When Giving Up Gives More
When I started my job 5 years ago I had grand plans for my General Music students. I was going to make them musically literate. They would understand the basics of music theory and composition, they would have a fundamental grasp of music history and how the music they listen to relates to the grander scheme of what came before. They would know basic chord progressions and be able to write their own songs.
... And then I started, and I tried to assess what they already knew. No, they didn't know chord progressions (they didn't even know what a chord was!), they didn't know basic musical forms, they didn't know a quarter note from an eighth note. I raged against the system and complained to my family and friends "I just don't understand what their last teacher DID with all his time! How do they not know this stuff already?" I spent that year getting by with my 8th graders, focusing on music history (from chant to rock and roll, spirituals, jazz, Broadway) and how the different time periods and genres related to each other and to what they listen to themselves. My 7th graders were my future though, and I hammered music literacy with them. By the end of each term they knew rhythmic values and how they related to each other, they understood how to write music on the staff, they could read, write, and play every major scale on the piano. Next year we could tackle chords and chord progressions... I was ecstatic. The next fall I was so excited to begin working with my now 8th graders, my musically literate students, I couldn't wait to see where we could go this year. We dove in and... they didn't know the difference between a quarter note and an eighth note. Their retention was basically zero.
Now I understood that it wasn't that the lower school teacher wasn't teaching them this stuff, it was just so irrelevant to their lives that they were incapable of remembering it year to year. I began the task of trying to figure out how to enrich their lives with music in a way that they would remember for longer than the 10 weeks that I had them.
Then the iPad cart was wheeled into my room, and my teaching life changed. I knew step one was to get GarageBand on them. This was going to be my key. In Music Learning Today, William Bauer discusses the two main approaches to teaching composition - through traditional notation, and through graphic representation. While both of these can be assisted with technology, the depth of compositional ability that technology allows an essentially musically illiterate student is truly mind boggling. Just because a student doesn't have the ability to read or write music doesn't mean that they don't have musical ideas in their heads... the same way that it can't be assumed that someone who can not read or write english can't come up with beautiful poetry. The ability to put creative thoughts together is not strictly tied to the ability to read or write them. For my students, reading and writing music was a skill that they used exclusively within the confines of my classroom, and when outside my room that unused knowledge simply slipped away. GarageBand gave them an outlet for their musical creativity and many were excited to go home and download it on to their own devices at home.
I gave up on trying to hammer music literacy into their heads. That first year, my 8th graders (who I had decided already to let go of, not wanting to waste my precious 10 weeks with them on something I felt they should already know) actually enjoyed my class... while the 7th graders (who I felt I was preparing for greatness in 8th grade) did not, I could see it on their faces as they walked in the room. They did not enjoy the work of learning the theory of music any more than I enjoyed teaching it. The next year, when I let go of the technical knowledge and instead focused on fostering their creativity, I loved my classes... and so did my students.
By letting go, by giving up, I gave my students much more than I could have ever given them if I had kept hammering away at basic literacy. When students come back from the high school now and tell me how my class was their favorite, how they still use GarageBand at home to write music, that they use it in their class presentations or have started posting their work on YouTube... I know that what I have given them will last far beyond my short 10 weeks with them.
References
Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
This is quite the post. I really like your efforts to foster the creativity of your students. I teach instrumental classes specifically and I find that often times the students that might not understand all of the 1-e-&-a's were the more creative, or at least more willing to step outside the box (sometimes because they didn't know where the edges of the box were). I read the title and cringed a little, only because I dislike the use of the term "give up." I always tell me students that we're not giving up, we're trying another route/option when things aren't all fluffy bunnies and duckies. I guess I'm more Tim Allen in the cheesy sci-fi flick Galaxy Quest - never give up, never surrender! :) I do have to say that reading your experience with your students enjoying themselves and your class was a nice positive boost on what has amounted to a dreary rainy day in my area of the world today. Thank You!
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredibly inspiring post! I was actually in a similar boat this year as you were for your first year. I recently started teaching at a new school and I was teaching middle school for the first time. I also had great intentions about reading and writing music but I could tell my students hated what we were doing. I had to sit down and revamp everything I thought I was going to do for the year and incorporate more creative elements using technology, specifically GarageBand, into my lessons. I had other teachers coming to me asking me what I was doing with my students because even some of the quietest kids were talking about their projects in other classes. It is such a rewarding feeling! How wonderful that students come back and say your class was their favorite. That means you really touched their lives and made a difference. That is what teaching is all about!
ReplyDeleteRose
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your insight from this week. I feel the same way! I'm not in my fifth year of teaching, but my second. I work with seventh and eighth graders, too, but I get them for semesters and many of them are year-long.
I feel your pain! Having my students become music readers is PAINFUL for everyone. As I worked with the software this week, I realized how closely it correlates to music reading as well. Perhaps this is the missing link! When we use these softwares, our students are getting a different visual representation of note values and pitches. Prior to using this kind of software, my students would have (essentially) zero use or application of a keyboard.
I've always called sight-singing and music reading skills the "vegetables" of choir. By using these programs like GarageBand, Soundation, audacity, etc. we can create situations where these music-reading skills are applicable and helpful to the creation process.
I know what you mean about giving up. Something has gotta give when you start to look at how to use this technology in our classrooms to enhance the student's musical experience. For me, it's imperative that I continue to push music literacy because our high school program is at such a high level. But through the use of technology, I can create alternate situation and real-life application so that music reading is not only relevant within the four walls of my classroom.
Again, thank you for your insight! It was a treat to hear your story and revelations.
Katheryne