Posted by jrt002
1. April 3rd,
2009 1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
2. Today I observed
Mr. Siegels Understanding Music class.
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Today Mr.
Siegels lesson for the class was on the musical idea of form.
Earlier in the week Mr. Siegel had taught the students about form
and showed examples of form to them using different types of music.
The purpose of class today was to have the students apply in class
what they have been learning for the past week. Mr. Siegel held
class in the schools piano lab today and using the program Garage
Band on the computers students were to make compositions that had an
ABA form to it. The students used what the program calls loops to
make up these different songs. These loops are musical ideas and
lines that come with the program and can be simply plugged into a
piece of music. Before starting class Mr. Siegel did discuss with
the students a performance at the school today that was presented by
the Alash Ensemble which is a group that plays in the musical style
found in countries such as India. The students were all very
impressed about the performance and especially the throat and
overtone techniques that were used by the groups. The students not
only talked about how they enjoyed and were impressed by this type
of music that was new to most of them but also the emotions that
they felt from the music. Mr. Siegel then talked to the students
about how it was important for musicians which included his students
to respect and try to enjoy all types of music that is out there. He
told his students that not all music might appeal to the person
listening to it at first but it is very easy to learn how to enjoy
different and new types of music. Once it was time for the students
to begin on their projects Mr. Siegel first passed out a rubric for
what he expected from the students for their work and it also had a
checklist for what the students should do. He also reviewed with
the students how to use the programs and showed the students many
options and told them that if they finish what is asked of them
before the time given to them is up they can add more voices to
their pieces and make it longer. For the rest of the class Mr.
Siegel just let the students work on their pieces while he walked
around the room making sure all of the students were staying on
task, answering questions and making suggestions to the students
when they asked him about their piece. There is a special needs
student in the class also and although she had a helper with her he
would spend a good amount of time close to her because she had a lot
of questions about the program. When the class was done Mr. Siegel
told the students what he had planned for the next class for them
and told them to have a great weekend.
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I really like
how Mr. Siegel discussed the performance that the students went to
that morning because it allowed the students to discuss what they
had seen and express their feelings about something that was
completely new to them. I really think it is neat that his students
who have had a very small musical background were able to talk about
emotions that they felt while listening to the piece. The thing
that impressed me most about this is the student who brought it up
usually puts on the “tough guy” appearance while in class and
doesn't really talk about something that is so personal in class.
For me this really reinforced the whole idea that we discussed about
the purpose of music education in people's lives and how it teaches
us to be human beings that can share their emotions and opinions so
openly. I also likes how Mr. Siegel referred to his students as
musicians because some of the students in class have no musical
experience on instruments and do not think of themselves as
musicians. Although Mr. Siegel's class was mostly the students set
free to work on their assignment I felt the class was very
structured and very well presented. I like how he told the students
what they were to do and how they were to do it and them set them
free because it allowed the students to think as individuals and
discover things that they would not have done in a class lecture. I
feel that knowledge is the most useful when it can be applied to
something and allowing the students to be composers in the class
room setting allowed these students to be free thinkers and
experiments with the idea of form and to create something that
appeals to their own ears. Mr. Siegel also kept these students
interested in what they were doing because he was very interested in
the class and what his students were doing which was very
motivational for the students.
5. Is it possible
for students to learn more from a creative experience in the class
room with little teacher involvement compared to a class where the
teacher acts more as a lecturer and the object of their attention.
6. I really like how
the students were set free to think for themselves in the class room
and be individuals. I feel that this built a sense of independence
for the students which for them will increase their confidence in
their musical ability and make them curious to explore creating music
on their own. I learned that a class room setting in which the
students are set free to do their work is very effective when the
students have a goal to accomplish because the student not only had
fun but they had something to work towards which caused them to stay
focused on their assignment. I was very surprised by the things that
the students said about the performance that they attended also
because although they have a lot less musical experience than the
students who are a part of the performing groups at the school they
were confident in what they know and had no problem discussing the
knowledge that they have.
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