Transcript Raising the Bar, Part 2 - Florida Music Education Associations

RAISING THE BAR,
PART 2
Teaching Concepts and Fundamentals in Middle
School Band
Florida Music Educators Association Conference
January 15, 2016
Part 1 – Standards and Expectations
• It is our responsibility to make sure that all of our students are
learning.
• Not just the “best.”
• We need to be aware of what all of our students can and can
not do.
• Benchmarks with regular assessment (formal and informal)
• The teacher must have clear goals and benchmarks for their
students.
• Progress monitoring – teach, assess, reteach as needed
• Don’t let the method book dictate what you teach!
• Use books, sheet music, and other exercises to meet your
benchmarks.
• https://flmusiced.org/flmusicapps/conference/Schedule/Details.
aspx?ID=2062
Part 2 – Concepts and Fundamentals
• Beginning Band is the foundation the band program.
• It is our job to make sure they are set up for success.
• “We’ll worry about that later.”
• “It’s okay, he’s just a beginner…”
• Monitoring is key!
• It’s not enough to give them information, we have to make sure they
are learning.
• Assessment doesn’t have to be scary or time-consuming.
• Feedback has been shown to be highly effective when used correctly.
• Respect is the foundation of learning.
• Respect is about relationships
• Trust and Sarcasm…
• Discipline vs. Behavior
• Learning can’t take place without respect and discipline.
• These concepts are necessary for a strong band program.
7 Essential Concepts/Fundamentals
• Characteristic Tone
• Characteristic Articulation
• Note Duration/Endings
• Pulse
• Phrasing
• Note Recognition
• Rhythm Reading
Conceptual Teaching
• Students must have a full understanding of the concept
before they can apply it consistently.
• Provide lots of examples…
• And non-examples (YouTube)
• Can the students identify examples and non-examples?
• Allows students to self-assess, and analyze performances
of others…
Characteristic Tone
• Posture – “Active Posture”
• Feet Flat, Edge of chair, Back Straight, Head Up
• No Tension!
• Posture, Hands, Breathing, Embouchure
• Embouchure
• Woodwind Pitches
• Brass Buzzing
• Air
• Must be consistent, fast and “spinning”
• Move air in between notes
• Air Temperature
Characteristic Tone
• Percussion
• Keep them involved!!
• Stick Height
• Start on mallet, but get to snare and auxiliary quickly.
• Hand/Instrument Position
• Be specific
• Give “checkpoints”
• Pitch/Intonation
• Starts at the beginning with tone!
• Teach as a concept
• Match: yes or no?
• Higher/lower?
• Should you use a tuner?
Characteristic Articulation
• Articulation is specific to the instrument.
• Provide lots of examples and non-examples.
• Isolate the physical movement of articulation.
• Students have difficulty pinpointing articulation with all of the other
moving parts.
• Legato v. Staccato
• Start with legato – keep air moving between the notes
• This will reinforce air movement when you get to staccato.
Note Duration/Endings
• Students need to move air all the way to the end of the
note.
• How do you want them to release notes?
• Teach it now so you don’t need to later.
• Beginners have a tendency to change their embouchure
by the end of a long note.
• Tough habit to break later on it.
• This will affect pitch and sonority!
Pulse
• Metronome or no metronome???
• METRONOME
• Students need lots of experience with a
steady pulse before they internalize it.
• Middle school students love to rush the ends of
measures, as well as dotted rhythms!
• Subdivision of the beat
• “Pull on beat 4.”
Phrasing
• As with the other concepts, show examples and non-
examples.
• Self-assessment and assessment of peers is a powerful
tool.
• Stretch past beat 4.
• Don’t trust phrase markings in the method books.
Note Recognition
• Sing note names as part of learning a piece of music.
• Students should sing their specific notes while moving their fingers.
• This can help prevent rote-learning.
• Assess this skill as well.
• All students should be able to identify notes by name; they will
become better sight-readers.
Rhythm Reading
• Daily counting starting on day 1.
• Body percussion and counting at the beginning.
• Move to counting that includes some sort of duration.
• The key is holding every student accountable.
• The won’t be scared to count out loud or alone if they are doing it
from day 1.
Putting it all together
• Demonstration of “learning a new line.”
• What am I teaching today?
• Sample Assessment
• Short and sweet
• Feedback
• Harmony in Bb
Last thoughts…
• Don’t say “it’s close enough,” or “that’s okay, you’ll get it
next time.”
• What you allow in your classroom is what will happen on stage.
• Unless you are okay with “close enough” in your Wind Ensemble.
• Give specific feedback• What could be better?
• What are the next steps?
• What did they do well?
• Stop Making Excuses!
• Summer Opportunity
• www.tinyurl.com/JimandMike
• Jim’s Book
Contact
Michael Antmann
Orange County Public Schools
[email protected]
Jim Matthews
Brevard County Public Schools
[email protected]