Questions to promote
Creative, Critical and
Musical Thinking
in your ensemble
or music class
Music For All
Summer Symposium 2013
John Phillips
What is a question?
A.  An expression of inquiry that invites or calls for a reply.
B.  An interrogative sentence, phrase, or gesture.
"   Questioning is a type of excavation.
"   We don’t always get to the heart of the issue
based on first responses.
Aschner and Gallagher
"   Descriptive: recall of information (e.g., What is meant
by this musical term?)
"   Explanation: understanding processes at work (e.g.,
How should we breathe when playing a wind
instrument?)
"   Expansion: build on initial responses (e.g., How so?
What do you mean by diaphragm?)
"   Evaluative: assess or appraise the value of something
(e.g., Which is the better performance? Why did you
make this choice?)
"   Best when we combine and create compound
questions.
What Do You Hear?
"   Thank you R. Murray Schafer
"   Sound is music
"   Silence has potential for music making
Questions he asks teachers….
Why teach music?
What should be taught?
How should it be taught?
Who should teach it?
In the music rehearsal/class
Questions we can ask
during a rehearsal or repertoire class…
"   What is your role?
"   Which instrument has…?
"   What are others doing?
"   Describe the rhythm?
"   Are we balanced?
"   How fast does this music
"   Are we together?
"   How is your sectional
blend?
"   How loud are you
playing?
"   Who has the melody?
go?
"   Are you in tune?
"   Are you watching?
"   What is the harmonic
relationship?
"   Where am I?
Not everyone agrees with this
approach…
Others say…
"   “Tell me and I’ll forget… show me and
I’ll remember… but INVOLVE ME, and
I’ll understand!”
Some good examples include:
Matthew McInturf - “Critical Listening”
Paula Crider - “Creating Better Balance through Student Awareness”
Thomas E. Slabaugh, II - “A Quantitative Approach to Ensemble
Dynamics”
Thomas Duffy – “Building Individual Awareness of Place Within the
Whole”
"You don’t come to rehearsal to
learn your part,
but rather to learn everyone else's"
Eugene Corporon, University
of North Texas
“The greatest student musicians
you will ever have the pleasure of teaching
are those who believe in themselves.” (Alsobrook)
Literacy Strategy
"   Prediction
"  
What does the title tell you about this piece? Three Ayres from
Gloucester
"  
Where do you think Gloucester might be?
"  
What is an Ayre? [may require some research]
"  
The three Ayres are Jolly Earl of Chomandeley; Eventide; Fiefs of
Wembley. [How might you give context to these words? What do
they mean? Are they names perhaps?]
"  
Who was Hugh M. Stuart? [may require some research] Why
might he wish to compose a piece with this title?
"  
Then move on to technical/musical features before even
performing the work or as you start into the first reading. [e.g.,
tempo, style, keys, metre, etc…]
"   Interdependence
"   Independence
"   Dependence
Image Interpretation
Activity
Decide which image is
PING and which is PONG.
Define your own criteria for these two nonsensical words.
Explain your rationale.
…from the Ontario Elementary Curriculum
image interpretation (nonsense words)
A cooperative image analysis strategy in which the teacher
present students with a paired images (e.g., postcards,
reproductions) in a variety of art forms (e.g., paintings, sculpture,
photographs). Students are provided with two nonsense words
that are not related to visual arts (e.g., flip, flop) and students
decide which image, according to their own criteria and direct
observation, suit each category. Each person can have a different
interpretation and everyone will be right, as long as visual support
comes from the images before them.
Reality
How might image interpretation
work with music?
"   What types of nonsense words could we use for music
examples?
"   Let’s try Zig – Zag J
More Schafer
"   There are no more teachers. There is just a community
of learners.
"   The old approach: Teacher has information; student
has empty head. Teacher’s objective: to push
information into student’s empty head.
"   Observations: at outset teacher is a fathead; at
conclusion student is a fathead.
"   On the contrary a class should be an hour of a
thousand discoveries. For this to happen, the teacher
and the student should first discover one another.
Possible Resources
Initial Reaction
Questions that can be used upon listening
or first performance
"   What is your first impression?
"   What does this music bring to mind?
"   What does this music remind you of?
"   ***What do you feel? What
emotions does this music evoke?
"   What puzzles you? What are your questions?
"   What connections can you make between this music
and your own experience or other art forms?
Description
"   What do you hear when you examine (listen to) the
music closely?
"   What grabs your attention in the music?
"   What stands out for you? What do you notice (e.g.,
elements of music)?
"   What “qualities” do you hear in this music (e.g.,
strong, repeated rhythm)?
"   What might the composer have struggled with while
he or she created this music?
Analysis and Interpretation
"   What elements and conventions of music are used in
this piece? (can lead to a discussion of form,
ornamentation, embedding electronics with acoustic
sounds)
"   How are the elements organized, combined, or
arranged?
"   How does the music evoke ideas, feelings, and images?
"   What do you think is the theme or subject of the
work? (i.e., What is the composer trying to
communicate, and why? or, in reflecting on their own
work: What did you intend to communicate, and
why?)
More analysis
"   Why do you think the composer created this work?
"   What message or meaning do you think the music
conveys?
"   In your opinion, what is the composer’s view of the
world?
"   How does this view match or contrast with your own
view of the world?
Judgement
"   How effectively does the composer select and
combine elements to achieve an intended effect in
this music? (i.e., What works?)
"   What doesn’t work and why?
"   Has your point of view or thoughts and feelings
shifted from your initial reaction? If so, how has it
changed? What made you change your mind?
"   Is this an important work? Why?
Reflection
"   In what ways do you feel your arrangement (or
performance based concept) is successful?
"   In what ways would you change your piece to enhance
it’s effectiveness?
"   How did your music affect the audience? Was it the
way you intended?
"   How would you alter this music for a different
audience, or to send a different message?
When to use questions
"   Where else might questions be applicable beyond the
examples we’ve examined today?
"   When listening to live performances.
"   When creating their own work.
"   When developing their own projects or presentations.
"   Whenever they are making artistic choices.
"   Your thoughts?
Ten Questions…
1.  What do you hear? CAN BE STARTING POINT
2.  Who has the melody? Who is responsible for the pulse?
EXPAND AWARENESS OF OTHERS
3.  Who has the same part as you? How can you perform
in such a way as to blend as one voice?
4.  What do you feel? VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION!
Add “and why?”
5.  Why would the composer do this? LISTENING TO
RECORDED MUSIC OR IN PERFORMANCE
SETTINGS.
6.  How can we…? EXERCISE FOR THE TEACHERS
TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN QUESTIONS.
7.  How would you move to this music? ELEMENTARY
CURRICULUM – *Possibly have students conduct*
8.  What do you like about your performance so far? How
would you revise your performance to make it even
more successful? REVISING AND REFINING STAGE
OF THE CP
9.  What do we need to do next? CONNECTS TO THE
CREATIVE PROCESS – FOCUSSING AND
PLANNING
10.  How much time should we allow to accomplish our
goals? AS ABOVE
Think About…
"   Having your students develop their own questions as a
way of demonstrating their understanding of a concept,
big idea or as a means of assessment.
"   Using self-reflection questions for your own
professional growth.
"   Ask yourself…
"
"
"
"
 
 
 
 
Why teach music?
What should be taught?
How should it be taught?
Who should teach it?
Email: [email protected]
References
"  
A System for Classifying Thought Processes in the Context of Classroom Verbal
Interaction. Mary Jane Aschner and James Gallagher (University of Illinois Press,
1961)
"  
Ontario Curriculum Documents – sections on Creative Process and Critical
Analysis Process (1-8, 2009; 9-10 & 11-12, 2010)
http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/arts.html
"  
Ontario Music Educators’ Association – www. omea.on.ca
"  
Pathways – Joseph Alsobrook (GIA, 2002)
"  
Teaching Music with Passion – Peter Loel Boonshaft (GIA, 2002)
"  
On Becoming a Conductor – Frank Battisti (Meredith, 2007)
"  
Teaching Music Through Performance series – Richard Miles ed. (any of the front
matter in each volume)
"  
Rhinoceros in the Classroom – R. Murray Schafer (Universal Edition, 1975)
"  
The War of Art – Stephen Pressfield (Warner Books, 2002)