This week’s objectives were as follows:
• Discuss research and best practices related
to the acquisition of knowledge and skills for music performance.
• Describe the affordances and constraints of
a variety of technologies with application to musical performance.
• Make connections among performance
curricular outcomes, pedagogies, and technologies.
The activities to support these objectives were: (1)
interact with out PLN and post at least one item learned from our PLN on the
Digital Musicking Google+ Group; (2) Tweet at least twice about music, etc.,
including the hashtag #UFME; (3) View seven chapters in the area of Digital
Audio Principles on Lynda.com; (4) watch the tutorials through Lynda.com and
follow the exercises; (5) Complete two Audacity projects – bart and ma na ma
na; (6) Learn how SmartMusic and YouTube can be used for music performance and
other types of music learning; (7) this week’s discussion boards; (8) read
Chapter 4 of the text; and (9) the weekly blog entry.
As my classmates noted in their discussion posts for this
week, the amount of information included in Chapter 4 was intense and
compressed. In other words, there was a great deal of information included in
just a few pages – for the un-initiated in the world of technology for music
learning.
As Bauer (2014) wrote in our text, “The performing musician
utilizes knowledge and skills from across the psychomotor, cognitive, and
affective domains” (p. 79). This is of particular interest to me as I am constantly
reminding parents of the immense value of music study for children. On my front
door, I have mounted a quote of Robert Duke’s from his presentation at the GoldLab Symposium (2011). Duke
said “There is no activity that engages more of the human brain than music.” I
believe that every music teacher’s job includes the education of not only their
students, but of the students’ parents. Of course, the education of music
students’ parents contains entirely different content than does the student’s
content. The content of parental education includes, but certainly is not
limited to, how to listen to music, the value of music study – especially for
children, practice strategies and approaches, and how to be a good audience
member.
Regarding practice, Bauer (2014) states that when learning
to “play an instrument, these procedures [the acquisition of motor skills] have
both physical and mental components” (p. 80). I found many passages in the text
that I repeat almost every day to one student or another. One passage, in which
Bauer states “Such practice is hard work and people don’t always enjoy the
process. However, without it, a high level of musical performance cannot be
achieved” (p. 81). When discussing practice with students, I tell them quite
frankly that efficient and effective practice is not fun. I relate my experience with practice, talking about the
frustration of playing a measure and a half a bazillion times, starting
excruciatingly slowly, feeling like I’m stupid for having to play it so very
slowly, then creeping the tempo using the metronome, by only one notch at a
time. The alternative is that the student plays a piece from beginning to end,
without separating difficult passages and working them separately and
differently, and never achieving mastery of the tough part, even with many
iterations. Although certainly a mentally easier approach, the satisfaction of
complete mastery is never achieved.
When discussing the importance of regular practice over a
period of several weeks as opposed to attempting to “cram” for class piano
juries with my college students, I advise them several times during every
semester that there is no such thing as “cramming” for a piano jury. It is
impossible for them to master their repertoire pieces over a period of a few
days, even if they practice eight hours each day for those few days. Not only
do their muscles need to be trained over a longer period of time, but their
unconscious mind must process the music during sleep cycles. Bauer (2014)
refers to this in the text:
Distributed practice, or spreading
out one’s practice over a period of time, is better than massed practice –
practicing many hours in one sitting (Proctor & Dutta, 1995). While the
value of distributed practice has been acknowledged for some time, recent brain
research has further substantiated this approach. The brain needs time to
solidify newly developed neural networks; frequent breaks and adequate sleep
are important in this process. (p. 81)
In fact, for my private piano students, I require them to
practice four to five different days during a given week. I often give them the
example that to practice one day for four hours doesn’t provide nearly the
learning that twenty minutes a day over a period of four days does. I also
discuss mental practice – exactly how to approach it and the effectiveness of
it.
I discussed modeling and the use of CD accompaniments with
my students on the discussion boards this week. However, I did not include
comments regarding my concern for the use of CD accompaniments for choir or
other ensemble performances. Although the use of CD accompaniments has become
widespread and mostly an accepted practice, I cringe whenever I am in the
presence of such. How is it that Karaoke has become an acceptable method of
what is supposed to be performance of serious music? It is my opinion that
Karaoke is better left to the myriad of bars in Japan. Even with such strong
opinions on the matter, I have to admit that I’ve been party to one such
performance. The very small church at which I play piano wanted to perform a
Christmas ‘Cantata’ with a CD accompaniment. Since there was no role for me as
an accompanist, they asked me to rehearse the choir and conduct the
performance. I am honestly at a loss as to how to diplomatically answer the
inevitable next such request.
The tutorials on Lynda.com are wonderful! They cover topics
thoroughly, efficiently, and make the subject matter accessible to anyone.
Through these tutorials, I have learned much that I will put to use when
setting up my studio. Thank you, Dr. Bauer!
My ongoing complaints about the discussion boards will now
cease for the remainder of this class. For me it has been a perfect balance of
small groups and entire class discussions for the various topics. Hopefully, I
will be able to take more advantage of the discussion boards in the remaining
weeks of this class. My time has been so limited during the past three weeks
that I am guilty of not being a student who contributes much; that bothers me –
a lot.
The Ma-Na-Ma-Na remix project was fun!
_________
…philosophers tend to have a great
mixture of responses to everything, simplicity being anathema to their
characters. (Reimer, 2009, p. 16)
_________
References
Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music
learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to
music. New York: Oxford University Press.
Duke, R. (2011). How
we learn…and how we don’t. Presentation
given at GoldLab Symposium 2011. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtjzqDN4hNk&feature=youtu.be
Reimer, B. (2009). Seeking the significance of music education: Essays and reflections.
Lanham, MD: Published in partnership with MENC: The National Association for
Music Education by Rowman & Littlefield Education.
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