Cat Russell's Portfolio Page
About Me
Hi there! My name is Catherine, but I go by Cat. I am a enthusiastic music teacher always looking for areas of growth in my own profession. I have taught general music, chorus, band, keyboard (not the computer type), and orchestra. Currently, I am the orchestra director of a middle school and high school in the Capital Region. I am learning more about how to integrate music and technology for the musical benefit of my students.
I am an athlete (previously played rugby), cyclist, weightlifter, dog mom, baker, wife, and adventurer. Love to travel to new places and eat, as well as drink, from the local spots.
My Topic and Purpose
The topic for my mini-course is based on a current need within secondary education performance ensembles. Whether due to COVID or other factors, teachers of performance ensembles need a better way to integrate rhythm reading into their classroom. My mini course would demonstrate how to read rhythms using the standard counting system as well as how to integrate rhythm reading for different levels (Middle school and High school) using your own performance repertoire. Ensemble teachers will find this course helpful for those students who might be struggling in reading their music. We start with smaller rhythm divisions using the Standard Counting system and progress to more complex ones as well as from simple duple to triple meters. Participants will learn how to demonstrate more complex rhythm counting while using notation software which can be displayed within a classroom using: https://www.noteflight.com/. At the core of great musicianship is a strong foundation for reading rhythms in music. By the end of the mini course, teachers should be able to present rhythmic patterns within warm ups or other exercises which will prove useful for students to learn their repertoire with confidence.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the mini-course, participants will be able to:
- Participants will understand and define how to read simple and compound duple rhythms using the Standard Counting system for different level learners (beginners, intermediate, advanced)
- Participants will demonstrate how to use the Standard Counting system by: counting, clapping, saying, and playing
- Participants will create their own warm up rhythm examples using MusicFirst's notation program NoteFlight and passages from their ensemble repertoire. [1]
Needs Assessment
Instructional problem: Students who participate in music ensembles learn how to read rhythms differently, but at the secondary level, teachers should be focused on teaching the Standard Counting system for basic rhythmic needs. By doing so, teachers can help students to be better musicians as they can improve their rhythm reading and confidence. Rhythm within musicians in secondary level performance ensembles is assumed to be a 'known' concept. However, teachers should be reinforcing how to read rhythms within simple duple and triple meters as the level of repertoire increases in difficulty. It is more natural to accidentally play a 'wrong note' in a piece of music and it not have a large impact on the rest of the piece. On the other hand, if you perform a rhythm incorrectly, it can drastically change the way a performance piece should have been played or negatively effect other performers as well (Gamba, 2019). With this in mind, participants will assess their own format of rhythmic reading and help to better incorporate more rhythm reading into their performance ensemble in order to help improve the ensembles' overall rhythm reading capabilities.
Analysis of the Learner and Context
About the participants: This course is intended for participants who are certified Music K-12, but teach at the secondary level and/or direct instrumental music ensembles (band or orchestra). This course can be used as well for choral groups if participants believe their student group would benefit from rhythm practice. The expectation is that participants already know how to read rhythm (regardless of the system they use), but can modify or adjust their instruction in order to provide standard counting for rhythmic reading as it is a more universal system.
Context for instruction: Context is based on the lack of rhythmic knowledge students have at the secondary level and the many different counting systems used within elementary music classrooms. By implementing the standard counting system for rhythm, participants help to streamline rhythms for their ensembles and can continue to develop the ensemble's rhythm reading skills by gradually increasing difficulty. The content within the course will differentiate for participants based on their needs within their own ensembles (classrooms). It can be used by general music and choral teachers as well, but is geared towards band and orchestra. Instruction will be available via the internet on the KNILT website while using resources from other internet sites as well as musical notation compositional programming. The addition of these resources is to teach participants how to use the software to integrate rudimentary practice of things such as scales for warm-ups, into scales with more intricate rhythms. Participants will learn how to use the free software within the course to create their own modified rhythmic examples or warm-ups with rhythms embedded from a piece of performance repertoire.
Performance-Based Objectives
At the end of the mini course, learners will be able to:
- Demonstrate mastery of the Standard counting system
- Identify potential areas of rhythmic growth for their ensembles
- Create scalar warm-ups or rhythmic exercises through the use of NoteFlight for their ensembles
Task Analysis
Prior to beginning this course, the participants should:
- Have a fairly strong understanding of how to read music and count rhythm using standard notation (Pre-requisite);
- have access and basic knowledge of how to use compositional software (Noteflight, Sibelius, or Finale, etc.) or download the free Noteflight software from MusicFirst for the mini-course, and
- be prepared to combine the rhythmic application from a piece of music into a warm- up exercise that will be an original creation by the end of the course
Unit 1:
By the end of this unit, participants would:
- Be able to explain and demonstrate how to count using the Standard counting system;
- Be able to model the use of standard counting with difficult rhythms by clapping, counting, saying and/or playing.
Unit 2:
By the end of this unit, participants would:
- Be able to open a Noteflight free account for music composition;
- Create an original warm up with a familiar scale (picked in unit 2) using the rhythmic pattern of concern;
- Be able to listen, explain, demonstrate, and print (if needed) the original composition for use within an ensemble.
Unit 3:
By the end of this unit, participants would:
- Be able to identify rhythmic patterns of concern;
- Be able to analyze the rhythmic patterns of concern using the standard counting system;
- Choose a scale which will serve as the basis for the new rhythmic warm up.
Curriculum Map
To the right, is an image version of my curriculum map for my mini-course.
References and Resources
Bonacina, S., Krizman, J., White-Schwoch, T., Nicol, T., & Kraus, N. (2019). How rhythmic skills relate and develop in school-Age children. Global Pediatric Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794x19852045
Gamba, S. (2019, August 21). Teaching rhythm, the most important thing in music. SmartMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://www.smartmusic.com/blog/teaching-rhythm-important-thing-music/