Monday, October 11, 2021
It is that wonderful time of year: beginners' eyes are shining bright as they open their exciting new instruments and begin the joyful journey to performing instrumental music.
There are so many things for us to keep track of as directors. Teaching students how to properly open their cases, assemble instruments, create their first sounds, read music, make music itself, and everything in between. Many of us are in programs where our groups meet heterogeneously, and we may also be the only director. How do we meet our students' diverse needs and not make kids go through the 'hurry up and wait' often necessary to get everyone started properly?? My answer to that is using practicingmusician.com in my program. Practicing Musician is a free edtech resource that can be used in all types of programs; there are many diverse uses in any program set-up, i.e., flipped classroom, guided practice, differentiated instruction, remediation, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Practicing Musician incorporates short video lessons and music in PDF form, created by music directors and professional musicians from across the country. Each video is approximately 60-90 seconds, presented by a seasoned musician on their main instrument, focusing on a single concept. After each video lesson, 2-3 questions pop up for the students at the end of the video. One question will ask students to restate what they learned, and the other questions will get them thinking critically about the subject at hand. You also have the capability of assigning medals based on the student's answers or even a warning sign if they are not answering or giving reasonable effort. It is an easy process to set up your student accounts and assign lessons/units to your students individually, to specific instrument sections, or the whole class! The lessons and units follow the scope and sequence of a method book. It is available from any device, even phones. All videos and sheet music PDFs are also available for download to any device; this is a game-changer for students who do not have access to the internet at home! There are even fillable lesson plan templates with drop down menus as well as practice logs. Did I mention that this is all FREE? It will always be a free resource for music teachers and their students! Beginning lessons are available both for band and orchestra. Intermediate and advanced content is developed and in the process of being added to the site. There are regular site updates and new content releases as funding becomes available! There is a plan to develop both choral and general music content as well in the future. Practicing Musician wants input from directors and is very receptive and responsive to our needs in the classroom.
I am in my 24th year of teaching band and currently teach in a small rural school as the only director with a heterogeneous mix in my beginning band. This year was easily the smoothest first day of opening instruments and assembly I have ever had. The week before instrument delivery, I assigned the 'Getting To Know Your (instrument)' unit to my beginners. It includes video lessons on properly opening cases, assembling instruments, maintaining, and putting instruments away. When the first day with instruments arrived, we all got our instruments out together. Not one student attempted to open their instrument case on their laps (I intentionally didn't remind them to see what would happen...eek, I know!). They all had their cases out/open and were doing mouthpiece work within less than 10 minutes (including clarinets and altos) of starting class! No accidents, no issues, no nagging about the procedure, etc. I projected Practicing Musician's Rhythm 101 sheet music PDFs to get started on our mouthpieces, and it was an extremely productive first day! That's right--we started playing together on day one! I am also using Practicing Musician to catch up two 7th grade students that are new to band and remediate with a 6th grade student who is behind and struggling. I used the beginning articulation lesson with my 6th grade band as a refresher last week. They did the lesson individually, and then we put it together as a group the following class period.
The benefits listed above are just the tip of the iceberg. With all of the lessons/units available on Practicing Musician and how I can utilize them, I am so excited to use the platform with my groups all year!
I believe in this resource so much that I volunteer as a Regional Representative on Practicing Musician's Professional Development Roundtable. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need help getting started.
| Shannon Waldo is in her 24th year of teaching public school music. Her main instruments are horn and piano. Shannon holds a Master's in Music Education from Boston University, her undergraduate degree in Music Education is from Drury University. She began her teaching career in Mansfield, followed by Reeds Spring and her hometown of Greenfield. This is her 10th year at Billings Schools. She was named a Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year by the MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the 2016-2017 school year. Shannon is also a member of the Four State Wind Symphony on horn. She previously sat on the DESE committee to update and revise the Professional Development Guidelines for the state. Shannon is a member of the Practicing Musician's National Professional Development Roundtable. She also holds membership to NAfME, MBA, MMEA, MAJE, MWBDA and is the Southwest Region Representative for MSSBDA. |
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