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Leading Voices: From the Rehearsal Room to Independent Learning

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Recently, our district asked each content area to meet, discuss, and submit a plan for teaching our students how to study and prepare for local and state exams.  My initial reaction was to roll my eyes and view this request as just another example of something that applies to other subjects and not to music education.  

As I listened and watched my students study for their classes, I quickly realized that the district was correct.  Unfortunately, many of the students do not have good studying skills.  You can blame COVID, technology and social media, teacher-centered direct instruction, or silo education practices.  But the main reason students struggle and lack sufficient studying or practicing skills is because we do not adequately teach, model, and reinforce these skills during instruction. 

When was the last time your students heard you practicing your voice or instrument?

Show Your Work & Teach by Example

It basically comes down to labeling and explaining the teaching and learning techniques you use during rehearsals in real-time – to lead by example.  You can start by writing a short outline of your lesson on the board or hold up and explain your lesson plan to the choir.  In this way, your students will see and understand that each rehearsal has a focus, beginning, middle, and end.  You can then share and explain to your students that they can use the same structure when planning their practice and study sessions.

Madeline Hunter has a great book you can turn to if you need a refresher on selecting lesson content and lesson planning.  Take some time and check out Madeline Hunter’s Mastery Teaching: Increasing Instructional Effectiveness in Elementary and Secondary Schools.  This book is a must-read for teaching any subject and a necessity for teaching music.  It is a bit “old school,” but the pedagogical principles presented in this revised edition provide the essential structure that we must incorporate to successfully and effectively teach our students.

Chapter 10, Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect is a great place to start as you help your students learn how to structure and develop their own plan for practicing.  To get the planning ball rolling, incorporate and label the following Four Principles to Improve Performance with your classes (Mastery Teaching, Hunter, p. 86).

Four Principles to Improve Performance

1.  How much material should be covered?  
Break down a section or skill into manageable sections
 
2.  How long of a practice session? 
Divide the practice session into 2 – 3 segments with a suggested total time of 30 – 45 minutes.
 
3.  How often should I practice? 
Use “Distributed Practice” Several short practice periods are more effective than one or two longer sessions 

4.  How well did the practice session go?  Reflect and assess your progress by answering the following: 
* What went well? 
* What did not go well? 
* How can you do better next time?

I use question number four all the time during instruction.  It provides immediate feedback that helps the choir evaluate their work and discover areas where they need to grow and improve.  By having the students learn to incorporate personal reflection in both the rehearsal setting and in their practice sessions, they begin to take more ownership of their learning and contribution to the ensemble. 

Steps to Mastery – shedthemusic.com

Another outstanding resource for high school and post-secondary teachers is the website The Shed (you will want to bookmark this resource!).  In particular, our department decided to incorporate the Steps To Mastery into our instruction.  The Steps To Mastery presents the organized steps that ascend in the order that our brains can “handle” as we learn new concepts and skills.  We believe this paradigm will be a great reference and will use it as a guide to help students learn in class and practice at home.

   The Shed

Marcellus High School Three Tiers

For the past few years, the high school band director and I have collaborated and created a Three-Tier Learning system that we use during instruction.  It fits well with the Sheds’ Steps to Mastery and provides us with a structure of skills and common terms that we use with our ensembles.  For example, when an issue arises during rehearsals, we can easily select the Tier skill level – 1, 2, or 3 – and focus on one specific skill and outcome.  Our students have become accustomed to this system and refer to it often during rehearsals, when working one-on-one, and when they work independently. 

Tier 1 – Technical Skills – Knowledge and comprehension of basic musical skills such as   
Pulse and Rhythm, Key Signatures and Solfege, and Posture and Tone Consistency 

Tier 2 – Intellectual Skills – Application of Tier 1 skills and: 
Application of Phrasing and Dynamics, Proper Intonation, Expression, and Articulation, etc. 

Tier 3 – Emotional Skills – Interpretation and Synthesis of Tier 1 & 2 Skills 
Musical and Stylistic Considerations, Repertoire Purpose & Function, and Time-Period/Style

From the Rehearsal Room to Independent Learning

Mitchell (2007, p 44) reminds us that each singer must develop their own method for learning new repertoire.  For example, I use “RIP into Woodshedding” with my students during rehearsals and voice lessons as we work through new material or learn tricky spots.  This sequence provides the students with a structure for learning while also allowing for individual autonomy and choice. 

RIP into Woodshedding 
Rhythm – Count or takadimi the selected music section and annotate if needed; perform rhythm on one pitch.   
Intervals/Solfege – Write in the key and solfege; sing each pitch of the phrase devoid of pulse and rhythm (we call this technique “Stop-n-Lock”) 
Practice – Count off, practice each chunk until correct, and then chain the successful chunks together.

The first step is to define and isolate only the rhythmic content – meter, time signature, and dominant pulse.  When practicing, students are more successful when performing short 3 – 5 tonal pattern chunks and then chaining the successful patterns together.  Next, define and isolate only the melodic content – tonality and key signature.  Now comes the tricky part!

Combine the rhythmic and melodic content using a neutral syllable (Mitchell, 2007, p 47).  * Do Not combine the rhythmic and melodic content until both are accurate (Ledbetter, 2016).  And finally, add the text to the rhythmic and melodic content.  If you want to have some fun, record this procedure in class and challenge your students to do the same by recording their practice sessions.  Maybe for extra credit? 

Readthrough Review

Sometimes, students say they do not know “where to start” when planning their practice session.  So, I created the Readthrough Review activity to give them guided planning experiences during rehearsals.  This process takes about seven minutes to complete and provides concrete examples of where the trouble spots are.  If some students struggle or can not “find” the problems, I ask them to reach out and ask their neighbors for help. 

Fly Me to The Moon

Sight Reading Exercise Procedures (the total SR activity takes about five minutes) 
1.  Students identify and annotate the key signature 
2.  Teacher plays only the tonic triad or resting tone; students establish key center with so la so fa mi re ti do for major and mi fa mi re do ti so(si) la for minor.    
3.  Students sing their starting note (no pitch given)  
4.  Students count off singing their starting note – “one, two, ready go.” 
5.  Sing through the exercise – No Stopping!

The 10-Minute Window

Another way to help our students develop efficient practice and study skills during class and rehearsals is by teaching students to use the 10-Minute Window.  When the ensemble encounters a challenging section of music, they are asked to:
(1) identify the area of concern,
(2) reflect on what they can accomplish in 10 minutes,
(3) collectively decide specifically what to “woodshed,” and
(4) set the timer for 10 minutes and go. 

Through this process, students can select practice sections with efficiency in mind, learn more about their learning process, reflect on what they can accomplish in that time frame, and feel more reward and confidence from the thoughtful and deliberate preparation of their music.

TL;DR Teaching Music Practicing Studying Techniques

Why do most students find it difficult and challenging to practice and study independently?  Because they have not been explicitly taught how to work independently and practice on their own.  I know I was never taught how to practice and learn my music on my own.  Like my students, I fell into the same trap many years ago: reading through my notes, memorizing the required information, and taking the test. 

The problem is, that is precisely what many of our choir members try to do during our choir rehearsals.  They come in and “re-read” the music, memorize their part, sing for the concert, and repeat the process.  Unfortunately, not much learning going on. 

But fortunately, if we provide a consistent presentation, awareness, reinforcement, and re-practice of the learning strategies and techniques we use during class, we can teach students autonomy and independent music-making.

The Agile Development Instructional Framework and Resources

The Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) goal is to draw the students into an active teaching and learning environment where they learn to participate and think as autonomous musicians.  This awareness is accomplished by presenting learning experiences that engage, challenge, and deepen our students’ cognitive and metacognitive processes, while also fostering independence and personal musical enjoyment.  There is no longer a need for strict Banking Education or to retain the Silo Effect for each content area or skill.  ADIF promotes and supports only one “Silo,” the Silo of metacognitive autonomy.

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework are research-based.  They contain elements of the following teaching models and instructional theories: Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Directed-Learning, Experiential Learning Theory, Understanding by Design, Cognitive Coaching, and the Universal Design for Learning.

References

Gordon, E, E. (2021).  Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Music Learning Theory, Chicago, Il. GIA Publications, Inc.

Hicks, Charles E.  “Sound before Sight Strategies for Teaching Music Reading.” Music Educators Journal 66, no. 8 (1980): 53–67.  https://doi.org/10.2307/3395858.

Newport, C., (2007) How to Become a Straight-A Student.  The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less.  Broadway Books, NY

Mitchell, C. A. 2007, Audiation and the Study of Singing.  FSU Digital Library

Leading Voices: Promoting a Sense of Agency within the Ensemble

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While I was out sick recently for a week with COVID, one of my lesson plans for the Select Choir consisted of having the students break into their Sectional Sprint Groups and check and memorize their music for their upcoming Pops Concert the following week.  At the end of each student-run Sectional Sprint rehearsal, I always ask my students to reflect on the following Sprint Retrospective.

We can pull out a lot of great information about the choirs’ current abilities and our effectiveness through periodically asking our students these three questions.  Here is a response from Jessie, who was a part of the Select Choir Soprano Sprint Group.  

What went well? 
Jessie’s observation – “We were able to sing most of the song correctly and were able to identify what needs to be fixed next time we sing it.”  My assessment – The soprano section has the ability to work independently, assess their performance, and identify areas for future improvement.

What did not go well? 
Jessie’s observation – “We could use more dynamics when singing the song, especially on the half and whole notes we are holding out.”  My assessment – Not only did they determine that their dynamics were lacking, but they identified the specific issue of not holding out note values.

What could be done better next time?    
Jessie’s observation – “Next time we can try to incorporate dynamics and emotion into the song, crescendo-ing, and decrescendo-ing when needed.”  My assessment – I will now reinforce and share the soprano’s attention to dynamics and emotions with the rest of the choir and apply this concept to other songs we will be singing for the Pops Concert.

Promoting Agency with Sprint Retrospectives

Using Sprint Retrospectives in the classroom is beneficial because I can quickly and easily assess the students’ understanding, apply the Specification Grading, and use this new information to shape future learning.  I believe teaching our students to become aware of, reflect upon, identify, and act on new understandings is at the core of teaching lifelong musical skills and a love for learning. 

Encouraging and promoting awareness during a rehearsal will develop self-confidence, self-regulation, and outstanding independent student musicians.  As musicians and educators, we have learned to ask ourselves these Sprint Retrospective questions, but have we taught our students to do the same?

When I look back at my K – 12 public music education and growing up participating in many church choirs, I would say no.  Usually, after a concert or worship service, the director would give us an assessment of our performance, the director would tell us how we could improve, and the director would implement their observations and ideas.

Promoting Agency within the Lesson Structure

Usually, our students are not taught how to become musically self-sufficient and independent under the traditional director-centered paradigm.  This time-tested paradigm effectively produces outstanding performances, but it inherently cannot nor will not promote choral independence and agency.  The problem is not with the traditional lesson or rehearsal structure but rather in the presentation and implementation of music learning and agency skills.  I was trained in the classic Seven-Step lesson plan design and continue to use the following basic elements with great success. 

My warm-ups are my (1) Anticipatory Set and hook for the day.  I always write on the whiteboard the rehearsal plan and (2) State the Objective(s) right after warm-ups.  Through my lesson preparation and score study, my rehearsal activities and sequence present the desired (3) Instructional Input.  As the choir works through the lesson, I (4) Model learning strategies and skills that reinforce and point to the stated objectives.  Through (5) Guided Practice, I continually (6) Check for Understanding and modify instruction as needed.  Throughout the rehearsal, I integrate the Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF), which gives the students opportunities to assess, plan, and (7) Practice independently.  My lesson (8) Closure is presented periodically throughout the rehearsal and points back to the lesson objective and purpose.

The Instructional Theory into Practice (ITIP) developed by Madeline Hunter offers an excellent structure for curriculum and instruction.  The design of this model is successful, time-tested, and musically sound.  But strictly following a lesson plan formula does not intuitively promote student agency and musical independence in the classroom.  

But if we are not careful, our choirs can become trained consumers of musical skills and abilities and not become creative, independent producers of their learning. 

We all have experienced this phenomenon.  We attend a concert and are amazed by the technical precision and excellence of a choir – yet the performance leaves us flat.  Soon after, we experience an outstanding performance of the same song by a different ensemble that moves us to tears – minor mistakes and all.  What causes this paradox, I would argue, is the absence and presence of agency within the ensembles.

Promoting Agency with Praxis-Based Instruction

Music Matters : A New Philosophy of Music Education

The key to promoting agency in the classroom at any level lies in the application of musical skills and understanding – not in the presentation.  Therefore, promoting and developing ensemble agency must be structured around implementing the praxis-based philosophy as defined by David J. Elliott in his book, Music Matters.

“Praxis connotates action that is embedded in, responsive to, and reflective of a specific context of effort.” (Elliot 1995, p. 14, emphasis mine).

The praxis-based curriculum focuses on the doing and purposeful action of learning that is embedded within the instruction – not because of the instruction.  It is the realization that each student has the inherent capacity to assess, plan, execute, and evaluate their musical experience in a way that is valuable to both the individual and the ensemble.  Therefore, we must be willing to vary our planning and teaching style so our students will gain the ability and capacity to learn with each other, for each other, and themselves.

We must strive to lean with the students and not for the students.

The dialogue between the teacher and student, subject and skills, and the learning process creates an environment that requires the music instruction to contain purposeful agency-centered focus. 

Promoting Student Agency in the Rehearsal Room

When we modify the Hunter Seven-Step Lesson Format and integrate Praxis-Based Instruction, the traditional director-centered rehearsal form and structure takes on a whole new focus – Student Agency.  Now the ensemble as a unit becomes responsible for actively participating and assessing their (3) Instructional Input, (4) Skills Modeling, (5) Guided Practice, (6) Checking for Understanding, and the ability to (7) Practice Independently. 

This new understanding of personal and choral agency will grow and strengthen as choir members become comfortable and confident in taking responsibility for their musicianship.  Here is the last substitute plan I posted on Google Classroom for my 9-12 Select Choir just before I returned to school.  It was a 45-minute lesson that I posted on Google Classroom.  My students did an excellent job.

Through this assignment, I was able to assess that my students can: 
1.  Teach each other (Instructional Input) 
2.  Help each other learn (Skills Modeling)    
3.  Work on specific areas of concern (Guided Practice)    
4.  Assess for accuracy (Checking for Understanding)    
5.  Have the ability to learn independently (Practice Independently)

Soprano Section Burn Down Chart

What can you learn from their lists?    

What are the implications for future learning?    

What does this tell you about my teaching? 

TL;DR: Promoting Agency, It’s all in the Implementation

By continuing to rely on traditional paradigms and old instructional schemes, we as a profession continue to perpetuate the great divide between performing choral music and teaching choral music.  You can do both.

By incorporating the Praxis-Based Instruction within the Hunter Seven-Step Lesson Format, we can create a space where our ensembles will actively achieve musical excellence and agency.  We can either train our ensembles or teach our students.  Through promoting agency in the classroom, we can help our students become aware of their responsibility for the subject content, the rehearsal process, and their active minds-on participation in the music classroom.

How do you actively engage students in lifelong music learning and participation?

Agile Development Instructional Framework Resources

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework are research-based.  They contain elements of the following teaching models and instructional theories: Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Directed-Learning, Experiential Learning Theory, Understanding by Design, Cognitive Coaching, and the Universal Design for Learning.

Resources

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education.  Choral Journal, September 2018.  Vol. 59, No. 2

Elliott, D. J. (1995).  Music matters: A new philosophy of music education.  Oxford University Press.

Leading Voices: A Gift for the New Year

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For this month’s blog, I would like to offer you a gift for the New Year.  It is the gift of observation, with a twist of non-judgment.  Obtaining the ability to observe selected interactions without judgment will transform your teaching and your relationship with yourself and others.   It can bring new insights and revitalize your instruction.

The only prerequisite to accepting this gift is that you have an open mind as you begin to train yourself to look at an experience with an “outside” perspective or a non-judgmental eye.  And that’s the kicker; true observation is judgment-free.  It is somewhat like meditating, where you learn to become aware of your thoughts and allow them to come and go without placing value or judging upon the experience.

A Few Definitions

Merriam-Webster definition of observation: (emphasis added) 
A statement about something you have noticed: a comment or remark. 
The act of careful watching and listening: the activity of paying close attention to someone or something in order to get information. 

Dictionary.com (emphasis added) 
An act or instance of noticing or perceiving. 
An act or instance of regarding attentively or watching. 
An act or instance of viewing or noting a fact or occurrence for some scientific or other special purpose.

Some definitions do hint towards a subjective interpretation, such as “An act or instance of noticing or perceiving.” (Dictionary.com, emphasis added).  But for this discussion, I will use the scientific definition of Direct Observation, where you only watch interactions, processes, or behaviors as they occur – Not how or why they occurred. 

Where to Start?

The sky is the limit on what area you might be interested in observing.  The challenge is not in finding a relevant experience but staying engaged in the process and not giving up.  It is easier to keep the standard New Year’s resolutions, such as joining a gym, cutting back on carbs, or partaking in Dry January, than to observe without judgment.  

I think the main reason observation without judgment is so difficult for teachers is because of our training and educational enculturation.  Whether it be our childhood experiences in school, undergrad studies, graduate work, or teacher in-services, classroom assessment and instructional evaluation are drilled and embedded into our teaching psyche. 

Whatever event or experience you choose to observe, plan on repeating the observation for at least a week or so.  Do not hastily judge the effectiveness or non-effectiveness held within the process of non-judgmental observation.  It is a challenging experience that just takes time and spaciousness (more to come on spaciousness). 

Three Obstacles You Will Need to Overcome

1. No Judgement – When you first start implementing direct observation, the biggest obstacle you will face is not getting pulled into self-judgment and placing value (positive or negative) on the experience.  It will take about two to three weeks to become better at not judging and assessing habitually. 

2. Forgetfulness and Forgiveness – Once you select an event or situation to observe, you will probably get caught up in your workday, forget all about what you were going to watch, and then remember hours later.  Don’t give up.  Forgive yourself and try again.  I put sticky notes that read “Observe” on my computer monitor, classroom piano, and whiteboard to remind me and keep the idea fresh in my mind.

3. Start Small – The purpose of observation is watching an event or activity as an observer and not as the participant.  Practice your observation skills on something small like how you walk down the hall and then expand to investigate your posture while teaching or playing the piano.  Below are a few suggestions that may give you a few ideas.

Observation Possibilities for the Novice 
Observe how your students enter the classroom or how you start each rehearsal.

Observation Possibilities for the Curious 
Teach your students the 10 to 1 Countdown Warm-up Activity (see below) or
observe how you react to that challenging colleague (good luck on that one).

Observation Possibilities for the Bold 
Have your ensemble complete a Rehearsal Sequence Form (see below)

10 to 1 Countdown Warm-up Activity

1. Teach the choir the countdown sequence: 10  1  9  2  8  3  7  4  6  5  5  6  4  7  3  8  2  9  1 10 
2. Select a conducting pattern and ask the choir to place a number on each ictus. 
3. Have the ensemble chant the countdown sequence as they watch and respond to your conducting gestures. 
* Become aware of how the choir responds to your conducting gestures regarding dynamics, articulations, accelerando/ritardando, etc.  Remember – “Just the facts ma’am” – no judgment. 

Rehearsal Sequence Form Instructions:
1. Distribute the Rehearsal Sequence Form to your ensemble. 
2. For questions 1–4, ask the choir to reflect on past rehearsals and write down what steps were taken to learn the music.   
3. For questions 5-8, ask the students for their ideas on what should come next (example responses can be found at the end of this post under Postlude).   
* This activity will give you an excellent non-judgmental view of your students’ observations.

Observation and Self-Generation

https://presencebasedcoaching.com/books

An exceptional book that has influenced my personal life and transformed my teaching is Presence-Based Coaching: Cultivating Self-Generative Leaders through Mind, Body, and Heart.  Self-Generalization is a tool we can use to discover our habits while teaching and working with others.  The four-step process of Self-Observation, Realization, Reorganization, and Stabilization allows us in a non-judgmental way to discover, label, choose and initiate new responses while teaching.  The section on Self-Generation in chapter two gave me the skills I needed to uncover my habits and become more present and aware in the classroom.

1.  Self-Observation (p.51) – First, observe yourself in action with no judgment. 
“I’m talking a lot.” 
“I’m rote teaching now.”   
“I’m modeling correct vowel placement now.”

2.  Realization (p.52) – Next, become aware and name what you observed. 
“I talk a lot during rehearsals.” 
“When rehearsing a new song, I do a lot of rote teaching.”   
“I model correct vowel placement a lot.” 

3.  Reorganization (p.54) – Now observe this habit when it occurs and be aware of another possible choice. 
“I could talk less and have the students sing more.” 
“I could have the students focus more on music reading techniques.” 
“I can ask a student or section to model correct vowel placement.” 

4.  Stabilization (p.55) – Finally, integrate this new awareness and possibly modify your teaching.
“I will talk less and have the students sing more during rehearsals.” 
“I will initiate new strategies to help the students become better readers.”   
“I will ask a student or section to model correct vowel placement.

Give Yourself a Break

Doug Silsbee (2008, p.43) calls our habitual responses and reactions to events and interactions Interpretive Structure.   Our unique and particular Interpretive Structure can become limiting and challenging as we learn to work with others. Unfortunately, due to our habits and conditioned responses, we tend not to comprehend or see the possible opinions of others and exclude many factors that could help our understanding. 

To help reorient ourselves and create stronger relationships, Silsbee offers five interactive approaches that can improve our connections with our students, colleagues, and family.  These qualities can help bring awareness and understanding as we relate and work with others. 

Interpretive Structure

Spaciousness – This is the absence of our learned and conditioned responses and habits.  Use this if you start having an emotional reaction to what you observe.  Silence is ok. 

Compassion – This is the awareness and recognition of our shared humanity.  As you observe, give yourself and others a break – breathe. 

Unconditional Positive Regard – This is our acceptance and support of others.  It also strengthens our ability to differentiate between the person and their actions.  

Resonance – This focuses on active listening that improves mutual understanding – but, it may not lead to an agreement.

Neutrality – We strive for no attachment, investment, or desire for a particular result – we try not to have an agenda.  With neutrality, we intentionally acknowledge that we are both connected to and distinct from the other person.

This past year, I incorporated the Self-Generation and the Interpretive Structure paradigm into my teaching and social interactions with great success.  Incorporating spaciousness, compassion, unconditional positive regard, resonance, and neutrality into your non-judgment observations will help you get a clearer view of your habits and idiosyncrasies.

TL;DR – The Gift of Non-Judgmental Observation

Since I have incorporated the gift of non-judgmental observation into my instruction, I have made several discoveries about myself, along with a few remedies.  

#1 – I used to walk down the halls a bit slow, with rounded shoulders.  I now walk a tad faster with a lifted sternum.   

#2 –  I tend to talk too fast during rehearsals.  Now when I become aware of a rushed teaching pace, I breathe, reset, and slow down.   

#3 – During rehearsals, I tend to look at the music much more than I look at my students.  I now put my music down more, step away from the piano, and have the students help me during rehearsals by referring to their scores for where we are beginning and their starting pitches.

I encourage you to give yourself the gift of non-judgmental observation and see what happens.  It’s weird; you might not think that greeting your students by name at the door and showing that you are available to them would make a difference.  But it does.

You won’t know unless you watch what happens when you try.

Postlude

Here are a few examples of a few Rehearsal Sequence Forms completed by my 9/10 Treble Choir for I See the Light, Arr. By Mac Huff.  

Resources

Schön, Donald A. Educating the Reflective Practitioner.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint, 2016.

Silsbee, Douglas K., and Richard Strozzi-Heckler. Presence-Based Coaching: Cultivating Self-Generative Leaders through Mind, Body, and Heart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2008.

Leading Voices: Developing Audiation in the Choral Classroom

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I almost stopped conducting. It was the first song for our first concert of the 2021 school year.  My 9-12 Select Choir was singing Set Me As a Seal by René Clausen, and they struggled to lock in D major for the first few measures – it was a bit wonky. By the second phrase, the choir found the groove, locked in D major, and had a great concert.  But my disappointment remained – what did I miss?

After the concert, I came up with several reasons why the choir stumbled.  Maybe it was because (1) It was their first concert of the year, (2) they are a young choir, (3) they are relatively inexperienced (they did not sing much last year), or maybe (4) they did not hear the starting pitch given by one of our choir members who has perfect pitch. 

As I look back on what happened that night, I have come up with a few more possibilities.  Maybe they do not audiate the beginning of each song like I do.  And if they didn’t, perhaps they were reacting to their singing after phonation and not before.  Maybe they audiate very little, or even worst, not at all. 

The Music Learning Theory (MLT)

Edwin Gordon defines audiation as “the ability to hear and give meaning to music when sound is not physically present or may never have been physically present” (Roots of Music Learning Theory and Audiation, p.10).  To teach that skill is a tall order.  Imagine if our choir members could obtain the ability to “hear and give meaning” to all their music-making both at school and at home.  If so, we would always have incredible concerts, but most importantly, we would develop incredible young student musicians.

Music Learning Theory Links and Resources

Gordon, E. (2003), Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns: A Music Learning Theory.

Gordon, E. (2011), Roots of Music Learning Theory and Audiation, Chicago: GIA Publications.

AUDEA – A Journal for Research and Applications of Music Learning Theory

Ledbetter, J. (2016), Audiation in The Secondary Choral Ensemble: A Look at Music Learning Theory

 Bluestine, E. (2000). The Ways Children Learn Music: An Introduction and Practical Guide to Music Learning Theory. Chicago, IL: GIA Publications.

Developing Audiation in the Choral Classroom

To help all my students grow musically and learn how to apply audiation to their music-making, I identified the following three tiers of audiation acquisition for the rehearsal setting.  Each tier contains explicit audiation skills that must be purposefully experienced, developed, and internalized in order to move forward. 

Through the internalization of each tier skills, students can cross conceptual thresholds in which their new understandings become implicit and their audiation conceptual complexity increases.  “A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress.” (Land and Meyer, 2003, p. 3, emphasis mine)

The Three Tiers of Audiation Instruction

Tier 1, Rote and Mechanical Audiation

In Tier 1, students study foundational music literacy and the Music Learning Theory (MLT) audiation skills and vocabulary through rote teaching and discovery.  For Tier 1, think K – 6 general music teaching standards.
Tier 1 Tonal Skill – Sing the resting tone/tonic of a short melody or phrase in various tonalities.

Tier 2, Structural and Collaborative Audiation

For Tier 2, students apply and expand their MLT audiation skills through purposeful instruction that focuses on collaboration and conceptual discovery and recognition.  Tier 2 is where students show the most growth as they learn to transform explicit audiation to implicit understanding.  This is also the tier where we spend the majority of our time teaching. 
Tier 2 Tonal Skill – Audiate the resting tone/tonic for a melody or phrase in various tonalities.

Tier 3, Abstract Individual Audiation

In Tier 3, students continue to practice and internalize foundational, structural, and abstract MLT audiation through explicit and implicit learning. Tier 3 is extremely challenging.  If we are not careful, we may pull or carry our students through audiation threshold concepts and deny them the opportunity to develop their audiation skills.  In order to audiate, our students must learn that it is through trial and error that we learn and succeed.  (That is how we made it through our undergrad and grad studies) 
Tier 3 Tonal Skill – The audiation of a resting tone/tonic becomes implicit in all tonalities.

Audiation Instruction and Student Awareness

The strength of Three Tier Audiation Instruction lies in the fact that students become aware that they are constantly working towards a Tier Three understanding of music learning and audiation during rehearsals.  When my ensembles stumble on a challenging song or concept, I tell them that we will shift to Tier 1intervention strategies for a bit and work our way back towards our goal of Tier 3. 

I find that the choirs don’t mind reviewing basic music literacy skills.  It is an excellent way of engaging and challenging all students.  My students also know not to give their power away by waiting for the choir or me before they can individually practice a skill in a higher tier. So if we are working on a tier 2 skill and they can apply their own Tier 3 skill to the activity or exercise, they are encouraged to move ahead on their own.  They are expected to take the initiative. 

Teaching Strategies to Promote Audiation

The following are just a few effective teaching strategies that directors can use to help their ensembles discover, develop, and refine their audiation skills. 

Every Other – (A label my students created using Mitchell (2007, p 48) strategies for audition) 
1. Only sing the first and last note of each phrase – audiate the other notes in silence. 
2. Alternate beats singing and audiating silently. 
3. Sing for one measure, and then audiate for one measure. 

Four-Step Process to Experience Audiation 
1. Listen to the exercise/phrase, show the melodic contour, and “audiate with your hand.” 
2. Sing the resting tone/tonic/” Do” on the first beat of each measure. 
3. Sing only the first pitch of each measure.  4. Babble the phrase, and then solfege or sing the text. 

Teaching a New Exercise (Mitchell, 2007, p 42-43)
1. Director demonstrates 
2. Ask students to audiate the exercise in silence 
3. Identify essential and non-essential pitches (think Schenkerian Analysis) 
4. Students perform the full exercise 

The Gordan Scale – My students gave this label to Gordon’s strategy on establishing tonal context. Major – so la so fa mi re ti di       minor – mi fa mi re do ti so(si) la 
Tier 1 – Babble the Gordon Scale  
Tier 2 – Solfege Gordon Scale  
Tier 3 – The Gordon Scale becomes implicit  

Chaining – Break down tonal or rhythmic pattern by measures or into short 2-4 beat “links.”  Then chain together the segments creating the complete phrase.  Example: Sing link 1, audiate link 2, sing link 3, etc.

Stop-n-Lock
1. Sing each pitch void of any pulse. 
2. Audiate each pitch showing melodic contour void of any pulse (with and without piano)
3. Initiate “every other” audition. 

Shaw Chord or Whole-Tone Cluster (D, E, F#, and G#).  My students prefer 4ths – C, F, B flat, and E flat. For SATB ensembles, sing the rhythm of their phrase on one specific pitch.  Add audiation teaching strategies.

Pivot System (Vacca, 2013, p. 28). – The ability to sing and audiate a specific pitch and its function (1, 3, or 5) as it relates to the other pitches within a root position triad or seventh chord.  For this Tier 3 Skill, Audiate C as the root in C major triad, Audiate C as the third in A flat major triad, and Audiate C as the fifth in F major triad. 

TL:DR – Teaching Audiation in the Choral Classroom

Learning and attaining skills in audiation is both rewarding and demanding.  It can be exhilarating and relieving as a new conceptual understanding opens previously inaccessible and advanced ways of thinking and performing.  It is the “aha” or eureka moment we experience with our students as they gain insight into a challenging skill or concept as they cross a threshold from their previous skills to new and transformed understanding. 

The strength of Three Tier Audiation Instruction lies in the fact that students learn to become aware of and responsive to their own audiation and musical skills.  Teachers cannot give students the ability to audiate – audiation must be earned.  Through purposeful trial and error, students can extend their understanding and ability to think for themselves and think musically.  We must provide

Postlude

Our track and field coach recently discovered the SHEMA97 Functional Active Mask by HelmetFitting.com.  A few of my choir members use them during rehearsals and love them. They are light, you do not suck in the mask every time you breathe, and best of all, they have excellent sound transmission.  I now teach and sing with one every day.  They are a must try!

Resources

Gordon, E, E. (2021). Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Music Learning Theory, Chicago, Il. GIA Publications, Inc.

Hicks, Charles E. “Sound before Sight Strategies for Teaching Music Reading.” Music Educators Journal 66, no. 8 (1980): 53–67. https://doi.org/10.2307/3395858.

Liperote, K. A. (2006). Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists: Listen, Speak, Read, Write. Music Educators Journal 93(1) DOI: 10.2307/3693430

Mitchell, C. A. 2007, Audiation and the Study of Singing. FSU Digital Library

Meyer, J., and Land, R., (2003) Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practicing. (available at www.etl.tla.ed.ac.uk/docs/ETLreport4.pdf)

Saunders, T. C. (1991). The Stages of  Music Audiation: A survey of research. The Quarterly, 2(1C2), pp. 131C137.(Reprinted with permission in Visions of Research in Music Education, 16(2), Autumn, 2010). Retrieved from  http://wwwCusr.rider.edu/~vrme

Trusheim, W. H. (1991) Audiation and Mental Imagery: Implications for Artistic Performance. The Quarterly, 2 (1-2), 138-147

Vacca, S. (2013), Developing Audiation Through Internalisation: using the pivots system as an example.https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/94

Leading Voices: Re-envisioning and Rediscovering Singing

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Suddenly, the bass section broke out in full, boisterous song.  After they finished, I said, “That was great! what were you singing?” They all heartily replied, “The Wellerman,” with a few Arrr’s thrown in for effect.  

It was the beginning of the school year, and each section of the choir was working on their Skills Quests.  The bass section was looking through the Musical Skills Quest Item List and deciding what items they were going to learn and perform for the choir.  The bass section chose item #1 – Sing a Sea Shanty. 

What really caught my attention was their enthusiasm and how strongly and boldly they sang.  Masks and all!  With great eagerness, they proceeded to show me The Wellerman TikTok mashup and other sea shanties they discovered online. 

And thus, the theme of rediscovering strong, healthy, full singing was born.

Re-envisioning Masks 

MasterClass

The first step to helping our choir members rediscover their voice is to teach them how to sing and communicate safely through a mask.  At first, the masks were seen (and felt) as a huge obstacle and a total interference to choral music.  And they most definitely still are.  But now, my students are so happy to be back together singing that the masks have almost become a non-issue.  They have learned how to adapt to the pandemic singing regulations and move forward healthily and safely. 

In September 2020, my sister-in-law Susan Butterfoss, an ASHA Certified Clinical Speech-Language Pathologist, and I co-authored a Leading Voices post titled Teaching and Singing While Wearing a Mask: Why it is a Challenge and How to Make it Better.  Through our research, we uncovered four areas in which PPE masks negatively affect spoken and sung communication.

1. Reduced Decibel Levels
2. Attenuated Frequencies
3. Diminished Word Boundaries
4. Blocked Facial Cues

Each specific area of concern may not seem too discouraging on its own. Still, when they come together, they can create a loss of quality and enjoyment of sung and spoken communication. Our collaboration produced several recommendations to compensate for the mask.  These include slowing speech rate, attending to articulatory markers that identify word boundaries, and augmenting our spoken instruction with visual aids.  Susan also created the following handouts for you and your students.

Vocal-Health-for-TeachersDownload
A-Vocalist-Guide-to-Singing-with-a-MaskDownload

Re-envisioning Voice Lessons

https://www.voicescienceworks.org/ 
https://www.facebook.com/voicescienceworks

Just before the pandemic hit, I discovered an excellent website called Voice Science Works.  I have this website bookmarked and refer to it daily during my voice lessons.  On the Voice Science Works home page, you will find many great resources ranging from Warm-up Exercises and Handouts to their Vocology Toolbox.  Currently, I am using the following Vocology Toolbox links and focusing on the basic singing skills of posture and breathing, vocal production, and back pressure (SOVT Exercises).

Voice Science Works is an excellent resource and a must for all vocal instructors.  It is helping me build momentum back into voice lessons by motivating and inspiring my students to produce good, quality singing and appreciate their voices.  Also, take a few minutes and check out the Pink Trombone. It’s a lot of fun, and the students love it. 

A Few Voice Science Works Publications:
Seven Essential Voice Science Tools for Choral Singing, Choral Journal:2019
The Voice Teacher’s Cookbook, Contributing authors 2018
The Unfiltered Source,  Publishers, 2016

Re-envisioning Rep

My biggest curricular shock of the year was re-envisioning and selecting the appropriate repertoire.  I never fully understood the educational and performance momentum we create with our ensembles as we move through our curriculum and a year of concerts and music festivals.  I have found that building and sustaining a new energy and drive this year to be a very challenging experience.

Fire Within

My 9/10 Treble Choir took the biggest hit in membership, vocal ability, and musical understanding over the past two years.  This ensemble traditionally has about 25 students and performs level 3-4 SSA rep.  This year, we are down to 11 soft-spoken students at a 7/8 grade ability level and are working on unison, 2-part, and some basic 3-part music.  I also lost about twenty percent of the 9-12 SATB Concert Choir, but luckily, the auditioned 9-12 Select Choir roster remains at twenty-four. 

All my ensembles are now about two years behind in their vocal skills, music reading abilities, and rehearsal/performance etiquette.  The pandemic has shaken me out of my self-inflicted belief that each concert must be better and more musically impressive than the previous performances.  This year we are focusing on quality repertoire that I hope will motivate and encourage strong, healthy, and full ensemble singing.  Here is an example of some of the music we are currently studying.

Be Like a Bird Libana, from their album Fire Within. 
A Girl’s Garden, Randal Thompson
Simply Gregorian, Arr. Donald Moore
Dormi, Dormi, O Bel Bambin, Arr. Robert DeCormier   
All For Me Grog, Arr. Stephen Hatfield   
City Called Heaven, Arr. Josephine Poelinitz 
Stodola Pumpa, Arr. Mark Weston 
Tshotsholoza, SATB Adaptation by Jeffery Ames
Smile, by Charlie Chaplin, John Turner, and Geoffrey Parsons, Arr. Ben Bram

Re-envisioning Instruction  

The most beneficial resource I have found to help my students rediscover their singing voice and rebuild the vocal music program is the work and support of my colleagues.  This fall, I have spent a lot of time going over my old notes from observing past music festival rehearsals, reviewing conference workshop materials and reading sessions, and professional reading. 

Through my work, I have rediscovered many long-lost instructional gems and teaching resources that are now revitalizing my teaching.  The experiences and effects of the pandemic on my students and the music program continue to be challenging and frustrating. Yet through this adversity, I have experienced several positive outcomes and a few paradigm-shifting experiences. The instructional and performance momentum that was paused can move forward once again as I re-envision my curriculum and rediscover my voice in the classroom.

Re-envisioning Resources
Pass the Baton: Empowering Students in the Music Room 
The Improving Musician 

Self-Regulated Learning 
Self-Directed-Learning 
Experiential Learning Theory 
Understanding by Design 
Cognitive Coaching 
Universal Design for Learning

TL;DR   Re-envisioning and Rediscovering Singing

I am repeatedly amazed at how my students continue to be adaptive and resilient in the music classroom and during rehearsals.  They have an earnest desire, masks and all, to rediscover how to sing confidently together with conviction.  What was at first the most devastating part of teaching vocal music through a pandemic – the loss of group singing and learning – has now given my students a new resolve.  

I am an advocate of teaching and modeling student agency and self-directed music learning in the classroom.  Helping our students rediscover their voice applies to their singing voice as well as their voice as a young person and musician.  Promoting student agency in the music classroom and rehearsal setting is a must if we want our students to become and remain musically active and musically self-sufficient throughout their lives.

Agile Development Instructional Framework  
Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) Sprints   
Purposeful Teaching Through Agile-Centered Instruction  
Agile Centered Instruction 

Building A Community of Practice 
By Teaching We Learn – Students Teaching Students  
Promoting Student and Ensemble Autonomy: The Individual Ensemble Musicianship Project: 
Oh, Now I Get it! – Understanding Threshold Concepts 

Leading Voices: The Many Voices of the Polyphonic Classroom

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Do not accept the concept of failure.  You are Antifragile.

The idea of antifragile is one of the concepts that I am asking my students to experience this year as they learn to sing, work, and learn together during rehearsals.  I am asking them to trust me and take a vacation from some of their defeatist self-talk, unsuccessful habitual learning behaviors, and sometimes just basic laziness. 

I discovered the term Antifragile (Taleb, 2016) while reading The Coddling of the American Mind, How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up A Generation for Failure (Lukianoff & Haidt, 2019).  One aspect of the book discusses how complex systems such as our muscular system, economics, and I submit music learning require a certain state of strain or pressing tension to promote adaptation and activate growth.

The problem is, a number of my music students will side-step and back away from uncomfortable and challenging learning and default to their musically gifted peers and let them lead.  Throughout my career, I have searched to find ways to help all my students lean into, wrestle with, and move through learning challenging concepts and skills.

Mikhail Bakhtin and The Polyphonic Novel

The inspiration and foundation for the Polyphonic Classroom lie in the work of the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin and his concept of the polyphonic novel.  Bakhtin contends that Dostoevsky created a new novel genre as multiple independent and distinct characters in his novels were given equal voices, and each had valid individual perspectives.  Polyphony in fiction allows the author great freedom as characters or voices can be interdependent and allows the freedom to interact, coexist, develop feely, and are not subordinate to each other.  The Agile Classroom interprets Bakhtin’s concept of polyphony and provides the teacher and student the opportunity to present and experience many different voices and understandings in the music classroom. 

In the same way, the polyphonic music classroom provides an environment in which all students’ voices -literally and figuratively –  are treated equally and are valued.  Music students’ perspectives, learning styles, and abilities are given the opportunity and freedom to interact, coexist, develop feely, and are not subordinate to each other.

The Voice of an Open Mindset

To help my students relate with the concept of antifragile and move towards being more self-regulated, I incorporate the work of Carol S. Dweck and her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success into my rehearsals.  I use this poster to remind my students that learning and growing take hard work and discipline.  When the students experience a challenging rehearsal and encounter uncertainty and frustration, I quickly review the open mindset characteristics, and we dig in.

Adams (2019), in her article Developing Growth Mindset in the Ensemble Rehearsal, encourages educators to teach and reinforce the open mindset, develop and strengthen positive achievement strategies, and provide the students the opportunity to apply these new skills for their future music learning.  Promoting and creating an open mindset in the classroom is the first step in helping students develop their awareness of and label their habitual responses to frustrating and challenging learning experiences. 

The Voice of the Agile Classroom

I believe that each choir is enriched and enhanced by all its members’ unique gifts and talents.  In my classroom, each choir member receives the title of Subject Matter Expert (SME).  One soprano SME has the gift of observation and is keenly aware of a melodic line’s lack of precision and expression.  In the alto section sits another SME with an aptitude for languages and helps the choir learn Spanish for Esto Les Digo.  A bass SME has the gift of rhythmic accuracy and helps the bass section learn how to TaKaDiMi their part for Fair Phyllis. 

I believe each student has something musical and non-musical to offer the ensemble.

PMEA-The-Agile-Classroom-1Download

The concept of teaching individuals collectively integrates the philosophy of valuing both the individual within the group and valuing the group which contains the individual.  The emphasis of the individual within the ensemble, and the ensemble as the sum of its members, establishes the foundation of the Agile Development Instructional Framework and dynamic teaching.

The Voice of Multiple Intelligences

To help my students become more aware of their musical and non-musical abilities, I spend a short amount of rehearsal time at the beginning of each year and introduce them to Gardners’ Multiple Intelligences.  Dr. Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of neuroscience from Harvard University developed the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) in 1983.  According to Gardner, human beings have nine different kinds of intelligence that reflect different ways of interacting with the world.  Each person has a unique combination of all nine intelligences, and no two individuals have them in the same configuration – similar to our fingerprints.

Using this handout, my students learn that they and their classmates have unique musical and non-musical abilities and talents that all help the ensemble learn, grow and perform better.  Choir members come to realize that they do not need to have the perfect voice, be the best sight-reader, or have extra-special musical insights and instincts.  They begin to become more antifragile through learning about their strengths and weaknesses and come to realize that others have theirs.  Now, if one of my ensembles struggles with a song’s movement, I can call upon choir members who identify with the Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, and they help lead and teach the choir. 

The Voice of Crosscutting Concepts

The awareness of MI in the classroom is much like our science colleagues, who now use crosscutting concepts in their curriculum.  Crosscutting concepts as defined by the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education are “concepts that bridge disciplinary core boundaries, having explanatory value throughout much of science and engineering. These concepts help provide students with an organizational framework for connecting knowledge from the various disciplines into a coherent and scientifically based view of the world.” To move toward being antifragile, I consistently encourage my students to bring their expertise and corresponding skills from other disciplines into the choral setting.

The Seven Science Crosscutting Concepts

1. Patterns
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity
4. Systems and system models
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
6. Structure and function
7. Stability and change

 If you go back and review the list above, you will notice that all seven crosscutting concepts in the Next Generation Science Standards can not only be applied to studying music but also most disciplines.  All of our students are successful in some field of interest and study.  The Polyphonic Classroom validates these skills and experiences and asks our music students to bring all their abilities and skills to the rehearsal room – musical and non-musical.

TLDR – The Voices of the Polyphonic Classroom

To achieve a new conceptual understanding in any subject, students must actively experience, wrestle with, and move through conceptual reconstructive changes.  For our ensembles, this learning transformation may feel counter-intuitive, uncomfortable, and frustrating.  The struggles and discomfort they feel when learning new skills are how knowledge and understanding enter the mind and body. 

The Polyphonic Classroom style of instruction requires students and teachers to modify their thinking, music processing, and how they relate to learning in general.  The awareness and development of 1) applying an open mindset, 2) cultivating each students’ contributions to the ensemble (SME), 3) becoming aware of the Multiple Intelligences, and 4) applying Crosscutting Concepts across disciplines empowers all our students and strengthens the ensemble.

The paradigm of teaching individuals collectively integrates the philosophy of valuing the individual within the group and the group which contains the individual.  The emphasis on strengthening each individual within the ensemble establishes the foundation of the Agile Development Instructional Framework and the Polyphonic Classroom.

References

A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2.

Adams, Kari. “Developing Growth Mindset in the Ensemble Rehearsal.” Music Educators Journal 105, no. 4 (2019): 21–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432119849473.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House Publishing Group

Lukianoff, Greg, and Jonathan Haidt. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure. United Kingdom: Penguin Books, 2019.

Nesari, Ali Jamali. (2015) Dialogism Versus Monologism: A Bakhtinian Approach to Teaching. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 205: 642-47. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.09.101.

New York State Arts Standards: Music Standards At-a-Glance

Next Generation Science Standards For States, By States (2013)

Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2020). Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. In Instructional guide for university faculty and teaching assistants. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. New York: Random House, 2016.

Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF)

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) and Skills Quests are research-based. They contain elements of the following teaching models and instructional theories: Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Directed-Learning, Experiential Learning Theory, Understanding by Design, Cognitive Coaching, and the Universal Design for Learning.

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