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!