Week 4 - Reading Reflection

From the week four reading assignments the one topic that truly resonated with me was “Practice”- how to motivate students to practice and keep them engaged and productive.

Several years ago I came across a great quote by Virgil Thompson, and it has stuck with me to this day -  Thompson says, “I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down.” The reason I remember this quote is because it made me aware that all musicians I have met so far, feel the same way regardless of their level of interest and motivation they possessed when they were music students.

Becoming a musician or learning music well, is a long journey that requires a great deal of commitment and motivation. Practice is the bridge between the very beginnings of music learning and the stage of becoming a well-rounded musician. According to Bauer (2014), students who are intrinsically motivated learn music for the sake of music and for those who are extrinsically motivated the “reward for doing something comes from outside the task itself” (p. 87). I believe the use of technology can be rewarding to both motivational kinds of students (intrinsic and extrinsic). Music teachers now are able to reach a much greater number of students than ever before and retain them long enough so that they eventually see for themselves how valuable music can be.

To me, practice has been a priority in both public schools and private teaching. It is very important not only to just press on subject material but also teach students how to practice and what to practice. Usually when I teach I make sure that the material I am teaching is well understood by the students because if it is not students will find any excuse to skip practicing. With the help of technology this process has become easier than ever. In the district where I teach, we use the method Tradition of Excellence. I also use  SmartMusic, and a Yamaha arranger, which I use to accompany students in the classroom with different beat accompaniments.  Finally, I use a DVD that comes with the book and an interactive practice website. In order to help psychomotor learning, from the first day of lessons, I model proper posture and tone and use my laptop and a projector to show students videos on topics such as embouchure, breathing techniques, and how to maintain the clarinet etc..         
This last year I also started to utilize Google Classroom, where I invite students to view tips and find answers to frequently asked questions. Google classroom also has been a great communicating tool between students, parents and myself. Next year I plan to use more SmartMusic and I will keep trying to advocate for it and make it accessible to all students in a town wide level, since students who use it really enjoy playing and often come to class prepared. I truly believe that if our department approves the use of SmartMusic, we will be able to build a very strong instrumental program.  To quote Bauer, “technology-assisted learning in music performance classrooms has the potential to benefit both teachers and their students and to allow more individuals to experience the joy and benefits of active musical participation through performance” (p. 93).

References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). A conceptual framework for technology - Assisted music learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 87-93). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.