Standard 3:
The teacher of PK-12 music has skills in reading and writing music.
Reflective Essay:
Being able to read and write music is a basic skill that every music educator should possess. Without this skill, educators have no hope to be able to teach students. Throughout my time at K-State, I have taken many classes that focus on reading and writing music in various ways. My conducting class allowed me to practice conducting from many different scores. Our final for this class was conducting the Holst 1st Suite for one of K-State’s bands. This score challenged me to read multiple staves, clefs, and to transpose on the spot. Completing this assignment helped me to feel more confident that I can conduct any ensemble on any piece with success. My aural skills classes helped me to be able to vocally perform a passage solely based on sight, and to notate passages based on only hearing it. This will allow me to demonstrate certain passages for my ensemble or class in an attempt for them to have a better understanding of it. Another tool for me to use to create and recreate music comes from all of my music theory courses, as well as my instrumentation and arranging course. I have learned a lot of the rules for composing music, as well as all of the proper notation to use. This will allow me to create music for my classes that they can’t necessarily find anywhere else. I will also use this knowledge to instruct my students on how they can create their own music. My prior knowledge of Garageband, Finale, and Sibelius will help me form lessons that teach my students how to create music from what sounds right, as well as notate it.
My students will be given the opportunity to create music in a variety of different forms. They will be given lessons on basic theory, and then asked to create a simple line, handwritten and then using a notation software. Students who know how to use different notation softwares will be able to compose at a faster rate. I have found that using notation software makes composition more enjoyable because I can hear my composition and change it without having to constantly erase and rewrite everything. However, I will have students handwrite smaller assignments in an attempt to train their aural skills. They will have to internally hear a passage and still think about all of the rules of composition. For older students, I will give them the opportunity to conduct their own compositions. This will give them a better idea of what works technically and what doesn’t. Conducting also gives students a better understanding of what they want to happen in their pieces. They might not have consciously thought that they wanted a swell in a certain place, until they conduct it. All of these tasks will give my students a better understanding of the music that they play in their ensembles, and even the music that they hear on the radio every day. By being able to explain and demonstrate how to read and write music, I can form my students into more involved music listeners and creators. All music educators should possess the basic skills of reading and writing music so that they can pass them on to future generations.
Artifacts & Rationales
Theory Compositions
My compositions from my music theory courses show that I am able to write music.
Instrumentation
This composition is another example of my capability of writing music.