Dr. Watson
The workshop that we got to participate in with Dr. Watson was definitely a life altering experience for both myself as a musician and as a future teacher. As a musician, I got to experience my first improvisation workshop which resulted in many realizations about myself. As a future teacher, I got to experience an activity that I can one day teach to my future students.
Dr. Watson began the workshop by having us listen to three different musical examples, and write down what we heard. By doing this, we were able to familiarize ourselves with this style of music, and get a sense of the improvisation that occurred. This helped me understand the feel of the style, and allowed me to identify different instruments by isolating their parts by ear. After this, we discussed the different things we heard. This allowed me to broaden my analysis by hearing other people’s ideas.
We then did a call and response exercise where Dr. Watson would play different melodies, and we would play/sing it back to him. This helped us explore different melodies and rhythms in the jazz style, increasing our ideas for improvisation. After doing this multiple times and expanding the exercise, we went in a circle and did the call and response exercise one on one with Dr. Watson. Normally, the thought of improvising on the spot in front of an audience would terrify me, but because of the exercises we did first, I felt less nervous and more prepared.
As the class went on, we expanded the exercise by adding more pitches, new rhythms, and by making them longer. By the end of the workshop, I was extremely surprised with the amount that I had learned. This was my first time doing any sort of improvisation, especially with jazz, and I was really happy with the result. Dr. Watson did an excellent job at making us all comfortable and familiar with the material before we improvised one on one. As a very anxious person, I was grateful that I got to experience something like this in a way that did not overwhelm me.
What amazed me most about this workshop was how successful we all were with learning aurally. Dr. Watson did not write anything down for us, or tell us what notes to sing/play. We did all of it by ear, which is an important skill that is slowly being lost. I think that this activity was a great way to combine aural learning with improvisational skills. I am grateful that I got to be a part of this experience, and I would love to try it with my class one day!
Dr. Watson began the workshop by having us listen to three different musical examples, and write down what we heard. By doing this, we were able to familiarize ourselves with this style of music, and get a sense of the improvisation that occurred. This helped me understand the feel of the style, and allowed me to identify different instruments by isolating their parts by ear. After this, we discussed the different things we heard. This allowed me to broaden my analysis by hearing other people’s ideas.
We then did a call and response exercise where Dr. Watson would play different melodies, and we would play/sing it back to him. This helped us explore different melodies and rhythms in the jazz style, increasing our ideas for improvisation. After doing this multiple times and expanding the exercise, we went in a circle and did the call and response exercise one on one with Dr. Watson. Normally, the thought of improvising on the spot in front of an audience would terrify me, but because of the exercises we did first, I felt less nervous and more prepared.
As the class went on, we expanded the exercise by adding more pitches, new rhythms, and by making them longer. By the end of the workshop, I was extremely surprised with the amount that I had learned. This was my first time doing any sort of improvisation, especially with jazz, and I was really happy with the result. Dr. Watson did an excellent job at making us all comfortable and familiar with the material before we improvised one on one. As a very anxious person, I was grateful that I got to experience something like this in a way that did not overwhelm me.
What amazed me most about this workshop was how successful we all were with learning aurally. Dr. Watson did not write anything down for us, or tell us what notes to sing/play. We did all of it by ear, which is an important skill that is slowly being lost. I think that this activity was a great way to combine aural learning with improvisational skills. I am grateful that I got to be a part of this experience, and I would love to try it with my class one day!
Kelly Bylica
I feel very fortunate to have had the experience to hear about Kelly’s experiences as a fairly new teacher. Rather than imagining and discussing teaching situations, we were able to hear about real situations that occurred, analyze them, and discuss our own ideas. This gave me the realization of how hard it can be to create a safe environment in a classroom, where are the students will feel comfortable and behave appropriately.
When Kelly showed us what her students wrote on the first day of school, I found myself wondering what I would do if I were in her situation. Still, I am unsure of what exactly I would do. I also came to the realization that it must take a lot of time for a teacher to be able to change their students’ perception of the class and themselves. It is a process that will occur until the students trust their teacher, and the space that they are in.
After Kelly showed us what her students had written her on the first day of class, she asked us what assumptions we made about those students. I was surprised with the assumptions I had made about them just from reading what they had written. I assumed that the students had behavioural issues in their classrooms, that they didn’t enjoy school, and that they didn’t know about music. But, after listening to the recording that Kelly showed us, I realized that I was wrong.
Clearly, what those students needed was the trust that they did not have in their other classes or their previous musical experiences. They needed to know that creativity is not only accepted, but encouraged. All of this made me think about what activity I will do with my class on my first day of teaching, and what I will do after that, until we are all comfortable together.
When I have my own class, I want to do something similar to what Kelly did; where the students write their thoughts to me. By doing this, I will get a sense of how they feel and what they think about the class. This will help me plan out what I can do and say to make everyone understand that our classroom should be a safe space where we all feel comfortable creating, sharing, and making music.
When Kelly showed us what her students wrote on the first day of school, I found myself wondering what I would do if I were in her situation. Still, I am unsure of what exactly I would do. I also came to the realization that it must take a lot of time for a teacher to be able to change their students’ perception of the class and themselves. It is a process that will occur until the students trust their teacher, and the space that they are in.
After Kelly showed us what her students had written her on the first day of class, she asked us what assumptions we made about those students. I was surprised with the assumptions I had made about them just from reading what they had written. I assumed that the students had behavioural issues in their classrooms, that they didn’t enjoy school, and that they didn’t know about music. But, after listening to the recording that Kelly showed us, I realized that I was wrong.
Clearly, what those students needed was the trust that they did not have in their other classes or their previous musical experiences. They needed to know that creativity is not only accepted, but encouraged. All of this made me think about what activity I will do with my class on my first day of teaching, and what I will do after that, until we are all comfortable together.
When I have my own class, I want to do something similar to what Kelly did; where the students write their thoughts to me. By doing this, I will get a sense of how they feel and what they think about the class. This will help me plan out what I can do and say to make everyone understand that our classroom should be a safe space where we all feel comfortable creating, sharing, and making music.
Dr. Ruth Wright
The class we had with Dr. Ruth Wright has been one of my favourite classes so far. I loved having the opportunity to get creative with my friends and make music. Not only did I enjoy the process and our performance, but I was amazed with what the other groups came up with as well. It is so interesting to me how we were all given the same instructions, but came up with completely different things. This is proof of the possibilities that creativity opens us up to, and how a strict curriculum is not need in order to run a successful class.
Dr. Ruth Wright explained how Musical Futures was created to bring “young people’s passion for music outside of schools” into the classroom. In the activity that we participated in, I certainly believe that they are doing so. We did similar activities in a grade nine vocal class that I volunteered in, and I could definitely see the passion the students had for the music that they were making. If we are interested in what we are doing, we work harder at it and we get more out of it. Therefore, I believe that this program is an excellent way to bring music into the classroom.
In addition to more passionate students, I believe that this program is beneficial to the teachers as well. They are able to teach music in a fun and interactive way, rather than standing in front of the class and lecturing them. Not only are their students learning, but they are too. They are learning new ways of teaching, and most importantly, they are learning how to experiment in the classroom. This is important, because they need to know what works and doesn’t work for their students. By taking risks and trying new things, they are taking their students’ learning steps further. This is an important quality for any teacher to have, and they can take it with them for the rest of their lives.
Lastly, this program keeps students interested in music. It helps these students realize that they are musicians, and it increases the amount of people that make music.
Dr. Ruth Wright explained how Musical Futures was created to bring “young people’s passion for music outside of schools” into the classroom. In the activity that we participated in, I certainly believe that they are doing so. We did similar activities in a grade nine vocal class that I volunteered in, and I could definitely see the passion the students had for the music that they were making. If we are interested in what we are doing, we work harder at it and we get more out of it. Therefore, I believe that this program is an excellent way to bring music into the classroom.
In addition to more passionate students, I believe that this program is beneficial to the teachers as well. They are able to teach music in a fun and interactive way, rather than standing in front of the class and lecturing them. Not only are their students learning, but they are too. They are learning new ways of teaching, and most importantly, they are learning how to experiment in the classroom. This is important, because they need to know what works and doesn’t work for their students. By taking risks and trying new things, they are taking their students’ learning steps further. This is an important quality for any teacher to have, and they can take it with them for the rest of their lives.
Lastly, this program keeps students interested in music. It helps these students realize that they are musicians, and it increases the amount of people that make music.
Dr. Hopkins
Dr. Hopkins seemed very passionate about having a balance between traditional teaching and creative teaching. I respected his opinion, because he was not saying that traditional teaching is necessarily wrong, but he strongly encouraged incorporating creativity and risk taking in today’s classrooms. He discussed multiple examples of how using method books are both beneficial and how they are not. He also discussed how many teachers follow their set curriculum because otherwise they would have to work much harder, by coming up with their own. I found this point very interesting, because I never thought of this as a factor before, but it makes a lot of sense. Not only do teachers not want to write their own curriculum, but they are also used to the way they teach. I think it is hard for some teachers to realize how much things change as time goes on, and how their curriculum should be updated to keep up with the times. Something that I found extremely interesting was how Dr. Hopkins compared learning music to learning a new language. I had never thought of music as its own language, but after I heard this analogy, it made so much sense to me. Most of us learned our first language from hearing and repeating. If we treated music like a language, we would learn with sound before sight. When Dr. Hopkins said how that is one of the methods they are using in Nova Scotia, I thought, why can’t it be like that everywhere? I believe that by learning music from sound, people will be able to develop such important skills that are hard to grasp later on if you do not have a strong foundation. Personally, I struggle in my music dictation class. I believe that if I learned more music by ear, rather than reading it, my skills would be a lot stronger. I find Dr. Hopkins' music education methods very interesting and inspiring, and I would love to experiment with them as a teacher one day.
Lesley Dawes
After reading Lesley Dawes’ article, I knew that I respected her teaching style. But, after hearing what she had to say in conversation, I was blown away with her teaching style. She gave many specific examples of how she teaches her students important knowledge through fun, creative and hands-on activities and assignments. The whole time I heard her speak, all I could think was “I wish I was in her class”. I found it very impressive how Lesley answered specific teaching questions on the spot. Her answers made it clear to me that she is a wonderful teacher, who thinks very hard about her teaching style, and what is most beneficial to her students. I liked how Lesley seems to learn a lot from her coworkers. I think it is important for teachers to share their experiences and experiments with each other, especially if they have different teaching styles. It is a great way to take risks in the classroom while still feeling comfortable. I was surprised when Lesley mentioned that she has to make special religious accommodations for certain students. I found this very interesting because it is not something that I had thought about for music. I am glad that I got to hear about this, because it made me think about how much you must think about when teaching a classroom full of such diversity. It is important for teachers to adjust their teaching style depending on their students, so that everyone feels like they are in a safe learning environment. It frustrates me that not every music teacher is as creative, risky and caring as Lesley Dawes. Although, I am glad that many of us are learning about her teaching style, so we can pass it on to others. I believe that if more teachers taught like this, more students would be motivated and excited to learn and participate inside of the music classroom.
Randall Allsup
The workshop that we had was very different from what I had expected. It was different in a very good way. I expected to sit and listen to the speaker the whole time, and hear about his methods and experiences as a teacher. But instead, we got to experience his methods as a class by doing them ourselves. By doing this, I felt completely engaged for the whole three hours, and I felt that I got a lot more out of the experience than I would have if I sat and listened to a speaker.
Our first activity was to find an object and create an ostinato containing three different timbres, then share it with the class. For some reason, this made me really nervous. I did not like the fact that I was in a room with many strangers, and that I had to come up with something in 4 minutes that I had to perform in front of everyone. As a person who is very shy, I have never liked being forced to do something in front of the classroom. During activities like this, I spend the time that I am given trying to calm myself down rather than coming up with something. Since this was the first activity, I thought that I was not going to like the rest of the workshop.
Luckily, I did not have to perform my ostinato in front of the class. There were many volunteers, but there were also many people who sat back in silence. I noticed that everyone experiences these types of activities differently. Some people are eager to participate, while others feel very anxious. I felt much better once we started working in groups. This made me a lot more comfortable. I noticed that once we started working in groups, I became a lot more motivated and engaged, which made me enjoy myself a lot more.
I found Randall’s methods extremely impressive, because each step seemed to flow seamlessly into the next, and ended up creating an amazing final product. I wonder how he came up with his methods, and if they went smoothly the first time that he tried them out. What gave him the idea to come up with this method? Did he add more and more steps each time he tried it with a class?
Something that Randall said that stuck with me was that it is important that the teacher does not model for their students, because it allows the students to create something using their own ideas, rather than copying the teacher. It also doesn’t set strict expectations, allowing the students to be more creative. During both methods that we used, he did not model for us, and the final product was incredible. I found it amazing how differently people think, and how it all comes together to make something beautiful.
Overall, I really enjoyed this workshop. The only thing that I did not like was that we had to create things on our own before we were comfortable with each other. I know that some people are completely comfortable with this, but not everyone is. Therefore, I think it is important to think about how each activity may impact people differently before trying it out. Although, I also think that I am extra sensitive in this area because I am one of the students who is nervous to try new things. I am still unsure how a teacher finds a balance.
Our first activity was to find an object and create an ostinato containing three different timbres, then share it with the class. For some reason, this made me really nervous. I did not like the fact that I was in a room with many strangers, and that I had to come up with something in 4 minutes that I had to perform in front of everyone. As a person who is very shy, I have never liked being forced to do something in front of the classroom. During activities like this, I spend the time that I am given trying to calm myself down rather than coming up with something. Since this was the first activity, I thought that I was not going to like the rest of the workshop.
Luckily, I did not have to perform my ostinato in front of the class. There were many volunteers, but there were also many people who sat back in silence. I noticed that everyone experiences these types of activities differently. Some people are eager to participate, while others feel very anxious. I felt much better once we started working in groups. This made me a lot more comfortable. I noticed that once we started working in groups, I became a lot more motivated and engaged, which made me enjoy myself a lot more.
I found Randall’s methods extremely impressive, because each step seemed to flow seamlessly into the next, and ended up creating an amazing final product. I wonder how he came up with his methods, and if they went smoothly the first time that he tried them out. What gave him the idea to come up with this method? Did he add more and more steps each time he tried it with a class?
Something that Randall said that stuck with me was that it is important that the teacher does not model for their students, because it allows the students to create something using their own ideas, rather than copying the teacher. It also doesn’t set strict expectations, allowing the students to be more creative. During both methods that we used, he did not model for us, and the final product was incredible. I found it amazing how differently people think, and how it all comes together to make something beautiful.
Overall, I really enjoyed this workshop. The only thing that I did not like was that we had to create things on our own before we were comfortable with each other. I know that some people are completely comfortable with this, but not everyone is. Therefore, I think it is important to think about how each activity may impact people differently before trying it out. Although, I also think that I am extra sensitive in this area because I am one of the students who is nervous to try new things. I am still unsure how a teacher finds a balance.