Reflections for Week 4...
The readings and videos for this week contained so much good information for incorporating technology in the process of practicing and performing. There are things I have incorporated into my program in the last few years, but there are a also a number of things that I have planned to do, but have not yet completed, and the information for this week has now added to that list.
The method book we use with our beginning band students comes with a DVD that has a number of videos on it, including some great modeling of assembly, breathing technique, posture, and other areas. I don’t think many of our students use these DVDs, however. In the future I will make a bigger push to check them out, even if that means doing it with the students during their weekly lessons.
I have a number of internet resources set up for our students and parents. We have a website that contains all the necessary information for scheduling and reminders, as well as a leaderboard for our point system for awards, sample recordings of the pieces we’re working on, and other resources such as fingering charts, warm up exercises, and scale sheets. We also have a rehearsal blog where I post a summary of each of our weekly rehearsals, including the “Video of the Week” that I show in rehearsal. It’s an easy way for students to see what they’ve missed if they weren’t at rehearsal or find the video if it’s something they want to watch again or share with others. I’m sure there are other great videos on YouTube or other sites that would be great modeling videos for my students and excellent additions to our website. That is something I need to explore more for the future. I also started a “listening guide” or list of recordings for each instrument that I need to finish. As a young trumpet player, the recordings I had of Wynton Marsalis were a huge part of who I became, and what I sounded like, as a trumpet player. That was the sound I worked toward, the model I followed, as I worked on my craft (and still continue to today!).
Audacity has proven to be an incredible tool for me as a band director. I use it in rehearsal to record the band playing in the early stages of our pieces so we can listen to it and make a list of things we need to improve. It’s also great for visually showing the dynamics (or lack thereof) in our pieces. I can tell them that they’re not playing with dynamics, but when they see the waveform remains unchanged when they’re supposed to be seeing and hearing things change, it brings the point home stronger. This year I also recorded all of my students in the first week or two of working on their solos for our solo and ensemble festival. I was able to visually show some students the spaces that appeared between their notes and talk about how those notes need to connect better. I also recorded their “final draft” and then uploaded both recordings to their digital portfolios. With some students, I went back and listened to the original recording to talk about how much things had changed over two months of work. In the future, I’d like to create a comparison sheet that each student would fill out after listening to both recordings.
There are so many great tools out there for private and group practice. If you have any favorites, please share them with me!
I enjoyed reading your post, Nate. Prior to implementing SmartMusic, I had my students purchase enhanced version of our method book so they could practice along with the DVD. Like you, I found that very few students actually used it and many of those DVDs ended up in the bottom of backpacks or in the back of their band locker. I agree that you might see increased usage if you utilized the DVD in class. However, even then, I think most students would need an incentive to use it. Grades are a big motivator in the community that I teach in, so completion of SmartMusic assignments is a significant part of each student’s band grade. Perhaps students could send you a weekly video or audio recording of themselves playing one of the lines in the method book along with DVD? It could be a graded assignment or even a competition between sections (who can submit the most assignments each week).
ReplyDeleteI was very interested to read about how you use Audacity. Using it to show dynamics (to lack there of) and note length is a wonderful idea. What a great visual for kids. Thanks for the great idea!
Caitlin - I wish we were able to give grades to our band students... I find it a little sad sometimes that grades are such a motivating factor, but when you aren't technically a part of the school (like my program) there's no way to give grades. I have a quarterly progress report that kind of looks like a "band report card" but it's not the same. I did start a point award system for my middle school students a few years ago that was a tweaked version of how the high school students earn points for a band letter. There are a lot of students who are very motivated by that, but there are still a number of them who don't really care about earning the points or getting an award. I have a feeling a grade for band would help those students, but I keep my search for other motivations going!
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