Sonya Bangia

10/27/2020 General Music Observation

Observing Mr. Hanson’s second grade general music class was a very cool learning

experience. The classroom set-up was a carpeted floor that was elevated into three layers of

risers. There were dots on the floor where students had to sit socially distanced, and they were

color-coded by row. This way, Mr. Hanson could call up a color row to get instruments. There

was a projector in the front of the room, which Mr. Hanson used to display a video that the

students did movement to, and a computer by his desk. I did not see any chairs besides the one

chair Mr. Hanson used.

The teacher persona was casual, with a varied pace and tone of voice. He didn’t treat the

students condescendingly, which I appreciated. He often said instructions in rhythm, and then

motioned for the students to repeat back to him. Mr. Hanson was also quite expressive and used

varied pace to hold the students’ attention, while he was explaining the instructions for their

online homework. He would often ask them questions dramatically to confirm what they knew

about the assignment.

The overall feel of the lesson was relaxed and fun. Mr. Hanson was casual with students,

and framed lots of activities as games, such as a call and response song that was also a game of

duck duck goose. The students were laughing and enjoying themselves most of the class. Mr.

Hanson also gave them clear instructions, so they weren’t confused.

By the end of the lesson, the kids were able to trace the sound of a slide whistle in the air,

and could do a call and response of ‘Charlie Caught a Big Fish.’ Students were given the

opportunity to sing individually and lead the group as well (also providing an opportunity for
assessment). They could also play the drums in different ways, in the middle or around the edge,

while listening to a story.

What the kids understood at the end of the lesson is similar to what they could do by the

end of the lesson, because Mr. Hanson’s methods were very Orff based. The kids did not seem

to know they were learning, as they spoke in different musical tones and explored music

creatively. They understood how to play the drum correctly and produce different sounds by

hitting in the middle or around the outside, and also understood how to call and respond.

By the end of the lesson, the kids seemed to feel energized about music, because of all

the fun they were having with it. They were thoroughly engaged in each activity at the time, and

definitely enjoyed movement to the music and singing; They walked out of the classroom

feeling that music was a fun thing that they could do, and learned some music skills.
 Sonya Bangia
10/27/2020 Choral Music Observation

Observing the SATB choir at Center Grove Middle School taught me a lot about teaching

and musical learning strategies. The choir had a teacher, an assistant teacher, and a full time

accompanist, so there was a lot of teacher modeling for the students. This inspired students to

perform at a high level, and also helped them learn the notes and rhythms. Whenever a section

was learning a new part, a teacher would sing it with them and the accompanist would play

along.

The group participation either occurred in small groups or as a whole SATB choir.

Often, sections would learn their parts first with the teachers, while other sections audiated their

parts. Then the choir director would put all of the parts together. In their warm-up and stretches,

there was also full group participation. The teachers only used a lot of repetition when reviewing

the takadimi rhythm. possibly because they had limited time in class. The repetition likely came

from when the students were audiating their parts individually.

There was a lot of piecing things together bit by bit in the choir class. First, the students

used takadimi to figure out the rhythm for their new piece. After that, they sang the notes on

solfege instead of words, and then finally added the words. This seemed very helpful for

students, because they developed a sound understanding of the song’s pitches, rhythms, and

words in a manageable way.

The teachers used diagnosis and error detection very well. When the assistant teacher

noticed that the sopranos were not singing confidently, she went over to sing with them, and

gave them instruction and repetition. Similarly, when Mr. Anderson had suggestions for
improvement, he said them in key words as the choir was singing. The changes were immediate,

and it also did not waste time by stopping and starting. Both positive and constructive criticism

was used. Both teachers thanked students for their work and praised their sound as a whole, and

when individual sections needed work, the teachers would have them try again with a new idea.

There was not a lot of negative feedback, only suggestions for improvement.

Finally, the teachers used songs and pieces to get musical concepts across. About twenty

minutes was focused on repertoire, which also strengthened the students’ knowledge of takadimi

and solfege, because this is what they used to rehearse the repertoire. Visual aids such as a

rhythm written out on the board, then adding a tie to demonstrate syncopation was also used.

Overall, observing Mr. Andersen’s choir class was very helpful to see teacher strategies.
Sonya Bangia
10/27/2020 Band Observation

Observing the Atlas Concert Band video by master teachers was a very helpful

experience from a classroom management standpoint. The style of classroom management was

fairly relaxed, but the teacher seemed to naturally hold the students’ attention and trust them. I

think that when a teacher trusts their students to behave and do good work, then they are likely to

take that trust and treat the environment professionally. So there were not clear rules laid out that

I could see, but it seemed to be mutually understood that the band was a place of focus and

respect.

Student disruptions were dealt with mostly through humour. There were not a lot of

disruptions, but at one point the class got out of hand and started laughing and talking. The

teacher dealt with that by miming a fishing reel, and reeling the class back in. It worked very

effectively, because it caught their attention and reminded them of what they were supposed to

do, without calling individual students out (which could create a slightly antagonistic

environment). Minor student disruptions, like talking while the teacher’s baton was up, were

dealt with by saying a quick ‘shh’ before he began conducting. Other discipline things, like a

student not knowing their part, was dealt with when the teacher said ‘that I’ll want tomorrow’.

This band director did not make a big deal out of discipline and focused on the music learning.

This seems appropriate at the high school level, because mostly students just need a gentle nudge

in the right direction, so discipline does not take up a large portion of the lesson.
 The kids definitely understood what appropriate classroom behavior was. Even when the

teacher was not rehearsing their section specifically, the kids were mostly attentive. It could be

because the teacher was captivating in every part he rehearsed, and seemed to know how to make

kids laugh and focus. They had respect for him and the class, so they played and fixed what they

asked him to, and stayed quiet in their seats when they were not playing.

One extra thing that I observed that was interesting was how the teacher worked with

individual students in a band setting. I chose this because I do not usually see teachers working

with individual students in a band setting, and the way he worked with them was very smart.

When he worked with individual french horn players, for example, he only focused on what they

could do to improve, and gave advice in a very positive way. This way, they would not feel

embarrassed around their classmates, and would be more likely to be receptive to the teacher’s

advice because of the positive light. Overall, this lesson was interesting and motivating to watch.