This post is dedicated to Jennifer Antonetti. She was one my cooperating teachers during my student teaching and the person who gave me this great idea.
If you're like me, your spring concert was planned somewhere in the middle of May. Personally, I think this time frame is rather ideal. It gives you ample time to prepare your students for their concert, but you stay on your co-worker's good side because it doesn't interfere with finals and other end-of-the-year events.
This time frame tends to leave you asking the same question every year "What do we do for the rest of school?" When I was going through school, this was the time reserved for sight-reading music new music, watching videos that were "curriculum based" (Drumline is about band, right?), or in high school, this was when we had our music theory "test." This test always looked eerily similar to the test we had taken the previous semester/year.
Over the last two years, I've found that this is a perfect time for the students to synthesize the skills they've learned over the year and create a new piece of music with these skills. Not only are you able to cover/assess NAfME Standard 4 (which I don't think gets addressed enough in music classes...that's for a different post though), but you give the students a chance to let their personalities and creativity shine.
Here's how it all works for me:
Step 1: Help them make a plan!
As with many creative pursuits, if given too many options, most people can't make any decisions. Instead of just saying, "Write me a piece of music!" I give my students some guidelines by making them fill out a project plan.
Below is the form I use to help students start their project (credit Jennifer Antonetti!). It has been tailored for use with my 6th grade students who have been learning guitar this semester.
This year I just printed the form out and had the students write the answers, but I'm moving to a 1:1 school next year, so I've made this into a Google Form also! This will allow me to keep all of the data in a spreadsheet.
I've found that it's very important to make the students stick to their original plans once they finish the form. I do this purely because of time constraints. Most teachers are looking at a 2-3 week time frame for this project, and if the students are able to continually change their plan, they tend to change their mind too much and run out of time to compose good music.
Step 2: The Rubric
On the first day of the project, I show them the following rubric:
I found that this rubric leads to great questions (see next step) and class discussions of how to make better music without me having to require the use of "2 dynamic markings" or "4 different rhythms" in their piece.
We get to have discussions about why music needs to be neat and readable. We talk about writing 4- or 8-measure phrases with musical syntax, using different instruments and textures to boost the uniqueness of their composition, and using dynamics and different rhythms to make the music more appealing.
Step 3: Make them ask questions
On the first day of the project, I show them the following rubric:
I found that this rubric leads to great questions (see next step) and class discussions of how to make better music without me having to require the use of "2 dynamic markings" or "4 different rhythms" in their piece.
We get to have discussions about why music needs to be neat and readable. We talk about writing 4- or 8-measure phrases with musical syntax, using different instruments and textures to boost the uniqueness of their composition, and using dynamics and different rhythms to make the music more appealing.
Step 3: Make them ask questions
From the very beginning of the project, I encourage the students to start writing down any questions they may have about the project or creating music in general. As they are working, I go around and try to answer as many as possible during class. This helps me to do a few things:
- Reinforce music concepts already taught
- slurs vs. ties
- dynamics
- form
- phrasing
- musical road signs
- Help students learn new things that I haven't covered in class
- texture throughout registers
- counter-melodies
- modulations
- Assess any weaknesses in topics I have covered throughout the year
Some example questions I've had:
- How do I notate percussion instruments (drum set, multiple percussion, beat-boxing)?
- Why do the beats have to line up? (referring to vertical alignment in scores)
- Can I write a song that uses instrument x, y, and z? (to which, my answer is always WHY NOT?!)
Step 4: Let them run with it!
After the initial planning stages, I try to stay hands-off and let the students figure out things on their own. I encourage the students to listen to each other's drafts and offer feedback. I also offer feedback to those students who ask, but I never write any music for the students.
Step 5: Perform!
ALWAYS have the students practice/perform their compositions. Use your school's auditorium and have an in-class performance day. Why not give them a chance to work on their small ensemble skills? Why not make them more comfortable performing by giving them one more performance opportunity?
***TECHTIP***Digitize this project
- Record performance and upload the performance to Youtube
- Synchronize the student's Noteflight Score to their Youtube video
- Save the synchronized performance/score to the student's digital portfolio!
I'm actually trying to digitize the project for the first time this year, so I'll update this post when I have some samples.
I hope you found this post useful and can use it to energize your music class rather than end it with a lull that I often hear of in music programs. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this or hear about other composition assignments you've had your students try!
