where the kids feel like they can both learn and express themselves, I will have a stoic, emotionless, and bored class that will completely miss the point of music. Yet, all my experiences and the experiences of teachers who I respect proves the opposite. Next week, I am going to try my hardest to not be afraid to punish kids. (side note of self reflection - I think it is really interesting that I am having this problem because I was that kid that was COMPLETELY afraid of GETTING in trouble as a kid.)

2. Kids need consistency and structure. Teachers fight a losing battle if a student does not have structure and discipline at home. Teachers fight a double losing battle if parents AND other teachers don't provide enough structure and discipline. My mom said to me today "Don't kids just adapt to the expectations of where they are at the time?" Absolutely not. Some will....but most of the time, I don't think they can. Consistency and structure are stabilizing. Boundaries are comforting. It is true.

3. If you believe a child won't succeed, they won't. If you believe that they will, they are more likely to. This is the most powerful fact that a teacher holds in their possession. I hate labeling. low kids, high kids, slow kids, gifted kids... obviously, we need some system of labeling in order to know and help each child succeed. We can't say that all kids learn at the same speed and in the same way. However, expectation plays a huge part in behavior and success. I wish that I could say that I have the same expectation for all my classes, but I am still making mistakes! This is one of my goals for next week, especially with the classes that I struggle with.

There is one particular student that I am trying to "win over to the good side." She is a kindergartener who always seems to be in trouble. Sort of randomly one day after she had made some bad choices, I called her over to me and told her that i believed that she could turn her day in music around. She said she could and she did.... for the next ten minutes... It was a start!! I've decided to really work on this child. Make her believe that she IS good and that she CAN make good choices for behavior. I figure, If I believe in her, maybe she will start to make some good choices and believe in herself. We had a similar talk today about her being a good leader for her class. She made it another ten minutes. I am proud of the start.


Those are my musings for the week. On another note, I survived BOTH middle school and high school without ever getting a detention, just to have detention duty this morning at 7AM... I can no longer say I've never been in detention. It's a little sad.