Music Teacher Freebies

Hello everyone! After taking the summer off (and then some) from blogging, I am refreshed and ready to start posting more regularly. One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that I have been able to learn and use free music teaching resources developed by fellow music teachers all over the world. Now, it's my turn to start sharing some music teacher freebies. 

Active Listening Handout

When I'm really organized, I have a set of audio and/or video clips lined up for students to listen to. I used to aim for a weekly "Clip of the Week" but we just go too busy. When my students and I do the Clip of the Week exercise, I normally bring out this Active Listening handout to help guide my students in the art of active listening.

These sheets, like all materials I will be sharing here, are free to download and print for teaching and private study only.

 Ways to Describe Music

My younger brother attended Piano Camp for several years in a row. I attended once as an adult. We both had the pleasure of working with Ingrid Clarfield of Westminster Choir College. She had a sheet with some adjectives to help students play more expressively.

Inspired, I found more adjectives and used my basic desktop layout skills to create this handout. One side lists various expressive adjectives while the other has what is the beginning of Maestro's Music Tricks with a bit of a music practice guide, entitled, "Am I Done Yet?"

Visual Music Practice Planners (AKA "Assignment Sheets")

This summer, I researched teaching strategies for autistic students. I don't have any students with autism (that I know of), but there is a person in one of my volunteer groups that might be.

When I looked at various planners and To Do Lists, I realized that this concept would work well for my highly visual-kinesthetic learners (see Teaching Music Using VARK Learning Preferences). I came up with these assignment sheets:

Visual Planner #1: Ideal for younger students, highly visual-kinesthetic learners, and autistic students. I laminated the sheet. Cutting up the practice squares and trying to position them carefully on a laminator sheet was quite the challenge.

Visual Planner #2: For older visual learners. Probably can work with some students on the autism spectrum.

Visual Assignment Sheet #3:Good for multi-modal students with a high score in visual learning.

Lesson Assignment Sheet and Practice Diary for Read/

Write Learners, Teens and Above

I have some students who will be distracted by all the colours. This plain Jane assignment sheet is perfect for them.

Next week, I will share my student incentive program.

Teaching Music Using VARK Learning Preferences

Each person's learning style is unique. Music teachers can teach more effectively with a basic understanding of VARK learning preferences and teaching strategies.

Every student learns differently. Teachers can tailor music lessons to tap into individual learning styles. Photo by woodleywonderworks.

Although there are several learning style models, this article will focus on the VARK Model. VARK defines four learning preferences: Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinesthetic.

The Visual Learner

Visual learners learn by seeing. In her August 8, 2008 "Moulding with Modalities" presentation at a piano pedagogy workshop in Calgary, Alberta, clinician Victoria Chow explained that visual learners are good sight readers, favor Impressionistic and Contemporary Classical music, and enjoy music theory and analysis. They are easily distracted by movement and have a weak ear. They prefer written instructions over oral.

The VARK Learning Styles website states that visual learners like to learn through:

• PowerPoint

• Internet

• video

• colorful posters, graphics, diagrams, pictures, flow charts, handouts

• symbols and white space

The Aural Learner

Aural learners learn by listening. Chow said aural learners have a strong musical ear and enjoy listening to music and discussing its style and tone. They like to sing and listen to recordings. Auditory learners think melodically and prefer music with a strong melodic line, such as music by Chopin and Schubert. They are easily distracted by noises.

The VARK Learning Styles website and Amanda-Makenzie Braedyn Svecz's article "Learning Styles - Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic" explain that auditory learners learn by:

• listening to and participating in discussions and tutorials

• listening to interesting examples, stories, jokes

• listening to recordings

• verbal repetition

• giving presentations or speeches

• creating jingles or mnemonics

The Read/Write Learner

According to the VARK website, Read/Write learners learn by:

• reading

• written activities

• closed book tests

• essays

• making lists

• taking notes

I have searched in vain to find pedagogical ideas on how to teach this group music. The ideas that I have listed are a combination of general Read/Write learner traits and study ideas, as well as my own observations and experiences, having worked with several students who are "pure" Read/Write learners.

They prefer to put instructions into their own words or follow step-by-step instructions over oral or visual demonstrations. Those that enjoy reading enjoy sight reading new repertoire while some who prefer writing do exhibit an interest in composition. They tend to prefer to keep their musical score as neat and uncluttered as possible.

The Kinesthetic Learner

Chow described the Kinesthetic learner as one who likes to try things out and cannot sit still. They prefer repertoire with clear chords and enjoy music with chordal harmony such as pieces by Brahms and Schumann.

In Ann Marie Dinkel, RLATG's June 25, 2011 article "Training the Kinesthetic Learner" for ALN Magazine, she recommends hands on activities and discovery projects. "Think “show me.” Demonstrate, diagram, point out, manipulate; encourage the learners to touch, trace, point out, rearrange, build, model, or map a process," she elaborated. She also recommends using flashcards and wet labs, the latter gives students a chance to touch and handle equipment and instruments.

Learning Preference Assessment

It is beneficial to conduct a learning preference assessment prior to incorporating VARK teaching strategies into music lessons. Youth and adult students can complete a printed or online questionnaire available on the VARK Learning Styles website as well as several other sites.

A student may exhibit more than one learning preference. Teachers can employ teaching strategies that engage all the modalities a student is strong in. There are other learning style models, which may provide a more accurate assessment. A brief description of these can be found in Alice Luxton's article "Successful Study Habits for All Learning Styles."

VARK-Related Music Teaching Strategies

Once an assessment has been completed, a music teacher can employ any of the following teaching strategies based on VARK learning preferences:

Visual LearnerMusic Teaching Strategies

• Keep motion distractions to a minimum.

• Give students a clear view of the teacher to watch his/her body language during explanations.

• Use highlighter or highlighter tape on the score to mark patterns, structure and important points.

• New techniques should be demonstrated to show what the desired effect "looks" like.

• Make video recordings of lessons or provide video examples for students to review at home.

• Use charts and pies when teaching concepts such as note values.

• Encourage students to make a drawing to depict their piece to aid in memorization and expression.

Aural LearnerMusic Teaching Strategies

• Students should make audio recordings of their lessons and practices to review at home.

• Keep written instructions by the teacher to a minimum.

• Incorporate verbal analogies.

• Read out instructions and theory questions.

• Minimized noise distractions during lessons.

• Introduce new genres or musical forms by playing audio recordings and engaging the student in a discussion about the various elements of music.

• Use solfège, humming or encourage the student to make lyrics for their piece.

• New techniques should be demonstrated to show what the desired effect "sounds" like.

Read/Write LearnerMusic Teaching Strategies

• Give students one minute to write down an assigned task in his/her own words.

• Assign written projects such as a composer report or writing a story to describe his/her piece.

• Have the student transcribe a piece by hand.

• Write out learning goals and objectives in steps or as a checklist for younger students.

• Incorporate melodic and rhythmic dictation exercises in the lesson.

• New techniques should be demonstrated but students need to read a handout outlining the steps prior to the demonstration or write out the steps for execution in their own words.

Kinesthetic LearnerMusic Teaching Strategies

• Move around the studio frequently during the lesson, e.g., from the instrument to a desk to the floor.

• Encourage students to move around in time to the music during ear training exercises or when listening to a piece.

• Block broken chords when first assigning a piece.

• Encourage students to try their piece in different registers of their instrument, on different instruments or if playing a digital piano - different instrument settings.

• Difficult sections can be taught by by rote.

• When demonstrating a new technique, the teacher can explain what the desired technique "feels" like.

• Ask the student to place his/her hand on top of the teacher's during a demonstration of a technique.

• Demonstrate a finger technique by "playing" on the student's forearm and then ask the student to to try the motion using the teacher's forearm as the piano.

• Use three-dimensional teaching aids such as pie pieces when teaching note values.

Additional strategies can be found in Susan Carney's article "Identifying Students' Learning Styles."

As each person learns differently, music teachers can benefit from using a learning styles assessment tool. Using the VARK Method, a student's primary learning style can be identified as visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic or multi-modal. By choosing repertoire that engages a student's learning preferences and by employing teaching strategies that complement those preferences, music teachers can capitalize on a students' strengths and build upon their weakness, while music students will find it easier and more enjoyable to study music.

References:

Chase, Gregory. "Keeping the Momentum and Excitement at the Intermediate Level", APTA News, Volume IX no. 3, Spring 2002.

Chow, Victoria. "Moulding with Modalities", Piano Pedagogy Workshop Presentation, Calgary Arts Summer School Association, 2008.

Dinkel, Ann Marie (RLATG). "Training the Kinesthetic Learner", ALN Magazine, 2011.

Originally published on Suite101.com on May 5, 2010. Updated April 18, 2013. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.

On Memorizing Music

Often, a piece of music becomes memorized after practicing it many times. However, for a piece to be truly memorized, musicians should incorporate more than one type of memorization. This is a great article on the different types of memory that music students can use, called "Music Memorization". Yes, it's similar to the VARK Learning Styles. Harmonic or analytical memory stems from read/write learning.

(c) 2011 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB. All rights reserved.

A New School Year to Try out New Ideas in the Music Studio

Summer flew by far more quickly than anticipated. All of my plans to learn new repertoire, reorganize my home and just relax were replaced with...busy-ness. Now, we're in the beginnings of another year of music teaching. Last week was intense as I was burning the midnight oil to make all sorts of cool handouts for my music students.

After having my students take the VARK Learning Preferences questionnaire last year, I discovered that my students fall under three general categories:

1. Visual (mostly in combination, Visual-Aural or Visual-Kinesthetic)

2. Aural-Kinesthetic

3. Read/Write

Most admitted on their registration forms for this year that music theory and piano technique were their least favorite music subjects. I bore that in mind with this year's handouts.

This year, I incorporated more charts and diagrams (V). I was respectful of white space (V) and included succinct examples (K) and explanations (R). These were followed up by visual demonstrations (V) with the student copying me. My aural students and I discussed various sounds, my kinesthetic students and I discussed how our arms and hands should feel.

Feedbackhas been extremely positive so far. "It's easier" is the most frequent comment.

The trick is that I need to teach music theory and piano technique differently from how I was taught. I was taught written theory first. My students need hands-on, keyboard theory first. It's more fun this way.

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Musical Breakthroughs with Read/Write Learners

As I mentioned in my Teaching Music Using VARK Learning Preferences (new link to comes soon) entry, I had all my students ages nine and up complete the VARK Learning Preferences questionnaire. One interesting finding was that five of my students are "pure" Read/Write learners. In many of the VARK articles on the web, Read/Write Learners are not addressed. Trying to teach this group how to work through musical trouble spots poses a challenge when there is nothing to glean pearls of wisdom from. Basically, a person needs to visit the VARK website, read the Read/Write study tips there and extrapolate on how the tips can be applied to music. At the suggestion of my brother (and colleague), I instructed one student who has been struggling with two-note slurs to transcribe her music. After months of struggles, I was running out of ideas. Transcription was my last hope for this piece.

In one week, the piece was transformed - ALL articulation and dynamics were observed when my student played her Scarlatti piece for me this week. As an aside, I found this exercise also worked for my sole VAK learner.

I also found that rhythmic dictation is working well for this group. Another Read/Write student and I were jumping for joy when the ta-ti-ti-ta rhythm she had been struggling with disappeared after doing some rhythmic dictation using rhythms from the piece in question.

I think it also helps that I'm making all my Read/Write students write out their homework in their own words.

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.