First Recording

The beginning half of my lesson didn’t go according to plan. I wanted to take this as an
opportunity for the students to teach each other, but half the class wasn’t here when we talked
about the minor scales used during improv. That wasn’t essential to my lesson so I took the time
to review what we learned the previous day. I forget that students need constant reinforcement
of concepts learned, especially if they’re new concepts. Students have a lot more than just their
music classes going on in their lives, it’s a lot of information to retain.
I did make a mistake recalling what note to lower for the Bb harmonic minor scale. Ever
since this mistake I’ve been especially careful. After this recording, I recognize that there’s no
shame in being extra careful. I take it to the board, I have the students triple check my answer,
sometimes I go to the piano and play the concept for them so it’s in their ear and mine. I’ve
learned there’s no shame in being extra careful; not only is it good for me but good for the
students too, especially the ones who are not as confident. This isn’t a matter of being
unprepared, I had those scales and identified notes written down, I’ve reviewed my minor scales
numerous times, but as a young teacher I still need to hone the skill of thinking on the spot
when numerous young eyes are on me.
I think I’m personable and my attitude sets up a positive environment for the students,
however I do feel as if I come across as scatter-brained in this teaching. I will admit, this day
was not my strongest teaching nor was it our best playing. Following this rehearsal, I became
really stressed because I was worried we weren’t going to learn this piece well enough in time
for assessment. In this video, I had the students sit in mixed positions (which is something they
really enjoyed), but this did challenge their playing a lot, as one could expect. Sections were
having a harder time playing together, I could hear individuals who were used to hiding behind
stronger players, and the winds and rhythm section were having a hard time locking to each
other. I also think I could have conducted a lot less. The students don’t need me to conduct, and
if they do, then that’s a sign that they need to listen to the rhythm section, and if they feel they
can’t rely on the rhythm section, then that means the rhythm section needs work on locking in
the groove. The amount of times I said “Does that make sense?” is concerning. If I have to ask
that as many times as I did, I’m probably not as concise as I should be.
In this rehearsal, I recorded them and had them listen to themselves. Afterwards, I
listened to the recording several times and noticed numerous things I didn’t notice on the
podium. I grew concerned because I thought back to other times I have taught and questioned,
“What else am I not hearing? What am I not addressing?” It made me realize that I should
always be recording everything I do whether that’s teaching or playing. Dr. Bolstad recorded our
rehearsals all the time, I would assume he listened to those recordings numerous times, made
notes, and used it to improve his teaching. My private teacher always encouraged us to record
our lessons and practice, even though it’s something no one likes to do, it is extremely
beneficial in helping us improve.
 Second Recording
I felt much better about this teaching that I did on my first recording. I created two lesson
plans, one for if we were on the stage, the other if we were in the classroom.
This rehearsal is the week of their concert, this group was in solid shape for their
assessment that Friday, so this rehearsal I had to focus on detail, and I was nervous about
being too detailed because it was so close to the performance and the band director might have
had a different interpretation in mind.
In general, if the students are doing more than me, then I feel I’m doing my job correctly.
I try to do as little as possible, because I believe students learn more by doing, assessing, and
comparing themselves, instead of listening to a teacher do, assess, and compare for them.
I wish I made them sing more. I had them sing the triad once, and I briefly sang them
their pitches but it wasn’t enough for them to internalize the pitch or learn something from that
exercise. I don’t think that brief singing exercise did anything for them, unless I would have
expanded more on that concept. During the intonation exercise, I forgot to include the
saxophone and the horn until the very end. I was a little thrown off because I wanted to tune
them with my phone, however it was good for me to train my own ear and their ear on the spot. I
prefer exercises where the teacher guide and students figure the answer for themselves,
instead of a teacher simply providing the answer for efficiency.
I do hear the horn player struggling, he sounds pinched and I’m not entirely sure he’s
hitting the right notes. This horn player has only been playing for a few weeks, he switched to
horn due to the lack of horns in the overall band program. I had to choose between helping this
single individual, or continuing to address the whole group. After watching this video, I think I
could at least address him a little bit, maybe mention to always play with a good sound whether
he’s confident of the notes or not, and maybe give him an instrument to listen to in that section
as a reference. With that, it doesn’t deter from the rest of the group and he can receive the
attention he deserves.
With the exercise of having students stand at the edge of the stage and playing “as loud
as they can,” I think I could have expanded more on that. Maybe pushed them to the extremes,
have them play as soft as they can, now as loud as they can almost on the brink of a spread
tone, now a balance of the two. I could have sent a student or two out in the audience to assess
the players. Or I could have sent the players out in the audience so those on stage could assess
them. Although I accomplished my goal rather quickly with them, there was potential for more
engagement and interaction with the students.
This last section was a little rough for me, especially since I didn’t have a tuner to rely
on, but again, the moment was good for me to train my ear, but this close to performance I think
it was important for me to be especially sure. I wanted to include the other players somehow,
but because I was working with individuals I didn’t want the other players’ criticism to be
personal. The flutes were having a hard time playing a high note in tune, which is a struggle for
every woodwind player, and none of them wanted to adjust either. I kept going back and forth
between players for my sake, to hear which player was the closest in pitch, but this didn’t feel
like it was accomplishing much. Instead of going back and forth between players, I could be
constructive in the moment. Things I could have tried are “Let’s all match with this person and
see how it sounds. Clarinets, what do you think? What if we matched with ​this p ​ erson?” Or I
could have played a game of extremes again where, “Pull the pitch super sharp, now pull the
pitch super flat, [a question I could have posed to the other players] which one were they
before? Which way do we need to pull it then and how can we do that?” That would have been
a better use of their time and learning experience then what I actually did.