Alex Mann
Music 345/395b Reflection
Over the course of the semester, I have gotten the opportunity to teach and
observe. Between the three units of Music 345, middle school general, high school band,
and orchestra, I learned from three different practicing music teachers about their
respective jobs. Being able to observe them teach and then talking to them afterward
about the experience was enlightening. In the middle school general unit, I even had the
opportunity to teach a presentation on the Beatles. Between all of these experiences, I feel
that I have grown as a teacher.
In the middle school general unit, we observed the general music teacher at Park
Forest Middle School. We were able to meet with her briefly before the class began, and
then met with her again after the class to discuss her teaching. Never having been in a
middle school general music class, I learned a lot about the structure of a general music
class. There were a lot of different activities, and the teacher moved through them all
quickly to keep the attention of the students. The teacher used the piano a lot, which
reminded me how important that skill is. Additionally, the general music teacher at Park
Forest connected to her students easily and casually, even if they were a bit quiet that
day. She balanced being fun and quirky with responsible music teaching. The class was
very well organized, which helped it run smoothly and efficiently. Observing that
reminded me how important it is to figure out a routine to quickly get the class started,
get kids seated, and do attendance. Through practicing teaching during the middle school
general unit of 345/395b, I was able to teach a lesson on the Beatles to the same class that
I had previously observed. I learned that I need to find more creative ways to engage
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students in a lecture portion of a middle school general class. I also was reminded of how
important it is to convey to the students how what their learning is important to them.
The high school band unit of 345/395b was interesting because I could try
running a rehearsal for the first time, and I was able to observe a high school band teacher
at Bellefonte High School. The opportunity to run a rehearsal of a piece with my peers
was invaluable, and I think I successfully synthesized all the different training I’ve been
receiving for the last three years. I conducted the piece, listened for errors and successes,
wrote a chorale for the group to play, analyzed the score, and even got a taste of how to
manage time constraints since I only had 10 minutes to rehearse.
In the orchestra section, I was able to observe a before school elementary
orchestra rehearsal at Houserville Elementary and observe two orchestra rehearsals at
State College Area High School. I got to watch very different orchestra teachers create
meaningful music experiences with groups of students with vastly different maturity
levels. It was interesting to see how the techniques we were learning about string playing
in the class could be applied in either of the observations I saw. It was also a relief to
finally realize that much of the score analysis and conducting I’ve been studying would
apply equally well to orchestra as to band. I had practice teaching a song by rote with the
cello, an instrument I had never played until this section of the class, and I am proud that
I quickly learned to play the instrument well enough to complete the assignment. IT gave
me a good experience learning a pop tune by ear, and creating a lesson plan for how to
teach that to beginning string players.
Overall, I feel that I have improved my teaching this semester by getting live
teaching experiences with real children in general music settings, some peer teaching
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experience with high school band and orchestra, and many observations of practicing
music educators. I think I taught best in the band setting since that is my comfort zone,
but I most appreciated the orchestra experience, because that is a weakness of mine. I was
surprised that I feel much more capable of teaching beginning orchestra. After taking this
class I have gained a better sense of my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, and I am
still excited about entering the teaching profession.