Bauer identifies that individuals with a "high degree of self-efficacy - the belief that they can be successful and achieve at an activity... are more likely to be intrinsically motivated (p. 81)." This is almost common sense, but it hadn't occurred to me in terms of developing student practice habits. When we present a piece of music to our students, we generally present it in small pieces that allow students to find success easily. The hope is that they will become engaged in the success, making them more likely to engage in a meaningful way with the music.
As a chorus director, I struggle to find good traditional ways to facilitate student practice. It is easy to assign a rhythm sheet or solfege assignment. I find it harder to provide practice scaffolding that facilitates student success when practicing repertoire. Students can download tuners and metronomes to their cell phones with ease. It takes a certain level of autonomy and confidence, however, to effectively utilize these tools. CD, MP3, and MIDI recordings of accompaniments can be useful tools, but they don't allow for great musical flexibility. The tempo of a CD or MP3 is static; it doesn't allow students to fully engage in music making.
SmartMusic is appealing because it can provide students with an opportunity to be musically expressive while still providing tonal structure to their singing. The idea of an intelligent electronic accompanist is intriguing. As a vocalist, the opportunity to transpose pieces with a simple click is extremely appealing. It also gives students feedback on certain technical aspects of their performance (notes and rhythms). Bryan High School is getting 200 licenses for SmartMusic through the district next year. I'll be curious to see if the technology is as effective as it appears to be.
Since today, students are generally immersed in technology, it makes sense that technology can be used to help facilitate enhanced student practicing. In the end, teaching students to be intrinsically motivated helps them to become better musicians. It would also save me quite a bit in brownie ingredients!
Bauer addresses using recordings made during to help provide feedback for students. I currently use a Yeti Stereo Microphone with Audacity in my classroom. "[M]iddle and high school students are not always aware of mistakes when they make them during performance. However, if that performance is recorded and the students are given the opportunity to listened to it, they often do notice errors upon playback (p. 86)." Since I began recording student performances and using those recordings to teach students to diagnose their own errors, my classes have become much more adept at error detection and correction.
I'm going to be seeking other ways as this class continues to use technology to help my students feel that they can be successful; of course, as music teachers, we know they can be. Teaching students to be intrinsically motivated is a powerful thing!
I also record my orchestra ensemble rehearsals so that students may offer constructive criticism and suggest ways to improve their performance. Usually the students think they sound much worse on the recording than they did while they were playing. Students at the middle school level focus on their own playing but have a hard time listening to the ensemble as a whole. When the recording is played back they can hear how their parts fit together with others and if the ensemble sounds balanced.
ReplyDeleteI tried using SmartMusic as a motivation for practicing because I enjoy using it myself. However, the subscription I had could only be used at the school and students had to purchase their own subscription to use at home. I think I had one or two students purchase it for home use. The rest of the students had to take turns using the three computers in the practice rooms during rehearsal. This did not work well because while they were using SmartMusic they were missing important class instructions. I did work around this by having different sections practice together. Therefore, I could have all the cello and bass players in the practice rooms taking turns using SmartMusic while I worked with the viola and violin sections. I offered students the opportunity to use SmartMusic before or after school but very few students took advantage of this time.
Hi Ben-Thanks for your insight on student practice. I am a choral director as well and find it difficult to assign home practice, especially of the repertoire. In general, I have found that vocalists tend to have a harder time being "independent" musicians all together. Practicing at home isn't a matter of going home, taking out their instruments, and pressing down keys to create pitches. Instead, they must rely heavily on their aural skills, which my students have a really hard time having confidence in. Piano skills help as well, but very few of my students know how to navigate a keyboard, even at a basic level. You are correct in saying they can practice rhythm and sight singing pretty independently, but I have never required my students to practice repertoire at home. Midi tracks are helpful, but a bit static, as you say. I teach in a high needs district with a minimal budget and am not sure SmartMusic is an option, but I would be intrigued to try it if given the chance. There have got to be more ideas out there for how to get vocalists to practice!
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