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Why should you sightread?

This seems to be a band vs. choral thing. Almost every band director requires their students to sight read. Most state festivals require it as a portion of the grading process. Choral use of sightreading is sporadic at best. So, why should everyone sightread?

In the pro category, proper sightreading will make your students more attentive to the music they are playing. If you sightread often enough (mine sight read every single day!), the steps will become automatic. I don't worry about reviewing concerts such as key signature, note lengths, phrasing, repeats, at all when I introduce a new piece. My students are conditioned so that when I pass out a new piece of music, there is silence from them for at least 7 minutes. (I did not pick this number randomly; it is the amount we are alloted in our state festival). This makes them focus on the music, they review their fingerings and anything else of importance.

After a short period of time, I talk them through several things in the music. We clap and sing rhythms. We make note of accidentals, slurs, repeats, etc. Then the students have one minute to ask me specific questions. It is a finely tuned process.

We then play it from beginning to end with no stops. I don't care if half the band drops out becuase they are lost. They know that they are to sit in proper playing position until the next time I call out a rehearsal marking. Once we finish the piece, we review the things that went right (which is sometimes a very short conversation) and then begin our class for the day.

If you sightread every day, you will find that your students will perform better under any circumstance. Next time, I will highlight reasons people have said why their students don't sightread well.

Working Together

Beware, this blog post has the potential to become bitter. I'll do what I can to keep it objective.

I enjoyed reading this month's issue of Teaching Music. I took particular notice of the article about rigorous and sequential programs - about elementary and secondary teachers working together in an atmosphere of mutual respect. When I stopped laughing, I read the article a second time.

First of all, let me say this. I am all for the idea of elementary and secondary teachers, and band, orchestra and chorus teachers working together. I think it makes for a better musical experience for the students, which is why I became a musician in the first place. I have a business with a band director - I am a chorus director. Both of us have taught elementary. We work well together, and our students' best memories of middle school are memories of things we taught them together. So I am in complete agreement with the idea of this article.

Unfortunately, I have taught long enough to feel that a true collaborative sequential department rooted in mutual respect is little more than a pipe dream. I spent 7 years teaching elementary. It was a great experience. I miss it sometimes. I worked really hard - sometimes as many as nine different classroom experiences to prepare for, and schedules that were insane - sometimes I didn't have any planning at all. Literally the only time I sat down was in my car on the way home. And I loved every minute of it.

When I started teaching chorus, I was actually worried that I would get bored. I would only have 3 different classes to prep for, and when I started I realized that my oldest kids didn't know any more than my youngest kids, so I went from 3 preps to 1. What I found was a different kind of busy. I loved it just as much, and now I can't imagine going back to elementary, although I know I would enjoy that too if I went back to it.

The other thing I discovered was that secondary teachers, particularly high school ones, have little to no respect for anyone who doesn't teach secondary...and little to no respect for anyone who doesn't teach their discipline. I don't understand it myself. But there it is. I spent six years trying to make a difference in my current school system. I found one teacher who gets it, and the rest? They pay lipservice to the idea of supporting each other, but the reality is exactly what I discovered. It's sad, because if we could all put our heads together, we would be a powerfully creative team that could really make a difference.

What do we have instead? A bunch of teachers who pretend to care about anything, who really care about nothing. As for me? I teach five classes of chorus. I'm good at what I do. But I don't care about anything other than what happens inside my classroom. So much for changing the world.

-Kriston

Take it from the bottom

Here is another rehearsal technique as you prepare a piece of music for a high-pressure situation (like a big concert or a state festival). Work it backwards. We have all been to performances (and some of our students have given performances) where the ensemble begins the piece really well. Somewhere in the middle, it seems to breakdown, and then by the end, the piece is hardly recognizable? When this happens, you will know that the director always started class at the beginning of the music and worked until the bell. When they ran out of time, they stopped rehearsing. Therefore, the music gets "worse with age."

Instead, work it from the end. Start with the very last note in the very last measure. Work this until it is perfect (or as close to perfect as you will accept). Then, work that entire last measure. Don't move on until it is done. You can still address key signatures, dynamics, and anything else that might be necessary, just as you would if you started from the beginning, but you will find that the students actually have to look for the information now instead of just glossing over it. You will forces them to scan backwards to find the last dynamic indication as well as tempo. Tehse are all things listed at the beginning as well, but the students skip it and go right for the first note.

When the last measure is finished, move back to the beginning of the last phrase. Don't go back more than four bars at a time unless you are in the middle of a tie or a word. Again, you are forcing the students to only focus on what is in front of them without worrying about anything else. As for time, you are always near the end of the music (until you get back to the beginning), so the students won't be constantly watching the clock. The students will be more receptive to, "Let's just finish this one more time" rather than, "Take it from the top one more time."

If you work backwards every rehearsal, the students will always end rehearsal playing something with which they are the most comfortable. Everyone leaves on a positive note and eager to see what comes next.

A Fresh Start

Tomorrow (assuming we don't have a snow day) is the beginning of a new semester. We had a work day in our school system today to do grades and take care of other paperwork. I love work days. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching more, but every once in a while it's great to just have a day in your classroom to clear paperwork and other things.

I always set a rather ambitious agenda for myself for teacher workdays. I almost never finish everything, today I only got about half way through the list. I put a lot of things on there to keep myself busy for the day. I got the important things done, and the rest of it I can finish up this week. I feel good about what I did manage to accomplish. I managed to get things cleaned up, my grades are finished and I'm caught up on all my paperwork.

The great thing about a new semester is that our students get the opportunity for a new start. My students start out with 100%, and the new semester is a brand new 100%. It's nice for teachers and students to have a fresh start.

-Kriston

Got to get a "Superior"

In many programs, ensembles are deep into State Festival preparations. Here in Virginia, a lot rides on the rating you earn at Festival. A director can get another year of honor band, the director gets published in the state music journal, and the director gets a plaque. You might even qualify for a Blue Ribbon! Woe be the new director who comes into a program that has earned a superior rating for years and doesn't get that distinction. Jobs have been lost over this. With this kind of pressure, it is no wonder that many directors will cheapen the educational experience to "guarantee" the score.

What does this prove? Even if a director takes the top ensemble and has them play down a number of ability levels, it won't matter in a year. No one remembers what another program played from year to year, all they remember is the superior. This is a perversion of music. The students need to be challenged and should continually strive to perform music that stretches their ability. School music programs should be exciting, not boring. Directors should program music that forces the students to reach beyond, and if they don't make it by a pre-set date (and earn something less than superior), the process should be what is important, not the final product.

To Facebook, or not to Facebook?

There has been much debate in the media and education circles these days about whether teachers should be "friends" with their students on Facebook, or whether teachers should even have a Facebook page at all. Since I have several friend requests in my inbox right now, I thought this might be a good time to write about how I feel about social networking.

First of all, as an active teacher and parent I don't have a lot of time to spend on social networking sites like Facebook. I have an account, but I don't do too much with it. I might spend a couple of hours over the course of a month on Facebook. That puts in me in the minority of Facebook users, many of whom seem to be there 24 hours a day. I don't know how people manage to do that.

I do have many Facebook friends. I'm sure I frustrate them, becuase I don't answer their requests to play games or take quizzes or give virtual plants. Many of my "friends," are in fact students. I don't think this is a problem. In fact, I take my responsibility seriously and use my "friend" status to keep track of my students. Because I can see their Facebook pages, I can tell if they are giving too much of themselves away, which is dangerous in this day and age.

As music teachers we are given the rare opportunity to make connections with our studnets beyone the traditional one year. I have students who have been in my classroom for three years now, and high school directors get even longer. I like having the chance to keep an extra eye on my students and make sure they are doing ok. Of course, it seems like my entire high school class is on there too, and I'd rather avoid that. But I suppose there is nothing wrong with making a reconnection.

I know there have been reports of teachers doing inappropriate things on the Internet and social networking sites. Some of these incidents cause people to say that teachers should not be on Facebook at all. I disagree. There will always be people who push the envelope, who say and do things they probably shouldn't. Everyone, teachers included, need to remember that what they put out there is available for everyone to read. If you don't want your students to see it, then perhaps you shouldn't post it. Good words to live by.

-Kriston