Reflective Journal 5
1.
The joy of discovery
p. 2 “Playing set pitches over an alternating tonic-dominant harmonic background…helps students develop the feel of tonic and dominant by allowing them to discover dissonance and intuitive voice leading.”
My students get excited when they discover something new that sounds “cool” to them. It encourages them to keep exploring.
Improvisation is a technique that I want to use in my class, but have never known how to get started. Allowing the kids to experiment over simple I and V chords is a good place to start and hear success.
2.
We must overcome fear
p. 4 “Many musicians and students fear improvisation for different reasons, but it is important to remove the element of fear and allow the musical mind to play.”
This quote is exactly why I do not teach improvisation: fear of being wrong and not having the notes written out for me.
None of my music teachers taught improvisation to me. It was not until college when I played bass for the jazz band that I was introduced to improvisation. The director was not very warm or patient and I gave up.
3.
Trust is key
p. 4 “Without trust, students will only reproduce what they have seen or heard before, and that is not improvisation.”
Putting your ideas out there for others to critique is scary. Students will only do so when there is trust (with the teacher and other students) that they will not be mocked or made fun of.
Middle school students are very caught up in what others think of them. Experimenting and possibly being wrong are far from their comfort zone. Having a trust in the room is the only way that improvisation will happen.
4.
Planning!
p. 6 “All good teaching takes planning, and it takes time to get comfortable with a new teaching strategy.”
It is easy to tell when a teacher is unprepared or uncomfortable with what they are doing.
Only practicing a new strategy will make you more comfortable with it. You can read about it, talk about it, and write about it all you want, but it will not seem routine until you do it on a regular basis.
1.
The joy of discovery
p. 2 “Playing set pitches over an alternating tonic-dominant harmonic background…helps students develop the feel of tonic and dominant by allowing them to discover dissonance and intuitive voice leading.”
My students get excited when they discover something new that sounds “cool” to them. It encourages them to keep exploring.
Improvisation is a technique that I want to use in my class, but have never known how to get started. Allowing the kids to experiment over simple I and V chords is a good place to start and hear success.
2.
We must overcome fear
p. 4 “Many musicians and students fear improvisation for different reasons, but it is important to remove the element of fear and allow the musical mind to play.”
This quote is exactly why I do not teach improvisation: fear of being wrong and not having the notes written out for me.
None of my music teachers taught improvisation to me. It was not until college when I played bass for the jazz band that I was introduced to improvisation. The director was not very warm or patient and I gave up.
3.
Trust is key
p. 4 “Without trust, students will only reproduce what they have seen or heard before, and that is not improvisation.”
Putting your ideas out there for others to critique is scary. Students will only do so when there is trust (with the teacher and other students) that they will not be mocked or made fun of.
Middle school students are very caught up in what others think of them. Experimenting and possibly being wrong are far from their comfort zone. Having a trust in the room is the only way that improvisation will happen.
4.
Planning!
p. 6 “All good teaching takes planning, and it takes time to get comfortable with a new teaching strategy.”
It is easy to tell when a teacher is unprepared or uncomfortable with what they are doing.
Only practicing a new strategy will make you more comfortable with it. You can read about it, talk about it, and write about it all you want, but it will not seem routine until you do it on a regular basis.