MUH 6515: Role Play and Socialization

For the topic of how role play affects socialization, I choose a video of several students playing singing games, including Bingo and Hot Potato. It seems that the group of students have several different accents, with British accents being the most represented and so it is possible they are located in the United Kingdom. I selected this video because it shows just how important musical play can be to social development. In the article, Lew mentions that little ones learn about themselves and others as well as their environments through musical play. It is through this learning about each other that children learn social skills,  such as team work, that will serve them their entire lives. The two student "leaders" in the opening of the video are showing younger students how to preform the song "Bingo." It is interesting to watch the interaction between the leaders as they take turns giving the instructions.

MUH 6515: Creating Music Strategies

This week I wanted to find a video that I thought would encourage my students to reach beyond their comfort zones. As I've mentioned in previous posts, the members of our newly formed jazz band are working on improvisation, but are doing so very timidly. The video I choose is of Bonnie J. Jenson on piano and Graham Jesse on tenor saxophone. They are at the Mongolia State University of Arts and Culture in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for an international jazz festival. During one of the sessions they met a Mongolian vocalist and created an impromptu workshop of their own. The Mongolian singer performed a traditional song while Bonnie and Graham improvised behind her.

The performance starts at :40 and ends at 1:50. 

I can appreciate the way Campbell reassures us in chapter 6 that culture bearers feel it’s okay for us (and our students) to create and recreate world music for educational purposes. I think it is tough to appropriately integrate world music in the classroom, partly because of the fear of doing it wrong and accidentally producing something offensive. I also like that Campbell broke down the various levels of creating world music and included “extending what is already there.” Jenson and Graham did a great job finding a way to extend what was already there in the video with the Mongolian singer. 

MUH 6515: Koop's Models of Authenticity

For this week I choose a song that might be considered too conservative for the definition of world musics, however it is currently relevant to my students and also applies to the readings for this week. Chick Corea's Spain was recorded on his 1989 album Akoustic Band and is classified as fusion Jazz. This particular performance of the piece was taped in Barcelona and features Jorge Pardo (flute, soprano and alto sax), Carles Benavent (bass), Rubem Dantas (percussion), Hossam Ramzy (Egyptian percussion), Tom Brechtlein (drums), Auxi Fernandez (Flamenco dancer), Tomasito Moreno (Flamenco dancer), and of course Chick Corea on piano. Although our newly formed after school jazz band (grades 6th through 12th) is not performing Spain, we are currently working on broadening our repertoire beyond strictly swing (with a Latin piece) and also improvising.

Koops made several interesting points in her article about the intentions behind being “authentic.” I identify with the authenticity as continuum model the most because I can often relate to the thought of “how far on the continuum a musician can go without negating potential educational benefits of teaching music in the classroom or distorting the music in a disrespectful way.” Many of my students rarely travel beyond the school’s zip code. I think I use that, along with a lack of budget, as an excuse to justify the idea that giving them any level of culture diversity is better than nothing. While that might be true, as Koops states, teachers need to teach from the authentic end of the continuum and the extra time and effort to do so results in an improved musical experience.

The entire performance is 18:35. If you want to hear the melody most commonly identified with the song, jump to 6:34. 

MUH 6515: The Role of Context in Musical Structure

Context is extremely important to understanding and appreciating all music, but especially music that is not familiar. We know that learners are able to grasp an new concept more easily if they can relate it to something they already know and so it is safe to assume the same would be true when learning about new music. If teachers can provide context, like the examples given in Teaching Music Globally in chapters 3 and 4, students will have a much higher chance of retaining information about the song.

My choice for this week comes from Mohamed Mounir, who was known as "the voice of Egypt" during the revolution in 2011. The song is called "Ezzay", which translates to "How Come?" It was adopted by Egyptians sort of as their anthem during the tough time. Here is link to a segment from NPR's "All Things Considered" with more context about the song and the conflict.

If I had not know the context about the song prior to listening to it, I would have likely confused it for simply a pop song with little culture significance. The song uses electronic sounds including an electric guitar, keyboard, and drums. The lyrics compare the country of Egypt to a lover. You can select the CC (closed caption) icon on the video below to get the English translation.


 

MUH 6515 - In What Ways Are Classification Systems Useful?

       


To be topical with the upcoming holiday this week I selected a piece containing an Irish (or Scottish) flute. This traditional piece originates from Ireland and contains the flute as well as a fiddle. The two performers appear to be promoting their album which contains several other Irish songs with the same instrumentation.

The use of instrument classification systems are important to the creation of new instruments as well as the development of already existing instruments. For example, the Irish flute used in the above video is simple system flute that was later replaced by the Theobald Boehm modal in the mid-nineteenth century. At that time the Irish flute became primarily used in Irish, Scottish and Cuban traditional folk music. I feel that viewing the instruments as categories increases the likelihood for expansion in the form or new and redesigned instruments. 

MUH 6515 - How Enthomusicology Informs World Music Pedegogy

This video is of a community steel pan band in Trinidad performing in at a carnival. Trinidad is located on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, which is just off the coast of Venezuela. The ensemble includes many steel pans, varying in ranges, as well as some other percussion like tom toms. 

Ethnomusicologists, that is those who are interested in the way in which a society musically defines itself, play a huge role in world music pedagogy. The early ethnomusicologists can be credited with bringing an interest of world musics to the United States. The desire to learn about other cultural musical identities has brought a variety of musical interests into music education. For example, I would love to start an after school steel pan ensemble for students in my school, with no music reading prerequisites. Videos, such as this group from Trinidad, would become quite useful in introducing the music to my students. 

Sources:

Nettl, B. (2005). The study of ethnomusicology: Thirty-one issues and concepts. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 

 

MUH 6515 - Week 1 Musical Entry

MUE 6080 Module 8: A Hong Kong Odyessey

With complete certainty I feel that the band trip to Hong Kong for the Blue Springs band was out of line and should not have happened. As a band director in a small school that also uses middle school students to supplement the high school band when possible, I feel that the trip was way too expensive to begin with and it is sickening to read the information about the five year loan after the trip. I would imagine that this particular school is very similar to mine in that the budget is on the small side and instruments might be old and/or in need of repair. That money could have probably been much better spent on something directly for the classroom.

I don’t want it to sound like I am against band trips because I strive to take the students on a trip every other year, however, we go to locations that are relatively close and inexpensive. For example, this spring we will go to Chicago, IL for a music contest. The cost of $340 per student includes 2 nights in a hotel, transportation, all meals, the festival, a full day at Six Flags, a murder mystery dinner theater, and the musical “The King and I.” To be honest, I try use these trips as a part of my recruiting efforts since we have so many scheduling conflicts against band. Since this is only the second trip the students have gotten to take and the first trip (Pigeon Forge, TN) wasn’t exactly anything to get excited over, I’m really hoping the Chicago trip gets the students excited to the point that they tell other students how much fun it was.

Speaking specifically to the money involved, I find it impressive that the small community in the article came within $30,000 of the Hong Kong trip in a one year period. I offer 4 fundraisers a year for band students and can barely get any participation. Additionally, some parents feel that $340 per student is too high for the above mentioned Chicago trip. I struggle constantly with getting parental involvement and just a few moments ago returned home for working the weekend concession stand fundraiser. In all of our fundraisers, any profit raised is applied to student trip accounts rather than to the band program (for new instruments) and I still struggle to get parent and student involvement. It appears that this band director at Blue Springs had a good relationship with the community and I feel that he should have pursued a smaller trip that could have easily been paid for. Lastly, since he pushed for the Hong Kong trip, he absolutely should have continued working there until the debt was paid. I really hope this is not a true story. 

MUE 6080 Module 8: Course Application to Teaching

There are several ways in which my learnings from this course about philosophy and aesthetics will influence my teaching in the future. Early in the course, when we had a class discussion concerning philosophical positions in the classroom, I had truly believed that I not only knew my philosophy but was also adhering to it quite well. As the course developed I realized this was not the case and my pragmatic approach is not always pragmatic. My goal has consistently been for students to develop the skills to be lifelong learners, so that they could learn without the assistance of an instructor along every step of the way. However, I have realized that I do not use enough methods of inquiry and my methods are inconsistent. While I feel that some of the inconsistently could be blamed on the constant change the program has been going through the last 2 ½ years with the addition of jazz band and marching band, it is mostly my fault. Having consistency in all facets of a band program is very important to growth and success and this coursework makes it clear that I need to fully commit to a pragmatic approach. Concerning the aesthetic foundation of music education, I will take from this course the importance of reaching the students that might not be able to get the feeling of “living” in any other area of their lives. We know that conditions beyond the school may not provide for a “living” situation but rather an “existing” situation for some students and music education needs to be available for those students.

Of the information covered concerning sociology, social psychology, and psychology, the area that will affect my future teaching the most is the concept of self-image, motivational factors, and the tendencies that align with socioeconomic statuses (SES).  I found the SES information in chapter five to be especially thought provoking. I grew up in a home that had work boots and I was a first generation college attendee, but I still found art music as enjoyable. I suppose that could be credited to the efforts of my music education teachers. Even currently I attend several concerts a year and the spread looks a little something like this: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, touring artists at our local Jazz venue Jazz at the Bistro, REO Speedwagon, Zac Brown Band, and Pentatonix. Prior to chapter five I assumed that something like musical tastes had no boundaries, and maybe it doesn’t, but it is good for my future teaching to understand that SES has a lot of influence on musical preference.

Because of where I am currently in my teaching position, and the efforts I am exerting to influence decision makers that music education is important, I will take the information from unit one and apply it rather quickly. About this time ever year for the last three years I have researched and complied data on other area middle schools and their course offerings compared to their test scores. My goal is to encourage my district to offer more elective choices for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders as we currently offer only one section in their schedule for an elective. In addition to math, English-language arts, social studies, science, physical education, and the one elective, all students are required to take an additional reading class. I hope that expanding my presentation this year to include information about the importance of music education on character in Greek and Roman philosophy and later in the Boston school music standards of 1837 (standard number 2) that I can prove music educations importance to not only a well-rounded child, and possible higher test scores, but also to the character of students. After all, my middle school is considered a “National School of Character.” While this is not something that I will do in my classroom with students present, recruiting and advocating is (unfortunately) a large part of the job. I feel confident that the information from the beginning of this course will help contribute to a solid agreement this time around. 

MUE 6080 Module 7: Four Musical Concepts to Improve

In general, I would like all of my band students, grades 6^th through 12^th , to have a better understanding of dynamics, form, improvisation, and intonation.

In the high school band I try to use our contest pieces to incorporate lessons with such information. For example, this contest season the high school band is playing “Air for Band” and “Fantasy on an Early American Marching Tune.” Since “Air for Band” is rather straightforward structurally, I used it to show the students parallel period and antecedent and consequence phrases. After this particular lesson, the students did a stronger job of holding the phrases out. One student told me “now that I understand that is a half cadence, I want to play it longer.”

To work on intonation I occasionally hook a Smart Music microphone up to the computer connected to the projector and we make a game out of which section is playing the most in tune. The large projection of the turner really helps students see what sound they are producing, but it takes a lot of preparation and time out of rehearsing. I need to promote that activity more often.

For dynamics I record the students playing a piece or excerpt and play it back to them. While they’re listening, they draw a picture to show their dynamic range. This usually prompts them to be more extreme with their dynamics, but it usually seems to be quickly forgotten by the next class period.  

Improvisation is the area that I need to work on the most in terms of developing staged lessons. Students are too overwhelmed to jump in a play a non-written solo (or anything non-written for that matter) and so far my exercises have not done the trick. I am going to look into using a method book for improvisation, specifically something that could be used in the concert band setting as well as in jazz band. 

MUE 6080 Module 7: Student Objectives and Assessments

Jazz Band Objective – Given the sheet music with chord changes for “C Jam Blues”, the student will determine and notate at least 3 pitches that would properly fit in each chord change.

Marching Band Objective – Given a metronome marking of 88 bpm, the student will march in a parade block with proper horn carriage, while using a glide step, and properly guiding their lines.  

Concert Band Objective - Given the sheet music for “Air for Band”, the student will label where each section of the A-B-A1-Coda form begins.

Beginning Band Objective (WW, Brass, and mallet percussion) – Given a fingering chart for the first five notes of the Bb scale, the student will create for beat phrases by improvising.

To assess each of these four objectives, the teacher could use a rubric.

Jazz Band “C Jam Blues”	3	2	1
	Student identifies 3 or more notes for each major that will fit in the chord structure	Student identifies 2 notes for each major that will fit in the chord structure	Student identifies 1 note or no notes for each major that will fit in the chord structure
	Student notation is neat and legible		Student notation is messy and illegible

Marching Band – Parade Block	3	2	1
	Student consistently pulls the toes up, creating a strong glide step	Student mostly pulls the toes up, creating an intermittent glide step	Student rarely pulls the toes up, and lacks a  strong glide step
	Student consistently guides their lines side to side and covers down front to back	Student mostly guides their lines side to side and covers down front to back	Student rarely guides their lines side to side and covers down front to back

Beginning Band – 5 notes	3	2	1
	Student uses all five notes to create a short improvised melody	Student uses 3 or 4 notes to create a short improvised melody	Student uses 1 or 2 notes to create a short improvised melody
	Student maintains a consistent tempo throughout the melody		Student does not maintain a consistent tempo throughout the melody

Concert Band – “Air for Band”	3	2	1
	Student labels all 4 sections correctly	Student labels 2 or 3 sections correctly	Student labels one or none sections correctly

MUE 6080 Module 7: Beethoven's "Pathetique" with Behaviorists and Cognitive Approaches

To teach the opening 16 measure of Beethoven’s “Pathetique” sonata in a behaviorist/stimulus approach a teacher has to present a stimulus. They could reward accurate playing with a reward (sticker, treat, etc) or just with a smile and a compliment. This is a straightforward process because the behavior is observable and easy to measure.

To teach the opening in a cognitivist/gestalt approach the teacher is going to focus more on how the student is processing information about the music.  The teacher may spend considerable time with the student detailing the purpose of various musical attributes that Beethoven used. For example, the teacher may challenge the student to determine the purpose of the decrescendo in the bass clef (in measures 6-7) a measure before the treble clef is instructed to decrescendo. While the internal change that happens during this approach is difficult to measure, it may provide for a deeper attachment to the music for the student (compared to the behaviorist approach). 

MUE 6080 Module 6: Conformity in the Ensemble

Probably the biggest use of conformity I have witnessed in my teaching career was the introduction of marching band at my school three years ago. While there had been a marching band in through the mid-1990s, the uniforms had been in storage since 1996. When I was hired I was quick to dust off the old uniforms and make a big deal about this thing called marching band. Ultimately I believed marching band would be a way for me to attract more students to the small program. While I have seen a small increase over the past three years, I have also had some students leave the program. I still believe that in the longer run the revival of marching band will prove to be a huge help in reaching students through music even though I am not seeing the changes as quickly as I had hoped for. Below I will detail the ways that marching band has influenced high school band conformity at my school.

The first step to starting a marching band nearly from scratch was to get a song that we could march to. I attempted to use the school fight song for this because I assumed the students would be familiar with it and maybe even have it memorized. The only probably was that there was not a school fight song. And so “Louie Louie” it was. We worked relentlessly to figure out the left foot from the right foot and how to hold the horn and pull the toes, all while several students were completely defiant likely because I was their 3^rd bank director in 5 years and I was making them do something completely out of their comfort zone. I was quick to give the band a performance opportunity. Just three weeks after starting we marched in a local parade. 

There was another band in the parade that was about 7 times the size, very experienced, and very well-funded. I thought this would intimidate my students but instead the conformity had already begun. They were in awe of the other group and pointed out their drums, which were far better than the hand me downs I was able to purchase, and wanted to know when we would get some like theirs. And so the next step was to make our drums look like new. 

We also entered a parade competition that year as comments only. It was amazing to see the reactions as we watched some of the larger bands when we were finished. Although my school is located only 25 minutes outside of St. Louis, many of the students have had little exposure beyond their town. I’ll never forget how a student asked me if the high school campus that hosted the competition was a college. We also took our “marching band” to play pep songs in the stands of the soccer games since we didn’t have a football team. That winter the marching band did a short marching routine at the homecoming assembly and the crowd loved it.

The following year we returned to the same competition, actually competed, and for it is worth, did not finish last. We also went to a competition at a University (as inspired by the question from the year before). It was also a “hashtag not last” event for us. I think it was that trip and that competition that really “sold” the kids on marching band. They were able to watch a college football game and see the best college marching band in our state. One of the students told me months later that he sent an email to the college band director the very next day. That student, who was unable to get accepted straight into college based on grades, is now doing basic training so that they can be in the National Guard and attend that school (and march in the band) next year.

Fast forward to year three and our first ever summer band camp and field show. We were able to enter into a co-op with another small school to make a football team. And so without a football field to practice on we developed a half time show that included three songs complete with drill and a color guard routine. We competed in the same two parade competitions as the years before but also attend a university’s “Band Day” in which the students were able to march on the field with the college band during halftime.

Throughout this whole process I feel like it was all in the way it was presented to the students that lead to them liking or disliking marching band. The trophies from the competitions are proudly displayed in the band room and every placement we earn is announced over the intercom the next school day. Students are allowed to pick songs for the stand tunes we play at the football and basketball games and also get to vote on the halftime show. I often give anonymous surveys out during marching season and the response I see the most under “favorite part of marching band” is the applause and recognition from the crowd or audience. I think many of my students really latch on to events that give them a sense of pride and I truly believe that marching band offers that for many that are unable to get that feeling anywhere else in their lives and this influence has led to conformity within the group. 

MUE 6080 Module 6: Creative Activities in Middle School and High School Band

Jazz band is still a new concept at my school. Currently the jazz band has full instrumentation for the first time in its three year existence. It is made up of grades 6^th through 12^th and we meet once a week after school. There are a few creative activities that we already do, but there are also more that I would like to try. For example, we begin every class by warming up with the B flat blues scale. Since improvisation is such a foreign concept to them right now I encourage students to find a new way for us to use the blues scale to warm up. We begin by playing swung eighth notes with 4 counts for each note and continue to reduce the amount of beats each note receives until we are playing one eighth note per pitch. Next the students make suggestions to add some variety to the scale. Previous suggestions have included playing it in “thirds”, were we play the root followed by the 4^th, then the flat third followed by the sharp 4^th, and so on. The only other creative activity that we do in jazz band currently is improvising while trading two measure phrases using a melodic line found somewhere in the piece. It is way too overwhelming to say “ok student, improvise totally on your own for 12 bars.” By reducing it down to 2 measure phrases and requiring them to use previously learned material, the idea of improvising seems much more attainable. Additionally, I encourage them to repeat what I play that way they don’t feel the need to focus on the music as much and begin to trust their ear.

A creative activity that I think would strongly benefit several students in jazz band would be to transcribe a short jazz solo. This would really get the students using their ears while also learning new patterns or licks that sound good on their instruments. So much of improvisation success comes from being properly trained and proper training usually comes from a variety of activities. One last activity that I would like to try with the jazz band students is for them to take a melody and rewrite it by using the techniques of ornamentation and reinvention. This is a pretty basic concept but one that I was recently retaught at our state’s music educators conference in a session by Mike Steinel from North Texas. I plan to provide students each a different 4 bar melody for them to rework twice; once with ornamentation and once with reinvention. The following is a picture from the materials from the conference session.

In 6^th grade beginning band I sometimes play the call and response game with the class. I play a melody using the first 5 notes of concert B flat scale and they repeat it back. It usually takes about 3 attempts before the majority of the class feels comfortable with the melody. After the class is in a comfortable groove I ask for student volunteers to make up a melody. Lastly, students in the combined 7^th and 8^th grade band and in the high school band like to “jam” on the piano. While one or two of them know enough about the piano and the internet to be able to play something recognizable, most students do not. To help guide the students I could teach them the most popular chord progression in popular music (I, V, vi, vi) in the key of C. From there they could learn how to transpose the chords to a desired key for a new song. 

MUE 6080 Module 5: SES of School and Community

The median home price in my school district’s community is $158,000. That is roughly $80,000 lower than its neighboring communities. The areas is comprised of mostly single family homes, but also contains several apartment and townhouse style complexes. The average monthly rent in the area is $1,194. The school district enrolls 1,012 students grades kindergarten through 12^th grade. There is one elementary building, one middle school building, and one high school building all on the same campus. The most recent data shows a free and reduced lunch rate of 47.3%. The demographic breakdown for the school is 62% white, 23% black, 5% multi race, 5% Hispanic, and 5% Asian. Some of the enrolled students do not reside in the community, but rather attend the school through the Voluntary Inter-district Choice Corporation or VICC. The demographic breakdown for the community is 83% white, 6% Asian, 4% black, 4% Hispanic, and 3% multi race.

In my almost three years working in the community I have noticed a wide variety of characteristics among the area families. Most of the families I have gotten to know are dual income families, in which both parents work, on single income families in which there is only one supporting parent. Most are working in blue collar jobs while some have careers related to higher education. In terms of the band program, I have to consider the expense of the instruments when trying to recruit for band. Some families find great value in music education and have the means to provide an instrument for their child, some value music education but expect a school instrument to be provided at no charge, and some do not value music education but will encourage their child to participate if there is no charge related. It is an interesting mix and each situation requires its own specialized approach to getting that child involved in band.

There are also some considerations when selecting music and determining the teaching approach. Due to scheduling conflicts with local churches, Wednesday night performances are discouraged. At our “Winter” concert we perform several “Christmas” or “holiday” pieces as well as selections that represent a variety of beliefs. Additionally, we perform traditional carols near Christmas in order to raise money for a local charity that provided presents to families in need. 

MUE 6080 Module 5: Music as Social

A recent social (music) situation occurred with my high school band students. They were performing a pep song (“Royals”) at the homecoming pep assembly and the entire crowd joined in, sang the lyrics, and even clapped some of the rhythmic lines. Administration views the purpose of this performance as having music that will get the crowd excited, however, I additionally view it as a recruiting opportunity since the entire district (K-12) attends. The piece was very short and mostly fit the popular music mold, although the tempo was slower than most pop songs. The band also marches to create several pictures on the gym floor while performing at this assembly since marching band is still relatively new for the school and we want to get the word out that it exists. I think it is fair to say that this performance is not intended for careful listening given the loud nature of the venue.

The 20 high school band students who performed wore casual pants, their band shirts, and the marching uniform hats with a Burger King crown attached to go along with the homecoming theme of “A Night with King Midas.” I encouraged the drumline to interact with the elementary students (who were sitting in the front row). They used a section of the song with stick clicks on beats 2 and 4 to get the kids clapping with them. The students memorized their music and the only amplified instrument was the bass guitar. There were about 1000 staff and students (grades kindergarten through 12^th) in the audience and I believe that some of them really did listen to the song in the sense that they had to pay close attention to ensure that they matched pitch when they sang. With that being said, several audience members took the opposite approach and used the time to converse with their neighbors. Audience members did not purchase a ticket and were not allowed to have food or drink, nor did they have a printed program. They did however applaud after the performance! 

Module 4 Reflection Post: The Landfill Orchestra

The video of the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra has several interesting components. The young girl who describe feeling butterflies while listening to a violin also stated “it’s (music) a feeling that I don’t know how to explain.” I think that is exactly why the people of Cateura began creating the instruments and organizing an ensemble. They realize that music makes them feel in a way not possible through anything else. Although there are not funds to purchase new violins (that are valued higher than a house), they citizens recognize the need for music in their society in order to “live” instead of “exist.” Additionally it should be noted that they ensemble played songs from the “past.” The small town in Paraguay that is built upon a landfill has a 40% school dropout rate, but yet they seem to be stretching to reach all four components of the role of music education (minimum competencies, cohesive society, learning from the past, and a richer life). I think it is especially incredible given that this town does not likely have the funds or technology to enjoy music through listening to replicated music. The statement “my life without music would be worthless” could be viewed as youthful exaggeration however it appears that this individual is existing with barely having basic needs met and therefore the removal of music from her life may very well make it feel worthless to her. 

Module 4 Reflection Post: Informing People about Music Education

There are many ways that I can make the value of music education better known in my community. This is my third year in the position of sole band director for grades 5^th through 12^th in a small suburb of St. Louis. Although the school district is small, the band program is very small and the high school enrollment is currently only 7% of the total school enrollment. While that is slightly increased since I was hired, there is still a long way to go. The current beginning band class (6^th grade) is at 33% enrollment. Below I will detail a few of the strategies that helped get so many 6^th grade students involved as well as ideas for strategies that I could implement to further demonstrate the importance of school music programs to the community. It’s worth noting that the biggest struggle the band program faces in my district is the ability to get students involved initially. All middle school students (6^th, 7^th, and 8^th) are allowed one “elective” section. Meaning that students who choose to take band throughout middle school do not get to experience any other classes outside of the cores (math, science, reading, English Language Arts, and social studies).  For the students that do stick with band (or choir) throughout middle school they face a tough decision in high school as they are encouraged to take honors courses that conflict with band and choir.

Recruiting efforts – It became very clear to me after the first year that if I didn’t start students in beginning band that I was likely never going to have them in the band program. I met with the elementary principal and we devised a plan to have “5^th grade instrumental music” as part of their specials rotation. I see all of the 5^th graders once a week and we explore the instrument families. I have gotten better at teaching this class and last year was able to incorporate many 5^th graders into the spring band concert. This was a great opportunity for me to speak to the 5^th grade parents about the important of music, for them to see what the high school band had to offer, and also allowed me to send them home with valuable information about the importance of music. Part of the materials I supplied included a website that I built specifically for recruiting. I must admit that I use the “academic card” as a reason to join the band program on these materials. I am not proud of this because I believe that music should stand alone and should not be defended based on what it does for other content areas; however at this point in the building process I am going to continue to include the academic benefits in the materials I supply to parents.

Join VP Band website 

Marching band as a face in the community - Another strategy that I used to show the community the importance of music was the reestablishment of the marching band program. Marching uniforms were purchased nearly 20 years prior to my hiring, but they were barely used. I wanted the high school band to have a face in the community, even if that was just playing a pep tune in the local parade. The events that we play have grown from the community parades to community luncheons and other events at City Hall. Many people have approached me with comments such as “I didn’t even know VPHS had a band.” Through the process of reestablishing the marching band I’ve (unsuccessfully) applied for grants and some of the materials that I have put together for the applications have been displayed at school board meetings. Video for grant 

Proposal for schedule changes – While working towards convening the school board and community that band is important, I have also had many meetings with administrators and other “elective” teachers to work towards a better schedule that would allow more course opportunities for our students. I have presented the data to show how we are the only school district in our county that limits our middle school students to one elective, but have been unable to convince the middle school administration that our students deserve more choices. I plan to continue to have meetings. Link to data presentation

Fun band activities – Over the last few years I have worked to take the high school band to contest as well as on larger performance and festival trips. Also, with the addition of the marching program we now go to marching competitions at held on college campuses and perform at the football games. Lastly, I created an after school jazz program that will compete for the first time this year. The addition of opportunities to perform has definitely increased student quantity as well as quality. The program is beginning to feel more like a typical band program.

Convincing the school community and residential community that band is valuable has been a struggle so far, but I feel that we are gaining traction and I will continue to work towards a valued band program. Several other strategies that I plan to implement include alumni band events in which former students come back and play with the current band, a mentor program were upperclassmen encourage younger band students to excel in the band program, and (hopefully) a successful attempt to starting a band boosters organization. I believe if we have a program that feels welcoming with a “family” feel to it, then we will grow and the more we grow the more voices we will have supporting us in the community.

MUE 6080 Module 3: Teaching Aesthetic Qualities in 6th Grade Band

To teach the aesthetic value of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 Second Movement to a 6th grade band class I would first have the students listen to the piece and write down any thoughts or observations they noticed without any guidance from me. I think it is hard to develop the ability to “listen” instead of simply “hearing” and giving the students an opportunity to notice aesthetic qualities before a teacher directs them in their listening experience may prove to be valuable. 

Next, I will provide the notation of opening oboe solo and note the following qualities:

• The duplicated notes with differing articulations (staccato and slurred) in measures two and four. 
• The ritardando at the end of the first phrase, concluding on beat one in measure nine. (And all other phrase endings in the introduction section). 
• *My intention is to provide several recognizable characteristics of the opening oboe solo so that the students would be able to recognize its exact duplication played by the cellos beginning in measure ten. 
• The entrance of the soft and subtle counter melody in the flutes in measure 32. 
• The change from flowing eight notes to solid and strong quarter notes played by most of the ensemble beginning at the A section. 
• The upward movement of the quarter notes and use of crescendo beginning in measures 54, 56, 58, and 60. Also, the upward movement in the strings with faster notes (8th and 16th) in the opposite measures (55, 57, 59, and 61). 
• Finally, the descending melodic movement to close the A section beginning in measure 70 with fast moving (16th note) lines in the strings and longer (quarter note) lines in the rest of the ensemble. 

MUE 6080 Module 3: Reasons to Advocate Music Education

Non-musical benefits of a proper music education:
1. Increased student academic performance in other content areas. Music For All, a nonprofit organization designed to promote music advocacy, states that “The College Entrance Examination Board found that students involved in public school music programs scored 107 points higher on the SAT's than students with no participation.”  Link here. 

2. Increased self-worth and confidence. Some studies claim that participation in the arts will increase students’ self-worth. Link to PBS article on this topic here. 

As someone who grew up in a home environment of “existing” rather than “living”, I agree that participation in school art programs increase self-worth. As a young band student I did not find the aesthetic value of music very often, but I quickly correlated musical successes with a much needed increase of self-esteem.  

3. Increased problem solving and reasoning skills. On NAFME’s “20 Important Benefits of Music in Our Schools” list, number one details the correlation between music and the development of the areas of the brain related to reasoning. Link here.

4. Increased language development. PBS.org has a long list of the benefits of a music education, including music’s ability to help young learners decode sounds and words. Link here. 

Why we should not base the value of music education on non-musical benefits:

1. In regards to number one above, while reading the many articles and studies that support music education’s relationship with increased academic success it is important to consider the opposite order and that high achieving students might be more likely to choose to participate in school music programs.  

2. Additionally, justifying music education’s existence on the outcomes of other content areas is just that; existing. The true value of music is in its ability to allow humans to “live” rather than “exist” and so  it is not beneficial to promote music education based on the effect it has on students’ ability to understand math and science. This justification is exactly why I lose many high school band students to honors biology every year.

3. While school music programs may offer students opportunities to grow as leaders or increase life skills such as responsibility and teamwork, many other school programs can do that too. Sports, academic clubs, and student organizations (student council) can be argued to offer the same array of skills and they are not incorporated into the school day as a class.   

4. Lastly, justify music education for any other reason other than studying music for the sake of knowing and experiencing music is harmful to the cause. If we defended music education for its beauty and expressiveness than perhaps music educators could focus their efforts more in that direction rather than finding ways to use music to support common core (or whatever new educational fade is being used).

Ultimately I feel it is important that we get away from linking music education to other content areas within schools. Bands, orchestras, and choirs are nothing like other content areas and I think that is a good thing. What music education can offer cannot be replicated in other classroom and I think we should celebrate that. While taking a break from this assignment I was scrolling social media and came across this “suggested” advertisement. 

Clearly, facebook does not know me very well. If they did they would have “suggested” something more like this:

MUE 6080 Module 3: Characteristics of an Aesthetic Experience with Music

I recently had an aesthetic experience with music while instructing 7^th & 8^th grade band through a new piece of music. This occurred at approximately 2:00 pm in the band room on Wednesday January 13^th, 2016. This experience differed from other times we have read a new music because it seemed as though the students had made their own connection to the music (and consequently played the staccato – staccato – accent reoccurring articulation properly) very quickly and with no guidance from me.

• ·         This experience was practical in the sense that the students had made a connection to the meaning of the music. In my role as their teacher I assumed some value of practicality in the experience, but for me as an individual the occurrence had no practicality.
• ·         The experience made me feel content and satisfied. Almost as though we could have packed up the instruments and been finished with class early!
• ·         At the time I felt that we had turned a new page as an ensemble and had gained a new level of maturity in playing that could be transferred to the next time we read down a new piece. Afterwards, several days later, I discovered that assumption was not true. The connection and consequent deep understanding of the described piece did not happen on the next song we read.
• ·         During the experience I did not focus on anything. After the playing stopped I remember thinking to myself “did I conduct the whole time?”  
• ·         During this experience, and other times I have had an aesthetic musical experience, I felt as though all emotions were delayed. Instead of feeling something during the process, I feel them stronger after the music stops. It is almost an “out of body” experience for me in these situations whereas in ordinary living I feel everything immediately and for exactly what it is.