The first day of school - my 6th as a teacher! - is less than a week away. I'm brimming with ideas of songs, games, activities, and projects I'd like to purse this year with the students, and I'm excited for the music we will make together. In particular, I'm looking forward to my second year with the Chelsea Prep Chorus and eagerly anticipating the continued growth of our robust violin program! 

With five years under my belt, I like to reflect on the things that work, those that haven't, and find ways to design a more cohesive, student-centered music program. One of my primary goals this year is simple:

Students' engagement in music is an opportunity to explore the self and to grow as both a musician and a person. In addition to the obvious musical benefits of such a goal, to "find your voice" also means to engage in self-expression, self-reflection, and community building. By exposing children to a variety of opportunities to engage in music - from singing, to instrument playing, to dancing and listening - we can help them develop confidence and a voice of their own. It is my hope and dream that all our students, indeed our musicians, will find the things that matter to them and express them, live by them, fight for them, and add to the beauty of this world through their engagement. 

This week, kindergarten students began exploring the wealth of sounds of percussion instruments such as drums, maracas, tambourines, sand blocks, and guiros. With only two rules in mind - to play the instrument in a safe way for our bodies and for the instrument, and to be silent when the lights turn off - they were given free reign to play as fast, as loud, and as weird as they wanted to on these instruments. The goal was for them to explore the many different ways an instrument can be played, the many different sounds it can make, and to learn that there is no one, right way to perform on them. 

Linguistically, students also applied terminology to their sound-production. The following is a list of words identified by K-117 in anticipation of their instrument exploration:

• Hit
• Bang
• Clap
• Snap
• Shake
• Scrape
• Stomp
• Blow
• Tap

With these words in mind, they even discovered some novel ways to play standard instruments - like blowing on a drum, or shaking a guiro with the mallet inside! Although these are certainly nontraditional modes of sound production, as long as they are safe they are acceptable in our music class. 

Moving forward, students will explore how to control the sounds they produce as part of an ensemble, and how to play the instrument in different ways depending on the type of sound they want. For example, how would you play a drum if you wanted to make it sound like thunder? Like wind? Like rain? And which other instruments can also make those sounds? 

There are a variety of learning goals in these lessons. Musically, students should learn how to play a variety of instruments, how to create the sounds they envision, and how to treat instruments with respect. Extramusically, students are learning how to play instruments as an ensemble, how to use self-control (which is hard with a drum literally at your fingertips!), and how to handle objects with care - all skills that kindergarteners are beginning to hone and will need as they grow older. 

I have a mantra:

"I do not teach music. I teach children."

Music education, particularly at the elementary school level, seeks to help students develop their musicality as well as their social emotional wellbeing and discipline. Although I want students to grow musically, my primary goals as an educator are to ensure students are prepared to succeed in every aspect of their lives, whether or not they pursue music in the long-term. This means teaching skills such as self-control, perserverence, active listening, and collaboration, among others. Below, I outline these four primary skills in how they relate to music and how music education seeks to promote their development. 

Self-Control:
          In all aspects of the music performance and participation, self-control is imperative. Students must be able to control their impulses with instruments, their voices, and their bodies, especially in an ensemble setting where every individual works with others toward a common goal or sound. In music class, we learn to use our "music bodies:" the postures and techniques that will be most conducive to our learning and performance. Students learn to sit tall, to demonstrate focus with their whole body, and to handle instruments with care and intention. Sound production with bodies, voices, and instruments can be impulsive or intentional, but the best ensembles are those that combine the two (consider, for example, jazz). As such, students' musical skills develop in direct relationship to their ability to maintain self-control.

Perserverence:
          Musicians, like anyone in any profession, rarely get it right on the first try. The notes they play may sound off, the music they right may not reflect what they hoped to create, and a song you eventually love may have, at first listen, sounded strange and inaccessible. Music takes work to perform, create, and enjoy to its highest degrees. Students learn about the relationship between hard work and good results through exercises in rehearsal and repetition, and individual or small group projects challenge students to work hard to align what they envision with what they produce. 

Active Listening:
          One of the skills students - and indeed, all people - must master is the ability to actively listen. We often assume listening is a natural skill, but the natural skill tends to focus on passive rather than active listening. That is, listening in which you are engaged with what you hear as you are hearing it, and preparing to respond to it mentally, verbally, and physically. We use active listening skills whenever a teacher is giving a lesson or reading a book out loud, when a parent is warning against something, and, as adults, when a coworker or superior is describing a task we must complete. In music, active listening means listening to music not as a soundtrack in the background but as a carefully-composed collection of sounds with a message, a story, a theme, or an intent. Through activities such as meditative listening of instrumental music and listening turns for new songs, students develop the skills that help them keep their brains and bodies engaged even without speaking or moving.

Collaboration:
​           In a world which increasingly values creative problem solving as part of a team, the abiity to collaborate is invaluable. Students need to develop the ability to work with others toward a common goal, and to make decisions, solve problems, and develop ideas with one another. In music class, students have numerous opportunities to work together in composition projects, rehearsals, and other musical endeavors. The idea is that in addition to learning valuable musical skills such as listening, practice techniques, and self-evaluation, students are also learning how to work with one another toward a goal whose definition may morph throughout the learning and collaborating process. What's more, because everyone's affective relationship to music is different, students have to work within and around each others' musical tastes and ideas while still respecting one another - a challenging task to be sure! 

As an elementary school music teacher, I understand that the majority of my students will not grow up to be professional musicians. That is not the point of music education; rather, it is one more way to educate our children and nurture their growth as global citizens, to imbue them with the skills they will need throughout life no matter what interests and talents they pursue. At the end of their elementary music education, I am less interested in whether or not my students can correctly identify rhythms and notes, and more interested in whether or not they are strong, capable, respectful individuals with a passion for learning and the skill set to bring more harmony into their world. 

Throughout the year, I like to provide opportunities for students to compose their own works, generally with unpitched percussion instruments but sometimes with lyrics to familiar melodies. The rhythm compositions, while the most fun (because instruments!), often feel the least successful when it comes to presenting the creations. It seems that while students enjoy creating their compositions and sharing them, they either don't enjoy or simply lack the skills to rehearse their own compositions in order to have a successful performance. 

As a classically trained musician, this is entirely contrary to my musical development and understanding of musical experience. Still, it is valuable and it forces me to reexamine my teaching process: How do I help students develop autonomous performance skills without the drudgery of "practicing"? How can students go directy from creating to performing and still have a successful performance for their peers? Or perhaps more precisely, how can I reframe practice in the context of performance? 

The answer, I believe, is two-fold. The first is in identifying rehearsal techniques and the self-inquiry students need to make their rehearsals productive. Students should be able to ask themselves and honestly answer the following questions:

1. Can I perform the entire piece beginning to end without stopping or making a mistake?
2. (If performing as part of an ensemble): Can my ensemble start together? Can we end at the same time?
3. What do I want it to sound like?

The second part is learning how to be an active and honest music critic. That is, developing the skills necessary to listen to the parts of music, to evaluate both a composition and a performance, and to describe elements of the music such as form, dynamics, tempo, steady beat, and whether or not an ensemble is playing in unison. They should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How did the ensemble start and end their piece? How did you know it was the beginning or the end?
2. What was the main idea? Can you sing it or clap it on your own?
3. Were you able to keep a steady beat with the performers? (Only applicable if steady beat is an element of their composition.)
4. Did the ensemble play together?
5. Did the performer(s) sound rehearsed and confident in their performance?

In future composition/performance projects, I will have to make sure students have a checklist both for their compositional and rehearsal process, and for listening to others' performances in order to better help them develop the skills necessary for rehearsal technique and performance critique.

Another successful concert season has come and gone, and I am so impressed with my students' performances. My success as a music teacher is contingent upon my students' willingness to get up on stage and belt out songs they've spent months preparing and memorizing. Although I am in front of them when they get on stage, it can still be a harrowing experience and I give them loads of credit for filling that auditorium with their voices. 

As the teacher and concert coordinator, however, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make it work. This was my fifth year organizing a winter concert, and I think I've finally ironed out most of the details so that I'm a little less stressed in its preparation:

Tips for Creating a Concert:

• Sing with the students in mind - Use their voices, their skills, and their interests to choose the repertoire so that they will want to learn it and sing it on their own. What worked for one class one year may not work the same class the next year, so be flexible with your song choices and assignments
• Start early, sing often - For a concert in mid-December and seeing the students once a week, students should be introduced to their concert music in the last two weeks of October. But of course...
• There will be missed classes - Classes go on trips, there are always random days off of school, and unscheduled school assemblies happen, so you will almost never have as much time to work with the students as you thought. Know it, embrace it, and plan accordingly.
• Know your lyrics and have extras - In addition to having copies of the lyrics for each student so they can take it home and practice (or, more likely, lose it immediately), have extra hard and electronic copies of the lyrics for yourself.
• Give the teachers agency - They may not use it, but some teachers will want to help their students prepare or use the concert music in their classroom. Make sure teachers and students alike have access to recordings and lyrics through websites, email, and hard copies. 
• Give yourself a timeline - Teaching the music is perhaps the easiest part. Don't forget about all the other details that make it a successful concert, and plan a timeline to get it all done. As a guide, you can use the one below.
• Choreograph everything - Not just for the songs, which might be an important part of your concert, but for how students will enter and exit the stage, where they will go before and after they perform, and what teachers need to do. I learned this year that while everything in the auditorium looked great there was chaos in the lobby where classes were preparing to enter, other classes were leaving, still others were waiting, and parents were milling about. Teachers and other staff members can help you come up with a plan if you're feeling stuck!

I hope you're as excited as I am for school to start! There are lots of fun musical things in store for the students at Chelsea Prep, from singing and dancing, to composition and songwriting, to playing instruments and more! Here is a brief overview of the targets for each grade, so you have an idea of what to expect throughout the school year:

PreK:
At this age, we use music to help students develop the basic skills they need to be successful students and citizens. Throughout the year, students will learn how to:

• share with instruments
  
• use safe bodies through dance
  
• control the types of voices they use through explorations of whispering, talking, and singing
  
• use their bodies and voices to express themselves
• respect each other's ideas and experiences

Additionally, children at this age begin to differentiate between the opposites of music, namely fast vs. slow and loud vs. soft.

Kindergarten:
Children in Kindergarten continue to build on the social skills started in PreK (see above), but will also begin to explore individual creativity through singing, performing on instruments, drawing, and composing. By the end of the year, students should be able to:

• distinguish between loud and soft and perform accordingly with the voice and on instruments
• distinguish between fast and slow and perform accordingly with the body and on instruments
• demonstrate high vs. low pitch on an instrument and with the voice
• keep a steady beat
• learn, memorize, and perform songs
• demonstrate appropriate performance technique on a variety of percussion instruments
• play musical games with attention to both musicality and social responsibility

1st Grade:​
6- and 7-year-olds can begin contextualizing their learning by looking at the world around them. In addition to building on the skills of the previous years, 1st Graders will:

• identify and describe the relationship between instrument size and pitch
• begin working on matching pitch
• perform on an instrument and sing simultaneously
• explore and learn about common Western instruments, comparing them and identifying their features
• compose and perform lyrics based on a given melody and rhythmic structure
• describe melodic direction
• distinguish between long and short sounds
• describe how folk music was created and shared

2nd Grade:
As their bodies grow, so too do their vocal capacities. At this point the songs become a little longer and more vocally challenging, the music a little more complex, the lyrics a little more meaningful. Similarly, children in 2nd Grade will continue finding more connections between the music they perform and the world around them. By the end of the year, students will:

• demonstrate appropriate head voice vocal technique
• match pitch consistently
• compose music with both words and sound
• identify and demonstrate dynamics in music
• make musical decisions to change the performance of a song
• identify form in music

3rd Grade:
In 3rd Grade, students' musical opportunities grow tremendously as their global and personal awareness expand, their technical skill improves, and their individuality becomes more pronounced. Students will use this year to participate in more long-term projects, such as the drum circle unit and the songwriting project. Students will:

• demonstrate consistently healthy vocal technique
• demonstrate appropriate drumming technique
• perform part singing
• perform as part of an instrumental ensemble with different patterns for each instrument
• compose and perform a song with lyrics and an instrumental backing track, demonstrating social awareness
• define and demonstrate variations in tempo, dynamics, and pitch

And so begins another concert season! In addition to the projects students started the last two weeks, we will begin learning our songs for the Spring Concert. The theme this year is "Music with a Message," featuring songs with important messages for our students - and everyone - to hear. Themes of love, peace, friendship, determination, and freedom will permeate the next couple months, and I couldn't be more excited to embark on this musical journey with our students.

Throughout the next few weeks, we will explore what these songs are trying to tell us, and then find ways to take those messages to heart. We will create, discuss, describe, and analyze. We will draw and write. And most of all, we will sing.

In our society's current musical culture, one of the most poignant ways to make music is to write lyrics. Whether it be coming up with new words to popular melodies, making up you're own rhymes, rapping or MCing, or anything else, songwriting has a long tradition in American music. This week, students will be exploring some songs with important lyrics, then finding ways to make those songs more personally relevant by changing the words or writing entirely new songs. Third graders in particular will start writing their own couplets to make into songs week by week.

We will be using this last week before our Mid-Winter Recess to wrap up projects, play some games, and include instruments into our lessons. Kindergarten will learn the song "A Tisket A Tasket" and the game that goes with it, then after playing the game with instrumental accompaniment, they'll get a chance to hear Ella Fitzgerald's take on the favorite children's song. First graders will also be playing a game, "Hop Old Squirrel." This is a great refresher (or introduction) to beat vs. rhythm, and after exploring the difference between the two they'll get to play the parts of trees and squirrels, hopping around the room (or skipping, or jumping, or crawling, or whatever movement they choose). In second grade, students will apply what they've been learning to the game song "Bluebird, Bluebird through my Window," changing the song and their movements according to the birds they know, and maybe some they don't! 

​Unfortunately, third graders will not have music this week due to the Lunar New Year, but I'm looking forward to some fantastic musicking and critical exploration with them following our Mid-Winter Recess!

A month! It's been a month since I last updated, for which I apologize. But we've been having so much fun, and I've been working so hard to ensure precisely that, that the lesson blog suffered. So, let me give you a quick recap:

In PreK, we've been having tons of fun with instruments, exploring the sounds they make, including them in our songs, and making songs about them. Throughout these weeks, the students have been developing and practicing their sharing skills, listening skills (knowing when to start and stop with the music), and higher-level musicianship of playing your instrument at a particular time while your neighbor waits to play during their part of the song. Students are loving the song "Mi Cuerpo," along with "I Play My Instruments." This week, we are going to read a poem and find a way to add instruments to illustrate it.

Kindergartners have also been exploring instruments and the sounds they make, then learned about conducting -- showing an ensemble how to start, stop, get louder, and get softer, all without using the voice! Then we turned our attention to other instruments: the guitar, violin, drums, and piano. We played a rousing game of Instrument Bingo where students demonstrated their ability to identify those instruments by sight, sound, and the motions of how they're played. They can even identify the difference between strumming a guitar and fingerpicking! Then last week we played "Instruments as Animals," where students had to identify which animal was being depicted in wordless music. The game was a success, and students even had the opportunity to listen to a song and draw the animal they heard, without any prompts. The resulting drawings were varied but impressive. This week, we will sing "Mi Cuerpo" and add instruments to it, then come up with new ways to sing the song with different instruments.

In First Grade students have been learning about representatives of the instrument families of the orchestra, namely the violin, flute, and trumpet. After an impressive game of Instrument Bingo, students embarked on a group project to research those instruments and create an informational poster about each one. We will finish up our posters this week and I can't wait to see the finished products!

Second Graders also spent time learning about orchestra instruments, but they focused on the string family. I brought in my violin and cello for the students to see, touch, hear, and play, and they saw the "Rule of Sound" in action. We then applied what we had already learned to the viola and the bass, and had a great time watching music videos with those instruments so they could see how big the bass is, hear how smooth the viola sounds, and generally listen to some of their favorite songs played in an unfamiliar way. Last week, we watched a video of a cello being played with an orange and a video of a man playing vegetable instruments, which inspired our most recent endeavor: inventing our own instruments! Students will continue to work this week on drawing a new instrument of their design, then writing about its form, use, and sound.

In Third Grade, we've been learning the cup game to go along with Anna Kendrick's "When I'm Gone." Third Graders missed a day of music on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and they all took a survey last week, so this week we will finally be finishing up the song (although the students might not be so pleased about that!). Additionally this week, for the students who have mastered the cup song, they will be challenged to compose a new ostinato rhythm to accompany the song. 

Below are the lesson plans for the last few weeks. Happy musicking!