Thoughts From Mrs. M...

Who Actually Quits Musical Instrument Instruction — Children or Their Parents?

3/1/2017

By Anthony Mazzocchi

Article originally posted on The Music Parents’ Guide

How many times have we heard from adults that they wish their parents didn’t allow them to quit their musical instrument when they were younger?

There comes a time in a large percentage of music students’ lives when they want to quit their instrument — and more often than not, parents allow them to do it. But is the child quitting . . . or is the parent?

I remember wanting to quit the trombone when I was in middle school. Honestly, it’s hard to remember why. It could have been peer pressure, boredom, or something else — but I had my mind made up. I shudder to think of what my life would be like now if my mother had decided to quit as well and give in to my pleas.

Ultimately, it is important to understand that when it comes to music education and other transformative activities that require some grit in order to succeed, most children go through a period of time where they must succeed despite themselves. They must be encouraged and supported through the tough times, not given a pass. It is only at a certain point that children — and parents — can make an informed decision to quit their musical instrument, and that point is usually much later, not sooner, than one may think.

Here are a few ways that parents are the ones that quit music instruction, and some thoughts on overcoming the tough times with our children that are bound to occur:

Top 5 Tips for First Year Music Students

11/18/2016

http://www.smartmusic.com/blog/top-5-tips-for-first-year-music-students/

Being a part of a student’s first year of music instruction is equal parts awesome responsibility and constant inspiration. Based on our combined experience, here are our top tips for making the year as rewarding as possible – for your students as well as yourself!

1. Expectations
The beginning determines the end and what you expect is what you will get from your students. Young students are capable of a very high level of performance and professionalism if they are taught explicitly how to demonstrate these characteristics. A high level of expectations must be consistently tied to the development of a process, grit and work ethic. Not only must every student (and teacher) believe they can achieve a high level of success but they must understand and believe that they can also work hard enough to make it happen when something is new or tricky.

2. Routines
Explain and show students how you expect every classroom routine to be executed. Model the correct way to perform even the most mundane tasks; opening cases, how to hold the instrument when carrying it, resting position for instruments while playing, etc. Have students demonstrate the correct way to perform routines until they are performed without reminders. When they slip or forget, go back to square one.

Consistently holding students to the daily routines and the behavior expectations you establish can be exhausting and sometimes frustrating but it is critical in training students in the correct way to be a musician and part of your ensemble.

3. Playing Position, Hand Positions and Embouchure
Correct posture, body position, hand position and embouchure are non-negotiable. There is one way to do things: the right way. Clearly teachers have differences in tips and tricks they use for these concepts but a student will not exceed the standard that a teacher sets. Model these concepts with your own set of instruments. Even if you are not strong on every secondary instrument a beginning band teacher should be capable of modeling the correct position, embouchure and tone on each instrument. If you cannot, then it is time to get busy and improve.

Modeling and playing along with students every day provides them with an exemplary model and builds their concept of skill and tone. When students become fatigued or resistant, explain the analogy of a sports trainer or coach. A trainer will push an athlete to do more work and reps than they would do alone. A coach will repeat a drill or skill until it is part of muscle memory and a skill set. You are their coach and trainer. Most young students have been on an athletic team and will understand this immediately.

4. Music Reading
After spending a considerable amount of time doing call-and-response exercises to establish tone production, articulation, rhythm and pulse, introduce music reading. We give students approximately 15 hours of instruction before we begin reading music.

Once it is time to start reading use a large screen or whiteboard to project music. When students begin to read music the majority of confusion comes from not knowing how to track across the music at the correct rate. Showing the students music symbols in one place on the board and making sure that each child is looking at the correct place in the music makes the process move quickly.

After spending several hours of instruction using a screen for their music we begin to use music books on their stands and we refer back and forth between the two sources. If students are having difficulty with the material we will direct them to look at the screen to review the note types, names, fingerings, etc. and will play several times before they return to looking at their books or music.

We also rehearse each piece or exercise in very small chunks, often measure by measure. If a measure does not sound good, DO NOT MOVE ON, repeat until students reach your set level of mastery. This will make putting together the entire piece/exercise much easier.

5. Quality Literature
Keep things simple. Literature selections should provide a beautiful melody or tune, give every instrument fairly equal playing opportunities, and enable you to teach the characteristics of musicianship and ensemble. Set aside the “cool” pieces until students are technically and developmentally ready. The stress of chasing notes and rhythms sucks the fun and excitement out of performances for kids and teachers. The Queenwood “Red Book” series is one example that meets all of these requirements, is well crafted, and provides ample selections in a variety of genres and styles. Develop a set of core repertoire that you can rotate and know will work well with your first year students.

Six Music Classroom Management Strategies

11/18/2016

http://www.smartmusic.com/blog/six-music-classroom-management-strategies/

We see 375 band students every day and have very few discipline issues or distractions during class. Below are six music classroom management strategies we use in our program.

Teach, Model, and Reteach Routines
Explain and show students how you expect them to do EVERYTHING. Include even the easiest behaviors: entering the room, where to build instruments, where to store cases, how to set up the music stand as a workstation for the class period (pencil, tuner, warm-ups, music). Insist that routines are done correctly every time and it will become habit for you and the students.

Use Nonverbal Signals
A simple arm raised by a teacher indicates all students need to raise their hands and become silent. Nothing proceeds until the room is silent. This sounds too simple but it works. When used consistently and diligently it quiets a noisy room of 80 sixth grade brass players in about 10 seconds. We have gotten to the point that students will initiate the arm raise when they hear talking among the students. Develop your own plan and use it every rehearsal every day.

Keep Rules Simple
Our classroom rule is “Act in a way which does not create problems for others.”

We follow that up with our posted Rehearsal Expectations:

Pencil on EVERY Stand
Music out of Plastic
Mark Corrections (The more you mark, the less we stop!)
Eye Contact with Director (Track)
Instrument to Mouth on Count-Off
Correct Playing Position & Posture
Raise Hand for Comments & Questions
Positive Body Language & Energy
Apply What You Already Know
Behavior Is Productive & Effective

Organize Your Space
Set up the room with aisles for you to be able to roam the room. Get off of the podium and move throughout the ensemble. Proximity does wonders for student behavior and allows you to see the rehearsal from their perspective.
Keep the room clean and organized. Have the room set with the correct number of chairs and stands. Have a spot for everything: extra music, pencils, tuners, lost and found, etc. Use binders for student materials to eliminate lost music. Put a pencil pouch in each binder to hold reeds, oil, tuners and pencils. Put the daily plan on the board so students know what to set up for when they enter the room.

Play More, Talk Less
Students are in band to play their instrument. The more they play the more they will like it. Many student errors can be fixed through slow repetition of small sections. Do not be afraid to repeat something a dozen times if needed. Your kids are tough, they can do it. When stopping to make corrections use three short phrases to include: who, where, what. For example: trumpets, measure 43, staccato notes-put space between. It is also very effective to model the correction on your instrument or by singing. Every stop should be 30 seconds maximum.

Consistent Expectations
No matter how tired or frustrated you might become, calmly insist that there is only one way to do things in your classroom: the right way. What you accept is what you will get. Firm expectations and a loving attitude toward the students will create a comfortable and secure environment for you and your students. The whole point of music classroom management is to develop a system that removes distractions and logistics and allows students to focus on the task at hand-music.

Don’t Wait until Spring to Think about Retention

11/18/2016

http://www.smartmusic.com/blog/dont-wait-spring-think-retention/

Retention is a daily and ongoing process which happens in every rehearsal, every communication and every decision for your music program. The director is the one person who can control the most elements in any music program. Students’ time, talent and energy is valuable. If you want high levels of student retention, then respecting those resources must be a part of the daily operations of the program.

Start with the End in Mind
When creating rules, policies, calendars, etc. envision your ultimate goal for every student. If you want students to be long-term members, with independent musical growth, then keep that the focus. Do not get tied up in chasing trophies, creating burdensome schedules or unrealistic practice expectations.

The program will never be more important to anyone than it is to you. Furthermore, your priority of the program will not be shared by every family. Decide what are reasonable expectations to meet the program’s’ goals and be willing to live with the consequences. Many directors will win a battle or two but lose the war when structuring the program.

Quality Materials & Music
We believe that 20% of the students will be “die hard” band kids. These kids will love everything about band almost all of the time. Maybe 10% will be “on the fence” and may only be there because a parent is insisting on it. These kids will resist or at best tolerate almost everything about band almost all of the time. The remaining 70% will be casually committed. These students like band if it fast paced, social, rewarding and meaningful.

How do we engage all of these students? High quality literature. Selecting your literature should be an ongoing and careful process that evolves as the group develops. The better the quality of music, the more your students will be engaged. Engaged students stay in band.

Communication
Make it easy for students, parents and administrators to find information easily. Update websites and social media often so your band community has a reason to check in with these sites. Frustration in finding information often causes families to give up on a program. It is critical when communicating with families that you work toward solutions to issues or conflicts. Ultimatums end relationships. Is the program there for the student or is the student there for the program? Whatever your answer, that will be at the center of your communication. Keep in mind that reasonable flexibility helps students know that they are important to you and the program.

Consistency
Consistency in daily rehearsal structure, assessment procedures, routines and expectations will give students a sense of security and build a foundation of trust. That trust leads to strong relationships with students and families. A critical area of consistency is in setting a calendar of rehearsals and performances. The earlier this is set and the less it changes, the easier it will be for families to keep their children in your program. Chaos in the program creates chaos for families and is disrespectful of the students’ time and home schedule.

We believe that by keeping retention in mind, not just at the end or the beginning of the year, we can better serve both our students and our program.

5 Survival Tips

11/17/2016

http://www.smartmusic.com/blog/5-survival-tips-days-break/

In the days leading up to a break, student excitement levels rise as their concentration falls. This can be a frustrating and exhausting time for teachers. Having a clear plan for how to handle those days can increase student engagement and focus. This engagement is the key to your success – and survival!
These five tips have helped us before break, we hope they help you, too.

5. Maintain Established Routines and ExpectationsKeep your routines going. Students may not act like they like it, but a strong routine provides a sense of calm and security. The more you treat classroom expectations as a constant element the less resistance or complaining you will receive.

4. Stay Calm and PositiveKeep yourself as calm as possible. Take deep breaths, think about what you like about the kids, count to ten; whatever you can do to soften your voice and slow down. Stay as positive and upbeat as possible. Students will reflect your mood so model what you want from them.

Know that the kids will be geared up for break. Anticipate this by planning the start and ending of rehearsals. The calmer and more structured the start of the rehearsal, the better it will all go. The end of rehearsals are often chaotic. We have our students return to their seats after putting away equipment and use this time for announcements and room organization. Give yourself enough time to wrap things up without a rush.

3. Useful Activities vs. Throw-Away Time-FillersStudents quickly get bored of things they initially perceive as fun. Movies, kick-back days, free time, parties, etc. are fun initially but they may be experiencing similar activities in several classes. A little of this goes a long way, and poor decisions often come from boredom. Mixing boredom with the excitement preceding a break is a recipe for discipline disasters.

2. Keep It SimplePlan your class to use material and methods students are already familiar with. The days leading up to a break are not the time to introduce new concepts, make recordings for festival submissions, perform in-depth work, or clean the extra difficult piece in the folder.

1. Use the Time Wisely, Keep Students EngagedHere are several ideas we use to make good use of our time and add some variety and fun to the days leading up to a break.

Review old favorites. Let students request songs they would like to play again.
Create games and lighthearted contests using workbook exercises, scales or excerpts of concert music. For example, compete to determine which team or section has the best technique, dynamics, tone, etc.
Listen to and preview new music for the upcoming concert cycle. Find repertoire on SmartMusic, JW Pepper or YouTube to share with the students.
Use technology:
- We have introduced the online game Kahoot to our classes and they go crazy over the most boring music theory topics! If you search Public Kahoots you will find shared games that are easy to edit for your own use. Ours are under the username TraughberBand – feel free to steal!
- We also check out our school’s iPad cart and use music theory games. The game Notenames is a favorite.
- If you have a computer lab available, reserve it for your class and use Google Forms to create Terms & Theory Quizzes, Concert Reviews, Self-Reflections, Goal Setting, Surveys or Instrument Research assignments.

The final days before a break do not have to be a waste of time. A well-planned combination of calm, productivity, and fun can leave you and your students in a positive frame of mind as you go into your break.

Is Band "FUN" at Traughber?

9/24/2015

First and foremost, it’s fun to sound great.  Creating beautiful sounds is fun; getting better (and knowing how to get better) is fun; striving for greatness is fun. Conversely, making poor sounds with bad posture in a room with others doing the same thing is not fun. Not knowing how to practice and, in turn, not getting better isn’t fun. Performing in public and knowing the product is not good (trust me — young students know this, even if they can’t quite put their finger on it) is certainly not fun.

Getting better and learning is fun.  When teachers identify students’ comfort zones and find that magical place right beyond that zone where each student can achieve great things with a little bit of struggle — everyone has fun. It’s not fun to be stagnant during what should otherwise be an exciting learning curve. It’s fun to put away the instrument at the end of each day and know you got just a little better.

Balancing rigor with play is fun.  Instrumental music class is a place where children make friends, solve problems by doing, and overcome their fears by experimenting, taking risks — and even failing — in a supportive environment. Our schools are becoming more and more standardized, and in the process they are eliminating opportunities for play to occur in the curricula. Without clear expectations and rigor in the music classroom, however, play becomes nothing but fooling around with noisemakers — not fun.

Being exposed to great musicians is fun.  When students have a chance on a regular basis to have a connection with great performers, their motivation increases several-fold. It’s fun to have a vision of what you want to become, and then strive to realize that vision a little every day. It’snot fun to be directionless and lack clear goals.

Taking ownership over learning is fun.  When a student understands “why”, “how”, “where” and “when” to practice, they have been given power. They will feel a sense of responsibility, which will then lead to self motivation and routine. Ideally we want our children to have ownership over their own learning in every aspect of life, and music education is a wonderful way to teach this. It’s not fun to have little or no understanding of how to get better at playing a musical instrument.

Experiencing beautiful music in an ensemble is really fun.  Music is fun when it builds a team. Much like sports, when an ensemble sounds great it is like a team playing well; when a piece is played well it is like a team “winning” a game. But a lot of work goes into molding a great ensemble; it takes time, and everyone has an important role to play. When executed correctly, working on and performing a piece of music is really fun.

3 Things Parents Must Tell Their Children When They Begin a Musical Instrument from musicparentsguide.com

3/11/2015

Hopefully your child will begin a musical instrument through their school music program. If so, when they bring home their instrument for the first time, it is more than just an exciting day…

...It is an opportunity...

…Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities in your child’s life thus far.

Why Music Education Actually Matters

2/12/2014

“We favor the inclusion of music in the curriculum on an equality with other basic subjects. We believe that with the growing complexity of civilization, more attention must be given to the arts, and that music offers possibilities as yet but partially realized for developing an appreciation of the finer things of life.”
—First Resolution of the Dallas Meeting of The Department of Superintendence, 1927

Public music education has seen better days.

13 Free Web Tools Students Should Know About, Katrina Schwartz of Mind Shift

7/28/2013

Web-based tools continue to proliferate, giving teachers more to add to their arsenal, but it can be hard to determine which resources are worth spending time exploring. At the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference this year, Adam Bellow, founder of EduClipper, and Steve Dembo, Online Community Manager for Discovery Education offered a quick run through of some favorite apps. The two educators are early adopters of ed-tech classroom strategies and have a lot of experience with tech integration.

How Important is Grit in Student Achievement?

2/21/2013

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