S15: E276 Nurturing Musical Growth: Identifying and Supporting High-Achieving Musicians
It’s very likely that you have observed students who demonstrate excellence in music in one way or another. Students who just love music so much that they immerse themselves in it during class time, in private lessons, or seek you out to talk about musical topics anytime they can. You might also observe students demonstrating excellent skills and musical talent. What do you do when you see students thriving in music? And how do you support them in their love for music and their musical abilities? Here are five things I recommend that you can do to build their confidence and skills:
Letting their parents know what you’re observing, skills they’re demonstrating and musical areas they’re showing strength in. There may be times that parents are unaware of the musical strengths that their child possesses. If students are not engaged in musical activities outside of school, it may come as a surprise to families to hear the musical talents you’ve noticed because they haven’t had an opportunity to observe them. Sharing with parents can open more opportunities for students to develop their musicianship.
Have conversations with the student and ask them questions about what they enjoy about music. Specific instruments? Working in groups - bands? Playing percussion instruments? Singing? If students are always wanting to sit at the piano to play songs, but don’t take lessons, ask them questions about how they’re learning pieces (watching YouTube piano tutorials or learning from older siblings). Provide this information to parents.
Gather a list of private studios, local School of Rock locations, or places that offer musical opportunities. This is really helpful for when a parent asks about where their students might look to do lessons. I have done this in the past and this episode is a reminder to get one of these lists prepared again!
Find ways to challenge students when teaching pieces that are too simplistic for what they can do. We differentiate for students who need simplification when things are too challenging. Finding ways to challenge those students who find what we are teaching to be too simplistic is just as important in meeting their needs too. Ways to do this: improvisation opportunities and teaching them how to do it. Ask students to double the melody line (play everything on eighth notes instead of quarter notes for example). Provide students with the chord structure of a song so they can play with harmonies.
Identify opportunities for them to demonstrate their skills. Music performances: solos or featured pieces. Example// soloist in sixth grade who doubled the melody line performed a solo in the xylophone piece in the music sharing; seventh grader who plays piano by ear learned the chords to a pop song and accompanied 6th and 7th graders as they sang; student who has a knack for leading peers directed a piece in the sharing with confidence; eighth grade student who arranges musical pieces created an arrangement of a Bach chorale and he and I performed it on recorders at our last Eucharist at the end of the year. Just as there are leading athletes on the sports field who are featured for their skills, there are excellent musicians in our classrooms who should be featured on the stage or in the classroom. Sometimes students don’t know that they have a gift for music or a strength in a specific musical area unless we tell them and show them what we see in them.
I’m going to encourage you to take a challenge this week: look for a student who is standing out in their musicianship. Talk to them about what you see them doing. Ask them questions about what they enjoy about music or if they’ve thought of learning musical instruments, singing or taking private lessons outside of the music classroom. Encourage them in their musical abilities and find ways to feature their gifts and/or challenge them with possibilities during class.