Defined as the ability to engage in music activities on one’s own, musical independence is a frequent goal of music education. This yearlong study investigated musical independence within concert bands through interviews and observations of participants of secondary programs that included musical independence as a primary objective. Constructivist grounded theory analyses of the participants’ experiences led to a model of musical independence that included three interrelated outcomes: student agency, critical decision making, and lifewide/lifelong musicianship. These outcomes were the result of specific instructional practices that utilized cognitive modeling, scaffolded instruction, and authentic, regular, student-led music-making in curricular ensembles to promote student agency and decision making. These instructional practices relied upon preconditions for independence, including musical, social, and 21st-century skills foundations frequently found in large-ensemble classrooms. This study provides a model that can be situated within current large-ensemble practices to support the development of musical independence.
Teacher licensure policies and state standards for English/language arts have made content area literacy a necessary component for most music teacher education programs. Unlike teachers in other areas of the school curriculum, music educators have not broadly integrated literacy into their instructional practices. The Before-During-After (B-D-A) instructional framework is commonly used in content area literacy and provides a powerful tool for promoting student critical thinking and metacognitive awareness. B-D-A is supported by content area literacy strategies that can be used across the curriculum, and music educators can use them to encourage student engagement with authentic music texts by focusing on the artistic processes of responding and connecting. Adoption of content area literacy and B-D-A into music ensemble methods coursework can aid preservice and in-service music teachers as they engage students in music learning, support cross-curricular collaboration and professional development, and promote overall student literacy.
Failure is a common experience in the lives of musicians and educators that is frequently seen as a negative attribute for performances in music education. By shifting from a negative, destructive approach to a positive, constructive orientation to failure, music educators can help their students learn and advance forward from experiences of failure toward success. This approach requires the creation of a classroom environment that allows failure to be accepted and transparent and focuses on a growth mindset regarding student success and failure. This article presents instructional strategies that model and support the growth of effective practices for coping with failure socially, emotionally, and cognitively.
This quasi-experimental study investigated the transfer of learning for effective practice strategies from large ensemble to individual rehearsal. Five middle school bands were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Two treatment conditions had teachers use an iterative, explicit instruction protocol to teach a targeted practice strategy during a sight-reading activity on a novel piece of music over a series of six lessons. The control condition included non-specific sight-reading activities. A sample of students from each band (N=66) participated in a cycle of pre-test/post-test/delay-test observations that involved a ten- minute practice session followed by a performance on a new piece of music similar to those used in the treatment sessions. Student practice sessions were analyzed for frequency of usage of the targeted strategies, and performances were rated for pitch and rhythmic accuracy. A 3x2x3 ANOVA identified a significant effect for strategy used within groups (F(1,63)=122.388, p<.001, η2=.660), but no significant effect or interactions were found between groups. The results of a 3x3 ANOVA identified a moderate-sized main effect for test cycle on performance scores (F(2,63)=2.192, p<.001, η2=.414), leading to a series of repeated measures t-tests that demonstrated significant changes in performance scores from pre- to post-test in both treatment conditions
Musical independence is a common objective for large-ensemble classes, but traditional, teacher-centric instructional practices for these groups may discourage rather than promote students’ critical thinking and decision making in music. Cognitive apprenticeship provides an instructional approach through which student musicians can develop skills for musical independence, including critical thinking and problem solving, while at the same time maintaining high-quality large ensembles. This process involves three stages of instruction: modeling, coaching, and fading. This article presents examples from several band directors who use a cognitive apprenticeship approach that can be applied to all types of large ensembles to help students develop the skills and competencies needed to engage with music meaningfully on their own, both within and outside the music classroom.
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