Week 2 Reflection

Week two's lecture and readings discussed  many ways to create music through composition, improvisation. and being creative. My initial thoughts while listening to the lecture were very reminiscent. I remember talking about these various notating software and uses while I was in my undergrad. The newer programs, the web-based notation devices, was new but I have been using Noteflight extensively for the last three years so I feel up to date with those.

As I began to read chapter three though I was hit with what I felt was a barrage of information on the process of creating, composing, and improvising. My first thoughts were on improvising. I teach primarily elementary aged students and I have been playing with the idea of improvising more lately because it is in our state-standards. What I have learned through the years is improvising can be so simple to teach in the littlest of way. For example, my students get to choose what rhythms to sing for the song, or what pattern of mi-sol to sing for a song. This could also very easily be shown on technology through notation software, though I would probably stick to just a visualization instead of actual notation for my little kids.

My second big thought about this chapter was composing itself. I loved watching the videos about kids who tried composing for a school project and found the niche in the creativity field. My concern though is to compose, do students need to have music theory background? I am thinking in terms of very simple theory such as quarter notes versus rest, how music goes up and down, what is a measure, etc. Is there a way to compose without having to have that grasp on music theory? I have played around with some applications where small students can press on certain characters and make a song, but what about for old students? I'm particularly interested in if a middle school student could compose music creatively without having any music theory knowledge.

I guess overall I feel comfortable with all of the software and notation sites but am still lacking on how to really integrate this technology effectively into my room where the process is seamless. I want to use technology in a way that enhances my classroom.