Goal Setting and Achievement

Hello again!

In the spirit of New Years I thought I could reflect on my goals from this past year. Most music students and teachers are pretty good at setting goals, and nothing here is original, but hopefully something here can help someone out there to set and achieve their own goals for 2011. After all, I don't mean to brag, but 2010 was a pretty amazing year of achievements for me. Of course, I didn't accomplish everything I set out to, but who does? You live and you learn, right?

Set SMART Goals

Have you ever heard of SMART goals? It's a method that really works, especially if you don't have much previous goal setting experience, or haven't had much success in achieving your goals (which was sometimes the case for me). For those who aren't familiar, SMART is an acronym that can mean a few different things. In the book "Strategic Planning for Dummies", it is geared towards planning and implementation for an organization, so it looks something like this:

S - Specific: If you say, "I want to lose weight", that is too broad. Specific is measurable. "I want to lose 40 pounds."

M - Measurement: How will you measure success? In the above example, it was by pounds lost, with 40 being the goal.

A - Attainable: Find a point that will challenge you, but still be realistic to achieve. If you're building on a strength, you can push further than if you're building on a weakness. In this case I figured 3-4 pounds a month was conservative, but at least it was achievable. 

R - Responsible Person: In an organization, goals should be delegated. This would be an important step when setting goals for a program, or as a booster club. Just because one person is responsible doesn't mean they shouldn't have help.

T - Time Frame: What are the start and end dates for this endeavor? Again, from an organization standpoint, this can be quite helpful. You can't do everything for the year at once. Mapping out your goal time frames for the year allows you to spread out the work, while keeping you on track by making sure you're not starting anything too later.

At the ASU Brass Festival I got to hear a masterclass/performance by the Boston Brass. The trombone player's segment of the masterclass was on goal setting, and he discussed SMART goals, except that the wording was more geared for individuals. I like it, and I wanted to share both. Of course it's not much different.

S - Specific

M - Measurable

A - Achievable: Same as Attainable.

R - Resources: List all of the resources at your disposal. Although it wasn't in the SMART model above, when I set my weight loss goal, I did this. Resources could be books, friends, facilities, the internet, whatever you can think of. In the case of my weight loss, one of my good friends transformed his body in two years from being obese to being the most athletic person I know, with a body fat percentage of around (I think) 12%. Once he got down to 150 pounds, he put on 20 pounds of muscle, and I'm sure even more since then. I knew he would be a great source of information and encouragement. I had a couple of books with exercises, educational material, and routines to reteach myself proper work out techniques. I also used the internet to get additional food ideas, as well as get rough calculations of how many calories I naturally consumed so I'd have an idea of how many calories to take in each day for weight loss. After a couple of weeks I also bought a scale at home because I got tired of walking over to HEB to weigh myself. 

T - Timely: For individual goals, it's also important that your time frame be realistic. My time frame of 40 pounds in a year seemed a little like underachieving, but my confidence in my ability to get active and lose weight was also pretty low. If I would've said, "I want to lose 40 pounds in a week", that probably would have been an unrealistic expectation. At that weight, 40 pounds was an achievable goal, but the time frame of a week would not have been. Had I given myself 2-20 years to lose 40 pounds, I might have quickly lost motivation. 3-4 pounds a month was at least enough that I knew I had to make some changes and stick to them for it to happen. Not the best time frame, but probably not terrible either. 

Breaking Down the Goals

Of course, in school you also learn to set smaller goals that get you to your long term goal. In Strategic Planning, SMART goals are the smaller steps you take. But in my case, I needed additional steps to get started. So I sat down with pen and paper and made a list of steps to take. If you wanted, you could also make these SMART, but it might be too time consuming. Just make sure that they are Relevant (another use for the R in SMART) in that they are directly related to your goal and get you closer to achieving it. So here is what that list might have looked like:

"Call Jason about mentoring.

Research exercises

Develop Workout A

Develop Workout B

Research food

Develop a weekly diet

Buy groceries

Weigh myself"

All of these goals were in preparation of starting a healthier life style. It was around this time last year. So in the week leading up to January 1st, I was gradually carrying out one step a day. When January 1st hit, I woke up, went for a job, did some basic strength exercises, and started my new eating habits (I even had the specific times worked out). 

On a daily basis I didn't work towards the end goal, I worked towards the next 5 pound benchmark. This way my next goal was always in sight, potentially achievable any day, and I wanted to stay on track that much more. I also celebrated each time I lost 5 pounds. I didn't celebrate by eating junk food. I just gave myself a pat on the back. My reward was that I was feeling healthier and looking better. 

Breaking down your larger goals into smaller goals is crucial, and celebrating at your benchmarks (in appropriate ways) is a great way to stay motivated. 

In this case, my wife played an important role as she cooked dinner 50% or more of the time, and I relied on her to cook healthy meals. My friend, Jason, was also important as there were times when I felt frustrated or outright confused, and he was always able to reassure me that I was doing the right things and put it all into perspective. Eventually I also made my goal public, which I've read can be a big motivator. That ultimately worked out as the encouragement from friends at the University and on facebook helped me to stay the course.

Evaluation

So how did it work out? Seems like a lot of planning. But it paid off! I actually hit my 40 pound goal in 3 1/2 to 4 months, at which time I reassessed my original goal and raised the bar to 50 pounds, then later to 60 pounds. After that I said, "Okay, wherever I end up at this point I'm okay with." That was probably a mistake. I stopped losing weight at 70 pounds, from 265 to 195. Pretty awesome! You can see the before/after pics Jenn made of me below:

In retrospect, I wish I would've continued to set health goals to continued motivation. I maintained some of my eating habits, but I've since allowed some bad foods back into the mix, and I've stopped exercising. My weight is still in the 193-196 ballpark, but my body shape has changed a little. 

It's helpful to evaluate how things went on a regular basis. This enables you to set new SMART goals that ensure you continue on the path you've set for yourself.

New Goals

This year my goal is to get down to 15% body fat by the end of the year (when I had that measured in June it was 17.8%, so it's probably between 18-19% at the moment). I need to establish a set routine of when I exercise that will work with a public school schedule and a family life. I also want to pay it forward by trying to bring a few friends along for the ride this time. I know of at least two who would like to lose weight and have asked for some help, so I'd like to see if we can work that out somehow. I can be to them what Jason was to me, but maybe also a work out partner since I live here (at least for the next several months). I also want to set fitness goals rather than just a body fat loss goal, especially for once that goal has been achieved. 

I started to do that this past year. A friend invited me to participate in a 5K with him, and Jenn said she'd do it, too. But something came up and my friend was unable to do it. Then, because our finances were so tight, if anything, only me or Jenn (not both) could do it, and even then we really needed that money for other things. So I decided not to do it, and my motivation took a hit. I have nobody to blame but myself, though. If I really wanted to, I could've found alternatives. 

This year, I'll make my own events. Why not map out my own 5K route and just run that on a set day? I could even invite friends to join me and make an event out of it. This could be a really cool year to not only achieve my peak fitness, but to do the kinds of things that will motivate me to stick to that kind of life style.

Some other goals I set but didn't achieve...

Quit Smoking - I spent probably 6-8 months this past year not smoking in 2 week to 3 month chunks. In this case, making the goal public only made me feel worse when I finally caved. After several attempts I finally threw in the towel and said, "No more. I'm done trying for now." My self esteem was just too low. So what happened? My goal was to "Quit smoking cigarettes." I didn't do any of the above planning, though I did do some research online. I usually did pretty well until the 3 month mark. At that time I would get intense cravings until it was all I could think about for hours upon hours, and eventually I would cave. One turns into two, which goes on until you're back to square one. My wife and I discussed quitting again, and this time we made some concessions and modifications. Hopefully it works out this time. So far I'm a week and 5 days in, and doing okay.

Organize Myself - Last year I went on an organizing rampage. I organized my life with a planner, and organized most of the apartment. Unfortunately, none of it continued. I used the planner through the Spring semester, but eventually dropped the to do list and just kept up with dates and appointments. Jenn didn't like how I organized things, so it fell apart over time. This year I'm making some adjustments. My main concern with getting organized was to organize my time. This year I'm focusing only on that. I also want to approach it in a way that it will be easier to maintain. I haven't completely thought it through yet, but I'm working on it.

Of course, there were a LOT of goals that I did achieve that were more specific.

Senior Recital - From goal oriented practices to goal oriented rehearsals and even setting time frames for getting programs and program notes done, a goal oriented approach to this was a big help.

Piano Proficiencies - I also had time frames for preparing for this. It was a close call, but thankfully, I got it done.

Various projects - Conducting practicums, the jazz improvisation transcription project (which took nearly 30 hours for me to complete), and numerous other projects throughout the year. It was important to give myself start times in addition to the end times, with benchmark goals to help me get to the end goal one step at a time. 

Coda, or "How is this relevant to music?"

This book can change your life.

So all of this can be easily tied to music. Students could probably use some help learning how to practice with goals in mind, rather than a set amount of practice time. They probably need help learning how to set goals. The second version of SMART listed is a great place for them to start setting playing goals that can be translated into practice sessions. Band directors have to take this kind of approach all the time to help them organize their rehearsals so that the band can have a great performance. You can also use the organization version of SMART (the first one listed) to set goals for an overall band program. Of course those goals should also be relevant to a Vision and usually a Mission, which I didn't get into here. "Strategic Planning for Dummies" covers how you can work together with your team to create good vision and mission statements. Wayne Marksworth gives an example for a band program mission statement in his book, "The Dynamic Marching Band". Benjamin Zander also discusses Vision in the book he and his wife co-wrote, "The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life". Compared to the Strategic Planning book, their criteria for a Vision is that it must be something that everyone can be part of. It must not exclude anyone. In fact, they advocate against Mission Statements because they are typically based on competition and scarcity. Here are a couple of examples of Vision Statements of dynamic music organizations:

"Passionate Music Making Without Boundaries" - Boston Philharmonic

Paraphrasing, El Sistema's vision is, "Social Reconstruction through Music Education."

Teaching EK about Strategic Planning and leading them
through the development of their own plan for sustained
 growth. Jan. 2009

Maybe someday I'll do a series on Strategic Planning. I lead the Epsilon Kappa Chapter in developing a 2 year strategic plan, complete with research, a mission, vision, SMART goals, and so on. The first year of the plan was a little rough because it was implemented poorly after my term, but the current President has helped the chapter reassess the goals and has kept them on track, and the chapter so far has not only had a productive year (as last year was plenty productive), but they also feel great about their achievements being relevant to the direction they want to grow in. Any time I'm blessed to be a head director of bands, you can bet I will work with teachers, students and co-workers to develop a strategic plan during that first year so create a direction of positive growth for the organization that also captures the hopes and dreams of everyone involved in the group's work.

Anyway, I know I've learned a lot this past year. One of those things was the effective use of goals, both thanks to failures and successes. I hope this has been helpful to you as well in some way. Use the New Year to set goals. It's a great time to do it! Just make sure you're going about it the right way, and you're practically guaranteed great results. I wish everyone out there the best of luck with their goals this year. I love it, because I think it's part of the human spirit that we always strive to better ourselves, both as individuals and as a society. And like one's skill in music, it is a quest that never ends! Thank you for reading, and until next time, take care! And Happy New Year!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Out of appreciation for those of you who are reading my blog, I said I would post some cool/funny music related Christmas videos. So here we go...

Bassoon Lights

Bassoon chamber ensemble synchronizes Christmas lights to "The Nutcracker". It gets cool about a minute and a half in...

Tuba Christmas NYC "Jingle Bells"

You have to admit that seeing an army of tuba and euphonium players under the tree at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC is nothing short of glorious! Also, I'm pretty sure the guy you see conducting right at the start of the video is the late, great, legendary Harvey Phillips!

The Last Trumpet Christmas

Okay, so you've probably seen this one. But does it ever hurt to see it again? For anyone who hasn't seen this, some people wonder why we have Tuba Christmas, but we've never had a Trumpet Christmas. Well, according to an old Christmas legend... THIS is why.

I hope you enjoyed the videos! Thanks for reading! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas (or other holiday celebration)! And until next time, take care!

Happy Holidays and All the Best from the Cooper Family!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

Conducting: The Importance of Looking Up, Small Gestures, and Urgency

Greetings!

On my last conducting reflection I talked about some things that went well for me in my experiences. It's good to know that I have the basic tools and risk taking capacity to be an effective conductor. But I don't want to be an average conductor. I'd like to grow into one of those people who can communicate incredible amounts of information, whose conducting is at such a level that it elevates the abilities of the players in front of them. I expect that to take a while, of course, and a lot of practice. So, first on my list of things to improve on are as follows...

Don't Read the Score... Look Up!

This was by far the worst of my mistakes. I spent a lot of time practicing with the score, eventually listening to recordings and trying to conduct from memory. But there is just something that is still a little intimidating about conducting a live group. A fear of missing cues, partially, or of losing my place in the score. I want to be a conductor that leads proactively through impulse of will and communication. I don't want to react to a missed entrance with a reassuring nod and smile. But even with Grainger's "Irish Tune", which should be easy enough to keep your place in, I still felt the need to look at the score more than I was looking up. I did a good job of making eye contact when I gave cues, don't get me wrong. But with all that time I spent looking at the score, I would be foolish if I were to complain that the players weren't paying attention. Right?

I'm practically looking straight down! Would YOU be engaged?
You know, because you've probably experienced conductors
like this.

But a great thing happened when we played through "Shepherd's Hey". My worst fear came true - I got lost. We only had time to sight read, so there was no stopping. I flipped through a few pages while continuing to conduct a two pattern, but within a few seconds I decided there was no hope of finding where we were at, and I was wasting a precious opportunity to connect and make music.

So I looked up.

Not only did I start conducting from memory, but I experienced what Benjamin Zander calls going "Beyond the F*** It". In other words, I went all out.

I had practiced enough that I knew where we were, where we were going, and basically how we were going to get there, including some general style changes, a stop, an accelerando, and some other important details I wanted pulled out. When my wife watched the tape she noticed how much more I got into my conducting. Without me telling her what happened, her vocal reaction to the change was, "There you go, babe! Now you're getting into it!"

Not only did they hold together at close to performance tempo, but they actually did a pretty good job of style and dynamics. I totally missed a 3/2 bar, but they stuck with me.

It wasn't until the score was taken away that my true ability to communicate came out.

But this nemesis struck again when I worked with a public school band the next week. It was in the middle of finals week so I only had an hour and a half to study two scores, with recordings of neither one. I had a general idea of how each section sounded, but was not practiced enough to do it by memory, and as a result I spent a lot of time looking down. What a shame! We accomplished a lot through rehearsal, but I have to wonder how much more we might have accomplished through visual communication had I been looking up.

And then I recently came across something Peter Boonshaft wrote in his book, "Teaching Music with Passion: Conducting, Rehearsing, and Inspiring". He suggests that in the debate of conducting by memory or not, that we should have the best of both worlds. We should know the score well enough that we can conduct from memory, but admits that human memory is only so good, and we should glance at the score to recall previously learned information. The key word for me was, "glance".

In the future, I would like to be practiced enough that all I have to do is glance at the score to remember everything I need to know for that moment in time, and then spend the rest of the time looking around the room. It's tough. I'm sure it will get easier with practice. And certainly if I had 6-8 weeks of rehearsal as opposed to 15-36 minutes, that would also make all the difference.

Small Gestures

Not much needed here. One of my weaknesses has been a lack of small gestures, which hurts my dynamic contrast. My pattern during the softest sections of "Irish Tune" was probably a good mezzo-forte. They're playing wasn't too loud, though. The music is soft, but only because it is thinly scored. I don't believe 2-3 players need to play softly for the music to come across at the right dynamic. I think that's the approach I was taking. But generally speaking, I know small gestures are not something I do naturally.

The importance of having that range was reinstated when I recently attended Junction High School's Winter Concert. My friend Adrian Alonso, the director, did a fantastic job conducting them on Berlioz's "March to the Scaffold". At one point the full group was playing a soft volume, and Adrian's gestures were not much more than a twitching of the wrist for a measure, then an explosion of energy with the largest gestures he could make. The band's reaction was not disappointing, to say the least!

I've also been watching some great conductors to see how they convey soft dynamics in a variety of contexts. As eternal students of our craft, we are indeed fortunate to have YouTube, and videos of the world's greatest conductors within its database.

Time Flies, and You're Never as Good as You Wanted to Be

Pacing is something I'm getting better at, but it's still a weakness. I went into the Wind Ensemble rehearsal with a plan of how to use that 15 minutes. When I got on the podium I stuck to the plan. Roughly seven minutes on both "Irish Tune" and "Shepherd's Hey". By the time I got through the plan of action for "Irish Tune" I got a verbal cue from my teacher, "Three minutes." Wow! A plan for seven minutes turned into 12 minutes.

When I rehearsed the public school band the following week, it was much better. We lost some time at the start of class, ended up with 36 minutes to work with, and we used it pretty well. We fell short of getting through the entire second song by just several measures. Had we not lost that time at the start of class, we would've easily been able to run the work with its improvements and perhaps run through one of their other tunes, in addition to the time we spent working on legato playing during the warm up. Pretty productive.

Still, I wish I could have been better in both cases, and not just in terms of pacing, but everything. Even when I got to work with students at a school I observed at towards the end of the semester, I felt this way. I improved in a very short amount of time, and felt like I was certainly holding my own (except with the college group), but it seems it's never good enough.

But I think it also serves as good motivation for me. I know time is short, and I know time will fly by much faster than I think it will. Those are great motivators to be as prepared as I possibly can be. And while I'm improving all the time, I'll probably never be satisfied. Having a video tape of the Wind Ensemble rehearsal was painfully revealing (I really need a video camera for my first year). All of these experiences have continued to motivate me to search for answers and new techniques with a sense of urgency. No matter how much I discover, though, I never feel prepared, or good enough. I'm sure a lot of my music teacher friends out there can relate, though. I'm confident in myself, don't get me wrong, I just don't feel as prepared as I would like to be.

In the next couple of days I plan to post a funny video in the spirit of the holidays, but otherwise you won't hear from me again until after Christmas. Thank you for reading, happy holidays, and until next time, take care!

Musically yours,
Mr. Cooper

Conducting: Trust Your Training, and Take Risks

Greetings!

I was originally going to do a single blog about my conducting reflections from this past semester, but it would've been a much longer read. So instead, I'm going to release my one reflection in chunks. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

I love conducting. I won't say that I'm an amazing conductor. I'm regarded as one of, if not the best among my fellow students, but I think that's only because I practice, watch videos, study the music, and occasionally take risks. But regardless of how good I may or may not be, I love to conduct. From the moment I started my conducting lessons I wished the baton could be my primary instrument. So it's a lot of fun, and luckily I had the chance to conduct the ASU Wind Ensemble for about 15 minutes, and later the chance to use my conducting while working with a local public school band. There were some things I did well, but there are also lessons I learned along the way.

Trust Your Training

Remember this? Some say it doesn't
work, but I say, "Sure it does!"

The end result of two semesters of lessons and a semester of class conducting is... that I should be just fine. That's the good news. When I conducted the Wind Ensemble, I expected they would be able to catch on to where I was placing beats and generally be able to follow my directions. The only thing I couldn't get out of the group that I wanted were the swells placed throughout Grainger's "Irish Tune", which are pretty important. I still haven't figured out how I can fix that. But a lot of other things went well.

What I didn't know is whether or not my conducting would work for a high school band I had the chance to work with for a rehearsal. Why? Because a LOT of graduates from our music department have told me they have to discard most of what they learned in those classes once they're in front of their groups. But I couldn't very well go into the rehearsal prepared to conduct differently, so I decided to go based on feedback.

As we started the warm up, I told them what the goal was and noted, "This will also be a good chance for you to get used to my conducting." Trying not to show my nervousness, I gave them four prep beats, breathed on beat four, and Group 1 of the chorale came in. Actually, all of the groups entered just when they were supposed to with only visual cues, and I got a diminuendo on the last note. I didn't do anything special or change anything from when I worked with the college group. They noted that my preparation was different from what they were used to (different number of prep beats). I simply demonstrated my prep conducting (four beats, breathe on four), and it didn't trip them up ever again.

So what you learned in conducting class does work. I can only speculate two reasons why it wouldn't. Perhaps you didn't put in the practice on the fundamentals needed to convey clear patterns and basic gestures, such as articulations and dynamics (I mean practice with an approach similar to what you gave your instrument, to be clear). I don't mean to offend anyone by any means, but I know not everyone practices their conducting the way they practice their primary instruments. Everyone has different priorities while they're trying to get through college.

Of course, many teachers did put in that effort and were let down when it didn't work. Peter Boonshaft talks about this and why it happens in his book, "Teaching Music with Passion: Conducting, Rehearsing, and Inspiring". It's a terrific book that I highly recommend, and in which you'll find the answer to that conundrum and many others. The summary is that he believes conducting is a visual language, and we have to teach that language to our students just as if we were teaching them a foreign language (along with other factors and tips). Cool, right?

Take Risks! (Kick Your Training to the Curb)

The only thing about your training is that it was probably mostly restricted to a class setting, and therefore you probably only got the basics. I've noticed the difference it makes in students when they're also taking conducting lessons, but even then, as an undergrad you're still pretty much covering basics. Your graduate studies may or may not give you additional formal training. The problem is that, because it's undergraduate training, lessons or not, you're only really covering the basics. And the system we learned often felt constricting to me.

It was constricting because you had to conduct inside of a box. Literally. Your pattern has to be as wide as it is tall. Yes, it makes for easily understandable beat patterns, but there are some things that are just more effective when you need moments of impact. Besides, a LOT of great conductors don't worry as much about beat patterns. They conduct the music and their ensembles respond just fine! For example, check out this video of Reginald Houze conducting the Angelo State University Wind Ensemble on Sousa's "Easter Monday on the White House Lawn":

Dr. Houze conducted the Angelo State Wind Ensemble for one year, and it was by almost all standards of measurement the most successful year the Wind Ensemble has had in my six years here (although this year is shaping up pretty good, too!). His conducting was very different from anything we'd ever seen. But we responded to it. Actually, we responded to it very well. We never had an issue keeping pulse, and we experienced great musical moments at nearly ever single rehearsal. He's currently the head director at Overton High School, an arts magnet school, and his conducting has become even more focused on expressing the music as opposed to beat patterns. It takes the student some getting used to, but it works really well.

So between my experience with him, and of watching great conductors on YouTube, I was just itching to get outside of that box. The biggest risk I took in class and in lessons prior to my 15 minutes with the Wind Ensemble was in experimenting with depth perception (leaning forward or backward). In preparing to conduct Grainger's "Irish Tune", I knew there was a spot where bigger really would be better. The climax of the piece. I can't remember the measure off hand, but if you've heard it, you know what I'm talking about. Staying strictly in a beat pattern with a larger box, to me, wasn't going to communicate the impact I wanted.

But I knew that by going outside of that box, I was taking a risk. And I said, "To hell with it. I'm going for it! And if it doesn't work, I'll go back in the box."

But can you guess what happened? It worked... really well! I modified one thing about the gesture on a repeated playing because I had a suspicion they could put out even more sound there. And I was right! The last time through that section I was overwhelmed by the ensemble's sound. The players who were listening, including those in the percussion section, experienced what Ben Zander calls "Shining Eyes". It was very cool.

Scary for me, because I thought it might impact my grade, or that I would at least catch some flack for it. But ultimately very cool. And my teacher didn't even mention it when we reviewed the video.

Your training, if you practiced and feel comfortable in the fundamentals, will serve you well, whether it's a college band or a public school band (even the smaller ones). But don't be afraid to get outside of your box and take risks when the music calls for it.

Thank you for reading! I recently discovered how to track my blog's traffic, and I've been surprised to discover that a small group of people actually read this! I can't see who reads it, but it's neat to know there is an audience. This blog has always been more about me helping myself through reflecting on my experiences, but I'm honored to share those experiences with those of you who give of your time to read them. Thank you so much. I hope you continue to enjoy reading them, especially while I have time to write them over the break. Until next time, take care!

Musically yours,
Mr. Cooper

Continue to the next Conducting Reflection?

Procedures Maximize Learning: Quickly Addressing Fundamentals

Greetings! Today's blog is the last in my series on procedures I've either observed, read about, or both, that maximize learning by reducing wasted time during a class or rehearsal. This blog will focus on procedures that are used to address issues in the music, as opposed to procedures that help the rehearsal run smoothly.

In case you missed it, you can read my introduction/overview of procedures and how they work by reading Part I of the series. You can also check out the fairly in depth look at Classroom Procedures (Part II).

Rehearsal Procedures, as I'm calling them, are specific procedures that address specific problems. They are techniques or protocols that are used with students on such a regular basis that when you can name the procedure the students know exactly what do to. It is a very common technique. This is in contrast to diagnosing the problem and coming up with an explanation of how to fix it. It is an automatic response on both the teacher's end and the student's end. The teacher hears an issue, says the name of the procedure most likely to address the issue, and the students immediately follow the procedure, often making improvement with each repetition, each of which takes a few seconds.

Every music teacher uses at least a few. Here are some that I observed this past semester in a middle school setting.

Rhythm Procedures

Sometimes students can understand the rhythm and figure it out on their own if they have another shot or two at it. A new teacher might give an explanation of the rhythmic error the first time they catch the problem. I'm sure I did that at some point myself. But I quickly observed that students were able to grasp it for themselves if they were given 2-3 chances at it. To facilitate this process quickly, there were a number of responses, depending on the severity of the error.

"Count measure (X)"

The teacher would say, "Count measure 16", turn on the metronome (which triggered the response of toe tapping for most students), and say, "Down - Up - Set - And - Ready - And - Count - " Down Up being the reminder for some students to get their foot tapping. The students would then attempt the rhythms, and vamp (or repeat without coaching) it. If problems still existed, or if they were not following other procedures (like tapping their feet, impulsing, counting loudly) they would get that feedback. If after a couple of times if there were still problems, then the teacher would call their attention to the trouble spots and either give them the answer or reinforce the skills needed to lead them to it. 

However, this was the more typical procedure.

"Count and Finger Measure (X)"

In this case the students are counting the rhythm while fingering the notes on their instrument. Percussionists would place their index fingers on the appropriate bars in rhythm so as not to make noise. 

In our high school honor band, not only would we tap our feet and count the rhythms, but we would also clap. We might count the beat and clap rhythm, or count the rhythm and clap the beat. To add to the complexity, we would switch between the Eastman counting system (One-ta-te-ta) to an off shoot correlating to what our feet were doing (Down-ta-Up-ta or Down-ta-Press-ta-Up-ta). 

I might at some point write a blog on the importance of using a counting system as a means of helping students establish a schema (or mental organization system) to understand rhythms at a later date, but the important thing here is not the counting system itself. The important observation is that the teacher established a consistent procedure for isolating and fixing the rhythm issue. Rhythms are such a constant issue that it makes sense to have a procedure in place so that when it is addressed, it can be fixed in as little time as possible.

Fingering/Note Naming Issues  

In many ways this was one of my favorite procedures, especially for the beginner classes where the instruments were grouped together and were all saying the same thing. Young students struggle for a while to immediately recall note names and fingering. Once the rhythm has been corrected, if there are wrong notes the teacher will say...

"Note Name and Finger Measure (X)"

This specific procedure works just like the previous ones mentioned, where he then turns on the metronome and gives preparatory beats before the students come in. They then say the names of the notes in rhythm while fingering the notes. For trombones, the name of the procedure is the same, as these procedures continue to be used when they bring everyone together in a full band setting. The teacher can listen for note names to reinforce that aspect of music literacy, while carefully watching which valves or keys are being pressed. If after a couple of tries he needed to break it down further he could have them note name and finger one note at a time before going back to having them do it in rhythm.

This was one of my favorites because nearly every public school tuba player I've encountered within an 80 mile radius of San Angelo (except at this school) lacked the basic music literacy skills of naming notes, and of course that also meant they didn't understand key signatures. Yikes! Surely they had been taught it at some point, but perhaps they needed more reinforcement. This procedure reinforces those important fundamental concepts on a daily basis.

At this point they could usually play whatever they were having trouble with. 

Note or Intonation Accuracy

"Buzz (insert passage)"

Specific to brass players, this indicates that they remove the mouthpiece from the instrument and, after a count off, buzz the passage they were struggling with, in tempo. It is more effective when the students have a pitch reference to match, whether it is the teacher on an instrument/midi-stick, a SmartMusic playback, or the best player on the part playing while the rest buzz. I've heard of all of them being effective, particularly the first and third options coming from master teachers I know or have met personally. If your brass players are using BERPs (Buzz Extension Resistance Piece), the procedure may require them to place the mouthpiece into the BERP. 

Some argue against the effectiveness of buzzing, and while I understand their arguments, I whole heartedly disagree. But that's a topic for a different blog. When using this, it is important that the students transition from the mouthpiece back to the instrument as quickly as possible for it to be effective. If they take too much time, make them buzz again and get the mouthpiece back into the lead pipe quickly as a means of rehearsing/reinforcing the correct procedure, because the longer they wait before playing the passage on the instrument, the more muscle memory is lost and the disconnect between playing and buzzing grows. It becomes a waste of time, and a few seconds can make a difference.  

"Wind Pattern (insert passage here)"

In brass playing (and probably in woodwind playing) we like to say that 90% of all problems are caused by how we're using our air. Wind Patterning is a pedagogical tool originally created by Arnold Jaccobs (tubist), and officially labeled, refined and promoted by tubists Pat Sheridan and Sam Pilafian in both their Breathing Gym and Brass Gym products. A wind pattern happens when you turn a musical line into a "Wind Pattern" by taking a full breath and blowing air as if you were playing - using the tongue, pressing the valves/keys, but not producing a sound. Most importantly, you're using your air exactly as you would if you were playing, including articulations, shaping, dynamics, etc. This is a procedure I have experimented with, but not at great length. It was always effective, but I've never seen how efficient it could be because I've never been with a group long enough for it to become a routine, and it's always a new pedagogy for them. Arnold Jacobs, in his book, "Song and Wind", stresses the connection between music making and how we use our air. We all agree that most intonation problems with young players are the result of a bad sound, 90% of which is probably due to air flow issues, so a procedure grounded in this makes a LOT of sense. I can't wait to test it out more with my bands.

So there you have several examples of routines that are used or can be used to quickly fix fundamental playing issues during rehearsal. Again, this is nothing ground breaking or anything. It's merely a recognition of one strategy great teachers use to fix problems quickly and efficiently.

I'm sure there are many other problems that can be fixed with procedures. I hope to go back to this concept as I learn how to successfully teach concepts to see how many of them can be fixed through procedures. Obviously not all of them can be, but I bet most fundamental issues could be. Again, these are unique in the sense that they are repeated so frequently that the students have an automatic response. Everyone is engaged, and yet at the same time the students and teacher are acting on auto pilot to fix the problems. Careful, though, as I should mention this can also get boring, especially if you use the same 3 procedures over and over again.

Are there other examples of procedures you have seen? Variations on the themes above or otherwise? I'd love to hear them! 

Otherwise, I hope this series on procedures, how they can be used, and how they maximize learning, has at least given you food for thought. I think it has certainly been helpful to reflect on them. Thank you for reading, and until next time, take care!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

PS. As an update, I HAVE been able to try out the Wind Pattern procedure, and it's been very successful. Not just for improving sound, wind patterns can also be used to address finger coordination, and note lengths, articulations, dynamics, and other stuff. Have fun with it!

Procedures Maximize Learning: Classroom Procedures

Hello again! Thanks for joining me in my reflections from this past semester of observations, clinics and other experiences as I prepare for student teaching and soon, my career!

Last time we talked about what procedures are, why they're important, and how they maximize learning by preventing wasted time. It was an overview, but has concepts I will reference but won't reexplain, so if you missed it, you can check it out here.

In this blog we'll discuss Classroom Procedures. This is one component of classroom management. In fact, it is the most important aspect of it. It is far more important and more effective than rules/consequences/rewards (though those are important and necessary), and it is the component that many classroom teachers fail to use, or fail to implement correctly. Classroom procedures tell students how to go about the business of class so that we can focus on learning and be as productive as possible. They are specific instructions on how you want something done. Teachers who account for every possible event in class can create a procedure for it. If you teach the procedure, rehearse it, and reinforce it, then after a couple of weeks they will be ingrained habits and soon the class will run itself. At least, that's what the books tell me. 

And I have to believe it, to be honest, because I've experienced classes where procedures are clearly defined, rehearsed in some way, and reinforced. They are always far more productive, and in bands, the performances were far more worthwhile. I've also observed a couple of bands where there was not a clear procedure that day, and it was chaos. I've also observed a couple of bands where some form of procedure existed, but the procedures where ineffective. They had not been clearly defined, and/or they had not been rehearsed and reinforced. It is not enough to simply explain your expectations. You must have them practice the procedures, go through the process, and reinforce it when it is done correctly or when someone slips up. It takes a commitment of time and energy on the teacher's end, but it's worthwhile.

Anyway, let's look at the various situations that happen in a given band/music rehearsal and see what procedures we might need, examine the situations, and then I'll give you my sample procedure that I plan to implement with my first class. These procedures will surely evolve as I gain experience, but hopefully they're good procedures. I'd love to get feedback on them, especially from anyone who is actively teaching, and especially if they make it a point to use procedures in their class.

Entering the Band Hall

Students should start working from the moment they sit down.
Which trumpeter do you think is having more success?

Think about what all a student has to do when they enter the band hall. They usually don't have a lot of time before class is to begin. Are they allowed to have their back packs at their seat? If so, where? Under the seat? Beside it? Do you want them to put their electronic device in their bag and leave it in a certain place? What about their instrument cases? I've seen instrument cases sprawled out and open in front of the lockers, I've seen them placed under seats, and also returned to lockers before entering the set. Do you expect students to remove their head gear? You also have to give instructions as to what students do before the bell rings. Are they allowed to chat with their neighbors or should they start working on something? Remember, if you don't specify your expectations, they will do as they please. Also consider what you want the band hall to look like during rehearsal. Have you seen a band hall that looked like total chaos during a rehearsal? What if that was your band hall and someone important saw it in that condition during class? Yikes! An organized rehearsal space (or classroom) is essential to creating an environment conducive to learning, so there's that, too. Most importantly, the procedure should aim to get students learning as soon as possible. Consider all of these elements, and then think of what your procedure would look like. It might look something like this:

A. Students are expected to be on task and working to improve from the moment they enter the band hall.

B. Place electronic devices inside your bag, leave bag at the front of the room. Make sure you have your rehearsal materials.

C. Remove hats or other head gear and place it with your bag.

D. Retrieve a pencil from the pencil cup if you do not have one.

E. Retrieve instrument and other materials from your locker (if you have one). Leave your case inside your locker (or bag). Do not bring your case into the rehearsal set, or leave it on the floor, as this makes our band hall look disorganized and unprofessional.

F. Sit in your designated chair, check the day's Objectives, and begin working on the Warm Up as soon as possible.

In this case, I should specify that my "Warm Up" is not the traditional warm up. I consider the traditional warm up to be "Technique Builders", and that's how I will present them to the students. Warm Up, in this case, is an assignment, not to be graded, that basically has them either working on a specific exercise or reviewing the previous day's progress. Mr. and Mrs. Wong stress in their book, "The First Days of School", the importance of using an activity at the beginning of class to get the students working as soon as possible. This activity or assignment is posted on the board and students know when they come in that they are to begin work on it as soon as possible. In core classes you would pass this assignment in for participation points, but that doesn't do us much good. None the less, it is important to me that students start working on improving their playing or progressing on the music as soon as they sit down.

This is a particularly important procedure. In my recent observations of different bands I noticed that anywhere from 1-5 minutes were wasted on a regular or daily basis, both because students were not moving quickly and occasionally because the teacher was preparing materials. There was a procedure, but it had not been properly reinforced. Adding a countdown timer helps a great deal, one teacher noted. They had used it in the past but were not set up to use it at the time. The day I did see a countdown timer in effect, students were hustling to get to their seats - big difference. In one case a group lost nearly ten minutes because students were moving casually to set out chairs and stands. A few were trying to get a tuner at the front of the class to work (visiting a tuner was part of their daily procedure), but most of the students who were in place were chatting with their neighbor. Yikes! And these were good kids. Once we did get started, they were on task, cooperative, and focused. A better procedure with some rehearsal and reinforcement at the beginning of concert season would make such a huge difference, don't you think?

Forget the impact of a well implemented procedure like this on a daily basis. Imagine the weekly, monthly, and yearly impact! This is how you start class as soon as the bell rings, which is crucial to increasing student learning outcomes, according to Harry and Rosemary Wong's book, "The First Days of School".

When to Play

Would you let it fly if a student was playing out of turn? And yet, if we don't establish a procedure for when to play, we're allowing them to make that decision for themselves. Sometimes when a student plays they're just screwing around, but sometimes a student is trying to improve by finding notes at a soft volume. Either way, we need a procedure that is consistent.

A. During rehearsal time, students are to only play their instruments when directed by the conductor. It is assumed that you will play during the Warm Up.

B. When the baton comes up, instruments come up. We will wait to play until all instruments are up. Please don’t be the one who makes the band wait!

C. Playing out of turn is considered disruptive, and will result in a check.

Susan Finger is a nationally recognized middle
school director for Anderson Community
Schools.

The "check" refers to the rules/consequences/rewards system I plan to use. It's essentially stolen from an incredible middle school teacher named Susan Finger who worked at the last Angelo State Band Camp a couple of years ago. Anyway, perhaps the most important aspects of this procedure are the expectation to not play out of turn, and the procedure of instruments coming up when the baton comes up.

Have you been in a band where the conductor had the band practice raising their instruments with the baton because it took too long for the band to get on task after they gave instructions? I have. And if you have, too, then guess what the director was doing? They were rehearsing a procedure. In this case, the procedure is, "When the baton comes up, instruments come up."

Here is another specific aspect to define - how quickly should everyone's instruments come up? In good groups it is an immediate response. One conductor I sat under put the baton down (instructing us to put instruments down) when not everyone's instruments were up after a couple of seconds. This was repeated until everyone brought their instruments and sticks to playing position when his baton was up. Later down the line it was reinforced on a given day when, despite it having been a student habit, someone did not have their instrument up in time. He again stated the expectation and rehearsed it 2-3 times. Students don't like having to rehearse procedures after they've taken ownership of them and turned them into habits. I don't think he had to rehearse it ever again. 

This process only really takes a few minutes to explain and rehearse, and will need to be reinforced, but what is the alternative? Have you been in a band where it took several seconds or more for the conductor to get everyone's attention, or they stood there with the baton up just waiting? How many times does this happen in one rehearsal? In a week? A month? A semester? You can't tell me investing a few minutes on this procedure won't pay off. 

In fact, without knowing I was teaching a procedure, I've had to teach this to almost every group I've worked with. Even if their teacher had taught it to them, they perhaps wondered if they'd have to do it with me. Knowing it was a key to efficient rehearsals, I made them do it, and it always paid off. Even recently when I got to rehearse a full band for a full class period for the first time, I did this when they were not immediately bringing their instruments up. I explained it, rehearsed it once, and reinforced it later. The rest of the rehearsal it was not an issue. They remained focused and on task, and we were more productive and efficient with our time.

When Attention or Silence is Needed...

One pitfall that is more costly than knowing when to start playing is knowing when to stop playing, or stop talking. Surely we have all been in bands where the conductor commanded our attention at any moment, and bands where a more lax atmosphere lead to wasted time as the conductor struggled for several seconds or more to get everyone to focus. Having a procedure to get everyone's attention is critical. But more critical than having one is rehearsing it. If your signal to get attention is saying, "I need your attention, please," they will probably give you their attention. How long it will take for them to do that is another question, and it depends greatly on what expectation you put into place. Having them successfully live up to that expectation via rehearsal is critical to making the procedure successful. What is your signal? Here is mine:

A. The conductor will raise one hand, or...

B. Tap the baton on the stand.

C. Given either of these cues, students must stop what they’re doing and look at the conductor to await further instructions.

Notice the specific instructions. Whether a student is talking, playing, fingering, whatever they're doing, they are to stop and look at the conductor. This gives you measurable feedback. It also requires that you look up to get that feedback at least half the time, so they know you're watching for their eyes when you give your signal. Imagine how much time would be saved if when you needed your student's attention you merely raised a hand or rapped the baton and had silence within 2-3 seconds. 

Speaking of silence, younger groups (maybe older ones depending) need to be taught what silence sounds like. Does it just mean no talking or playing? What about students who are shuffling things around? There is a lot of ambient noise that can invade silence and hinder communication. If you have the students listen to perfect silence, they can better duplicate it. This was a neat trick I watched one teacher I observed use. It took a little time to get students truly quiet. At first they thought it only applied to talking and playing. But they managed to get still. This kind of silence is especially important with larger groups, as ambient shuffling of papers, materials, or fidgeting can get quite loud when a hundred plus people are doing it at once. 

What to Do When Not Playing

This one is important to me, but it's going to require some experimentation. The best bands I've been part of were those were students were working to get better at all times. When I am my most motivated as an ensemble member, I finger through passages, mark missed notes and rhythms, etc. etc. However, we can't expect students to just know that they should do this. We have to teach them this behavior, just as it was taught to me (and probably to you at some point). So I plan to outline what I expect them to do when they're not playing, specifically when I'm working with an individual or a section. I also plan to have this procedure on permanent display where it is easily visible during rehearsal. The experimentation comes in by adding and subtracting things from this list. For example, fingering passages or wind patterning can be quite noisy, and allowing individual wind patterns may not be wise since I expect them to play with fast air. Wind patterning with slow air would be counterproductive, after all. Here is the procedure they will have on paper, and as I will teach, rehearse and reinforce with them. Some teachers just reinforce behavior like this by complimenting a student who does it, hoping other students will follow that example. That's certainly a great technique, but I want to find out if I can get all students on task by implementing this as an expected procedure for every student, not just a good practice of the accelerated students. After all, would a great core class teacher allow a student to be off task at any time during their class? Then why would we allow that in our classes except to allow for silence. There are quiet things that can be done when we're working with a specific section or player. Anyway, here we go:

A. Always do something to get better. If the conductor is working with a specific section or group, use some of the following strategies to improve on your part:

     i. Wind Pattern – Move fast air (not loud air) and quietly press down keys/valves, as if you were playing the part, except that your instrument doesn’t make a sound.

     ii. If you miss a note or rhythm, make a mark so you don’t miss it again!

     iii. Mark missed notes by writing an accidental next to it, or the note name under it if the note is in an unfamiliar range (no fingerings!).

     iv. Mark where you’re going to breathe.

     v. Write in up and down arrows on downbeats and upbeats to help you understand tricky rhythms.

     vi. Write in other musical marks the conductor may have indicated while you were playing.

     vii. Silently count rhythms.

     viii. Quietly finger tricky passages without moving air.

      ix. Perform simple instrument maintenance. 

B. If you are unable to figure something out on your own, you may ask your neighbor for help (ex: note fingerings, rhythms, musical questions), provided it is done in a whisper. You may only do this when you cannot figure it out on your own. This is the only reason you may talk to your neighbor during rehearsal time. If the noise level is such that the conductor cannot easily hear or communicate with the students, this privilege may be removed until further notice. Remember, they are trying to improve on their part, too!

That last bit is something I'll also have to experiment with. In the system I came up in, even asking the student next to you a question was forbidden, like breaking one of the ten commandments. However, I'd like to promote an atmosphere of cooperation along with high standards. Plus, if a student can get a question answered by someone else, it saves me the trouble and the ensemble the time to answer it. However, finding that balance could be tricky. We were doing it in Junction during the summer camp, but on Friday things started to get out of hand. Anyway, I think the idea is good, but the details will take some trial and error. But then in the procedure about how to ask a question, I can specify that if it is a particular type of question, to quietly ask your neighbors first, and if nobody knows, then ask me. I can state that in addition to the "raise your hand and wait to be called on" part of the procedure.

Speaking of which, if you answer a student's question even though they haven't raised their hand, you're reinforcing poor rehearsal etiquette. I'm guilty of that one, and I need to stop letting it slide simply in the interest of time.

By now you surely have the idea of how procedures can be outlined based on a logic of what happens in the classroom. Since this blog is already running a little long, I've decided to list my other concert band procedures on a separate page that you can view by clicking here. Please feel free to give me any feedback you might have!

So this is where I'm at right now. There are some obvious things missing, for example, what is the procedure for playing/chair tests. There are some things I'm still thinking about, and/or would like to get more data on before I write it in. Not all procedures need to be taught right away. If you noticed some procedures I haven't mentioned (for a concert band setting), or have questions, or would like to make recommendations, I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below! 

Next time we'll talk about how procedures can also be used for rehearsing/improving music. Many teachers already use at least a couple of these, but I think the most efficient teachers have numerous procedures. I don't know that they could work for everything, but I bet they would make fixing problems much faster in most cases. Expect the next blog to be a bit shorter, because I only have a few specific examples to share, but I need to document it for myself, and I hope that it will be helpful food for thought for anyone else who reads it. 

Until then, thank you for reading, and take care!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

Continue to Part III to see how procedures are used to quickly reinforce playing fundamentals.

More Classroom Procedures for Band

Tardy Procedure

A. When you walk into the room you will see a countdown timer on the wall. When the timer reaches zero, you will see the message, "You are tardy!"

B. Being on time means that you are in your seat working on the Warm Up before the timer has reached zero. If you are not in your seat working on the Warm Up, you are tardy, even if you are in the room.

C. If you enter the band hall late, but have a pass excusing your tardiness, place your pass in the appropriate labeled bin on the desk at the front of the room, then enter the set using the "Entering the Band Hall" procedure as quickly as possible.

C. Students who are tardy and unexcused will receive a check and must sign up for after school detention. Sign your name on the list and get into the set as quickly as possible. If entering the room late, sign your name on the list before retrieving your materials and enter the set as quickly as possible.

The detention list will be located near the door so that it can easily be signed as they walk into the room without disturbing anything else that is going on. This can also be modified (and should be) based on the school's tardy and/or detention procedures.

Distributing New Music

A. New music will be stacked on the front table in score order from highest voices to lowest voices.

B. Section leaders will be called one at a time in score order to retrieve the music for their section. They are to distribute the music as quickly as possible.

C. Upon receiving new music, each student must write their name on the top right corner of each page, in legible print, using a pencil. Under your name, write which ensemble you are in, and under that (on the third line), write your cell phone number.

     i. Example: Jane Doe

                      Concert Band

                      (555) 555-5555

    ii. If you lose your music and someone finds it, they can return it to you shortly.

   iii. If your music is found on the floor it will be placed in the "Lost" bin, and you will be assigned band hall clean up duties that week.

Returning Music

A. Students will pass in music to the person on their right. The person on the far right will ensure that parts are ordered correctly based on their number (ex: 1^st and 2^nd Trumpet) and in Score Order.

B. The conductor, or an appointed student, will retrieve the stacked music from each row and place it into its labeled manila envelope on the front table.

Distributing Binder Materials

A. The conductor or an appointed student will distribute the papers to the student on the end of each row.

B. Students will take one and pass the rest to the student on their left.

C. Students are to write their name and phone number on the top left of the page and place it immediately into their binder in the appropriate section. Any loose papers found on the floor will be placed in the "Lost" bin and the student will be placed on band hall clean up duties that week.

D. The conductor or appointed student will collect any left over papers on the other side of the rows and return them to the labeled manila envelope on the front table.

End of Rehearsal

A. Students will be given approximately two minutes at the end of class to put away their instrument and materials.

B. All stands must be pushed all the way down as shown during the orientation.

C. The chair and stand arrangement should be left as orderly as it was found.

D. All instruments must be returned properly to their cases and placed neatly back into their assigned locker (if a locker is assigned to you). No instruments may be left on the floor or placed in a locker that it is not designated for.

E. Students will pick up any loose trash on the floor.    

F. Students may retrieve their bag and form a single file line at the tape mark near the door.    

G. The conductor dismisses the students, not the bell. Students will not be dismissed until all trash has been picked up, all instruments and materials are put away in their proper place, and the rehearsal set looks as organized as it was prior to the start of rehearsal.

Absence Procedure

A. Any music or binder materials distributed during class should be left on the seat of an absent student in a neat pile.

B. At the end of class, section leaders are responsible for filling out a "Make Up Assignment" form (located in the bin at the front table... write in legible print), attaching it to the pile of papers from the student's chair (if applicable), and placing it into the "Make Up Assignments" manila envelope.

C. When an absent student returns to class, upon entering the band hall that day they are to find their make up assignment in the manila envelope. If the student has questions, they are to ask their section members and/or section leader first. If they are still confused, they may ask the conductor for help after class.

D. The student is to take the assignment and related materials home. A parent must sign the "Make Up Assignment Form" to verify  the student has practiced the material. The student can then return the signed form by placing it into the "Make Up Assignment Drop Bin" on the front desk the next day.

E. All Make Up Assignments are due the following class period after a student has returned to school.

Are there other procedures you can think of, or situations that might require procedures in a concert band setting? Please feel free to give feedback using the comments below! Thanks for reading, and until next time, take care!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

PS. To go back to the previous blog, click here or use the back button on your browser.