Reflection Commentary

For the students who participated in this project, the Series of Lessons was their
first relatively in-depth experience with improvisation on their instruments. They were
introduced to this creative process and learned to create melodic phrases based on
understanding of rhythm patterns, chords, and the interaction between melody and bass
line. Preparatory exercises and musical boundaries attempted to ensure that students’
creative processes were informed by aural awareness and musical knowledge, and not
simply random exploration.
Students had the opportunity to perform a variety of musical tasks both for their
classmates within lessons and in the final performance for their band director and peers
who did not take part in the project. When I first mentioned the concluding performance
experience, the students eagerly asked if they could invite their favorite teachers from
around the school. The teachers would have brought their classes as well, however, and
some of the participants were not comfortable with this, so we arranged the performance
only for the rest of their Trojan Time group. Nevertheless, I was happy to see how excited
they were to share what they had learned and take musical risks in front of a real audience.
The performance was thus a positive and motivating factor. It also taught the
students valuable lessons about performance anxiety and preparation. Most students’
improvisation was more reserved in the performance than during the lessons. Having
experienced the effect of nerves on individual performance, I would expect students to be
more prepared for that phenomenon and perhaps more comfortable in front of audiences
in later performances. Students’ responses in the reflective discussion supported these
ideas. Several students noted that they would practice more in preparation if they
participated in a similar experience in the future and the horn player who sat closest to the
camera felt that he would make his improvisation more “interesting” given another chance
because he forgot to vary the rhythm in the moment (although he had done so
spontaneously before I even mentioned the possibility during the lessons, as heard on the
video in the Day One segment).
The students impressed me with their self-assessment skills. They readily identified
specific and varied areas both of success and for improvement in their own performances
and incorporated criteria from the rubric naturally. As is seen on the video, for instance, the
male tubist noted rhythmic elements as his weakest area, while the bassoon player
specified that she could be more creative with articulation styles and the oboist celebrated
her progress in awareness of which notes to play during each chord.
In addition to my main goals for student learning through this project, I wanted the
process to be a positive experience overall so students would be encouraged to see
improvisation as an enjoyable and accessible area of music and mode of artistic expression.
The participating performers left each lesson energized and happy, despite some of the
content being challenging to them and even frustrating at times. While we created within
defined boundaries, I worked to maintain an atmosphere of growth and experimentation.
When students expressed confusion or frustration with comments such as, “I can’t figure
out any of these” or “I don’t get this,” I refocused them and clarified expectations using a
combination of demonstration and explaining processes in a variety of ways. I asked for
volunteers whenever possible so I did not force anyone to play before they felt safe doing
so and so that early, confident volunteers could serve as models for those who still needed
more examples before trying tasks on their own. I welcomed students’ questions as a sign
of engagement and ownership and I know they felt comfortable engaging in this way
because they asked many. While some were simply clarifying directions, others were
insightful and expanded beyond the surface of what I had planned. During the reflective
discussion, for example, the bassoon player asked how improvising off of someone else’s
melody would not be considered stealing. This led to a valuable conversation about the
distinction between collaboration and dishonesty and how musicians can build off of one
another’s musical ideas to create a musical dialogue.
I used modeling and call-and-response style teaching throughout the Series of
Lessons, as can be seen in the video. Often, when students were confused and worried, they
were much more comfortable after seeing more demonstration.
Using modeling as much as possible for these lessons kept them true to the spirit of
improvisation and musical dialogue. It also bolstered engagement because students were
excited by the music they heard. The female tuba player and bassoonist can be heard on the
video spontaneously engaging with my demonstrations with body percussion and
beatboxing. I was proud to have an environment where students engaged in authentic
music creation of their own volition when I was improvising or even demonstrating
something as simple as singing a bass line containing just two notes.
Although I found modeling to be useful and effective the way I used it, there is
always room for improvement in my personal musicianship and use of demonstration.
First, I should have played the melody with the bass line much earlier in the process. When
I finally did this, it was a huge moment of realization for the students. If I had done it
sooner, they would have better understood the musical purpose of some of the activities
earlier in the process. I also can work to improve my own improvisation skills. The more
interesting and musical my demonstrations of improvisation, the more students will be
creatively inspired. My skill in this area was sufficient to help them understand the
expectations, but it was not particularly melodic or connected with the main theme. I am
personally relatively inexperienced in improvisation. As I continue to gain experience and
practice improvising, I will be increasingly effective at teaching it.
If I implemented the learning goals for this project into a classroom of my own, I
would pace the instruction differently than I did here. First, the activities would be more
effective repeated regularly over much longer periods of time. It was at times
overwhelming to students to have numerous new concepts introduced and immediately be
asked to implement them creatively before they had had a chance to gain experience with
them on a basic level. Given the opportunity, I would gradually build aural and theoretical
knowledge such as that required for the chord identification exercises, engage students
regularly in a variety of echo pattern activities with both group and individual responses,
and have rote learning as a regular activity in addition to reading music. This way, students
would have more background knowledge already available and familiar for them to use in
improvisation.
I would continue to approach improvisation from a foundation of chord tones, but I
would also add improvisation activities based upon use of motives. In this way, students
would build awareness of both function and melodic development and would have more
tools at their creative disposal. With the project as it stood, students played well within
theoretical boundaries but phrasal and artistic components—e.g. relating phrases to the
main melody, incorporating stylistic interest, demonstrating logical phrase structures—
were lacking.
I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to make music with the students who
chose to participate in this experience. Having seen and heard their positive responses, the
learning they demonstrated, and many interesting questions and thoughts sparked by the
project, I will definitely implement similar lessons into my own future classes and perhaps
showcase the results on concerts and/or informances so students may share their growth
and success. The plans will require adaptation to fit larger class sizes, but it is worth the
effort to provide an opportunity for students’ musicianship to shine.