CULVER CITY MS OBSERVATION 1

Observation: Mr. Hart at Culver City Middle School

Erik Alvarado

Department of Music Education,

University of California, Los Angeles

MUSC 110D: Comparative Study of Instrumental Music Education

Professor Emily Kubitskey

April 17, 2022

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For our visit at Culver City Middle School, we observed two of Mr. Hart’s band groups.

The first was his beginning band and the second was his advanced band. Since we were limited

on time for observing the second group, the majority of observations listed here come primarily

from the first group. Both of these classes take place over ninety minute blocks with the first

starting at 8:15am and the second starting at 9:50am.

We were able to arrive early enough to observe how Mr. Hart organized himself prior to

the beginning of classes. The first thing we observed about his routine is how he prepared the

room prior to students arriving. Chairs and music stands were set up ahead of time so students

could just enter and find their seats easily. The agenda for each class was written on the board for

students to see. He was setting up his laptop, projector, and speaker while greeting students who

were beginning to walk in. This created the impression that this classroom setting was

welcoming for the students since they reciprocated his acknowledgements and even prompted

small conversations.

Before class started, students were taking out their instruments ahead of time and

beginning to play and warm-up on their own, an expectation that must have been established

earlier in the school year. For students that arrived earlier, he gave them the option to take a look

at music that was going to be passed out later on in class or to continue warming up on their

own. I found this preparation effective since students are given a choice to what they want to do

before class with both choices including some type of playing. Since most of the students arrived

ahead of time, this gave the class time to get settled in as well as time to diagnose any problems

with instruments and have them repaired prior to class time. I found this very effective in

establishing that instructional time begins after the bell rings and any time prior to that is for

instrument maintenance and personal warm up time.

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Class began promptly after the bell rang with students already prepared ahead of time.

Mr. Hart takes time in the beginning of class to ask students about their plans for the weekend,

leaving the conversation open to those who want to take part. This establishes a sense of interest

for the personal lives of students. Making them feel validated allows them to develop a sense of

respect in the classroom, thus making them more prone to take part in the learning process.

Mr. Hart’s routine after asking students about their interests and plans consisted of going

over the agenda listed on the board, followed by a video presentation of an orchestra playing

Hall of the Mountain King. Students are then asked about what they thought of the music and

video with any free range of response. Students were encouraged to listen to each other's

opinions, this established a sense of mutual respect within the classroom. At times he would take

part in banter with the students but would quickly jump back on board with the topic being

discussed. I found this so much more effective in creating a welcoming environment than if he

were to discourage such type of banter. I found his approach much more effective since it

allowed students to get it out of their systems and resume class.

After this discussion, the class moved on to breathing exercises where students were

asked to identify aspects of proper breathing and posture. Students’ understanding of this was

being reinforced by having them recollect what was taught in previous classes rather than being

told the information. Breathing exercises became more and more focused as the exercises

progressed. The first few exercises were more fun and free, while the later exercises required

more effort and attention. This progression was effective in allowing students to get settled into a

learning mode.

After breathing, students are given time to play on their own before starting a group

warm up. Playing warm ups are presented by Mr. Hart on his instrument and students are asked
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to repeat them. I found this useful in training students’ musicianship abilities. He briefly talked

about tuning, what is sharp and flat, as well as how to adjust for each instrument.

Throughout the class, students were constantly being asked questions about music

concepts, what they think about the music, technical approaches, their personal assessment and

progress, as well as being asked to finger along when another section is being worked with. This

was beneficial in keeping students engaged by allowing them to stay connected to what was

going on during class.

There were two criticisms I had about his routine. The fist was how he managed the class

as his instructional time came to an end. Students were beginning to pack up before being

instructed to do so and attention was lost as he was talking during this time. While his

announcements were brief, it would have been more effective to state them at the beginning of

class. The other criticism I had was with the amount of free time given after instructional time.

While I do think it is beneficial to allow students free time to pack up and unwind, the amount of

time given seemed a bit excessive. I found that this time could have been utilized for

instructional time, especially for one of the pieces that students found difficult to play.

Overall, I found Mr. Hart’s classroom environment is very nurturing to his students in a

way that focuses on providing a welcoming social environment as well as a conducive learning

environment. His approach was effective in retaining engagement and encouraging participation.

Students appeared to be enthusiastic about this class, showing great interest in what they were

learning as well as their overall positive reaction to how Mr. Hart approached his teaching.