November 30, 2009

I have been re-reading some of Pink's book and trying to determine a subject area for my project. I have been thinking about what I do in my classes and what needs to be done. I travel between five different schools during the week and sometimes the schedule of classes can be mind boggling. There are field trips, special assemblies, and everyday life stuff that sometimes causes classes to be rescheduled and cancelled. Therefore, during my time with the kids I try to make the most of it and really give them some time to play their instruments. I try to have time for the kids to experiement with their instruments, sightread, and stay rehearsed on band methods. I have noticed the past couple of years that it seems to be harder for the kids to identify notes. I am wondering if this could be of some interest to me for the IRB project. I will give it some more thought this week and see where it leads.

November 23, 2009

I was re-reading Pink's chapter on Play. During the week of November 23rd, I tried to incorporate this idea of having more fun while doing the work aspect into my classes. I made it a point to include more jokes, do weird stuff the kids would think was funny, and basically tried to back off "gettin git right all of the time". When you work in environments like mine you have to be flexible no doubt. This time of year though it is espcially hard to be an itinerent teacher and having to prepare for multiple holiday programs. Time is always a factor for us this time of year and I think that sometimes I get too into getting it right: the notes, rhythms, etc. that I forget that this is supposed to be fun. I'm not saying that its dull town coming to my class, but I just focused on getting it right in a little more of a fun way. It turns out that I was just as successful cracking jokes as getting it right all the time. The kids were perceptive and more on task, so it was a successful chapter for me.

November 16, 2009

First of all, I am a little late posting this blog, but I did take notes on what I wanted to write in my journal so that I could type it at a later time, which is what I am doing now!
As I was reading back through the Daniel Pink book, I was struck with the chapter that dealt with design. It was interesting to read that there are as many cars in the US as there are people. This thought was just astounding. I started to think about this fact and as I did I wondered, where are all of these cars? Everyone who lives in the US surely doesn't own a car because then there would be no need for mass transit, so what has happened to all of these cars? Then another thought struck me. It used to be in music education that you participated in a band or orchestra class only if your parents could rent you an instrument from the music store. I thought how that has really changed in the past 10-15 years. With grants for music coming from multiple foundations like VHI it is really possible for kids whose familirs can't afford it to become a part of the music classes. As an iteninerant band teacher, I think it is great that the kids that I teach have the option and possibility to become involved in something like music.
In reflecting on the book, I think that now that we have the instruments available and the music available I have to do a better job of pairing the two. I have been building up the schools inventory for years now, making sure everything is in working order and what not, but I have yet to do any real research on good, basic music for the kids to play outside of their band methods book. I have always had to make do with a practice space, storage areas, and the like but I think it is time to invest some of my teaching time into getting some good basic music for the kids. I have always supplemented with pieces, but I think the kids would really like to see a whole piece that is an entity unto itself.

November Reflection

1. Reflect on your individual creative process. What are the sources/influences on the music that you produce? What is the goal/purpose of your music performances? Why do you produce it? What are the unique cognitive skills that you employ and how do they help you to achieve your creative goal? Cite Specific examples and provide clear evidence.
2. Reflect on performance aesthetics. What are the sources/influences on your own aesthetic thought? What are the cognitive and affective strategies that you personally use to understand a work of music at the deepest possible level? How do you make meaning by aesthetically engaging a work of music performance? Cite sp. ex and clear evidence.

I am an itinerant elementary band teacher. I travel to five different elementary schools during the work week. I get to as many as 2-3 a day, depending on the weekly schedule. I teach 3rd grade recorder classes and 4th & 5th grade band classes. I have been teaching for a number of years and come from a background at teaching at every level. I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach a multitude of things and genres so that I am comfortable in teaching music to pretty much anyone. I started band class myself when I was in the 6th grade and my love of music grew from there. Music was always that safe place to make friends and to do an after school activity that didn't require me to do sports.
I had very good band teachers. I started with an elementary band teacher who really was easy to get along with. She understood what it was like to be new to an instrument and knew the best way to encourage us without rattling us. She knew that if we were going to stay in band or music that we should feel comfortable at taking risks and should generally find it fun. From there I went on to junior high where I had an okay band teacher. She wasn't the best, but it was all I had. However, when I reached highschool I had the best band teacher. He was absolutely phenomenol. I still see him at conferences every year. He encouraged us, but was very hard on his band at the same time. We were performing and sightreading at level six, performing at conferences, and achieveing straight superiors for marching and symphonic band every year, every time. When I think about how I have institutionalized my own creative process, I think I take a lot of what has been taught to me over the years and use that to build on. I also try to relate what I am doing in my classes to what I know they are learning in their general music classes. My goals are to get kids to perform for an audience. I want them to set a goal to perform something well and then give them the opportunity to do it. A very important goal for a young group like this to have as well is to give the parents an opportunity to see how their children have progressed in my class. As a musician, I use specific skills every day that most people would never think about. As a band director, I have to use my ability to listen for wrong notes, wrong rhythms, style, phrasing, and above all be able to see and hear these things, correct it and then move on. I have to have the ability as a band director to get the group to stay focused and perform the music to the best of their ability. My goals are evident every time I have a performance at one of my schools. Since my class is a performing class, it becomes very easy to tell if there is any teaching/learning going on in my classroom. I have seen some elemenetary band teachers perform with their groups and I wonder what has been going on in their classrooms because the kids perform wrong rhythms and notes all over th place. My kids are as prepared as I can make them and for the most part give good performances that they are proud of.
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of how I conduct classes relates to how I have been taught. I have been taught by some of the best in the business. When I got out of highschool, I went to a university that had hired an Eastman conductor. Here again, a strong influence of what is supposed to happen in a band class/performance. When I graduated college, again I found myself in a comunity band that has quickly gained recognition for being one of the premiere community bands in the nation, Tara Winds. This group is conducted by a conductor who is at the top of the field. When I think of aesthetic reponse and the whole process, all of these things and people come into play but I could not have learned to do what I do without their strong influence. My personal aesthetics reflect in my classes. I want my kids to be prepared so if something goes wrong, they can figure out what to do. I want my groups to understand that temp is an important part of how a piece is performed. I also want my groups to understand acoustics and performance style. All of these I consider aesthetic influences because it directly affects a group and how they perform for their audience. Aesthetics is important on many different levels and certainly even for an elementary band teacher like myself. I still listen to plenty of good music, although not as much as I used to. When I listen, really listen, I remember everything I learned about the composer and the history of the piece and it helps me to make that connection. Teaching elementary band, aesthetics is at is most fundamental level, but over the years I have found that even elementary kids want to make good music and that is why I'm here!

1st class

I thought that the first class had a lot of relevant information. I hope that I have not bitten off more than I can chew, but its all a process. It seems to be a class that will actually tackle some of the problems that fine arts teachers face.

ART is

Art is creative. Art is expression. Art is worldwide. Art is the universal language. Art is a way for people to interact without prior knowledge of each other, social expectations, or judgements. Art is a way for my to be creative and express myself through my main art, music. Art is the way in which I make a living for me and my family. Art is a way for me to teach kids the wonderful ways in which interact together in a controlled environment.