Comments on: Small Ensembles and the Chamber of Doom?

By: Where is the love? | Travis J. Weller

Where is the love? | Travis J. Weller — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:20:06 +0000

[...] How many of our students will play that final concert their senior year, and never consider how they can continue playing their instrument later in life? Too many. How many of us as educators consider ways in which we can offer them avenues to pursue to keep playing? Too few. Do we love teaching music? Do we share our love of music with students? If the answer to those two questions is yes, why don’t we think about ways in which this future music-lover can engage with music? Unlike the song by Meatloaf folks, two out of three ain’t good enough. I have already extolled on the possibilities of one avenue we can pursue, and I encourage you to read it about in my post entitled “Small Ensembles and the Chamber of Doom?”. [...]

By: » Industrial Counter-Revolution Third-Stream Music Education

» Industrial Counter-Revolution Third-Stream Music Education — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:00:38 +0000

[...] what…education may look like” as touted by the content of the brochure? Where are the cooperative learning groups? Where are the innovative methods? Which of these images represents “Creative Science [...]

By: Welcome To The March 2010 Edition Of The Music Education Blog Carnival | MusTech.Net: Music Education, Music Technology, & Education!

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:02:44 +0000

[...] J. Weller presents Small Ensembles and the Chamber of Doom? posted at Composing Like [...]

By: tjweller

tjweller — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:55:10 +0000

Andrew, thank you for stopping by! You are definitely right – there is no place to hide. There are a lot of bonuses for doing this with groups. The worst thing that can happen is students may need to realize they need to practice more OUTSIDE of class! Good luck to you and the chamber groups in which you are playing!

By: Andrew Ritenour

Andrew Ritenour — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:27:47 +0000

As a current music education student in college I can definitely relate to this. I am actively involved in two brass quintets, and through practice and discussion with the other members of these groups, I have certainly become a better musician. I think the biggest reason for this is the notion that you can’t “hide” in a chamber group. With only five people in a group, whatever somebody plays will be heard – good or bad. It doesn’t stop at just notes, though. If four of the five observe dynamics, and one does not, the balance of the group will be thrown off. These groups also allow students to give their two cents on whatever they are playing. It gives them a chance to interpret the music, and share their interpretation with each other. When the teacher checks in for a short time in a high school situation, the students can see how their interpretations align with the teacher. In my opinion, this is a great example of how cooperative learning can be used in music education. It sounds as though the students have enough freedom to learn though discovery and collaboration, but are still guided by the teacher. If my high school music programs had offered this, I think I would have experienced an even better education in music, and as a result, would have become a better player earlier.