Reflections of Chapter 1

Including technology in my music teaching is something I strive for but may not execute well. I like to encourage my kids to think of how they would modify a completed piece to their tastes. For example, when I exposed my students to Blackbird by the Beatles, and asked them what they would have changed about the song they said they would have preferred to have a more full drum style behind the song, much like what the Beatles have done in other songs. I also like to encourage kids to create rhythms over a steady beat. I first wait and see what they might come up with on their own but then I slowly show them the breakdown of rhythm using the different notes and and I can easily teach them quarter, half, whole, 16th notes and even triplets and then encourage them to use those concepts in creative ways.

These activities don’t require much technology. A devise to listen to a recording and maybe a piano if I’m asking them to modify a piece of music we are singing in class. I would love to incorporate more technology in the class especially since so many schools have access to computers and mine in particular has enough for each student in the entire school to use one.

I could include technology in these exercises by using the midi keyboard and a program like garage band and have them create rhythm using the sounds they have access to.

My concerns about these creative projects are breaking down the concept enough for the students to not feel overwhelmed by their freedom. In most of their classes they are required to react according to a certain set of standards that each teacher has set forth for them in order to learn the concepts thoroughly. As teachers, we stress the importance of routine and keeping things consistent in the beginning, middle and end of the class every day because it increases thorough student learning. To ask a student with so much healthy structure to create something without first giving them guidelines of what to create with can be a shock to the system. I hope that when I encourage creativity I will not only allow freedom of expression but also foster it in such a way that it is not anxiety inducing to my students.