Feedback Blog 2

Who: Classroom Students

Date of Activity: April 5th & 7th

Date of Feedback: April 12th

The Need: There are a handful of 8th grade band students that are

performing beyond their grade level in this area. Because they are seen as

gifted, they are not being provided with extra lessons to expand and improve

their abilities. This activity focuses on teaching these students the musical

scales that they will be required to know by memory if they choose to continue

with band into high school. This activity also allows these students to be

challenge by new material that has not been covered in class yet, as well as

expand their knowledge and abilities on their individual instruments.

Blog:

In this activity, students were asked to perform previously memorized scales using

newly learned dotted 16th  note rhythms at whatever speed was most comfortable

for them. The activity began by having each student sight read the rhythms

using a singular pitch such as concert F or B-flat. During this process, I

would correct the students on their rhythms and set a metronome to a slower

tempo to ensure proper rhythms before we began to speed them up.

Rather than asking for parent or instructor feedback, I decided to ask the students what I could have done better or differently to help them. Each student expressed that they would have learned quicker if I had demonstrated the proper rhythms to them when they were struggling. During these lessons, I did sing the rhythms and have each student clap the rhythms with me. However, it had slipped my mind to perform the rhythms for them. Another student expressed that she would have preferred to play the rhythms chromatically before putting it to a specific scale.

Before beginning the lessons, I had assumed that playing the rhythms to a chromatic scale would have been more difficult, so I chose to have my students play it to a scale that they had previously memorized instead. Rather than assuming that each student would have an easier time with a regular scale rather than chromatic, I should have asked. This feedback and realization have allowed me to consider these situations more before planning out a lesson.

So far to date, my students have successfully memorized all major flat scales (F-G-flat) and have placed each scale to a dotted 16th note rhythm. I have learned that I take my personal barriers into consideration when planning a lesson. Rather, I need to ask my students what helps them more rather than assuming what I believe would be easier.