Workshop Reflections
#1 - Composing & Improvising in the Music Classroom: Just Do It!
Dr. Maud Hickey
Today’s workshop, led by Dr. Maud Hickey, was incredibly engaging and really quite eye-opening. It revolved entirely around composition and improvisation, which is something that I’ve had very little exposure to throughout my schooling experience, so I personally was able to take away so much from just these three hours.
Dr. Hickey started off the workshop with an exercise called “tuning meditation”. In this exercise, she began by exhaling on a single pitch to a neutral vowel sound. We were instructed to join in every time we individually exhaled by doing one of three things: singing the same pitch as someone beside us, just listening, or singing a new pitch. I found this exercise to be incredibly calming and I think it was an excellent way of getting everyone settled and engaged before beginning with the workshop.
Then came the main aspect of the workshop where we all got to compose! For this composition exercise, we were divided up into groups of 6-7 and told to compose something that reflected our feelings/recollections of our first encounter with Friday’s snowfall. In addition to this instruction, our only guidelines were to notate our composition so that we would remember it – needless to say, each group’s notation looked very unique! After preparing our “piece”, we all assumed we were going to join back with the whole group and perform all of our compositions for each other, but to my surprise, that’s not at all what Dr. Hickey had us to. Instead, each group was given a different group’s notation and asked to perform it based on their own interpretations of the notation. The results were fascinating. According to the composers, some groups were spot on, while others went in a completely different direction with their interpretations. The point of this whole exercise was to show us that standard notation is not by any means the ONLY effective way of notating music. I really loved the way Dr. Hickey went about teaching this concept. She could have easily just explained it to us right from the beginning, but instead she had us explore it for ourselves so that we could have a thorough understanding of it. Throughout the whole workshop, Dr. Hickey stressed the fact that composition is the best way to assess understanding, and after my experiences with her today, I couldn’t agree more.
Dr. Hickey then went onto explaining the music curriculum that she’s created over her years of being a music educator. Interestingly, she announced that she likes to START with defining, listening, and exploring – the step that most music educators tend to end with. She talked about how starting with the elements of music can actually limit the students’ creativity later on. This wasn’t ever something that I’ve thought about before, but it actually makes complete sense. The best way to inspire creativity is to set as little rules and guidelines as possible. That way, the students can feel safe to take their creations in any direction they desire.
To continue with the topic of inspiration, the next part of Dr. Hickey’s curriculum that she talked about was inspiration and identity, and how overtime a style of composition can become characteristic to a child. She also touched on what inspires compositions by showing examples of compositions that 6th graders made that were inspired by paintings, poems, etc. I was thoroughly impressed by what they were able to create, and it was also really cool to listen to different children’s compositions that were based on the same picture/poem. I found that this just further solidified the importance of encouraging creativity through the immediate exposure to composition and improvisation.
To conclude today’s workshop, Dr. Hickey lead a discussion on the “A word”: assessment. She talked about how rewards (ie. good grades) can often squelch creativity, and that when it comes to composition and improvisation, there is a very fine line as to what should and shouldn’t be assessed. As a basic rule of thumb to follow, Dr. Hickey suggested that “defined tasks” are safe and easy to evaluate, whereas “open tasks” should simply be given a safe critique, no grade! She made an excellent point that really resonated with me as the discussion progressed: most creative ideas aren’t successful the first time, it takes a lot of practice and mistakes along the way to get to where you want to be. By putting a low number or letter grade on a child’s creation, especially if it’s one of the first ones they’ve ever done, you’re at risk of lowering their confidence and therefore limiting any future creativity. Also, how can you tell a child that their interpretation was wrong? It just doesn’t make sense to grade students on assignments that were asking for personal interpretation and creativity.
Overall, I feel as though I was able to take away a lot from today’s workshop. Dr. Maud Hickey brought up really interesting and thoughtful points in ways that were incredibly engaging for all the participants. As an aspiring music educator, I’m looking forward to taking the knowledge I gained today and applying it in my future career.
#2 - Fostering Virtual Musicianship in the Music Classroom: Teach Your Students How to Create like their favourite YouTube Stars
Dr. Chris Cayari
In today’s workshop, Dr. Chris Cayari introduced us to the wonders and possibilities of incorporating technology into the music classroom. He began by discussing his history, starting with the beginning of his journey with virtual musicianship in the music classroom. It all began with a case study that he conducted on how a musician might use YouTube to show off their craft. During this study, Dr. Cayari came across a YouTube video of a college student who had put together a ukulele cover of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” in his dorm room. Upon listening, this cover seemed quite fun and simple, but when the track was analyzed, Dr. Cayari realized that it was really quite complex.
He decided to bring this idea of creating music videos into his classroom. In an assignment that he put together, the only guideline that the students received was: “Create a music video.” The students were allowed to select their own songs and groups, and Dr. Cayari simply acted as a facilitator with flexible, yet high expectations. With such little restrictions, there was a huge variety within the types of finished products. That being said, whether it be singing a cover of a song with a friend, filming a classical vocal performance, or collaborating with a family member in a band, Dr. Cayari found that most students decided to incorporate other people into their music-making process, rather than working alone. After discussing the process of this assignment, Dr. Cayari went on to describing the students’ different experiences with this assignment, and I was fascinated by the answers. I would have assumed that music students would have had a blast with this freedom and creativity, however, most of them actually had quite a hard time making decisions and were quite confused about the expectations. This was a result of being so accustomed to always being told exactly what to do in the music classroom. This concept prompted me to reflect back on my years as a music student, and I realized that this is incredibly true – this subject that one would think would be the most creative one of all, is often actually quite restrictive. I believe that music students should always be encouraged to explore their creativity, and so I would love to be able to change this in my future music classrooms.
The next topic Dr. Cayari discussed with us was his work with virtual musicianship for non-music students. In one assignment, he had them compose a piece with the theme of social change. In another, students worked on ‘collaborative vlogging’ which involved them filming themselves doing things such as turning a rap song into a ballad, or explaining then demonstrating dubstep to someone who had never heard of it before. I was incredibly impressed by the final products. These students were able to take something that they were completely unfamiliar with (music), and combine it with something they were incredibly familiar with (technology) to create a product that portrayed powerful messages about social change. I personally found this information to be incredibly beneficial seeing as though not all music teachers have the privilege of working with musically trained students. As a future music educator, it was really encouraging as well as eye-opening to realize that there are ways of promoting creative music-making with all kinds of students, no matter what their musical background consists of.
The last thing Dr. Cayari talked about before running some activities was the stress of testing in the music classroom. He explained how for his students’ past performance exams/juries, he gave them the option of recording themselves playing and then sending it in, rather than playing live, and 30/32 decided to go the recording route. Personally, performing live results in quite a lot of additional stress and anxiety that wouldn’t otherwise be there if I was recording myself, so I feel as though this option could be really beneficial for students who don’t perform as well in front of others and therefore don’t play to the best of their abilities.
To finish off the last hour of the workshop, Dr. Cayari guided us in 3 different activities, each one involving a different musical app. In the first activity, we used DM1 to make our own 4-bar rhythms in groups, and we then proceeded to sing overtop of them with “Don’t Stop Believing.” Next, we had the opportunity to play around with different instrumental tracks on Garageband, with the goal of creating a backing track to “Lean on Me.” As a final activity, we got into small groups and used Acapella to put together 15 seconds of a song of our choice, with each person singing a different part of the arrangement. With each activity, we received very few guidelines, and it was so much fun being able to push our creativity to its furthest limit.
Overall, I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity of attending this workshop. Not only did I learn so much about the possibilities and benefits of fostering virtual musicianship in the music classroom, but I did it all while having an absolute blast. I think the activities as well as teaching methods that Dr. Cayari has to offer could definitely help bridge the gap between ‘classical’ music students and students who are interested in music, but don’t think of themselves as being musical due to their lack of interest in typical school music programs. The incorporation of creativity and technology could take so many music programs to the next level in terms of what the students get out of it, and I look forward to being able to play around with the methods I learned today in my future music classroom.
Influential Teacher Interview
Throughout my journey as a music student, I’ve had several teachers along the way who have inspired me and shaped me into the musician I am today. However, there was one teacher in particular that really stood out, and that person is Sherri Collins – one of my high school music teachers. There is so much that I have to thank her for in terms of what she’s taught me, so I knew right away that she was the person I wanted to interview for this assignment.
Sherri’s desire to start teaching first emerged at the young age of 12, when she started teaching piano. She really enjoyed working with kids, and after working with / teaching the kids for some time, she approached her grade six teacher and exclaimed the realization she had come to: “I think I want to be a music teacher… or a lawyer!” I’m very grateful she decided to stick with the first option! Fast forward a few years later, Sherri’s family moved to the United States and lived there for her first 2 years of high school. There, she attended a high school that had an arts program that really sparked an interest in her. After moving back to Canada, she finished her remaining years of high school at a school that put a large emphasis on their choral program. This was the school where Sherri had a music teacher who had a huge influence on why she ended up going into teaching as well as the passion she has for doing so. In her words, “he really pushed the boundaries of what you could do in high school, and I just always saw myself doing that.” According to Sherri, this teacher and his wife were like her “musical parents.” They would take her to Toronto to help them pick out music for the following year, bring her out for lunch, and take her to concerts – she was like their kid! Although we would never see this type of student-teacher relationship nowadays, Sherri really appreciated how much time and energy this teacher put into taking her under his wing and instilling a love for music and teaching within her. She even spoke at his retirement!
After graduating from high school, Sherri went onto studying music at Western, and LOVED every minute of it! She really enjoyed being able to sing in their high caliber choirs since this is something she never quite experienced in high school. Her favourite choral experience was in her third year where she got to sing in ‘Faculty Singers.’ In that same year, Sherri got to be an assistant conductor of the school’s concert choir. Her interest in conducting first started back in her first year when she started a jazz choir with one her friends in the music department. Overall, Sherri felt as though she really learned from all the opportunities that she got to create for herself at Western. After finishing her undergrad there, she went to UofT for teacher’s college. In those days, they were short on teachers, so it took no time at all for Sherri to sign on with the Peel District School Board after graduating. At this time, Cawthra Park Secondary School was in desperate need of a music teacher – specifically one that could teach jazz choir. So, Sherri was asked to come in and interview for a job in the music department. She ended up getting the job and has actually been teaching there ever since. This is Sherri’s 29th year of teaching at Cawthra, she’s never taught anywhere else. According to her, this is quite an unusual teaching experience. When I asked how she felt about teaching in the same school for the entirety of her career, she said, “I don’t know if I would encourage people to always stay in the same place, unless you feel like you’re still growing.” Luckily for her, this was exactly the case!
Throughout her years at Cawthra, Sherri has felt as though she’s constantly been growing as a music educator for several reasons. The first reason revolves around the different roles she’s been able to take on throughout her time at Cawthra. Her first 15 years consisted of building up the program as well as starting off her life as a newlywed, and eventually becoming a mother. Throughout her remaining years, she’s been the music department head and has therefore been able to take on many more responsibilities, allowing her a chance to continuously grow. Another main reason Sherri has never felt stuck or bored throughout her years at Cawthra is because of the school’s arts program, as well as the student demographic that comes along with it. Cawthra is a school of the arts which requires students to audition in order to get into the school. Because of this, the majority of the students are incredibly driven and very eager to learn. Sherri said, “the kind of students we get keep me on my toes!” On top of the students, the music program itself is unlike the usual high school music program. The students take a music course every single semester for all four years, and there are several concerts/musicals/performances/gigs that are constantly taking place throughout the year that Sherri is required to organize. Overall, teaching at Cawthra has allowed for a very unique and rewarding music teaching experience that she is incredibly grateful for.
In terms of her actual teaching methods themselves, Sherri describes them as ‘experimental teaching’ – a form of trial and error so to speak. She went onto explaining that teaching for her is experimental with each kid since everyone’s learning style is different. Overtime, she was able to develop a general tool bag of tricks that can be used for each different type of student. Teaching definitely isn’t a job that’s black and white, and because of this, mistakes seem to be quite frequent during these experimental times. Sherri said she’s sure she has “made a million mistakes along the way.” Early on in her career, she was quite unforgiving. She would kick students out of an ensemble without question for being late to a rehearsal, for example. This ‘tough love’ method of teaching was also partly due to the woman who was the music department head when Sherri first started teaching at Cawthra. She was incredibly strict, and so as a new teacher who was following by example, Sherri felt as though she too needed to really lay down the law. However, this point of view changed drastically over the years as she learned that people’s lives are complicated, and that you never know what might be going on in their lives outside of school. This realization led Sherri to becoming the firm yet compassionate teacher she is today.
Another important lesson she’s learned along the way is “to see the big picture before teaching the details.” Since Cawthra’s music program is comprised of 8 credits, there’s a need for sequential learning along with a long-term plan. This requires Sherri to plan out what she’s going to teach at the beginning of the students’ time at Cawthra, as well as how she’s going to teach them through until they graduate. A long-term plan is essential for a program this thorough. This plan is also constantly being updated due to technological advances. The technology that was available 29 years ago is nowhere near as advanced as the technology available today. These advances (ie. youtube, garageband, etc.) have continuously altered both Sherri’s teaching methods and materials – yet another reason why she feels as though she is constantly growing as a music educator at Cawthra!
Overall, it was such a great experience to be able to sit down and talk with Mrs. Collins about her journey as a music educator. Not only did I learn about how she became the teacher that I know and love, but she was also unintentionally giving me advice as an aspiring music educator with every answer that she gave to my questions. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to capture a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the life of one of the most influential music teachers I’ve ever had. I will most definitely take what I learned from her in this interview and apply it to my own life as I continue on with my journey through music education.
Student Interview
For this assignment, I decided to interview my younger sister, Miranda Orlowski, who is 15 years old and currently in her second year of high school. The reason why I chose to interview her was because Miranda has never been the type of person to label herself as a ‘musician.’ Although she most certainly has musical interests, when thinking about Miranda, the word ‘music’ wouldn’t be what would come to mind. I thought it would be far more interesting to learn about the musical life of a self-identified non-musician to see what role music plays in the lives of such people. I was fascinated by the results.
Miranda listens to music every single day. It’s something that has become a part of her daily routine. She listens to the radio in the car every morning on her way to school, and almost always has music playing in the background whenever she’s at home. Miranda likes to listen to several different genres of music, varying from pop, to music theatre, to punk rock. The genre she decides to listen to will vary depending on her mood and/or what she’s doing. Miranda described this process as she explained, “I’ll usually listen to music theatre in the background when I’m doing work because it’s easy to listen to so it doesn’t distract me. But if I’m ever just chilling on my phone or not doing anything that requires me to focus, I’ll listen to stuff like rock.”
In terms of her musical experience, Miranda took one year of piano lessons when she was 6 years old, but didn’t decide to continue on with it due to a lack of interest and passion – piano just wasn’t her thing. However, she has always loved to sing, and even though Miranda has never had a singing lesson, she was still able to find ways of incorporating it into her life. Miranda has always had a passion for acting, and so when an opportunity came up for her to audition for her very first musical, Fame, at the age of 9, she jumped right on it with no hesitation. This was the perfect way for her to combine her passion for acting with her love for singing, and Miranda instantly fell in love with musical theatre. Since Fame, Miranda has been a part of several other musical productions including The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, and A Night on Broadway. She also plans on auditioning for her high school’s fall musical next year. In addition to musical theatre, Miranda has had several years of choral experience starting at the age of 11. She was a part of her middle school’s chamber choir for the entirety of her three years at the school, she took part in her high school’s open choir (RITZ) during her grade 9 year, and she also sung in a student-run summer choir (Mississauga Summer Chorale) last summer and plans on rejoining it again for this upcoming season.
Music plays a very important role in Miranda’s life. In addition to taking part in extra-curricular musical activities, Miranda loves to write songs in her spare time. Sometimes she’ll write songs as a pastime when she’s bored, but usually she’ll write a song when she has something specific she wants to write about (ie. an event that has just occurred, an emotion she wants to express, etc.). She actually wrote a song for me as a going away present before I went off to Western this year. I was incredibly impressed by what she wrote. The song was not only beautiful, but also really well done in terms of the music itself! I was very curious as to how she managed to put something like that together, considering she has never had any formal music training and has no background in theory. When I asked about her song-writing process, she explained that she begins by playing around on the piano until she finds chords that she likes, meaning that her chord progressions were composed completely aurally with no relation to the theory behind it. Once the chords are established, she’ll sing along to them until she comes up with a melody, but since she doesn’t know how to use standard notation, she’ll proceed to record herself singing the melody and then write down lyrics on a separate piece of paper. This instantly reminded me of a component of Dr. Maud Hickey’s recent workshop that discussed how standard notation is not, by any means, the only way of notating music. As someone who’s only ever written music using standard notation, I was incredibly impressed as well as fascinated by the fact that Miranda didn’t let her lack of music/theory knowledge hold her back from creating music.
Miranda would love to learn more about music in order to make her song-writing process a little more efficient, however she’s always refrained from taking high school music courses because she feels as though they wouldn’t cater towards her desires. Even though she loves to sing, Miranda has no interest in the typical Western Eurocentric classical topics that make up most schools’ music curriculum. Miranda said, “I don’t really have an interest in anything related to classical music, but I would love to take something like an introduction to popular music course, or a song-writing course.” She firmly believes that herself, as well as her friends who also aren’t ‘music kids’, would be far more inclined to take music courses if they incorporated aspects of music that actually appeal to them.
Now, as much as Miranda loves to sing and as important as music is in her everyday life, she doesn’t see herself pursuing music as a career. She just isn’t passionate enough about it. That being said, she would love to continue writing songs as well as taking part in musicals and choirs as a hobby in the future in order to keep music in her life. Miranda is also positive that listening to music will forever be a part of her everyday life. But since she won’t be pursuing music as a career, I decided to ask Miranda about her plans for the future as well as the factors that have influenced said plans in order to compare it to the plans/influential factors of those who do pursue music (like myself). As a future career, Miranda would like to became a youth and child therapist. Due to personal reasons, she has gone to a number of therapists/counsellors over the past few years which has sparked an interest in her wanting to pursue therapy herself. In addition to this interest, Miranda has always had a passion for helping others. She has a huge heart and is at her happiest when those around her are happy too. As a therapist, she feels as though she would be able to go the extra with patients because in addition to her natural desire to want to help them, she would also be able to personally relate to a lot of their struggles. She said, “I feel like in order to be a good therapist, you kind of have to have a connection to what other people are feeling.”
These issues that Miranda has struggled with in the past, that eventually led to therapy, started back when she was in middle school. She was having a bit of a rough time, and her grade 7 teacher began to notice it, so she decided to reach out to Miranda and offer her help. This teacher was constantly there for Miranda to help her through these tough situations; she was more than just a teacher for her. Miranda felt as though she could really confide in her and that made all the difference in her time at school. This influential teacher is another huge contributing factor to Miranda’s decision to go into child therapy. She wants to offer kids the same support that this teacher constantly offered her in her times of need.
When comparing Miranda’s future goals, as well as the reason behind those goals, to those of an aspiring musician/music educator, the situations are incredibly similar. I decided to go into music because it is my biggest passion, and I’ve had several influential music teachers who have inspired me to be just like them. If you replace music with therapy, the exact same thing can be said for Miranda.
Overall, through this interview I was able to get a glimpse of the musical life of a non-musician, and I could not have been more fascinated. Music has always been the main focus of almost everything that I do, so I had no idea what to expect its role to be in the life of someone who hasn’t had that same experience. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that even though Miranda may not consider herself to be a musician, music is still a crucial part of so many aspects of her life.