According to the rubric, I didn't do well. Is it true?

What a question. Unfortunately, it is a question that is asked every day, in every school, by almost everyone. Alfie Kohn poses an interesting opinion to rubrics in his article, Trouble with Rubrics. In it, he discusses the reasons why he feels that a rubric may not be the best way to assess how well our students are learning.


In the article, Kohn writes of a conversation that he had with a high school English teacher who had just handed out the students' next assignment. During the conversation, the teacher states that because the students are presumably used to working from rubrics, they are "unable to function unless every required item is spelled out for them in a grid and assigned a point value." She adds that what is even worse is, “they do not have confidence in their thinking or writing skills and seem unwilling to really take risks.” Although I do agree with these ideas sometimes, I also feel that a rubric is a way that we can help to lay some of the groundwork for what we expect from our students. 

While we do highly value creativity and risk taking in music, it is also very important that our students understand the fundamentals so they are able to take those big risks. Without intonation, tone quality, tempo, note accuracy, articulation, and phrasing, it is very hard for us as musicians to be successful in our risk taking endeavors. 

By creating a rubric that lists these expectations, we are simply reminding, especially our younger and more immature students, of what is needed to produce a successful sound on our instrument. 

I propose that we create a rubric that looks something like this:

Playing Test Rubric

1 = Fair    2 = Good    3 = Excellent    4 = Outstanding    5 = Superior

Scales:

Intonation                                                                      1  2  3  4  5

Student demonstrates ability to keep notes in tune with

each other

Tone Quality                                                                  1  2  3  4  5

Student produces a full, rich, open quality of sound

Tempo                                                                             1  2  3  4  5

Student maintains a steady beat throughout

Accuracy                                                                         1  2  3  4  5

Student plays written pitches accurately

Articulation                                                                    1  2  3  4  5

Student uses clear articulation. Notes are even and separated.

Follows all articulation markings in music

Phrasing                                                                          1  2  3  4  5

Student makes strong breathing choices. Refrains from taking

breaths in awkward/unusual places

Sight Reading I:

Intonation                                                                       1  2  3  4  5

Student demonstrates ability to keep notes in tune with

each other

Tone Quality                                                                  1  2  3  4  5

Student produces a full, rich, open quality of sound

Tempo                                                                             1  2  3  4  5

Student maintains a steady beat throughout

Accuracy                                                                         1  2  3  4  5

Student plays written pitches accurately

Articulation                                                                    1  2  3  4  5

Student uses clear articulation. Notes are even and separated.

Follows all articulation markings in music

Phrasing                                                                          1  2  3  4  5

Student makes strong breathing choices. Refrains from taking

breaths in awkward/unusual places

Sight Reading II:

Intonation                                                                      1  2  3  4  5

Student demonstrates ability to keep notes in tune with

each other

Tone Quality                                                                  1  2  3  4  5

Student produces a full, rich, open quality of sound

Tempo                                                                             1  2  3  4  5

Student maintains a steady beat throughout

Accuracy                                                                        1  2  3  4  5

Student plays written pitches accurately

Articulation                                                                    1  2  3  4  5

Student uses clear articulation. Notes are even and separated.

Follows all articulation markings in music

Phrasing                                                                         1  2  3  4  5

Student makes strong breathing choices. Refrains from taking

breaths in awkward/unusual places

Notes:

By creating a rubric like this, we can clearly define what is expected from our students on regular playing tests. We want our students to be excellent! That is our base line. If our students are playing at the level we expect them to play at, they will receive an excellent. For example, if a high school freshman is playing at the level where we expect a freshman who has been playing for 4 or 5 years to be, they will receive a rating of excellent (equivalent to an A). this means that if they average 3's across the board, they receive an A for that playing test. If, however, they are not where they need to be, or they are exceeding where they should be, we can score that accordingly as well and recognize what needs improvement or what the student is really successful at. After filling out the rubric, we can also provide specific notes to the individual on what they should truly be focusing on or what they did really well. 

I feel that a rubric like this is not really an issue because it is kindly reminding our students what they should be focusing on each and every day of a standard rehearsal or practicing block. Yes, it still does tell the student whether or not they are doing well, but it also shows them that with improvement, they can truly excel. 

It's not classical...why should I know it?

If I were to ask you to tell me a little about John Philip Sousa, I am pretty confident you would tell me that he is known as the "March King" as well as some of the pieces he's written. Like "The Stars and Stripes Forever." What about Beethoven? Mozart? You get the idea.

Now...what if I were to ask you about Thelonious Monk? How about Dave Brubeck, Maynard Ferguson, Artie Shaw, or John Coltrane? Although they are not classical composers and musicians, they play a HUGE part in the world of music. No, I am not saying that we need to be guru's in the world of jazz. I am, however, saying that we at least need to know enough to keep our feet wet. A lot of schools have, or at one point had, jazz programs that either ran as a class during school or after school for fun. The names that I listed before are all large contributors to the world of jazz as we know it and our students should know them as well. In my opinion, these are some of the topics that can be brought up with your students in all band classes. Use it as a break from the norm during one rehearsal. Although jazz is not classical, it still requires a great amount of skill and technique.

Jazz is an avenue that unlike a lot of classical music, allows for a lot of creativity and even more-so composition. Think of it as an exercise of chord studies. If you were to give your students a basic 8 bar blues, its a great way to understand different chord structures as well as provide some room for improvisation.

Now. Once you get your kids accustomed to the 8 bar blues, have them work in small groups and write out different melodies. They can be slow or fast. It's their choice. The only parameters are that it has to follow one of two forms, AABA or ABAC. This will require your students to not only come up with at least two different melodies, but begin to understand the concepts of form as well. The best part of this is that this works to fulfill that ever elusive Composition standard that we all try so hard to meet.

I have one (I think) more question for you. Do you know the song This Land is Your Land? How about Shenandoah? Simple Gifts? Old Lady and The Devil?

Maybe you know a couple of them. You see, just like with jazz, we need be to comfortable enough to keep our feet wet with American folk music. This can come in many forms, but it is something that needs to be covered with your students. It will give them a better understanding of some of the history of the U.S. as well as how it pertains to them. Whether you have a choir, a band, orchestra, or even general music, there are a lot of composers out there that have arranged American folk music for all of these different settings.

So, what do I think about being experts on jazz and American folk music? I don't think we all need to be experts on it, but we as educators are responsible for providing our students with a well rounded music education.

Why do we stick with the norm and teach inside the box?

Why do we continue to teach inside the box when there is so much creativity that is left out?

Brandt Schneider hits the nail on the head in his article, "Creating Musical Flexibility Through the Ensemble." It's true, in general, that a majority of band programs are a performance based focus. Call me out if you believe that I am wrong, but in my experience, most of the band classes I have sat in on or participated in were focused around a set list of pieces to be played at the next concert.

During our rehearsals, we would be expected to work on a particular section of a piece. Take Movement IV - Fantasia on the Dargason for example. It starts with an alto sax solo that is based off an old 16th Century dance tune that is light and playful. At the beginning of rehearsal, you play through the movement to see where everyone is at and what needs to be fixed. During the rehearsal, you work on the playfulness of the melody and how it should be a continuous and even flow from voice to voice as the melody is passed along. It's starting to sound better than it did at the beginning of rehearsal. At the end of rehearsal, you run through what you worked on once more to make sure the something out of the rehearsal was retained. Tomorrow, you rinse and repeat with a different section of music. Maybe where the 6/8 melody overlays Greensleeves. 

Is this fun and educational for our students? Well...it may be fun to an extent. But what if you are one of those lovely instruments (like the trombone) that doesn't get to play that fun little melody? Man can those rehearsals get boring. As far as education is concerned, let's just say that there is a lot to be desired.

Is this what is considered good musicianship? If we are strictly defining good musicianship on the ability to read the notes on the page and trading it between other voices, then maybe. Otherwise, I feel that there is quite a bit that is left to be desired.

What Brandt proposes in his article is quite interesting. What if I were to walk into the room and ask the trombones read the alto sax part and the flutes to read the trombone part? What if I asked to have the opening melody played on bass clarinet? How cool would it be if the bass clarinet player asked me what key I wanted them to play it in!? That, my friends, would be a much larger step towards what I believe musicianship to be.

As Mr. Schneider says, "If we don't, who will?"

Why is music so misunderstood in our schools?

A friend of mine showed me a video last week and it really got me thinking. Why is music so misunderstood in our schools? In my opinion, it is because people see it as an "easy A" or the fact that they just don't realize the amount of time and effort that goes into being a musician. Music is the only "class" that demands perfection out of the students that are in it. Sometimes we may not reach that perfection, but it will be pretty close. When an audience finally hears a piece of music being played, in a concert, at a football game, a competition, a coffeehouse even, they hear the final product. Unfortunately, a majority of the people who hear this final product do not realize the amount of painstaking hours that have been put into the perfection that this piece demands. There are countless hours of full rehearsal time, even more hours of individual practice, thousands of dollars that are spent on private lessons, late nights of score analysis, and numerous times of asking yourself, "Why am I putting these kids through this horrible nightmare?" The rough part of it is, that is all in the first month.

Then it hit me. We do this because we love how music makes us feel. How it makes others feel. We create beautiful music because we live for the challenge that it throws at us each and every day.

Imagine this. You are a junior in high school and you play the trumpet. You are sitting in rehearsal and your director announces that you will be working on that dreaded piece. The one that you just can't seem to get right. There is nothing worse than sitting in rehearsal with a knot in your stomach thinking about the double tonguing in the beginning of Samuel Hazo's "Ride." You have been practicing this for weeks now. No matter what you try, you get tongue tied and all of the notes end up as one. You have talked about it with your private lesson teacher. He gave you a few exercises to work on your double tonguing. It has gotten better, but it's still not up to speed. You talk with your band director and tell her that you are worried about messing it up in the concert and making the section look bad during rehearsal. She tells you that everyone is having issues with it and not to sweat it. She tells you to keep trying and that she has faith in you to nail it.

The next day is a longer rehearsal. You are in the middle of "Shenandoah" and are sitting there sweating, worrying about what will happen when you get to "Ride."

That's it, it is time to play it. Here goes nothing. 1, 2, 3, breath, !!! Something clicked. You nailed it! All that work has paid off. All of those hours of rehearsal. All of those mornings dreading going to band because you knew you were going to have trouble. All of it has lead up to this moment. What makes it even sweeter is the fact that after you play it, you look up and you can see the glisten in your director's eyes because she know how hard this was for you. How much you struggled and how great of a feeling it must be right now because she was once in the same spot as you are now.

It is times like this that I want nothing more to be on the podium in a rehearsal. Not to conduct a band that will get everything absolutely perfect the first time, but to work with an ensemble. To see the growth of the individuals. To be there for that "Ah Hah!" moment.

I know I have thrown quite a few words out on this, but I think Jack Stamp sums it up pretty well when he explains why music matters.

Who am I?

Such a simple question...yet there are so many answers. I think the best way for me to answer it is to start with me. Music has always been a very important part of my life. Whether it was the good or the bad, I have always had music in my life. When we were in 5th grade, we got to chose which instrument to play. I played alto sax from then through the first half of 6th grade. From there, I switched to tenor sax and then very quickly to bari. From there, I found a new instrument that I wanted to learn. For some reason, I always found the loudest and lowest pitched instruments! I found the tuba. In 8th grade I asked my band director, Mr. Glass if I could learn it. I spent 3 days a week after school enveloping myself in this new "toy." Fast forward to senior year of high school. For the past few years, I have continued to play bari sax in jazz band, but my focus has continued to be on tuba in concert band and jazz band. During the panic of everyone applying to colleges, I had the joy of practicing and learning solo pieces for the auditions that would need to accompany my applications.

One of the first schools I heard back from was UConn. They put me in a gray area and told me that I would have to wait until after my playing audition to make a final decision. Let's talk about putting more stress on a high school senior who has UConn as their top school. I remember spending 4 hours a day practicing up until my audition to make sure I had everything perfect for that piece. The audition came and went, I started my fall semester at UConn and fell in love with the music program.

Since middle school, I knew in my heart that I wanted to be a music educator. I have just finished my application and interview for the NEAG School of Education. Even though I feel like everything went like it was supposed to, I still have my stomach in knots waiting for an answer. I finally heard back and learned that everything was up to par except my GPA. I was .002 short of what they were ideally looking for. Having my dreams crushed, I told myself that no matter what obstacles were going to be thrown in front of me, I was going to pursue my dream and "Keep Moving Forward" (thank you, Walt Disney for the wonderful quote).

I graduated from UConn in May of 2012 with a B.A. in Music. I took the next year off to build my resume in hopes of being accepted to another program to receive my degree. I applied to ARC and CCSU, but didn't get into either one. I kept working to beef up my resume all while working 2 jobs at 70 hours a week to pay bills and some of my loans.

That was when someone told me that I should look into the UB program. I went online and made a few phone calls. The next week, I met with Professor Martignetti to discuss how the program worked and got a tour of the campus. From there, I knew that it was for me and frantically put together my application and resume to make sure I would be one of the first to get my application in. This was my chance to follow that ever-illusive dream of mine! I was accepted and excitedly began the program in the Fall of 2013.

Looking back, I would not change a single thing that I have experienced. My life up until this point has given me numerous opportunities to step back and "smell the roses" so to speak. After looking back at all that I have been through, I realized that there were only a few individuals I really remember inspiring me to become who I am today and what I want to do with my life. It doesn't surprise me in the least that they were my music teachers!

My music teachers taught me something that I continue to keep with me to this day. I find it interesting that after reading Dr. Peter Boonshaft's book, Teaching Music with Purpose, he has the same belief. That is the fact that you are the only one who can determine what happens to you. "You only get beaten from within." After reading and reflecting on the book, I realize that Boonshaft has hit the nail on the head that failure is opportunity turned upside down.

As educators, we need to be able to "do what we can, with what we have, where we are." Everyone has their ideal situation where the dream about the entire school being involved with the music department in some way no matter how small or large that contribution is. It is my personal belief that no matter what situation someone is put in, they can make the most of it and really help a growing program to blossom into its full potential. If we as teachers of such a beautiful art form can presume excellence from our students, they will succeed. By expecting nothing but the best, our students will come to learn that if they hold themselves to these same standards, they will be successful not only in music but in all other areas of their lives as well. We do, however, need to keep our dreams in perspective. We can have all the aspirations in the world, but if we rush through the journey, we haven't achieved anything. As Boonshaft says in his chapter Dwelling on Dreams, sitting down at an extravagant 7 course meal means nothing if you don't get to savor each course. If you just rush through each plate of food and only get to have a few bites, you leave feeling unaccomplished and frustrated. The same goes for rehearsals. If we treat our music like a 7 course meal, but rush through it, nobody wins. Our students need to feel a little bit of pressure from us to always strive for excellence, but even more important is that fact that THEY NEED TO BE PROUD OF THEIR EFFORT AND ABILITY.

I think the best way that I can sum up who I am and what I stand for in the world of music education is that life, not just music, is a never-ending circle of growth. There is good. There is bad. But regardless of what we encounter, we need to learn from our experiences. We as educators and role models should never settle for good. We need to strive for excellence, no matter how big or small that excellence is, and if asked to repeat something, we do it. Not again, but better.