Successful Ensemble
Classes in the Inner City
By Beth Poquette Drews
38 Southwestern Musician | February 2014
A
successful performance program in an inner-city school
can offer students music-making experiences and can open
up their world in ways that might not otherwise have been
possible. Successful inner-city programs teach students
what an ensemble should sound like, how to reach expectations
in preparation for performance, what it means to perform as part
of a community, and how to act in artistic settings. The path to
a successful urban performing ensemble emphasizes exploration,
expectations, and experience.
arriving at the concert hall. Keep a supply of neck ties to loan
or give to male students. In addition to teaching students about
ensembles, the experience of exploring evening performances
empowers students to become future arts patrons.
Expectations
Classroom management and student achievement are often
considered to be the greatest challenges of the inner-city classroom. These challenges can be overcome by setting clear expectations for classroom procedures, behaviors, and objectives.
For example, the procedure for many ensemble classes upon
entering the room is to get out your instrument and warm up.
This procedure seems obvious to a trained musician but can be
confusing to students. Some students will interpret this to mean
talk to their friends in the instrument storage closet until the
director chases them out and then play glissandos for the entire
warm-up period.
To ensure a chaos-free and productive warm-up, provide a
checklist. Listing each step for entering the room (or any other
procedure) is called chaining. For several of my less organized
students, I have found that chaining helps get them into a routine
and mindset to work. Don’t hesitate to list what seem to be very
small or insignificant steps. Just because something is obvious to
you doesn’t mean it will be to them. In addition to “get out your
book,” I included the step of “put music on the stand,” because
some students have tried to hold their music with their feet or
put it on the chair next to them. This simple statement has saved
me many minutes of redirect regarding book or music placement.
Post the checklist in your room and insert copies of the list in
page protectors in their music binders. Students can then check
off the steps daily with a dry-erase marker.
Some students also need intervention and guidance to help
meet the procedural and behavioral expectations of the class.
Using an expectation chart can help clearly communicate class
expectations to the students and allow you to chart their progress
in trying to obtain these goals. I don’t use this for every student
Exploration
Students need to be taught the characteristic sound of their
instruments or voice and the function of a performing ensemble
in the community. Many urban students are trapped in what I
call an ABSBA circuit: Apartment–Bus–School–Bus–Apartment.
Their exposure to their community is limited to television at
home and the walls of their classrooms at school. Because of
the isolation inherent in the ABSBA circuit, many students do
not know the characteristic sound of an orchestra, marching
band, concert band, choir, or chamber ensemble. They are also
unaware of the purpose of ensembles and how they function as
part of their community. If students do not know what they are
supposed to sound like, the purpose for making the music, or
expected behaviors in an artistic setting, they will have difficulty
making progress toward the goals we set.
Take students on field trips to a variety of community performances. Exploring your area’s ensembles will give students
an understanding of the characteristic musical sounds and the
function ensembles serve in the community. Start by teaching
concert etiquette in class and what behavior is expected at different types of concerts. When arranging tickets to a concert,
I recommend taking groups of 30 or fewer. If there are more
than 30 in your ensemble, take multiple concert trips to provide
the opportunity for everyone to attend. Discuss the length of
the performance with the students to help them prepare for the
event. I have taken groups of 30 inner-city middle school students
to performances of Mahler, Stravinsky, and
Bruckner at the symphony, Carmen at the
opera, and the entire Nutcracker ballet. Not
only are the students well behaved, they are
enthralled by the experience.
Take students to a variety of performance
genres. Often there are youth concerts to
introduce elementary-aged students to
various ensembles and some professional
organizations open their dress rehearsals to
25 28
middle and high school students to attend.
Most performing arts organizations have an
2 0 1 4
education director who can help find opportunities for your students.
I believe the greatest impact is made by
taking students to a regular evening performance. Students not only hear the sound
“Best all-state choir camp I’ve ever
of the ensemble but also learn how it fits
been to!!! We got to meet new people
into the fabric of the community. Be sure
and do what we love to do.”
to set expectations for behavior and for
dress. Despite initial protests on dress code,
students have often expressed how grateful they were to know what to wear when
-
Southwestern Musician | February 2014 39
Example: Daily Expectations for Orchestra/Guitar
Procedures
Date: 1/13–1/17
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Participation
Mon
Date: 1/13–1/17
Places backpack under chair

Plays songs as directed

Gets out instrument and book

Keeps head up and stays alert
S
Places closed case beside chair
NA
Puts music on stand


Basses stand in assigned
area / violin, viola, cello,
guitar sit in assigned seat
Writes comment on comment
cards instead of sharing with
others

Follows directions the first
time given
S
Begins playing bell ringer or
assigned warm up sheet

S
Helps clean up
×
Keeps instrument and voice
silent while teacher is giving
instructions
but for those having particular trouble meeting expectations. The
idea is for you to mark the chart and share it with the students
during instrument pack-up time at the end of class.
In the charts above, a  means meets expectation; an S means
sometimes meets expectation; an × means did not meet expectation.
The participation (or behavior) section needs to be voiced in a
positive manner. For example instead of writing “Don’t Sleep in
Class,” it should be “Keeps head up and stays alert.” The reason
for the wording is twofold: it reinforces positive behaviors when
you review the chart with the student, and for parent conferences
it demonstrates that you are looking for and keeping track of
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
things their child is doing right. These are a few tips for implementing a chart like this:
•Keep one standard chart for your classes. This will make
marking the chart faster for you. If a box doesn’t apply, simply write NA.
•Older students might laugh or roll their eyes at the chart, but
they’ll also be upset if they don’t get good marks.
•Remember to review the chart with the student, perhaps
during pack-up time at the end of the period. It is important to review that chart even if the student appears to be
indifferent.
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•As with everything, change happens over time. This chart
is a form of intervention. Don’t give up even though it may
seem like one more piece of paper with which to keep up.
For some students it will modify their behavior in just a
week, for others it is a way to gather helpful data to help find
the best learning environment for that child.
•Don’t be afraid to give them an S for Sometimes. It is meaningful to the students that you noticed their effort to meet
the expectation even if they fell short.
•Chart only the most important expectations under the
participation section. Too many expectations will make it
difficult for the student to focus on modifying their behavior
and will be difficult to assess. You may find that over time
you want to change your chart as students begin to consistently meet expectations in an area but need help in another.
However, let the student see the consistent success before
changing the chart. Everyone likes to know they are doing a
good job.
•Avoid using the word quiet. Whereas to a teacher, quiet often
means silent, to a student it often means whisper softly.
Experience
The third step to a successful performance ensemble is to
provide performance opportunities for your students—they need
to be able to share their music with others. Often we limit our
students to two concerts a year—one in December and the other
in May, and in those we play only the music being executed
perfectly. While formal concerts are an important experience for
our students, there are other opportunities
for students to have meaningful aesthetic
experiences.
Informal foyer concerts and assemblies
are a great way to give students an opportunity to perform even when the music isn’t
note-perfect. Set up an ensemble in the
entrance of the school and play as people
enter the building. This may be the only
time that faculty, staff, and students of your
school hear the ensemble. Volunteer to play
at assemblies and PTA meetings. This provides an opportunity for your students to
apply the knowledge they’ve learned while
exploring the role of musical ensembles as
part of the community.
Take your students to music festivals.
Many inner-city students will never receive
a tangible acknowledgement (trophy, certificate, or medal) of a job well done. Any given
weekend in the spring there are a multitude
of music festivals offering the opportunity
for your students to earn a school trophy or
plaque for their participation. Choose festivals where the emphasis is on celebrating
the students’ performances at multiple levels
and not just earning first place.
Finally, showcase your students in public
performances. This is often nerve-racking
for a director; many fear public perfor-
The more inner-city challenges your school
faces, the greater the importance for your
ensemble to participate in the community.
mances because they are afraid of being judged. Remember that
it is through public performance that students come full circle
to where they were exposed to hearing ensembles perform to
now being the performers. Public concerts at city hall, at dedications, in parks, and at other civic ceremonies give students the
opportunity to contribute to their community as well as to bring
awareness to the accomplishment of these students. The more
inner-city challenges your school faces, the greater the importance
for your ensemble to participate in the community. It doesn’t just
show community members something positive about youth in
challenging neighborhoods, but it also shows students that they
indeed can be contributing members to their community.
Applying exploration, expectations, and experience to your classroom can be challenging, but the rewards for you and your
students are great! Identifying characteristic ensemble sound
through exploration, illuminating the path to get there with clear
expectations, and sharing what you have learned through experience keep students engaged in your music program.
0
Beth Poquette Drews is orchestra, guitar, and mariachi
teacher at H. W. Lang MS in Dallas ISD.
Southwestern Musician | February 2014 43