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 One of the best ways to set a great tone for class and to build relationships with students is to be at the entrance to your classroom as students arrive. It is also one of the simplest actions you can take. Even if things get chaotic before a class and you aren’t as setup as you hoped you would be, spending just a couple minutes greeting each student is worth your time. I am fortunate that in my music room, there is a long ramp that leads to the classroom door so I can see students arriving from quite a distance. Unless a group of students is held up in a previous class, usually they arrive at a manageable pace so that I can greet each of them by name. Saying someone’s name when you greet them has a great psychological effect on anyone. At the beginning of the year, when there are some students that you are just getting to know, the doorway greeting is a great time to either remember their names or ask “remind me of your name, please”. If you have students as their first class of the day, a nice greeting can really start off their day with a positive first impression.  Another great benefit of greeting students at this time is to ask them about things they have told you about from outside of class. For example, if a student told you they were going to have a soccer tournament last weekend, ask them how it went. If a student won a spelling bee the day before, congratulate them as they arrive. There is also nothing wrong with asking them how something related to class is going. Ask them how the note they are working on with their instrument is going. If they had a chance to listen to the example you shared, etc. Greeting time is also a good time to remind one or more students about class procedures and expectations. If a student seemed to be talking out of turn a lot during the previous class, remind them of the expectation to be called upon before speaking. Don’t do this in a threatening way, but more of a collaboration between student and teacher to maintain a respectful class environment. For my youngest students, I will often remind each one of them as they enter to walk to their assigned spot (I often use velcro numbered spots to assign places for the youngest learners). But because I am greeting them at the door, this procedure becomes one of making contact with students and not just telling them where to go. Think of it as hosting a fancy dinner party and inviting a guest to sit.  The space right outside the door where you are greeting students can also be a space if a student needs to take a break. If a student arrives to class upset about something and they do not wish to speak to you about it or go visit the school counselor, you can invite them to sit or stand right outside the classroom entrance until they feel ready to join class. This way, you can still keep an eye on them but they do not feel like everyone is staring at them.
If there is a task that you would like all students to do like fill out a survey, sign a thank you note, take an item, you can have a small table set up right outside or inside the classroom door. It is funny but I will sometimes literally put a table in the walkway so that students have to walk into it in order to forget to do what is on the table. These are just some of the ways that greeting students at the door can help to build a stronger classroom environment. It is a super simple action that can go along way to building positive relationships with learners.
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11/9/2020 0 Comments Teaching- Alternatives to Recorder Personally, I have never had an issue with recorders. I do wear musician’s earplugs when we play them and offer earmuff headphones for students to use. I have had students not like the high pitched squeal. I do still use recorders with my 3rd grade students but I also use several other instrument options for variety. One option is pitched percussion, and what are specifically called barred Orff instruments. These instruments come in varying sizes. If you don’t already have a collection in your school, it is best to budget for them over several years. When planning for a purchase, there are things to consider: Do you want a collection of several identical instruments or a variety of instruments of different pitch ranges and materials? The advantage of identical instruments is there is no stress for the youngest students when they don’t get the one they want. The advantage of different pitch ranges is students can explore high and low. The advantage of different materials (like metal or wood) can allow students to compare different ways of creating sound. In addition, for all different types of barred Orff instruments, there are options.  Soprano glockenspiel, the smallest instrument with metal bars, comes in at least 3 different styles that I have seen. Some have permanent (non removable) bars that allow the player to explore the C Major and A minor scales. This works when too many options could overwhelm students. Another style looks similar to a piano and has a full chromatic octave, so students can play in any key, but as I said above, more options may make these more complicated than they need to be. A third style has 8 bars of a major scale, but the bars are removable. Often, they come with Bb and F# bars that can be switched out to play in other keys. Another advantage to the removable bar style is that you can modify the instrument so only the notes needed are present. For example, if you are working on Mary Had A Little Lamb, you can leave 3 bars on the instrument and remove the rest, giving the students a much higher chance of hitting the correct notes and feeling successful. Instruments like the glockenspiel are small, so one student per instrument will be needed. For classes of 25 students, you would need a set of 25, or you could have students trade off with half that many.
Looking at the alto range, I have only seen models this size with removable bars. With wooden bars, they are called xylophones and with metal bars they are called metallophones. Metallophones ring a lot longer and can be played louder. As long as students are reminded to play gently this shouldn’t be a problem, but occasionally an excited student plays louder. Xylophone bars are made of wood (some are now a synthetic material). The last time my school ordered some, I found that I had to sand the bottom of the bars a little. It would be rare that a student would ever touch the bottom of a bar, but I still didn’t want to risk splinters. These models are large enough that 2 students can share one instrument and both play at the same time (often the range is from C to A on the next octave). Just like with band or orchestral pitched percussion, it is important to teach students which mallets work with each instrument. After several reminders, my students have been trained to use rubber on the metallophones and yarn on the xylophones. I don’t use brass mallets with elementary students because they can be piercingly loud. Similar to the alto range, there are tenor and bass models of xylophones and metallophones. I would only recommend having these as part of a collection of different sizes. Unless your music classroom is very large, you will need to store these instruments when not being used. The bass instrument is about 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep, so even 12 would take up quite a lot of real estate. Consider too, the larger the instrument, the higher the cost. There are many accessories available for these instruments like storage racks and carts with wheels. Before assuming that you need all of these, consider your own situation and how you would store and move the instruments. In my classroom, I have several tables making an L shape in the corner and most of the larger instruments fit under those. The rest fit in a tall storage cabinet. For Kindergarten and 1st grade, I will place the instruments in front of the students. For 2nd grade and up, I demonstrate and teach them the proper way to hold and to carry the instruments and they become responsible for moving the instruments themselves. Even with Kindergarten, I make sure that every student is responsible for putting their mallets back on the tray. I believe that every amount of student responsibility at clean up time benefits students.  Next, I will discuss electric keyboards. Just like anything, there are so many models and options available. Just like with Orff instruments, you need to decide whether you want variety in a collection or identical instruments. Either way, I would recommend that you find a model that is MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface--turning sound into data) capable (most of them are) so you can one day connect them to computers and practice inputting notes with software. The big brands of keyboards today are Yamaha and Casio. Both make a good instrument. The only difference I have noticed is that Yamaha keyboards can work with 3rd party power adapters, whereas Casio keyboards have to use Casio adapters because the plug is a different shape. I always use the keyboards plugged in (that’s what power strips are for), because replacing batteries would be a full time job. I recommend 61 keys or more so that 2 students can play on a keyboard at the same time. You can also either purchase stickers for the keys to help students find the notes that they need. This past year, a fellow teacher was able to use a Cricut to make custom stickers. In terms of making a first sound, keyboards may be the friendliest instrument. Students get excited at how easily they can start to make their own sounds and create or reproduce melodies. It’s never too early to introduce the C shape of the hand and demonstrate how much easier it is to reach the keys than with flat fingers. Decide ahead of time whether students will have time to explore sounds or if all will be set to the same piano sound. I recommend starting and ending the lesson with some exploration time and having the instruction portion be all the same sound. Otherwise, you will hear spaceships landing while students are trying to play Hot Cross Buns. One advantage to keyboards is that the students can be introduced to chords. Maybe once they have mastered the melody to a one chord song, they could play the chord with their left hand. Once you connect a keyboard to a computer through MIDI, there are limitless things that students could do. You may want to start with one main computer and students taking turns before you buy a MIDI cable for each keyboard.  Moving into the string family, this past school year was my first year using ukuleles, and it was fantastic. My school got a matching set, enough for 25 students. I found for myself that I needed a concert size instead of soprano because my fingers were too big! One of the wonderful things about ukulele is that the C major and A minor chords only need 1 finger. I actually start the students with chords before we try melodies. With chords, we experiment with rhythm and strumming direction. I require that all the students use a pick, so that they are not tempted to pull on the strings. With just these two chords, we can discuss what makes a major or minor sound. To help students find where to put their fingers, I use color coded sticker dots for the different chords. Introducing the students to the ukuleles is similar to any instrument. We started with learning how to properly open the case, how to safely hold the instrument, how to strum, etc. It was probably 2 weeks before we actually started learning chord shapes, but by then the procedures for using ukulele were automatic. There are many ways to learn strumming patterns, through echo games, reading upbow and downbow symbols, saying up and down as you play, etc.  Guitar is obviously larger than the ukulele. I have several teacher friends that have matching classroom sets of half size guitars. At my school, we had an instrument donation drive, so we have enough mismatched acoustic and electric guitars for a class of 25 to trade off. I would say the biggest difference from ukulele (besides the size) is that guitar has 6 strings, with different letter names than the ukulele. One modification is that, when strumming down (from the strings closest to your face, moving away from your face), you can leave out the lowest two strings and play with just the higher 4 strings to make chord shapes easier.
The next difference of guitar from ukulele is the material of the strings. Even though both ukulele and guitar may have some type of nylon, the distance that a student will have to press the string on guitar is more. Both ukulele and guitar have advantages, but I would say guitar has a steeper learning curve because of the differences mentioned. These are just a few of the options you have for some variety when you don’t want to focus solely on recorders. In many ways recorders are great for getting students introduced to wind instruments, but can also be deceptive because instruments like clarinet, flute, saxophone will take a lot more air than a recorder requires. Please let me know if you have questions and share your own experiences with recorders and other instruments in the comments.  Sometimes we can be held back due to the fear that we have to know a concept completely before we try anything using that concept. As teachers, we can transfer this fear to avoid introducing concepts to our students. Over my years of teaching, I have learned to never underestimate what students of any age can do with the proper supports or scaffolding. There is nothing wrong with beginning to understand how music is grouped as rhythms and how sound can be organized through time without first understanding fractions, time signatures, division, etc. The way I introduce rhythms with PreK is to start with echo clapping. I simply clap a pattern and have students echo with the same pattern. With clapping, we don’t have to worry about the correct way to do it as we would with using a drum or another rhythm instrument, the students’ full attention can be on responding to what they hear. We may play this game for a couple of classes. Next, I count aloud as I clap (1 2 and 3 4) and ask the students to echo the clapping and the counting. I do this before even explaining that we are putting notes in groups of 4. We may do this exercise several times before transitioning to the same thing with rhythm sticks and then hand drums. Sometimes, a student notices that I stop at “4” and that is great. If no one notices, that is okay too! Once the students are confident echoing rhythms, we pass the beat around a circle. It starts with just the counting. I start by counting “1”. The student next to me (I would explain if we were going clockwise or counter clockwise) counts “2”, the next student “3”. This is how we then figure out that after we get to “4”, the next person will actually say “1” and we start over again. A student may get confused and say “5”. That’s nothing to worry about. Often, the student will realize what they have done and laugh. Simply start over again with 1. If needed, I demonstrate counting to 4 and starting over at 1 again. The next level of the exercise is to pass the beat and play instruments while counting.  After these exercises, I introduce what notes look like. We talk about how they have a circle part and then an up and down line. We don’t worry about what each part is specifically called or what each part means at this time. I then show 4 quarter notes in a row. I would say “remember how we counted notes in groups of 4? Let’s count how many notes we see”. At this point, every student is desperate to show off their counting skills. So I call on one volunteer to count the four notes. But what about all the other students?? Everyone gets a chance to count the four notes! The repetition is really good for learning how rhythms work. Next, I would change one beat to two eighth notes beamed together. At this point, students don’t need to know the specific names of the notes, that two eighth notes fit in the same beat as quarter notes, etc. I would simply ask “which notes look different in this picture?” Once again, a class full of volunteers will demonstrate their understanding. I would then say, “when we see two notes with a side to side line (beam) like this, we put the word ‘and’ after the number”. I then count the rhythm. Once again, if each student in the class wants to count each rhythm, that is fine. I make sure to count it in rhythm each time so that students hear the eighth notes as shorter than the quarter notes.  For several weeks, I will share 2 or 3 pictures of quarter and eighth note rhythms and have us count them as a class. The next step is to invite students to attempt counting a rhythm before we do it as a class. I have found about 75% of students are able to correctly count the quarter and eighth note rhythms at this point. I am not simply talking about memorizing the sequence of the notes as a group, but actually pointing at each note and saying a number or an “and”. With more practice visually, aurally (through hearing and echoing), and kinesthetically (through playing instruments), by the end of the year, I have found that each student is able to count simple quarter note and eighth note rhythms.
Sometimes very advanced musicians that have been performing for years forget about learning the basics. I know I cannot remember the first time I counted a rhythm. It was probably when I started piano lessons. I do have to admit that I didn’t understand time signatures until I was in middle school. My strategy with PreK rhythms takes away much of the complication and returns it to counting to 4 and recognizing pictures as symbols without having specific vocabulary that can muddle things up.  Teachers today have so many responsibilities. Not only are we responsible for educating students in their subjects, but also we are responsible for teaching the students how to be part of a class, how to manage their time, etc. In one 35 minute music class, outside of music concepts, we may be incorporating concepts such as procedures for entering the room, how to speak to classmates, how to listen when it is time, taking out instruments, putting instruments away carefully, personal space, using manners, and more. Those in training to become teachers have a long road of preparation. I believe that by the time I completed my undergraduate program, I had somewhere around 160-180 credit hours. My program involved: music courses- history, performance, theory, ear training, orchestration; music education courses- vocal and instrumental pedagogies, elementary methods, secondary methods; education courses- special education, multicultural education, curriculum and design; honors college courses- many of these replaced general education courses, but were 4 credits each instead of the regular 3; and I had a film and video minor which was about 15 credits. I honestly do not know how I completed the degree in the time that I did. I did my student teaching (12 credit hours) as a 9th semester, so I technically received my degree in December, even though I marched in May. The amount of preparation could be overwhelming at times, and while an undergraduate student in the midst of preparation, the end goal can sometimes get blurred. I had a very difficult time, personally, understanding how I would apply everything that I was learning. It wasn’t that I didn’t find the material important, the biggest issue for me was that future students were just a figment of the imagination, they had not materialized yet for me. Long story short, there are so many things that college curriculums determine that someone must know before becoming a teacher.  However you must learn through experience the most important requirement of a teacher--you have to care about your students. It sounds so simple, yet I didn’t learn it until I started teaching. All of the theoretical knowledge meant nothing until I actually started building relationships with learners. The catalog of performance experience, music theory knowledge, historical practice, and more all served to build connections with my students. Why do I arrive at school early to be sure everything is set up? Because I care how the lessons will go for my students. Why do I follow up with a student that seemed to be confused with a concept? Because I care about that student’s growth and understanding. Why do I question a student’s actions when they make an unhelpful choice? Because I care about that student and how it affects everyone else in the room. Why do I modify assignments for students that need it? Because I care about that student. Why do I pull a 13 hour shift on concert days? Because I want my students to have a positive experience in a performance setting. What you learn in undergraduate music education programs may not reveal the full picture until you are in your own classroom. In college, you may laugh at learning 4 different ways to teach the same concept but then you are in the moment and have 4 different students that need their own way to learn each concept. I don’t think anyone actually familiar with education can claim that the pay is high, but measured in the number of relationships you build and countless lives you change through your work, teaching is the most rewarding career I have ever known.  |
