The goal of most band rehearsals is to be better than we were the rehearsal before. We often are assessing our students playing as the rehearsal progresses. We assess in the moment. We hear a mistake, we fix that mistake. But how do we create individual playing assessments that are meaningful and targeted?
What To Assess
Most of the time, we are assessing with the “Part Check” approach. Can our students play the music that we give them in concert band, marching band, jazz band? While this is an important tool in a concert preparation, inevitably your 3rd part trombone player and your 1st part clarinet player are not being asked to play on equal levels. So, what should we be assessing? What do we expect all of our students to know?
Rhythm Assessments
At what point do we expect our students to play/read in certain meters. When do we introduce double dotted half notes or quarter note triplets? As we have studied numerous method books, from beginning instruction to the opposite end of that spectrum, we have come to the following conclusions;
A playing assessment can be single pitch, rhythm reading with the above note/rest durations and meters. A great tool for instant access to as many of these rhythms as you’d ever need are online rhythm generators. I’ve had great luck with Sight Reading Factory. This program allows me to set specific note durations, rest durations, meter, and length to assessments. I can print or have the student play right from the computer screen. I can even add pitch if I want to.
Scale Assessments
We love to hate scales. The building blocks of all music. Just like rhythm assessments, we should have similar standards for what scales our students should be able to play.
Of course if your students are auditioning for all-state groups, then this all goes out the window, and they should know all scales by 9th grade. This assessment plan is for EVERY band student. Scale assessments can be done individually in lessons, video recorded and submitted to Google Classroom, or even done in band class.
Sight Reading As Assessment
One of the best ways to tell if your student truly knows rhythm and scales is to assess them using sight reading. Can they clap, count, sing, play on a single pitch a rhythm that hasn’t been practiced? Can the student identify a scale passage in a piece of music at sight?
I’ve had great luck with Sight Reading Factory. (And no, I am not getting a free subscription to their program for saying this.) It has been invaluable to me as a means of targeting specific instruction in rhythm and key center for my students. I use it every day; in full ensemble, in private lessons, in group sectionals. Every day. Each student has a specific goal they are trying to accomplish, and Sight Reading Factory has allowed me to target those goals and my instruction. I’m sure there are many sight reading programs out there, that are all great programs. Finding the one that is right for you and your students will change the way you teach.
Go Forth And Assess
Your students will hate you for awhile. Especially if they are not used to playing assessments. But at the end of the day, they are better musicians because of it. All of this takes time. Perhaps you introduce sight reading into your daily routine, or a friendly scale competition between grade levels. Whatever you choose to do, choose something. Your students will thank you later.
By Stephanie Williamson
Commenti