composition & improvisation
uses Recorder Karate for her curriculum. On her very large smart board in the front of the room, she had all of the different level recorder tunes queued up on You- Tube. It’s a wonderful use of technology to provide accompaniment (at tempos one can instantly change) for the students as they are learning the recorder. But taking it one step further, I opened Noteflight and had students take turns coming up and composing a simple measure of music (using the notes they know) until we had a class-composed eight-measure song. This is a creative way for the students to perfect their sight reading as well.
Now that we have such easy access to the notation tools, teachers can still use good old fashioned manuscript paper and pencil to assess what students are learning in class. Hand out manuscript paper and ask them to compose something related to whatever they are learning that day or week or month (key signatures, rhythms, scales, etc.) after they have had plenty of time to practice online. An extension of this is to ask students to compose a simple melody on manuscript paper (focused again on what it is they are learning). Can they play it on their instrument? Do they like it? Then have them enter it online. Does it sound as
they thought? If not, why not? What can they learn from discrepancies between their written manuscript and the online version?
Students’ lives are firmly enmeshed in technology worlds, and this is not going to change. Let’s take advantage of this as the positive possibilities for music making and learning are now endless.
Maud Hickey is a retired music educator. She lives in Wautoma and spends much of her summer on golf courses.
Email:
maudhickey@gmail.com
Summer at SNC
Summer Band Camp An opportunity for young instrumentalists in grades 5 through 9 to learn, practice and perform under the direction of St. Norbert College music faculty. Students of all ability levels are invited to join this fun and educational music-enrichment program.
Wisconsin School Musician
June 17-21, 2024 9 a.m.-1 p.m. daily Concert on June 21 at 7 p.m.
Camp registration is now open! Register by May 8
snc.edu/bandcamp 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62
