Music Teaching 101

I found the below resource on ISSUU, published by Toby Rush. It shows how Beethoven developed his 4 note motif throughout the symphony to create a full piece. It is especially useful for students who are scared by the thought of composing.

I think we can all learn a little something from Beethoven!

As a starter activity for a lesson introducing a class to hockets, I have arranged a “Mystery Song” which students are challenged to identify as they play. I have arranged the song for 7 instruments (the amount of students in my Yr 12 class) and I have split the melody as evenly as possible between the parts. On their own, the parts don’t create a melody however when students play as an ensemble, they will form a very well known melody. Students will only be given their individual part and therefore won’t be able to work out the melody until they play with everyone else.

Here is an excerpt of my arrangement. See if you can guess the song!

The beginning of Nigel Westlake and Lior’s “Eize Hu Chacham?” alludes to the medieval hocket, opening up the perfect opportunity to use boomwhackers in the classroom.

Boomwhackers are one of the most enjoyable ways to make music as students have to work together to play a simple melody or to play chords.

It is also one of the most entertaining to watch…

A task I will be setting in my unit of work is for students to arrange a popular melody to be played by boomwhackers in small groups. When they perform for the rest of the class, the other students will be encouraged to guess which song is being played.

For more experenced boomwhacker players, or for some inspiration, here is a great arrangement of “Don’t Stop Believing” by Harvard THUD:

I am absolutely in love with YouTuber Adam Neely at the moment. I have been able to find suitable videos of his for the last two music units I have written. His fast paced videos keep you interested and his videos are full of examples, making it easy to explain certain musical ideas to students as well as keeping it relevant for younger musicians. These videos are definitely worth a watch whether you are a teacher or a student.

For a unit of work on Music of a Culture: Scottish Music I found the following video about scotch snaps.

For the unit I am writing at the moment; Music of the Last 25 Years (Australian Focus) with the focus work Nigel Westlake and Lior’s Compassion: Movement 2 “Eize Hu Chacham?”, I have found the following video to explain historical and modern uses of hockets.

If you like these videos you can subscribe to his YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkp4xDOwqqJD7sSM3xdUiQ

For the focus piece Compassion: Movement 2 “Eize Hu Chacham?” I am still trying to decide on an extended response question appropriate for HSC exam conditions (where students only have about 20 minutes to write a response) however after research about the piece I have found a great quote by Nigel Westlake which encourages students to think more critically about the work.

‘Compassion inhabits a vast array of emotions and colours,’ says composer Nigel Westlake, ‘at times pulsating and riotous, at others reflective and textural, and draws upon the myriad of influences the two of us have been able to bring to the table from our incredibly diverse backgrounds.’

An appropriate question to ask students would be:

What aspect of compassion is being evoked in this movement and how?  Please make specific reference to the score and the musical concepts.

This would be a great question to have your students think about at home as it encourages critical thinking about the composition. The question itself requires more thought than what is allowed in the HSC exam conditions and would be more valuable as a homework task or assignment. Student findings could definitely be of use in their future HSC responses.

Starting a unit of work by listening to the focus piece seems like a good place to start…

Make sure your students have time to listen without the comfort of a score in front of them – developing aural skills is an invaluable skill!

Then ensure students are given time to listen to the music while reading along with the score. This allows them to understand the music more comprehensively (especially the students who are dependent on score-based learning and have had little experience with aural-based learning).

Ensure students have time to discuss their findings with their peers as there will always be features that not all students will pick up on. It also enables students to practice putting their findings into words (necessary for final HSC exam).

Here is how I will begin my unit of work about Compassion – Movement 2 “Eize Hu Chacham?” composed by Nigel Westlake and Lior (HSC Mandatory Topic):

Listening to the Work
Students listen to the entire movement without looking at the score.

Class discussion about musical features and how musical interest is evoked. Discussion will focus on:

• Syncopation
• Call and response
• Timbre of instruments / instrumentation
• Pedal point
• Time signature – is there a constant/regular metre?
• Mood changes

Analysing the Score

Students will then listen to the movement again while reading along with the score.  They will be asked to mark/circle the following:

• Extended techniques
• Repeated ostinati / motifs
• Any dramatic changes to any of the concepts

Students will finally have a chance to analyse the score in detail. Students will be required to identify 3-4 features regarding each musical concept and will transfer their findings to a table of the concepts (noting bar numbers).

Students will then discuss findings and will be able to add to their table and their score markings as they hear the observations of their peers.

First thing’s first: choose the five musical works to be studied throughout the year for the mandatory topic and then specify a focus work for the particular unit.

The current mandatory topic for Year 12 Music 2 students is ‘Music of the last 25 Years (Australian Focus)’. It is important to remember that ‘Australian Focus’ is in brackets and therefore one of the selected works for this topic should represent ‘Music of the Last 25 Years’ outside of Australia.

It is also important to have female representation in the selected works. Let’s not forget the incredible female composers who deserve as much recognition as the men.

Another base to cover when choosing repertoire is to ensure you have one piece which is from the last 25 years but represents a style other than western art music. This could be musical theatre, jazz or even indie rock… the sky is the limit!

Also, remember when choosing the repertoire that not only will you have to listen to the music numerous times, but your students will as well. Choose pieces which interest and excite you where possible.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be writing a unit of work for movement 2 of Nigel Westlake and Lior’s ‘Compassion’: “Eize Hu Chacham”. You can listen to the movement on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6sXXrZJqAI