Alex Pobocik

MUSE 375

Dr. Palmer

9 December 2017

HAT Journal Essay

Over the course of the semester I have read many sources for discussion in my HAT

journals covering many different aspects of the music education profession. In addition to all of

the new ideas that these articles have exposed me to they have also forced me to think on my

experiences as a student, seasonal instructor, and a future teacher; and to synthesize all of

these experiences into my idea of what kind of music educator I want to be. During this essay I

will explore what I have learned and how I have grown by focusing on three main areas: sound

before sight, comprehensive musicianship, and content and sequencing. Although Ive chosen

to focus on these central areas I will also tie in themes such as assessment, classroom

management, lesson planning, and standards.

The area that I experienced the most growth was my knowledge of sound before sight

(SbS) principles; particularly how to implement them in a instrumental classroom. Since my first

semester at Ball State I had learned about, experienced, and implemented SbS tenets into my

teaching episodes whether they be in the field or with my peers, but I had yet to employ them

where I would like to spend the bulk of my careerthe band room. From first learning about

SbS I had been interested in using it in my classroom. As Mills and McPherson mentioned in

our third journal article, without a grounding in SbS many students can become proficient at

their instrument, but they are just pushing buttonsseeing ink on paper, pressing down the

buttons they associate with that spot of ink, preparing the embouchure/muscles necessary for

what they associate with that ink spot, and seeing what comes out. I consider myself to have

spent the majority of my musical career as a button pusher, and to this day I am still working to
overcome this. This has severely impaired me in several areas, the most obvious of which is in

improvisation. These experiences of mine have only furthered my resolve to supply my students

with a solid foundation of SbS with which to build off of. I am determined to utilize SbS in my

classroom; but how do I do that?

The articles for journals one through four provided excellent techniques to use SbS in

the instrumental classroom which I will store in my toolbox of techniques for future use. I

believe that one of the most important takeaways that Ive gotten from this course in regards to

starting students out is that you do not need a book at first. In journal article one, the authors

write that notation before sound is like reading before speaking. Children spend years moving

from babbling to uttering single words to forming basic sentences before we ask them to learn to

read; why do we treat learning music differently? In my beginning instrumental class, I hope to

have a summer band program where I can work with like instruments in smaller groupsan

ideal setting to begin learning their instruments. In these classes I can begin with developing

aural skills through singing. This way, as is discussed in journal article two, the students can

develop an aural vocabulary of musical phrases. As Conway says in journal article one,

students cannot learn notation before they learn to play, sing, and improvise, and so my

students will sing patterns and simple songs, learn them by rote with my assistance, and learn

to use their innate creativity to improvise.

Although I think it is extremely important to begin students with this method, it is all for

naught if I do not continue this method of developing their musicianship throughout the entirety

of their instrumental career. As was mentioned in journal article four, I intend to begin every

single rehearsal with a few minutes of SbS auditing building activities. These can be as simple

as echo imitation, learning patterns on solfege, and finding the resting tone of a song; or as

complex as melodic dictation, rhythmic dictation, or improvisation. Just as important as

implementing these SbS activities is using assessment to guide that implementation. In my own

secondary instrumental experience, my teachers would occasionally employ SbS approaches,

but I was so overwhelmed with the activities due to my lack of experience that I did not learn

anything. Because of these experiences I will be sure to use formative assessment to guide my

approach day to day, and summative assessment to guide my approach on a larger scale.

I feel that many music educators know of the benefits of the SbS approach, yet so few

actually employ it on a regular basis. This is likely because of the pressures that they feel:

upcoming concerts, desire for a better score at contest, etc. As someone who has yet to enter

the profession, it is easy for me to say that I will always include SbS in my lessons, but once I

actually enter the profession I need to make sure that I stand by that statement. I need to

include it as a core tenet of my program, include a part of it in every single lesson plan, and

make it an important part of my decisions in regards to my selection of content and my curricular

plan.

In addition to SbS, another extremely important philosophy which I had not been

exposed to prior to coming to Ball State is Comprehensive Musicianship (CM). During my high

school experiences my directors had included some information regarding history, theory, etc.,

but it had mostly been presented in a lecture format. My lack of CM experience became evident

in college. Working on both solo and ensemble pieces I realized that I knew all of the right notes

to play, but I didnt truly understand the music and how to put it together to create a meaningful

performance. Now, having learned about the benefits of the CM approach, I intend on using it in

my classroom.

The CM approach is a student centered one, where the teacher is constantly questioning

the students and allowing the students to not only learn their own way, but also to develop their

own interpretation. This is touched on in journal article eleven, where the author discusses

rehearsal techniques which allow students to formulate their own informed opinions about

music. Music may be the universal language, but there is no standardized translation of that

music. As an education student we are always told to treat the students as individuals with their

own distinct personalities. Given how personal music can be, I want to let my students explore
the music so they can connect with it in a way that is meaningful to them, which in turn means a

more meaningful performance for performer and audience member alike.

CM can be incorporated in any number of ways in any given lesson. When learning the

Overture to Handels Messiah, student can learn history about the piece which in turn can be

related to theory (e.g. the interpretation of the dotted-quarter 8th as a double-dotted-quarter

16th because of limitations of print at the time); When learning Shostakovichs symphony no. 5

information about the composer can affect the manner in which it is performed (e.g. the fear and

pressure put on him by the U.S.S.R. after the reception of his last composition); When learning

Del Borgos Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night, students can explore the theoretical

aspects of the composition and the interpretation of the piece through poetry and musical

quotes (e.g. unusual form lengths, chromaticism, diminution; Thomas poem, and the hymns Ein

Feste Burg, In Dulcio Jublio, Sing to the Lord a Joyful Song).

Journal article eleven spends some time discussing the outcomes that the teacher is

looking for. Too often that outcome is something physical such as a trophy or a plaque rather

than an observable difference in the student. Not only do I believe that the CM approach is more

beneficial for students musical progress, but I also think it is more engaging which in turn

means less classroom management issues. An added bonus is that the CM approach works

extremely well at meeting the goals outlined in the 2014 National Music Standards. Although I

acknowledge the time constraints placed on music educators by everything from football games

to standardized tests, I fully intend to incorporate CM principals throughout my repertoire

selection and curricular planning.

Lastly, another major area that I have grown over the course of the semester has been

in my knowledge of content and sequencing. Up to now all of my teaching experience has

involved me working for a teacher who made the decisions on what I would be teaching and the

general order in which I would teach it, but now I have begun to consider how I would approach

this once I become the teacher. In regards to content, I believe journal article seven summed it
up well, The learning goals of curriculums guide repertoire decisions rather than [the other way

around]. As I choose the repertoire for my ensembles I should consider the outcomes I am

looking for and choose repertoire that will facilitate reaching those goals. To foster deeper

learning, students need to be prepared for certain techniques and conceptsI cannot just

decide to program a piece with arpeggiated triple tonguing and expect my students who have

only ever singled tongued to be able to perform it wellthis is where sequencing comes in.

As a band director, we are one of the few educators that generally has control of our

own curriculum, and so we must be extremely thoughtful with it. The way that I have thought

about it is to consider the goals for a senior in my program and then to consider where my

beginning student starts. Using that framework, I would then design a spiral curriculum to

achieve that goal, programming goal oriented repertoire for each concert cycle. If I want my

freshman band to be able to perform mixed meter works I should begin introducing compound

meter works in the beginning of 7th grade. If I want my ensembles to be better in tune, I should

teach the trumpets about their first and third valve slides in 6th grade and get the brass doing

pitch bends by 7th. If I want my freshman woodwinds to be able to perform all trills in the first

octave then I should program a piece that utilizes that. These are the things that I will need to

consider when designing curriculum, programming works, and planning my units.

Though I have learned a great deal by reading these articles this is only cursory dive into

all that goes into being a music educator. The scope of this course and these assignments are

only able to cover a small fraction of what I will need in my day-to-day life as a music educator,

but the content covered has provided me with a solid foundation on which to build. More

important than the actual information presented in these journals is the introspective thought

that it inspired. These journals have forced me to take all of my experiences in music and

synthesize them into the kind of music educator I want to be.