PLN Week 2 Reading Refection

          The reading this week was about creating music, basically improvisation and composition, and digital sound. In my opinion, digital sound is the most common type of music distribution. It can be easily purchased, downloaded and enjoyed within seconds. I have had very limited experience with MIDI instruments and programs. The first time I used a MIDI device was when I was working on my bachelor’s degree. There was a MIDI lab where every computer was connected to a keyboard controller. I would use the keyboard along with Finale to complete may homework assignments. Since then, I have not had an opportunity to use a MIDI device. The school system I work in only has MIDI devices at the high school. Since I do not work at the high school, my students and I do not have access to these devices.

          Chapter three discusses creativity through improvisation and composition. Bauer discusses the idea of creativity through improvisation and composition from two different points of view, the music student who plays an instrument in the orchestra or band, or instrumental students, and “the other 80%” (Bauer p46). “The other 80%” are students who enjoy music and are interested in music. Some of these students may do some arranging of music at home using a variety of free or paid programs. Some instrumental music students also use these programs like GarageBand or Reason. The way I would approach teaching creativity through improvisation and composition to these two groups would be different.

          When teaching instrumental students hear the word improvisation, their mind jumps straight to the Jazz genre. A typical question I get whenever I bring up improvisation to my orchestra is, “When will I ever use improvisation when playing the violin?” I typically try to answer this question with a video of a concerto with a big cadenza in it. Many cadenzas are written by the composers but some are not. Many performers also use the written cadenza and add their own ideas to it. Since the instrumental students already know how to read notation. This is helpful because I do not have access to any computers or any other kinds of technology in my classroom. I typically start trying to get students to improvise or compose in small steps. I do believe what Bauer said multiple times about setting constraints because if the task is too big, the students will get overwhelmed very quickly.

          Before starting an improvisation or composition project, I do some audiation exercises with the students’ days or weeks leading up to the project. An example of an audiation exercise is I will play a note, like an open D on a violin. I then ask the students to think of next pitch I want them to play, like a major third or F#. I will play the D again and tell the students again to hear in their head the F#. Then I ask the students to sing the F#. After they sing the pitch, I play the F# to see how close the students were to the correct pitch. Usually, they are very close with only a few students being off pitch. I have my students sing their parts in class all the time so they are comfortable singing in front of the class.

A simple improvisation assignment I have done is I have the students break off into groups. Using a song that they are working on, I tell the students that they are going to create two measures of their own music that will be added after a specific measure. I usually have them add the measures after a cadence and have them either improvise the measures or have them write out the measures depending on what skill I want them to work on. Many times I start off with having them improvise and then compose later on. The students will play the parts leading up to the improvised section and stop when it is a student’s turn to improvise. Each student will get several turns to improvise to see what kind of licks they like to use. At the end of the time, I would either have the students perform in their groups while I go by to grade them or perform with the whole class.

When teaching students who are not instrumental students to improvise or compose, I like to introduce it using rhythm first. I show the students a segment or two of the video Stomp Out Loud. I point out how the performers in the video each play their own part and how the sounds are layered on top of each other. I have the students work in groups of four where each student has to write out a set number of measures that they are going to perform with the other students in the group just like the video did. The fun part for the students is when I tell them that they can perform their composition on anything they want. Some students chose a pencil that they drum on the desk, a ruler, or anything else they can think of that makes a sound they like. I provide rhythm band instruments they can chose from as well. The idea is to make sure the four instruments work together.

These assignments consisting of improvisation or composition typically lead to the students exploring more about writing or playing music in general. The instrumental students tend to explore different ways they can use their instrument to create different sounds. Usually I will have a student come in the next class with a song they found online or some little song they wrote on their instrument. It always amazes me how a small assignment in improvising or composition leads to the students to explore more about their instrument or their own musical creativity. Even though I do not have technology to use within my classroom, I still share with the student’s different websites or apps that have some music writing or looping type capabilities for the students to explore.

Improvisation and composition is a sparkplug igniting the creative spark within a student. Many students think they cannot write music or make up music. Through a process of set constraints, students gain the skills they need in order to push themselves into exploring more about music composition and can lead to exploring more parts of the music composing, production and editing world that exists beyond school.

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today digital pedagogy for creating performing

and responding to music. New York, NY Oxford University Press.