Beyond Rubrics- Inspiring a more complete musician

In his article, The Trouble with Rubrics, Alfie Kohn looks at the merits and deficiencies of using rubrics as a standard for assessing students'  work. When students are given a rubric for an assignment Kohn states:

Studies have shown that too much attention to the quality of one’s performance is associated with more superficial thinking, less interest in whatever one is doing, less perseverance in the face of failure, and a tendency to attribute the outcome to innate ability and other factors thought to be beyond one’s control.

I agree with this statement. Students who are most interested in receiving the highest grade possible may be so focused on giving the teacher what they think the teacher wants that they may not explore their own opinions and ideas for the project. If a student is not told exactly what to do for an assignment, or exactly what information to put in an assignment, the student will be forced to rely on their own creativity and knowledge to fulfill the assignment. This would lead to more genuine and complete work.

I recently attended a masterclass taught by the countertenor, Philippe Jaroussky. Mr. Jaroussky achieved international fame through his hard work. When his teachers told him he could not be a countertenor, he did not allow their words to limit his musical pursuit. Teachers sometimes have a rubric in their mind that tells them what they believe makes an excellent countertenor, soprano, violist, pianist, etc. However, a musician is more than check marks on a list of standards. Mr. Jaroussky ignored these standards and pushed himself beyond them. He found success because he was intrinsically motivated to be the best musician that he could, not because he followed everyone's standards. When he performs, this passion and unique ability is part of what makes him so enjoyable to watch. Mr. Jaroussky knew that many of us in the audience aspire to be great musicians and continue to pursue this goal. He advised us not to try to give judges and directors what you think they want when auditioning, instead show them the best version of yourself and your music. Like all art, music is about interpretation and not everyone will agree. You must be able to form your own opinions and always seek to grow to be a musician.

Furthermore, rubrics can help to limit students by giving them the opportunity to decide how much work they would like to put in to a project, and how much they would like to leave out. It allows them to weigh the loss of credit to the amount of effort that they put in.

Each year I adjudicate a music competition for high schoolers. Adjudicators score students based on a rubric provided by the organization. The students who score highest in each section; vocal, band,  orchestra, or jazz are selected to join the ensemble. This rubric is necessary because hundreds of students audition in front of different adjudicators and the organization needs a way to select students fairly. Although this rubric covers many criteria that make up a good musician, it is impossible to cover all. The rubric also gives students and their teachers the opportunity to strategize in a way that is not a fair representation of them as musicians, and denies the student an opportunity to assess their own progress and abilities. As part of the audition, students must sight read. On the rubric students receive points for maintaining a steady tempo, maintaining the key, and note accuracy. For most students, note accuracy is the most difficult part. Some teachers instruct their students to focus on the rhythm and sing everything on the same note. Therefore, the points they receive for rhythm and maintaining a key outweighs the points they lose for note accuracy. Students who advance because of this strategy over students who tried to do the sight reading fully may not always be better musicians.

However, when assigning students tasks, clarity is very important. It would not be fair to deduct points for not including something the student did not know was expected. Rubrics are a quick tool that can make their expectations clear, but this is often used as a crutch. Teachers should be able to make their expectations clear, without relying on the crutch of rubrics.

I believe with music, students should be assessed on effort and improvement. This can be difficult to assess, so it requires lots of communication between the teacher and the individual students. I would assess students at the beginning and set goals for the students to achieve. If a teacher makes these goals important to the student the student will not be limited to them. The teacher and student must have a constant dialogue on what can be improved. Therefore, the teacher may make their expectations clear, without setting limitations. If teachers believe in the students and give them the opportunity for improvement, students will be validated and will want to work hard for themselves and their work will be more genuine and organic.

"Creating Musical Flexibility Through the Ensemble"

Brandt Schneider opens his article, "Creating Musical Flexibility Through the Ensemble" by stating "Bands and orchestras are often repertoire machines – churning out a fixed collection of pieces year after year." I would amend this statement to include choirs as well. This was my experience in my own music education, class time was spent learning a number of pieces and focused on performing. As I begin to think about developing my own class room, I was unsure of how I can teach students music for the concerts while still incorporating the other skills I must teach them. This article is tremendously useful providing advice on how to help students develop as all around musicians and make your ensemble more than a "repertoire machine." 

To begin Mr. Schneider assessed his ensemble and determined the four areas he would like to improve; musical discipline, technique, theory, composition. These techniques are vital to being a good musician, and can often be overlooked in the context of an ensemble. I like how Mr. Schneider recognized that repetition is a good way for students to learn, so he included listening and ear training exercises in every rehearsal. He incorporated singing solfege with playing the songs on their instruments. This helps them to hear the intervals and develop their listening skills. He also had his students work on the same songs in all 12 keys. Transposition is a very important and difficult skill, by creating a sort of game for the practice the challenge is also fun and less stressful. The "Switching Genres" game also helps to keep the practice entertaining by letting the students play with the style of the song. This game helps students understand the characteristics of other genres and how to apply it to the music. In addition, the students played each instrument part. This also helps them practice their listening ability. I also like this technique because it helps them develop an understanding of how their individual part fits in with the rest of the ensemble. It helps them appreciate what parts they should listen for and helps the overall blend of the ensemble. 

The article includes a recording from the earlier portion of Mr. Schneider's rehearsal process. The ensemble has many pitch issues. However, it is still impressive that some of the students can accomplish that with only four weeks on their instruments. Later in the year, Mr. Schneider says they went to a festival and shared this rehearsal technique with an audience and it went very well! It is very impressive that they were able to accomplish that from where they began the year!

Jazz and Folk Music

As a classically trained musician, the majority of my musical knowledge relates to classical music. However, it is important to be an expert in other genres as music educators. I believe that students should be required to learn about the great composers of the classical genre and their music. Although it is vital to learn about these composers, to only teach classical music would deprive the students of a complete music education and history. Furthermore, it may distance some students so they would not benefit from their teacher's teaching. Students should be exposed to a wide range of music so they may develop their identity as a musician and be well rounded. 

Jazz and American folk music should both be vital parts of music education in this country.  Jazz and American folk music make up a rich part of our country's history and the development of music within it. Music teachers should be well versed in these genres as well as classical. Although teachers should be experts in both folk and jazz, I believe they should begin with folk music because folk music builds a very sturdy foundation that teachers can build upon with other genres. The music is accessible and are rich with history and musical merit.

There are some songs everyone will have to sing multiple times in their lives no matter what age they are. These songs are important parts of our culture. They must be able to sing these songs well and with confidence.  As music educators, we must teach them these songs over the course of their education.

• Happy Birthday- Every musician knows what it's like to be at a birthday party, and cringe when it comes time to sing this song. Imagine if it could be sung well every time! 
• Patriotic Songs- These are an important part of heritage. Students should take pride in being able to sing these songs and appreciate the meaning behind them.
• National Anthem
• America the Beautiful
• This land is Your Land
• Amazing Grace
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Who am I?

I was incredibly fortunate enough to have a phenomenal music teacher in elementary school. Actually, I really had incredible music teachers all throughout my education, but that is where it really began. My teacher genuinely believed in the importance of performing. Every year she put together performances for each grade level. Each year we had the opportunity to perform for our friends, classmates, parents, and teachers. We developed enormous pride in our work, and thoroughly enjoyed the process.  This passion that was cultivated in the earliest years of my education followed me. Even if at first I didn't realize I really wanted to pursue a career with music, I knew I never wanted to stop. And I never plan to.

In his book Teaching Music with Purpose, Dr. Boonshaft's genuine and thoughtful approach to education inspired me. I believe that music is one of the most powerful tools educators have. It is a universal art that everyone can enjoy and connect with. If we approach music education with the same sense of wonder, dedication, and compassion as Dr. Boonshaft describes in his book, music educators can truly change lives.

I believe that performance is a vital part of every student's education. Providing students with opportunities to perform creates a window for so much growth. I worked as a paraprofessional for a second grader for a few months, each week I looked forward to the 40 minutes we got to spend in music class. Whenever the teacher played a song he loved, or they started working on a new song he would close his eyes and move his head to the music. His grin was so large that I knew in that moment he heard and understood the beauty in the music. As a teacher, I believe it is our job to nurture that love of music. Through performances students learn cooperation, they learn how to work with others to create a work of art. They must learn how to blend with their fellow musicians. This cooperation helps them to build a community. Music will also teach students to support each other, they will learn to congratulate their classmates on their handwork and appreciate each other's gifts.

Through music, students also have the opportunity to explore other cultures. At UConn we had a program called Opera Outreach. Through this program, voice majors would visit local elementary schools to perform for them and teach them about opera. We got a wide range of reactions from the students, some classrooms would be filled with giggling students who had never heard singing like that before. It was very exciting to be able to expose these students to opera so they understand that it's still beautiful even though it sounds different. Other students had seen our visits a few times and looked forward to it. I was always astounded when we walked into a room of second graders who were genuinely excited to hear opera! When I was young, like many students, I was not exposed to opera and assumed it was something unpleasant. It was so wonderful to see students of such a young age embracing opera!

Music continues to help me grow as a person everyday. I love the way Dr. Boonshaft began the book with the story about his mentor who at the age of 81 had come to realize that he knows nothing. This resonated with me in particular because I believe that we must all be lifelong learners, and there are certainly days when I feel I know nothing at all about music or teaching. This past week I spent two days substitute teaching for the chorus teacher at the high school where I work. If there are two areas I could use a lot more practice in, its piano and sight reading. The teacher didn't know she would be absent so the very first time I was looking at this music was in front of 25 students who were already skeptical of me. It was incredibly stressful, but it was unbelievably enjoyable. I learned how to think on my toes and how to appear calm when I feel exactly the opposite inside. In this experience I also came to understand Dr. Boonshaft's chapter "Not again--Better." I would repeat phrases with the students several times, and sometimes it seemed like nothing would change. It is important to tell the ensemble how they can make the section better, instead of just telling them to do it again. When their teacher returned I was very proud of our hard work, and the perseverance I learned from those students.

In his chapter titled "Why do we teach?" Dr. Boonshaft stated that in educating one generation, we educate that generation to teach their children, and their children, etc. I hope to have this impact on my students. I know the tremendous benefits of music education, and educators like Dr. Boonshaft, my elementary school teacher, and all the other music educators I have been fortunate enough to know inspire me to be the finest music educator I can. I hope to one day teach my students the values and passion for music that my teachers taught me.