It seems plausible that some people subscribe to this blog and do not follow me on Twitter, so allow me to expand this recent Tweet thread into a lazy blog post.
🧵🪡🎶👇 Thread: a few things I am doing in my band teaching this year, that I previously didn't have the time or resources to organize, but COVID forced my hand. (I will definitely be doing each of these every school year from now on)...
— Robby Burns (@robbyburns) May 10, 2021
Thread: a few things I am doing in my band teaching this year, that I previously didn't have the time or resources to organize, but COVID forced my hand. (I will definitely be doing each of these every school year from now on)...
A chart designed by my colleague Ben Denne. By thinking critically about music that will challenge, but not overwhelm them, students pick their select their own, grade appropriate, solo music.
Solo prep: by asking colleagues for rep ideas across all instruments, I created a resource in my LMS that guides students through a process of selecting appropriate solo rep for our district Festival and then registering for it. Student enrollment is up over 300 percent this year.
Composition: students LOVE writing short themes and ostinato patterns in Noteflight After recording their comps, they will make unique band arrangements out of each other’s recordings in Soundtrap by dragging them on top of one another and splicing/editing them, like loops. Inspiration for this idea and supporting materials provided by Alex Shapiro and can be found here.
Recording: having my students record video performances is not new. But having them record in a DAW, with respect to measure number, beat placement, and a metronome has been huge for our understanding of rhythm and form. Also it requires them to practice way more.
And then there are 100 new things I can do in my general music class simply by having access to a notation editor and DAW. I don't have enough time to detail them now but here is one example:
As much fun as I have grinding in Final Cut Pro, I do NOT see virtual band videos becoming a thing beyond this school year. It was fun while it lasted. Here's last year's WW Quintet:
Are any of these ideas worth writing about in more detail? Let me know on social media or by heading over to my Contact page.