PowerPoint Presentation

SPONTANEOUS MUSIC MAKING IN THE GENERAL MUSIC CLASSROOM

Martina Vasil, doctoral studentWest Virginia Universitymvasil@mix.wvu.eduMountain Lake Colloquium 2013

Overly rigid and sequenced instruction can have a negative impact on learning (Benedict, 2009)

I think weve all had moments of spontaneity in our teaching. Where something changes in the classroom and we adjust our instruction on the fly and deviate from the lesson plan-a question from a student, a sudden idea that comes to mind, a certain connection that a student point outIn fact, research shows that overly planned lessons can negatively impact learning in the classroom. Its good to adjust instruction on the fly.

2Childrens musical cultures are uniqueChildren may react in various ways to musical stimuliHonoring and using childrens perspectives of music, this is the root from which all later musicality can grow and flourish (Moorhead & Pond, 1941)Imperative to music teacher education

But what about spontaneity in the children, not the teachers?Children do have their own musical culture, and react differently to music classroom instruction. It is imperative for teachers to try to understand this and incorporate what children are familiar with into their instruction. This is where the roots for lifelong music making occurEducating preservice music educators about being responsive to childrens interests becomes the imperative for positive change

Learning what naturally moves children and how to promote student ideas in the classroom can help teachers further understand how children learn music and how to incorporate their interests and skills into lesson planning. This knowledge will prepare pre-service music teachers to identify spontaneous responses in children that may be overlooked and which may lead lessons in exciting new directions.

3Sohow DO children make music?

Jackson Pollock, Lavender Mist: Number 1, 1950. Oil on canvas, Oil, enamel, and aluminum on canvas; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.CreativeImprovisedSpontaneousSo, how DO children make music? In observing childrens behavior in a music classroom, there are often blurred lines in defining musical behavior as creative, improvised, or spontaneous. How are they different? How would you define the three?4Creative music makingInvesting objects with a new form; creating rather than imitating (Merriam-Webster, 2012)

Improvised music makingComposing, reciting, arranging, making, or playing impromptu (Merriam-Webster, 2012)An improvised response puts the full responsibility for the music being made on the person/s making it, and for the entire duration of its making (Curran, 2006, p. 483)

When children are creative, they take objects or ideas and recreate them in new formations or new ways. E.g., taking rhythm bricks and creating a new composition; taking movement vocabulary and creating something newWhen children improvise, it is a performance that they pull ideas from a basis learned in class and controls the creation from start to finish. E.g., improvising on the Orff instruments

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Spontaneous music makingVoluntary or involuntary actions or movements (Merriam-Webster, 2012)Natural impulses, physical/emotive responses to music (Bereson, 2005)

Responses that are not teacher-directedUnlike creativity and improvisation, spontaneity is the first reaction and the natural reaction to a stimulus or contextCurran (2006) says that anyone making any sound in any way (alone or in company) could consider this act to be an act of spontaneous music-making (p. 487). Its low self awareness that is correlated with high spontaneity. (Ed Batista is Instructor and Leadership Coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business since January 2007)Example: a movement activity where children choose how they move to the hand drum. Here you see one child jumping, another running, and another one taking giant steps

6Which one are YOU doing?

1. Creative2. Improvised3. Spontaneous

"Musiciens aux masques by Pablo Picasso 1921, oil on canvas. New York, NY. The Museum of Modern Art

What kind of story does this music tell?Show me how fog moves.

7Spontaneous music makingHow would children engage in spontaneous music making?

How would the teacher respond to childrens spontaneous music making?

8How did children spontaneously make music?Rhythmic responses

Raindrops, raindrops, fall-ing down

Rain on the green grassRain on the treesRain on the rooftopsBut not on meOld King Glory

Instead of demonstrating the rhythmic response that Heidi directed in classes, I noticed that sometimes children naturally started tapping the rhythm of the words or a different rhythmic pattern Instead of tracking the melody-one boy was tapping the rhythm of the words (sol mi sol mi sol la mi)Instead of clapping the isolated pattern, clapped the whole pattern9Vocalizations (sung words, solfge patterns, spoken dialogue)

Raincomingdown from theclouds

Sol mi sol mi do

Hmmmm hmm hmmmm

Invented melody, Rain coming down from the cloudsSinging different solfege patterns than the rest of the classHumming melodies at the end of class to line up

10Spoken Responses

Im listening for the beat Play it again! Thats a hard rain

Nice to meet you Hi, how are you?

Hello! Hello!

Commenting on what they hearImaginative dialogueGreeting the stick figures on cards11Rhythmic movement

Showing the beat in the body without being told Moving jaw and clamping hands like lobster claws, to the beatAltering where the beat is kept (stick game)Automatically clapping to the dance

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Exploratory movementPretending

Modifying

Props

Pretending: to play instruments, Moving like sea creatures during listening activity and line up, Walking in the rain Walking like a robot at line upAltering hand shakes during a folk danceProps, Exploring instrument sounds on various parts of the body, Posing with instruments

Kindergarten students varied how they held non-pitched percussion instruments during lessons. Drummers held their hand drums at different angles against their bodies, maraca players held the maracas in their hands, and stick players held their sticks in a variety of ways as they waited their turn to play during singing games -some held them like they were about to start a fire, some like they were a signaling soldier (one arm up and one arm down), and others made the letters V and T.

13Teacher response to spontaneityLearned to take cues from students and to allow their natural responses to impact the flow of lessons Provides a safe environment: children learn in an environment that is consistent, organized, and positiveThrough singing, speaking, moving, and playing, children can develop their understandings of musical concepts such as melody, harmony, pitch, rhythm, dynamics, form, texture, and timbre

She encourages spontaneity as a part of her teaching philosophy. Allowing for creativity in her classroom is crucial to her because she believes that children have few opportunities to create something that is personal and unique. Heidi began a warm-up that was going to lead into a singing game she had planned for the days lesson. She chose a volunteer to be the leader but before she could explain what to do, the little girl had begun walking around the class seated on the rug. Heidi looked at me with raised eyebrows, a slight frown, tightened lips, and a slight raise to her shoulders. To me, this expression said, Okay, shes just going to do it. I later confirmed that I was correct and that the student had surprised Heidi. Although the student had done something that Heidi had not planned, Heidi later told me that it worked perfectly as an introduction to the movement for Old King Glory. Instead of stopping the child, Heidi waited to see what she would do and was surprised to see that the childs natural inclination fell perfectly into the lesson for that day.

What voice to use? What voice can we use? (to parallel the next invitationsCreate a conversation with your partnerFind a place to keep the beatDecide on the movement to do for certain words (then what instruments to go with the words)Movements to add to a songWays to move in the rainWhat does the music sound like?What would the captain of a train say to passengers?

Active learning: Singing, speaking, moving, playing

14How can this help?Important to recognize spontaneity15RhythmicallyRhythm vs beatOstinatos

VocalizationsInvent songsExperiment with solfge patternsChoose a melody to hum while lining up for class

Spoken responsesStudents have time to discuss what they hearTime for improvised dialogue and interaction with stimuli

Understand how children learn musicIncorporate student interests and skillsDevelop new ideas for classroom experiencesPromote student ideasIf this had been MY classroom, this is how I would adjust my instruction:Students are ready for longer phrases (not just one rhythm brick or tracking melody) only a few students-perhaps this can be an additional challengeOstinatos instead of beat in earlier gradesProvide time for experimentation with solfege instead of pure imitation16Rhythmic movementEncourage rhythmic movement during imaginative play New ways to do rhythmic patterns

Exploratory movementPlay with propsFree movement to music

Encourage rhythmic movement during imaginative play (the lobsters)New ways to do rhythmic patterns (stick games)

17How understanding spontaneity can benefit music teacher education programsContribute to the literatureImprove preservice music teacher preparationSpontaneous music making can provide clues for the next steps in instruction Spontaneous music making can provide exciting variations to lesson plans

By observing what children do naturally (spontaneously), we follow a historic line of music educators who have used childrens play to inform practice.If preservice teachers learn how to improve their observation of students, they can gain invaluable knowledge into the minds and actions of children in order to improve music instruction.Taking cues from students and observing their spontaneous responses can provide clues for the next steps in instruction and provide exciting variations to lesson plans.

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Encouraging student ideas + offering students choices= safe environment Flexibility is necessary Use varied stimuli High energy and special needs children may display more spontaneityBe more inclusive of students with lots of spontaneitySpontaneity (or lack of) does not impact musicality

It is good to have a set curriculum in place, but music teachers must have flexibility in order for children to create their own music. Children should sometimes be allowed to simply make music of their own design, without adult constraints. Children who do not display spontaneous behavior may be just as independent and musical as the extroverts. It is up to the teacher to think of ways to reach and assess these quiet and (in my experience) often unrecognized students. Flexibility is necessary to respond to student cues and to use student ideas for lessonsUse varied stimuli (music recordings, non-pitched percussion instruments, teacher prompts, visuals, interactions with classmates)Students with more spontaneity may draw more attention than quiet students-do not forget the introverts in class!Its important to help preservice music teachers understand that classes are not going to contain perfect little students, sitting in a row. Teaching is unpredictable and one cannot consider every action that is NOT in your lesson plan as a misbehavior. Instead, look positively at these actions and see how it can inform teacher practices.

19Mice CircusBruno Coulais, Hungrarian Symphony Orchestra Budapest & Laurent PetitgirardBruno CoulaisCoraline (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)2009-02-03T08:00:00Zmartinavasil@gmail.com 2009 Koch Records2009-02-16 15:15:08It Was FantasticBruno Coulais, Hungrarian Symphony Orchestra Budapest & Laurent PetitgirardBruno CoulaisCoraline (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)2009-02-03T08:00:00Zmartinavasil@gmail.com 2009 Koch Records2009-02-16 15:15:08