Week 11: Timing

This week brought another challenge as I taught the high concert B-flat to the students in class.  It was a bit of a challenge, not because the students couldn't understand the concept or complete it successfully, but because it can be difficult to teach instrumentally-specific things when there are six different kinds of instruments in the room.  I was pleased that the brass students were able to understand the differences in partials and knew that they would have to buzz even faster than they originally thought, and did so.  I just think I might not have had enough time to make sure that students were grasping the concept and then teach them two new songs.  However, that is the nature of things in middle school band.  I also know now that it won't do me any good to try and talk over students when they're "noodling" on their instruments.  I think I was just afraid of losing time by waiting for them to stop playing, but I think it'll be beneficial in the long run if I quiet down and let them know, even non-verbally, that it's time to work.

My case study is continuing to progress very well on her instrument.  She's still struggling with playing between the upper and lower registers on the flute, especially within a piece.  Also, she might need a little bit of work with counting rhythms, especially with clapping.  I did some of that with her this week, and emphasized the importance of knowing how a song goes rhythmically, and not just what pitches are being played.  Fortunately, I think that she had prepared herself very well for her playing quiz this week, and I can't wait to find out how she did the next time that I see her!

Week 10: Off to the Races

This week, I had my most jam-packed lesson ever!  I taught three book exercises in less than 20 minutes, which was a challenge in itself.  However, I also taught concert A-flat in both the lower and higher octaves, which was a serious challenge for all of the different instruments that I have in the class.  It involved changing embouchures, using register and octave keys, and listening very carefully to each other.  Not only did we have to get through the songs, but we also had to cover the new notes, accidentals, and repeat signs as concepts. It was a serious lesson in pacing!  However, I think it was a great experience and that, relatively, it went pretty well.  It did feel somewhat like a Blitzkrieg style lesson, but the students remained focused for just about all of it and were very receptive to what I had to teach.  I feel so lucky to have such talented and respectful musicians in my class, and I feel much better about my ability to pace a lesson after having success with a day like this past week!

Week 9: Classroom Management

This week, I decided to try something really different with my students, and it really payed off.  Some of my students were learning how to play their lower Concert F, and while others were not, they were very patient and allowed me to work with the woodwinds and brass players that were learning the new note.  First, I had them get the note in their ear, so we all sang it together, which worked really well.  Then, I had the brass players buzz the note into their mouthpieces before playing so that they could have an idea of how much speed of air and pressure they should use.  It really worked, and the students were able to grasp the new note and work through the piece in a constructive way. I hadn't really thought about it before, but what I actually did was a means of classroom management.  I tried a different approach and had the students do something other than the norm, and it caused them to pay more attention and focus in on the activity.  I've seen Mr. Knasas do the same kind of thing in having the students do breathing exercises instead of just playing the entire time.  I think that there's a lot of value in switching up the usual procedure, both for the students' benefit and for the teacher to find new methods of instruction. I'm definitely going to try and keep this creativity constant in the rest of my lessons. 

Week 8: New Ideas

Every week that I teach in front of the NSMS band teaches me something new about my own method. I learn about my strengths, weaknesses, and new concepts that I hadn't even considered. There are so many ways to fix a particular problem that I know I can't ever not solve one. It's just a matter of thinking about these solutions.  For instance, to help the students internalize their music, I would have them sing the starting note before playing. I thought this might help the brass players who are playing the wrong partial. However, afterwards, Mr. Knasas gave me an even better idea: buzzing the right note into the mouthpiece. This not only helps from a musical standpoint, but from a brass standpoint as well.
Something else that I feel that I need to grasp is my means of pacing.  There are obviously some issues that each section of the band has to deal with. However, I have ten, fifteen minutes at the most to work with them. As much as I would like, I can't solve everyone's problems in that amount of time, especially while trying to keep the attention of the other sections. The best that I can do at this point is articulate an idea to the section and give them an idea of how to practice it.  I can also work on having the whole band participate and comprehend that section's music by bringing it up on Smart Music.  I have been using the program more in my lessons, but I know that there is even more that I can do with it.  My main challenge at this point is accepting that I can't fix every problem in ten minutes, and I should work on improving the band's sound as a whole with small pockets of time devoted to individual sections.