Notes from the Cougar Band Room

As the school year begins to wrap-up, I'm finding myself inspired to look back and reflect a bit. Specifically looking back at the  beginning of this school year, I had five "New School Year Resolutions" : Streamlining Chamber Music Project Ensembles Student-Run Fundamentals Based Warm-Ups Continuing to Develop Student Leadership Workshops Be Present in the Current Role Keep it Simple, Sunshine So where have each of these taken me this year? For our  Chamber Music Project Ensembles , we definitely made some improvements: Large Chamber Ensemble sign-ups happened much earlier in the school year. Groups were formed with the pieces to be performed in mind, rather than starting with players and later trying to find music that would work, making the start-up process much easier for both students and coaches. Students forming small groups were also advised to start with finding music first and then forming their groups, so that there would be fewer issues down the ...

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of presenting and participating in the Michigan Music Conference. Going to Grand Rapids and connecting with others at MMC is always a welcomed reprieve amidst midterms, grading, and shifting gears from Solo & Ensemble back into Festival season. In spite of the packed schedules and sometimes rushed conversations between friends on their way to various sessions, I'm always amazed at how rejuvenated I am to get back into teaching afterwards. This year's conference did not disappoint- loads of great concerts and sessions to provide food for thought as we look ahead to the second half of the school year. I also had the honor to participate in this year's Conductor's Symposium, which was a wonderfully humbling learning experience. (And having the chance to conduct the Western Michigan University Wind Symphony felt a bit like driving a Porsche!) Some of the best, most concentrated 10 minutes of PD I have ever received. Totally worth the ne...

So what have I learned from all this? How will this effect me and my teaching? Probably more than I can begin to summarize here, but I'll take a shot with some of the main changes I've observed and acted upon since we began our Student-Led Rehearsal experience... Do you hear what I hear? Observing our student-led rehearsals has helped highlight for me some of the things I would like to emphasize more moving forward; Listening, especially. When students have something they are listening for, they are rehearsing at their best. We just need to work together so students always know what exactly it is they are listening for. And listening for the full package, not just "dynamics" or "rhythm" or any other singular musical concept. After all, if we don't like what we hear, then why are we doing it? This isn't "band hero". It shouldn't be about "making it right", it should be about making something beautiful. It isn't enough to...

So...what did students think of our Student-Led Rehearsals? Wind Ensemble (1st hour; Audition-Only Group) Generally speaking, Student-Led Rehearsals well-received in this ensemble. Many students expressed appreciation at building teamwork, and felt the topics they rehearsed "stuck" more quickly when they were able to direct their own learning. They also expressed a heightened accountability to self and one another, deeper engagement, and enjoyed giving/receiving constructive feedback to one another in respectful ways. Frustrations included lack of organization/unclear goals, time management concerns, starting/establishing procedures, and wanting more rehearsal time. Question: Where did you hear our efforts pay off? Question: Was there a difference between Student-Led and Director-Led Rehearsals? If so, what? Question: Was there anything challenging about Student-Led Rehearsals? Question: What are some of the ways we can improve rehearsals, no matter who is leadin...

Below are the resulting performances after our 6 weeks of Student-Led Rehearsals. Each ensemble selected their pieces from a short list of appropriate level music literature. Once selected, students needed to navigate how rehearsals would be run and make collective musical decisions in order to be ready to perform each piece for our Winter Band Concert on December 12, 2018.  Although the list of challenges has been great, my band director heart is so full from hearing the musical progress these students made on these pieces. A full write-up based on our experiences both from the student and director perspectives are forthcoming.  SCHS Concert Band- Beyond the Highlands, Benjamin Yeo SCHS Symphony Band- Albanian Dance, Shelley Hanson SCHS Wind Ensemble- Queen City March, W. H. Boorn/arr. Lafferty

See that big gray cloud? The one that feels like falling into a pit of question marks? You don’t need to know what’s in there. All you need is the vision you’re holding, the clarity it takes to find the next spot to step in, & the willingness to keep walking. #emilyonlife pic.twitter.com/H39LBNM3AW — Emily McDowell (@emilymcdowell_) November 16, 2018 Although our student-led rehearsal experiment started out feeling a bit like that, I must admit, it is exciting watching and listening to these students as we head into the final stretch! Working hard in our final rehearsals before Wednesday’s big concert! 7pm, right here in the SCHS auditorium- join us for an evening filled with festive music and great aural feats! #RCSArts #RCSPride #WeAreSC pic.twitter.com/NDaRFOCC8Y — SCHS Bands (@SCHSBands) December 10, 2018 Our Winter Concert is tomorrow and all three ensembles have not only some great music to perform, but have made some really remarkable progress.  Musi...

One of my biggest frustrations as a band director is students playing their instruments but not actually listening. "Band Hero". Once I push a button/make the sound, I'm no longer responsible.  Listening to each other, listening to feedback, LISTENING to the information around you to derive the information we need to really learn, adapt, and be highly sensitive in our music making. This simple level of awareness is at the root of so many ensemble problems: Balance. Intonation. Matching styles. The list could go on and on. I noticed something while observing one of the student led rehearsals and taking notes on their rehearsal process: [Scene: Student-Led Rehearsal] Ensemble plays through excerpt/piece. Ensemble stops playing. Ensemble members raise hands as moderator asks "what did you think?" [/Scene] WAIT. STOP. There was no turn and talk. There was no checking phone notifications. there was no sneaking of homework being completed whi...