CJ Replay: Ensemble Evaluation

(From the Choral Journal article, “Choral Evaluation Survival Techniques,” by Bradlet Olesen.)

 

     In this current climate of change, we owe it to our profession to be leaders and believers in what has been given to us in the national standards. Just as MENC and ACDA have been at the forefront of educating standards, we educators have to know and include these standards as partof our daily lesson plans. From the second file in the twenty-first century drawer, the national standards give you a global basis to operate. They imply that if you do this, the musical and educational result will be greater for your students. Correlate that with your own classroom, and it could result in your becoming a better teacher. Specifically, this author rarely taught “improvisation” in his first few years of teaching, which is regrettable because now the benefits are clearly understood. The time was spent struggling with getting students to think Do-Fa-Do and key signatures. Get into the habit of dong some sort of improvisation on a daily or almost daily basis. Improvisation may be one of the best under-used musical elements of teaching. You will definitely garner multiple positive check marks when your students demonstrate  improvisation while an administrator looks on. Begin with call-and-response. To the untrained observer, the administrator sees you presenting musical ideas, and the students talk back musically to you. You respond in high praise, the kids will laugh and smile, and soon the whole class will be talking in musical languages. Start adding hand signs and toss in some rhythmic doo-bee-doos.