Standard 2: The teacher of PK-12 music has skills in creating, arranging, and improvising.
In terms of creating, arranging, and improvising music, my education has given me many opportunities to improve upon these skills. In music theory classes, I was tasked with creating my own original pieces of music. Some examples of these include a solo set to a poem by Goethe, a two-part choral piece set to a nursery rhyme, and an instrumental quartet. Additionally, two of these pieces were selected to be performed at the school’s composition recital. With this compositional experience, I am confident that I will be able to guide my students in compositional activities. I also have experience making pieces using Garage Band and made a full accompaniment to Adele’s Skyfall using only that program. One class that is required of music major at Kansas State University is Instrumentation and Arranging. In this course, students learn about most instruments and their capabilities, as well as how to correctly write parts for them. The voice was also a topic of study in the class. For the final project of this course, students must arrange a famous composer’s piece for a full ensemble. My final project used Chopin’s Mazurka in Bb Major for piano and transformed it into a full concert band work. This assignment required knowledge of each instrument used and its playing capabilities. I believe that this experience will be useful in case I too desire to teach a lesson on arranging music or if I need to arrange something for the class. In addition to creating and arranging music, I also have a background in improvisation. In Music 511, the elementary music course, I taught two lessons centered around improvisation. One of these was focused towards a class developing and using their own body percussion for a piece. The other allowed students to create their own melody within defined parameters. Additionally, to pass piano proficiency, I was required to improvise a melody with my right hand while playing black chords in my left. I believe that these experiences will be useful in creating improvisation-centered lessons for my future classroom.
I believe that my students will benefit from my experiences in creating, arranging, and improvising music. I have the tools to teach my class how to make music for voice and instruments, and I am able to teach them how to write music of their own if they wish to. Garage band is also a useful tool for aspiring composers and my students will be able to experiment with making their own music digitally. My class can also benefit from my ability to arrange material for them if needed, and I can teach them the fundamentals and capabilities of instruments and voice if they desire to make music of their own. Finally, my experience in teaching improvisation allows me to more effectively communicate the concept to my class. With this knowledge, students will be able to improvise within a set of parameters and grow as musicians because of it.
Creating, arranging, and improvising are all subjects that I have prior experience in. I am confident that my students will benefit from my knowledge and become better musicians because of it. They will learn basic concepts reflecting upon each of these topics and be able to apply them to when making music of their own if they desire to do so.
I believe that my students will benefit from my experiences in creating, arranging, and improvising music. I have the tools to teach my class how to make music for voice and instruments, and I am able to teach them how to write music of their own if they wish to. Garage band is also a useful tool for aspiring composers and my students will be able to experiment with making their own music digitally. My class can also benefit from my ability to arrange material for them if needed, and I can teach them the fundamentals and capabilities of instruments and voice if they desire to make music of their own. Finally, my experience in teaching improvisation allows me to more effectively communicate the concept to my class. With this knowledge, students will be able to improvise within a set of parameters and grow as musicians because of it.
Creating, arranging, and improvising are all subjects that I have prior experience in. I am confident that my students will benefit from my knowledge and become better musicians because of it. They will learn basic concepts reflecting upon each of these topics and be able to apply them to when making music of their own if they desire to do so.
Artifact #1
This is a piece I wrote in music theory to a Goethe poem. I believe that it shows that I have skills in creating music. Additionally, this piece was selected to be performed at the student composition recital the semester it was written.
Artifact #2
This is a simple 2-part piece with no accompaniment that I wrote for my second semester of music theory. I believe that it contrasts the first piece and shows me capable of creating simple melodies. This song was also chosen to be performed in a student composition recital.