No substance what method oregon program of survey we take to follow, our students volition ever request antithetic oregon further acquisition to maestro circumstantial skills and concepts. To conscionable their idiosyncratic needs, we indispensable supplement. Supplemental acquisition volition look antithetic for each manager due to the fact that methods, resources, and pupil populations are truthful wide diverse. So, however bash we cognize what and however to supplement?
Here are a fewer questions I similar to bespeak on:
“What are immoderate skills/concepts my students look to conflict with each year?”
And,
“What are immoderate things that our method glosses implicit oregon doesn’t walk capable clip on?”
This is the casual portion – identifying what to supplement. Again, this whitethorn look antithetic for each director. Focus connected the needs of your students. Over the years, immoderate things I often chose to supplement successful my set method were things similar below-the-staff notation for clarinet players, articulator slurs for brass players, and enharmonic pairs. Not to notation trying to screen topics similar vibrato and transportation correction, which are scarcely included successful method books, oregon not astatine all!
Once you cognize what to supplement, it’s clip to code how.
More questions to inquire are:
“Do my students request amended mentation for this skill? Better instruction? Or bash they conscionable request other practice?”
When you’ve identified the roadblocks to learning, you tin make supplements to assistance your students flooded them. For the examples I provided earlier, here’s what my thought process looked like:
Below-the-staff notation for clarinet players
When students statesman the clarinet, they walk pages and pages connected the near manus only, and they go precise acquainted with those notes and fingerings. When it comes clip to larn the right-hand notes (below the staff), they’re fixed a fractional leafage of exercises and expected to person mastery.
My supplement: Better preparation. Before we adjacent attack this leafage of the method, I person students moving connected playing the right-hand notes descending, 1 astatine a time. They larn the musculus representation first, and past we adhd enactment names erstwhile they person success. Once they scope that page, they’re already skilled astatine playing those notes and tin absorption connected simply learning to work ledger lines. If this sounds acquainted to your classroom, you tin easy make customized exercises for your clarinet students utilizing a euphony notation programme similar Noteflight! (Pro tip: You tin entree exercises from the Essential Elements method books successful Noteflight Learn, allowing you to edit existing exercises and accommodate them to the circumstantial needs of your students.)
Lip slurs for brass players
Lip slurs are indispensable for embouchure and transportation development, and methods don’t absorption overmuch connected them.
My supplement: Extra practice. I make a afloat leafage of exercises for players to take from arsenic portion of their warm-up for each signifier session, and we don’t statesman acquisition exercises until we’ve completed articulator slurs. I privation it to beryllium automatic for students to prime up their instrumentality and person the archetypal happening they play beryllium a articulator slur. To enactment connected apical of your students’ signifier habits, you tin make play signaling assignments successful Noteflight utilizing SoundCheck show assessment! You tin besides delegate the acquisition to your students via Google Classroom and different LMS platforms. Plus, play recordings tin assistance showcase your students’ advancement implicit the past week oregon adjacent the full schoolhouse year. (Pro tip: This could besides enactment arsenic a integer signifier log!)
Enharmonic pairs
There are definite concepts that students conflict with twelvemonth aft year, and for me, it was ever enharmonic pairs. I find a mode to get students to grasp it, and the adjacent year, the caller kids don’t recognize it, and I’m backmost to quadrate one.
My supplement: Everything but the room sink. I make aggregate scaffolded supplements – customized by instrument, including ocular organizers and applicable applications, with written and performance-based assessments. My strategy is “whatever works”.
In the end…
You cognize your students and their learning strengths and weaknesses amended than anyone else! The amended you cognize your curriculum, the easier it volition beryllium to expect stumbling blocks and hole to supplement.
Your additions tin beryllium thing ranging from an other workout oregon 2 to mastering caller rhythms, oregon an full warm-up packet of extended code studies. Let your students’ needs beryllium your guide!
Jill Dobel is simply a 17-year seasoned of the euphony classroom, having taught instrumental euphony astatine varying levels successful grades 5-12 during her tenure. She is simply a erstwhile Chair of the Iowa Bandmasters Association Middle School Affairs Committee and a founding subordinate of the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra.
She’s presently the Music Education Marketing Specialist with Sheet Music Plus and is an progressive performer, clinician, and backstage workplace teacher successful Iowa.
In her escaped time, Jill enjoys location reno projects, watercolor painting, and spending clip with her hubby Scott, their 2 pit bull terriers Greta and Snickers, and their ill-tempered orangish tabby Hobbes.
English (US)