Rain pouring. Google maps glowing. One parking space left. Who would have thought the chaos of a Friday morning driving through Belfast in September would be followed with a rewarding day of music?
The music classroom in Wellington Collage Belfast was inviting and exciting right from the get go, but not without its challenges even for those on the side lines. Over my first two months here I’ve learnt so much, and can’t wait to get stuck in myself; standing at the front of the room and taking the reins of the classroom myself! I’ve been keeping extensive notes so I can accurately feedback my experiences, just as suggested; “keeping a personal diary… is a tried and tested way of reflexively taking stock of life” (Pollard et al., 2019). To reflect on my current experiences, I’ll be using the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (2008) to allow me to evaluate and analyse in detail, helping prepare me for my future career goals.
What’s that banging?
Would you believe me if I told you the very first classroom experience I had in Wellington Collage involved 25 African drums? Probably not, but I’ll tell you anyway. These goblet-shaped drums are named Djembe which I have since found out translate to “everyone gather in peace”; not quite the translation I would give for the classroom full of Northern Irish 11 year olds banging them! I’ll set the scene: the lesson began in the classroom, introducing the class to the goals for the day and visuals of rhythms to be played later. They relocate to a bigger space, arrange themselves in a circle and after being taught how to hold the drum they participate in a call and response exercise followed by a rhythmic composition exercise. To start, the antiphonal challenge was between the teacher and the rest of the class. She advanced this however by encouraging half of the class to start, with the other half responding. The lesson introduced dynamic playing, practiced their understanding of pulse (the heartbeat of the music) and then in pairs allowing them to display their own compositional ideas. The performance element of the lesson then allowed each student, not alone, to showcase their idea. The class would drum the rhythm ‘what’s for dinner mum?’ twice, then the selected pair can answer with 1 bar answer. To finish the class, they returned to the classroom environment to calm them after the fun and practical activity, with some quick fire questions to answer on whiteboards using music terminology discussed during their Djembe session.
I absolutely loved observing this lesson! Having never touched a Djembe in or outside of school when I was a student, I was probably more (internally) excited than some of them. As Jorgensen states “Continuing to be a student, a fellow traveler with our students in a community of learners, can help us to keep an open mind” (Jorgensen, 2008). What I thought was the winning aspect of the lesson was the incorporation of all necessary skills that are taught in KS3 and KS4 music classrooms. There was listening, composition and performance; incorporating all 3 is usually such a challenge it is easier to focus on one per lesson plan. “In a practical field such as music education, theory and practice mean move on parallel planes” (McCarthy, 2020). However this memorable experience went beyond the classroom teaching expectations. Keeping class control is more of a challenge in this situation with the potential for higher accepted loudness levels to interfere with their respect for listening to the teacher. This was evident in one of the two year 8 classes participating in the activities that day.
At the end of the session, I clearly remember the moment I explained to the teacher my excitement for the next lesson involving these drums. I’ve decided I’m not the best at hiding a disappointed look on my face. That’s it? That’s all they see of the Djembe for that year? No, actually it’s all they will ever get during their time in high school. After seeing the class so excited, engaged and enthused I just knew they weren’t expecting their new-found skills to go to waste. My conclusion about the situation is that I cannot fault the lesson plan; if anything, it might further encourage those who had little to no interest in the subject to give it another try! But the only thing missing is the follow up. They learned and showcased some fantastic skills including team work, performance, pulse and coordination.
In the future, I would love to plan another lesson involving the Djembe. I believe their rhythmic understanding is just as important as their practice of pitch on keyboards each week. When planning that lesson, I would introduce the concept of playing two rhythms at once, possibly splitting the class in half for accompaniment and main rhythm. Another idea would be to challenge their improvisation. This would push their performance skills as it would be a solo demonstration of their creativity this time rather than in a pair. There is so much more to be done with a simple drum!
Not that tune again…
A current highlight from my experience starts with a few 12-13 year olds. My first experience in the year 9 classroom was exciting; who doesn’t love teaching new theory? We are already a few weeks into term, therefore a few weeks past their revisit to the year 8 ‘Elements of music’, now with more complex definitions. Here, all around me is a classroom full of students really engaging in what the teacher refers to as a ‘Silence Settler’. The idea is that her lesson starter helps them practically engage in the classroom, especially after a noisy break time! My eyes can almost not believe the speed of some pupil’s answers, scribbling descriptions such as ‘allegro’ or staccato’ onto their whiteboards. One particular action in this classroom environment turned a light bulb on for me: the teacher specifically encouraging students in the classroom who wouldn’t be regarded as ‘musical’, helping them participate more. She is setting up their practical activity for the day, presenting “Für Elise” on her interactive whiteboard, and calling on individuals to name the next note in the tune. The class are working together as a team to translate the musical notation before heading off to their isolated keyboards. However, I was quick to notice the strategic placement of students at their instruments for the day; those who were pianists shared with other pianists, leaving those who may require further assistance to try their best first on their own keyboard.
Seeing these teenagers stay engaged with the lesson plan was really encouraging! “Good discipline is often a matter of pacing- that is, not too fast and not too slow.” (Jorgensen, 2008). I felt there was enough time dedicated to the recapping of previously learned terms and then teaching new theory that finally is put into practice for the duration of the second class. I did notice a comparison between this lesson plan and the year 8’s; the year 9’s were never told nor promised to touch the keyboards during the theory section of the class, therefore were not unsettled and ‘waiting out’ the front-of-class teaching until they could get their hands on the keys.
Another detail to evaluate is the scope of learning between skill sets in the class. As an avid student myself back in the day, being left to your own devises to learn a piece that took 10 minutes while the majority of the class took double that time became, dare I say it, boring! As this is everyone’s first attempt at ‘Für Elise’, I let the thought subside for now. But from this I could see room for potential improvement in the future to what is provided in the curriculum. Differentiation is important in the classroom where “the brightest ones being challenged personally and called upon to assist others in the class, and special care being given to those students with learning difficulties, it is possible that most students can be relatively satisfied.” (Jorgensen, 2008). This goal became my first challenge to overcome, no matter how many weeks or lessons it may take me.
In conclusion to this experience in a year 9 classroom, I’ve learnt to never underestimate the power of a whiteboard and pen! Creating a ‘team’ class environment to provoke safe engagement from nearly every student was such a warm environment to be a part of, but I feel challenged to ask the individuals how they were finding the level of musicianship expected from them. A ‘rule’ to follow could be to ensure that “.. the brightest ones being challenged personally and called upon to assist others in the class, and special care being given to those students with learning difficulties, it is possible that most students can be relatively satisfied.” (Jorgensen, 2008). In this situation again, I hope to ‘step up’ and either find a more demanding task that will engage the music enthusiasts more, or actually just be creative and design a challenge of my own to push the students to strive for more, and push myself to think on my feet!
Now, don’t worry that this doesn’t seem like a lot of experience so far- I’m only getting started! Beeching advises to “observe at least five music teachers working in a range of grades in various schools and regions.” (2020) so make sure you check back here for further updates on my music education experiences, next time coming to you from a new location!
Signing out for now, Emma Blacoe
Bibliography
Beeching, A. M. (2020). Beyond talent : Creating a successful career in music. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qub/detail.action?docID=6185233# (Accessed 8th November 2023)
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford: Oxford Further Education Unit.
Jasper, M. (2013) Beginning reflective practice. Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA. (Accessed 15th November 2023)
Jorgensen, E. R. (2008). The art of teaching music. Indiana University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qub/reader.action?docID=348677 (Accessed 11th November 2023)
McCarthy, M. (2020). The Housewright Declaration: A Lens for Viewing Music Education in the Early Twenty-First Century. Contributions to Music Education, 45, 47–66. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26974516 (Accessed 15th November 2023)
Pollard, A., Black-Hawkins, K., Cliff Hodges, G., Dudley, P., Higgins, S., James, M., & Linklater, H. (2019). Reflective teaching in schools (Fifth edition.). Bloomsbury Academic. (Accessed 15th November 2023)