I’m not in any way complaining about the schedule. After all, I signed up for this. When I can’t do everything I want to do, it helps to remember why that is so.  I am hoping that after a week of R&R for Christmas, I can write down a couple of thoughts for your consideration and input.

To all who labor hard in the field of teaching, whatever your subject area, I hope you take a few moments (better take at least a couple of days) to rest and recharge if at all possible. Your work may not be praised or even recognized by many right now, but in the years to come your students will remember your efforts and the impact you had on their lives.

Merry Christmas!

If you are a music educator, consider joining the group. For more information, go to mustech.net.

Why do we have such a hard time convincing school administrators, legislators, et. al. of the powerful impact music can have on a child’s life? What do you think?

(Related BBC Article: Venezuela youths transformed by music (2005)

This is not a skill that develops overnight, it takes years of work. Therefore, I believe that learning to listen critically to oneself and one’s ensemble should be taught from the beginning.

A method I like to use is to regularly record the ensemble with my Zoom H2. A day or two later, the students listen to the recording and respond in writing to what they are hearing. Of course, I also expose to recordings of fine groups (orchestras, bands, choirs) so that they are developing a proper sound concept.

To help the students with their written evaluation, I have adapted our state’s music assessment forms (Orchestra Self-Evaluation Form; Chorus Self-Evaluation Form [MSWord document format]). We review the meanings of the various terms each time we do this exercise. After they have “graded” themselves, we discuss what they have heard and what they have written. The students are tough on themselves, but also are not shy about giving credit where it is due.

I would be interested to hear about how you help your students become listening and thinking musicians. Please leave a comment with your ideas.

Fellow instrumentalists may be screaming, “Why would you do such a thing?” Well, recently I have been teaching high school and middle school orchestra. However, due to schedule changes in our district’s high schools, I had to leave my high school orchestra in the band director’s hands. My middle school asked if I would be interested in adding chorus to my teaching duties. Hmmm. I gave it some thought and said yes. What has followed has been a frenetic (and sometimes frantic) search for information to build my almost non-existent choral skills. Let see, voice class and choral pedagogy classes were how many years ago??

Added to this was my lack of piano skills. Oh yes, I took piano minor in college. I even took piano lessons my senior year in high school to help prepare me for piano minor. However, let’s just say that the I, IV, V7 block chords are my great friends.

One of the things I appreciate about music teachers is that they are willing to help each other. Two choral teachers in my district came to my rescue with recommendations for choral seminars, video tapes, reading materials, etc. Other choral teachers heard of my plight (thinking, no doubt, “Oh, this foolish instrumentalist!”), offered their help and were willing to answer my 1001 questions. Also, the band director at my school is an absolute gem. He has been my listening ear when frustration has reached a peak. Bless you all!!

So how did I prepare for and get through this year? I attended a summer choral workshop, read everything I could get my hands on, listened to choral recordings, watched choral pedagogy videos, asked innumerable questions, observed others, and sweat – a lot. When I didn’t have accompaniment CD’s, I used Finale and my limited keyboard skills to input the piano parts for the songs the choirs were singing. I then created Smart Music accompaniments from Finale and I was set for accompaniments. Purists may scoff at this arrangement, but for me it was absolutely wonderful.

Now, the end of the school year is around the corner. How has this new adventure gone? Overall, pretty well. I have learned a great deal (with a lot more to learn). We put on a Winter Concert and did more than just survive. A couple of months ago, I combined my 7th & 8th grade choirs and went to MPA (Music Performance Assessment, a.k.a. Contest, Festival). We fared better than I expected, receiving a Superior rating (did the vocal adjudicators have pity on this poor, miserable instrumentalist?). And, my numbers look pretty good for next year which means that I didn’t scare away the students.

Why make this confession to the music teaching world? In our district, anyway, more music teachers are having to venture into new areas. We certainly would rather stay in our area(s) of specialty, but sometimes that just isn’t possible. My hope is that others who may be facing a situation similar to mine will be encouraged by my experience. With determination and hard work you can keep a program going and even see it grow. I’ll never be Robert Shaw or a notable choral educator, but I do have a bunch of kids that like to come to chorus everyday – - and they are learning!