Larry Scripp’s Intro to Music-in-Education class is an obvious forum for exposing students to the various aspects of teaching, but a closer look shows that not only do we hear about these methods through Larry’s teaching, we also experience them in the way he teaches us, and we experiment with them by teaching our own lessons in front of the class.

In these past two weeks we have been using different colored plastic cups to represent either rhythm or pitch, and creating impromptu performances led by members of the class. Follow the link at the bottom of the article to see Alex Powell directing the class in a pitch exercise. He assigned a pitch to the first cup, and assigned the second scale degree to the second cup. When he pointed to the third, we deduced that it would mean to sing the third scale degree. The confusion came when he assigned scale degree 5 to the fourth cup, and then directed us to sing back down the row. We mistakenly sang scale degree 4 instead of 3 for the third cup. Alex made us aware of our mistake, and we corrected ourselves. In a later discussion, Larry showed how Alex might have corrected our confusion by starting from the first cup and ascending to verify the correct scale degree on the third cup. I think this was a most valuable lesson – that it’s better to allow students to correct their mistake by verification, rather than simply telling them they’re wrong or correcting the mistake for them.

-Kristen

We have currently had 6 classes and in these classes we have discussed everything from poetry to the average attention span of a 3rd grader. I found that I have the attention span of a 5th grader at times, especially when this class meets at thursday between 4 and 6. This past week we took a field trip to the South End Settlements, it is an old building that houses a pre-school program, before and after school program and a community arts center. In December our class will be performing for the after school program and we went to check out the performance space and the types of activities that occur there. While there we had to oppurtunity to watch an African Dance Class, where the emphasis was not perfection but movement and enjoyment. It gave the kids time to figure out what they were doing with gental instruction. We then walked through two classrooms where math and reading were being taught. Each group was no more than 10 students with 2 teachers/tutors. We learned the basics of how an after-school program is run, and was given time to look around the all purpose room. The last stop on our tour was the art center located next door. Inside we found the youngest group that the afterschool program has. They were finishing their pumpkin patch mural by cutting out silver stars and rocket ships. Our trip ended with some time of reflection where the class talked about the size of the program and how it was run. This trip was interesting and I am looking to discuss it further in class on thursday.

-Maggie

Greetings!

I am writing to you today from the strange but powerful world of MIE Cross-Listed courses. I hope by now it is common knowledge that there are many courses, some that may even be required of your degree program, that also count towards your MIE concentration. If there is a more striking interest beyond what the MIE department offers, chances are there is a cross-listed course that will suit your fancy. For me, my course was the Wind Ensemble Conducting course with professor Bill Drury, but what I didn’t realize was just how much (even at this early stage) this course would delve into my entire MIE experience and the model of an artist/teacher/scholar.

Only two classes in, I’m already realizing that this course isn’t only about conducting, but also about performing and reflective study. The way I see it, this is the highest level of performing that there can be because you are essentially the performer for the performers. You have to be on top of your game in such an extreme way in order to even begin to be effective. The amount of confidence is uncanny, and as you can imagine has seeped into my artistry as a trumpeter.

But, much of the time on a podium isn’t about performance it’s about rehearsal. And in this regard knowledge of the score is key. This is where it is necessary to be the best possible scholar one can be. Even at a beginning stage of conducting it is helpful to have studied the phrases and contours of the music, not just as they lay on the page but how they were historically intended. This too has seeped into the other aspects of my life as both a student and a performer.

And in rehearsal a conductor literally becomes a teacher. I realize now that the way someone acts on the podium directly relates to the way things function in any type of classroom, even in a private teaching setting.

As you can see, this conducting class has a lot of implications for the Artist/Teacher/Scholar model, and my MIE concentration as a whole. I’m looking forward to seeing how these notions play out over the course of the semester.

Stay tuned,

-Andy