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.
Worksheets look great! Keep in mind, some people just don't learn very well on written paper; others, it's great! So you will see a lot of variance in success, I think. Transferring fingerings you learn physically to a more abstract written form may be difficult for some at first but I think it's a good reinforcer!
ReplyDelete....and heck, i could be wrong too. :) remember when you said something like "everything i say is a guess..."? haha i feel that way ALL the time.
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