What strikes me most when I read the Kreitman excerpt is how "un-musical" the his long term goals are. How do Kreitman's objectives compare to what you observed at the String Ped Field Trip, November 2013?
I was very impressed by both this article and the group classes we observed in Waukesha. One element of the group class idea that was present in the article and the actual class we observed is the concept of using the children's repertoire to teach them ensemble skills. At the group class, the children took turns leading each other in songs that they all knew. The children's skills in the songs varied, as not all of them had been playing these songs for the same amount of time. This review helped the children master these songs even more.
It was great that the children could focus on playing together as an ensemble rather than focussing on the pieces themselves. The repertoire is already learned so other skills can be the focus of group lessons - very good point!
The article "The Purpose of the Group Class in the Home Program" touched on many good benefits and purposes of group class lessons. Such lessons are to be given in conjunction with private lessons to give the student confidence in performing for others, solidification with certain skills and techniques, and ensemble playing skills that won't necessarily be acquired with private lessons. A key aspect of group lessons to remember as a teacher is to always have the students play repertoire that is familiar and not something is being working on currently; this way the group class lesson can be focussed on tone, intonation, and styling of the piece rather than learning the piece itself.
I think that the group class we observed did a very good job with this. Though two children played solos and the teacher offered criticism on how to improve those solos, she tailored her comments so that the children could apply her advice to each of their pieces. This way they were all able to learn something about tone, intonation, and style from this lesson, even though they did not all preform a solo.
The group learning made the lesson effective - good point! All of the students were engaged by giving feedback and also participating making the lesson enjoying and benefiticial at the same time.
I was really impressed by how eagerly and knowledgeably the children responded to the teacher's questions. They were very obviously engaged, and were able to enjoy themselves immensely.
The technique of in home group lessons has been a valued part of the Suzuki method. I remember being in my home-school group class that met once a week at the teacher's house. We would learn group pieces, scales, theory, and solo performance together and reinforce the skills we would currently be learning in our private lessons. The extra time a week that the students would take to come out for a group lesson always tended to be rewarding in more than one area. For instance, we would have practice minute contests, and see who practiced the most in a months time. Each student would improve in practicing because of the friendly group competition! Several of my peers finally grasped vibrato and scales while learning in our little group lessons during the school year... Group class can be an extra plus to the parents of the student, as they can observe how well their child interacts in musical groups, and under the pressure of leadership, and individuality.
While reading the article, "Group Class- What It's All About," I realized that many of the teacher's methods matched up with the points that the author commemorated in the article. The teachers at the Waukesha String Academie focused on intonation, posture, team work, leadership, and personal enrichment. All lined up to the technique documented in the informational article!
I was very impressed by both this article and the group classes we observed in Waukesha. One element of the group class idea that was present in the article and the actual class we observed is the concept of using the children's repertoire to teach them ensemble skills. At the group class, the children took turns leading each other in songs that they all knew. The children's skills in the songs varied, as not all of them had been playing these songs for the same amount of time. This review helped the children master these songs even more.
ReplyDeleteIt was great that the children could focus on playing together as an ensemble rather than focussing on the pieces themselves. The repertoire is already learned so other skills can be the focus of group lessons - very good point!
DeleteThe article "The Purpose of the Group Class in the Home Program" touched on many good benefits and purposes of group class lessons. Such lessons are to be given in conjunction with private lessons to give the student confidence in performing for others, solidification with certain skills and techniques, and ensemble playing skills that won't necessarily be acquired with private lessons. A key aspect of group lessons to remember as a teacher is to always have the students play repertoire that is familiar and not something is being working on currently; this way the group class lesson can be focussed on tone, intonation, and styling of the piece rather than learning the piece itself.
ReplyDeleteI think that the group class we observed did a very good job with this. Though two children played solos and the teacher offered criticism on how to improve those solos, she tailored her comments so that the children could apply her advice to each of their pieces. This way they were all able to learn something about tone, intonation, and style from this lesson, even though they did not all preform a solo.
DeleteThe group learning made the lesson effective - good point! All of the students were engaged by giving feedback and also participating making the lesson enjoying and benefiticial at the same time.
DeleteI was really impressed by how eagerly and knowledgeably the children responded to the teacher's questions. They were very obviously engaged, and were able to enjoy themselves immensely.
DeleteThe technique of in home group lessons has been a valued part of the Suzuki method. I remember being in my home-school group class that met once a week at the teacher's house. We would learn group pieces, scales, theory, and solo performance together and reinforce the skills we would currently be learning in our private lessons. The extra time a week that the students would take to come out for a group lesson always tended to be rewarding in more than one area. For instance, we would have practice minute contests, and see who practiced the most in a months time. Each student would improve in practicing because of the friendly group competition! Several of my peers finally grasped vibrato and scales while learning in our little group lessons during the school year... Group class can be an extra plus to the parents of the student, as they can observe how well their child interacts in musical groups, and under the pressure of leadership, and individuality.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the article, "Group Class- What It's All About," I realized that many of the teacher's methods matched up with the points that the author commemorated in the article. The teachers at the Waukesha String Academie focused on intonation, posture, team work, leadership, and personal enrichment. All lined up to the technique documented in the informational article!
ReplyDelete