MASTERING THE CRAFT: ORCHESTRA

IMITATE–ASSIMILATE–INNOVATE: REVOLUTIONIZING THE ORCHESTRA LESSON IN AN UNCERTAIN TIME

Roberto Iriarte

Musicians often live by philosophies that drive them in positive directions in order to reach goals in every aspect of performance, composition, production, and education. Trumpet master Clark Terry often taught this philosophy in relation to jazz improvisation–imitate, assimilate, innovate. I was fortunate enough to have heard Clark deliver this at a master class in 1991 at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival. While this philosophy can apply to many things in life, let us stick to the orchestra at this time.

In these uncertain times, your music classroom has likely gone through a rebirth and/or transformation since you left the building in March. By now, you may have been “All-in,” “Hybrid,” or “All Remote” in your school. Some of you may have been reassigned to another subject with music having been cancelled in your building. These are all realities of the pandemic era. Let us take this opportunity to explore some things in order to remain relevant in educating our students during these unprecedented times.

IMITATE

Humans first learn language by ear, not by reading. Treat music the same way. It is beneficial to listen to the music more than to read the music, particularly in the early stages of learning. Use balance to build both skills, keeping in mind that balance does not necessarily mean 50/50. Tip the balance heavier toward the listening, and the achievement of your students will begin to increase.

We should be modeling best practices for our students on one or more instruments in order to show them how we want them to look and sound. Our students need to see us demonstrate what we are asking them to do. Play for your students in person and on recorded lessons for them to have at home. If you are not comfortable with playing as an example for your students, make a change. Practice more or hire a professional to be the example if it is an instrument you are not comfortable playing.

Share great performances of music with your students. You can do this via audio and video for your students to copy sound, style, bow skills, and more. Using real-world examples is one of the most effective and efficient ways for them to hear and to see where we want them to go. Do this for your students often. Use a variety of resources including books, audio recordings, scores, and electronic media of all kinds in order to meet today’s expectations in the music world.

PLATFORMS AND APPLICATIONS

All of these examples can be organized and shared with your students using a variety of platforms, including Google Classroom or YouTube for posting video and audio. Create interactive Google Slides using the add on Flat. io which you can use to write out music on Slides and on Google Docs. Teachers and students can use this tool if they do not have access to Sibelius or Finale. Screencastify (video/audio add-on to browser) and Audacity (audio only application) are free. For students using phones

or Chromebooks, Voice Recorder is another useful app. Mac users can use iMovie or GarageBand for recording and mastering files. Choose what you are comfortable and efficient using. If you are not familiar with any of these, YouTube is loaded with “how to” videos for all of the above apps and platforms.

Free Technology for Teachers and Richard Byrne on YouTube have some concise and searchable pages for many tech tools. Investing in a recording microphone will improve the sound quality of your instrument and your voice in recorded lessons. There are many options at all price points from makers such as Shure, AudioTechnica, and Blue. There are many choices for standard XLR cables that require an audio interface or a simple plug and play with USB or a lightning connector that plug directly into your phone, tablet, or computer.

ASSIMILATE

The next level in teaching and learning is to assimilate. With our guidance, this is where we meet each student where they are, helping them to advance their skills and to find new ways to apply their skills in the literature. Our guidance has to start with how to practice. Too often, students hear, “Okay, now go practice this.” Teaching our students to practice is quite possibly more important than what to practice. Help your students connect the technique to the music. For example, show them where they are applying learned finger patterns in the music.

Use finger pattern exercises, scales, arpeggios, short melodies, orchestral excerpts, chamber music. or solos for curriculum. The chamber music and solo literature models can be very effective in this pandemic era when we may or may not be able to have our traditional performances. Using these materials may be the next way to have a concert with limited numbers in audiences and on stage. Students can learn to thrive in chamber music and solo literature even if they have never done it before. We are fortunate that there is so much literature for small string ensembles of all ability levels. Students will find enjoyment in the end product while gaining valuable independence during the process.

INNOVATE

We have to be the innovators in this trying time. We have been handed the opportunity to revolutionize our pedagogical practices. We have to stop looking back at how things were and continue to reinvent our lessons using innovative materials, technologies, and lesson delivery. By doing this, we can invigorate ourselves and provide our students with new ways to explore and to enjoy learning in orchestra. Perhaps this could change the way we teach orchestra for the rest of our careers. Here are some collected ideas for materials, projects, and lessons outside the box of learning sheet music for large ensembles.

CHAMBER MUSIC

Solos and small ensembles meet the needs of the student learning while addressing factors such as the uncertainty of frequency we will see them in school and how many at a time. • Explore trios, quartets, and quintets by master composers such as Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and others. • Score study is a must in order to understand the intentions of the composers. Engage students through use of recordings, thematic and formal analyses, and discussions about the pieces. The interplay of the various instruments in a chamber work or the relationship of the solo vs. the piano can both be examined. This is similar to the in-depth study students do in literature, math, science, and social studies. • Consider using arrangements and collections of chamber music for small ensembles by Applebaum, Herfurth, Isaac, and others. These are available for a variety of ability levels. • Solos such as Suzuki School, Solo Time for Strings, and A Tune a Day, are excellent for developing the skills of individual students. Some of these also include accompaniments, or they are available through an extra purchase or on SmartMusic.

TECHNOLOGY

• Flipgrid facilitates making student video grids with the teacher posting questions and discussion topics.

• Wizer: Teacher can build interactive worksheets.

• Edpuzzle: A web-based interactive video and formative assessment tool

• Nearpod: Interactive presentations, quizzes, polls, and collaborative boards

• GarageBand: Loaded with options for creating. If you and your students have Apple devices, this is a no-brainer for giving them a creative outlet using 21st-century technology. As an Apple Certified Teacher, I cannot stress enough the outcomes for your students when you give them opportunities to be creative in GarageBand. They will love it once they learn it.

There are too many options to list here for ways that we can deliver the material to our students. You have to explore and find one or more that fits you and your students. Network with other educators with whom you can share ideas with and learn from. No one needs to live on an island trying to invent this alone. Thank you to Dr. Elizabeth Hankins, Dr. Christina Lowell, and Mr. Gerald MacDougall for your contributions to this article.

Roberto Iriarte is the director of orchestras at Hudson Middle and High Schools and also directs jazz ensembles at Hudson High School, where he has taught since 1996. He is a member of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and the Akron Symphony. He holds music education and performance degrees from Kent State University and a master’s in orchestral performance from Temple University.