Finding a way to practice smarter!

            Several of the topics that were discussed in the text and lecture can be directly applied to certain struggles that I am facing in my classroom currently.  I teach high school band and 5^th grad beginning band.  I see my 5^th grade beginners once a week for a 30-minute small group lesson.  We also meet as a full band once a week for an hour.  My high school students rehearse daily for 45 minutes. 

            I’m sure like most band instructors the student’s individual practice, or sometimes lack thereof, can be improved.  The first year of band instruction is such a crucial time.  The students are learning proper technique, note reading, rhythm reading, and fingerings.  Thirty minutes a week never seems like enough time to really work on all of these new ideas and skills we are trying to develop.  A program like Smart Music or Chromatik seem to be wonderful tools to aid in individual practice. 

            On the opposite end, my high school band students seem to have similar issues.   With 55 students in one class period and no time for small group or sectional rehearsals their lack of individual attention is an issue.  I also find that having young musicians of all different musical abilities is a struggle in rehearsals.  We typically play fairly challenging music during our concert band session.  This year I am seeing my clarinets in particular struggle with our more challenging music.  The use of both Smart Music and Chromatik could greatly benefit these players.  Being able to follow along with their music at a slower tempo and getting immediate feedback would be so valuable to these young players.

           

            On a more personal level I find one of the biggest challenges I face is finding an efficient way to conduct performance tests.  If I personally test them on a passage it will take the majority of a week of rehearsals before I am finished with the entire band.  I have tried to video record them using a cell phone or iPad.  As I was watching the two videos in the lecture this week I saw the potential for how these programs could easily help with this task.  I plan on speaking with my principal and technical personal about finding funding for practice software to use in our district.  I can’t want to see how this will improve my students and my own teaching.