MUSIC LEARNING is a lifetimejourney, and my goal for theorchestra students is for them

to gain a deeper understanding of musicto enrich their lives. We accomplish thisby examining the intention or function ofthe music, the qualities which make itunique, and the performance practiceswhich give it form and structure. We aretraining future audience members andarts advocates. Additionally, musicallearning skills correlate to other academ-ic disciplines, and the process of learningto perform a new piece of music con-tributes to the skills toolbox the studentcarries to her science, math, and foreignlanguage classes. The benefits to teach-ing a multi level ensemble far outweighthe inconvenience of accommodatingstudents with more to learn.

All classrooms are multi level. Allorchestras are multi level ensembles.Even at the professional level, all orches-tras have the challenge to unify instru-ments with different voices, differentmethods of tone production, they readdifferent clefs and have different tuningpatterns, and the players bring differentlevels of musical knowledge and expert-ise to the rehearsal.

In Chamber Orchestra, all studentswith prior musical education are wel-come. If their abilities are limited, or ourpiano chairs are overflowing (we canonly accommodate 4 pianists per piece,)they join the percussion section. Thisacceptance of musicians with a widerange of abilities is consistent with theMadeira philosophy of attaining a girl’spersonal best. It allows the student toappreciate the process of learning, andfor most students, gain inspiration frompreparing and performing music withmore experienced musicians. Even ourmost accomplished musicians arrivewith incomplete skills, particularly in the

areas of rhythmic understanding andensemble performance skills.

I teach a system of music readingwhich is based on recognizing patterns inthe music, rhythmic and melodic, but theemphasis is on rhythm. In traditionalmusic instruction, a student is first taughthow to produce a pitch, and once that ismastered, they apply rhythm. For anensemble, what that process often pro-duces is lots of people playing the rightnotes, but not always at the right time.The result is messy, and I’m sure we’ve allbeen to student concerts to witness andendure the resulting din. I invert thatprocess with the students; emphasizingthat rhythm doesn’t occur one note at atime; rhythm is the relationship betweentwo or more notes. Rhythm occurs in pat-terns; and different styles of music areidentifiable by their rhythm patterns andthe rhythmic emphasis. (Example: Swing/Tango/beguine/baroque) This conceptis new to almost all high school students,and presents a common learning goal tothe group. Their objective is to learn thepatterns individually, and make themwork in ensemble performance. The sec-ond highest priority in the chamberorchestra is excellence in ensemble play-ing- does the group play together, andhow well does it express the composer’sidea. Ensemble playing cannot be mas-tered alone, so the students are depend-ent on each other, regardless of the hoursof prior musical instruction they haveexperienced. Ensemble playing withmusicians who are stronger than you areis an excellent method to foster self learn-ing by imitating the practices of perform-ers who are successful.

As a coach once told me, “You becomegood at what you emphasize”, so by focus-ing on these two “big picture” goals,which are rhythm patterns and ensembleskills, we create a game plan for success.

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Working in a multi level classroomrequires a commitment to plan andorganize your content and rehearsal timeso that the student’s progress keeps pacewith your goals. In chamber orchestra,every rehearsal is mapped out 24 hoursin advance. I assign specific objectivesfor the warm up, large ensemble rehears-al, and each sectional rehearsal andchamber music. Then, I assign a specifictime frame to accomplish the goals. Last,but not least, I send the rehearsal plan tothe students so they can plan for theirrehearsal.

As Daniel Pink suggests, workingwith relationships in groups is a key com-ponent of his sense of symphonydescribed in the book, A Whole NewMind. There are many groupings that Iidentify and establish relationships within making the chamber orchestra work.

Advanced, intermediate, andbeginning musicians.

There is also a sub-group of studentswho have 2 or more years experience inthe class so their musical knowledge ofrhythm, ensemble, balance, related musichistory, and stylization practices farexceeds their technical ability to play theinstrument. These girls need a specialtrack in the orchestra which challengestheir musicality, without oversteppingtheir instrumental ability.

Sorting by class year, instrumenta-tion, strings/brass/woodwind/percus-sion/and piano. Athletes, thespians, andambassadors who share similar extramusical activities also enjoy workingtogether on musical projects.

When I look at the rehearsal plan, Iwant students to have a range of experi-ence in each rehearsal. Ideally, each stu-dent should be challenged, everyone hasan opportunity to learn something new,the group will review and practice priorrehearsal points, and at some point, eachmusician should just be comfortable andexpressive in their playing. I try to look atthe day from themusician’s point of view,and make sure that any repetition for thelarge group has some meaning for thestudents on the opposing ends of theskills spectrum. Whenever possible, Iencourage the musicians to provide theanswers and contribute to the solution ofa musical problem. Students who are lessaccomplished performers are just ascapable of learning the musical patternsand musical history aspects of thecourse, so I make an effort to engagethem and applaud their knowledge.

The new musicians play a placementaudition before starting class whichtells me about their individual perform-ance ability. I listen for range, basictechnical milestones, and form or pos-ture. I also ask them how long they’vebeen playing the piece. One thing I’vediscovered is that some students willplay an amazing solo because they’vebeen studying the piece exclusively forover a year. This is important informa-tion, because we never have more than 8weeks to prepare for a performance; andthis accomplished student may needsome support adapting to that type ofdeadline. Many excellent musicianshave little or no ensemble experience;so I can predict that following a conduc-tor and keeping a steady tempo with anensemble may be challenging.

Once I know something about theindividual playing, it’s time to watch andlisten to the girls perform as a group.We will play varied selections, and Iobserve what comes easily, and what ischallenging for each player. I’m alsolooking for how they handle the difficul-ty. Do they stop playing, look for helpfrom peers, look at the conductor, orkeep their eyes on the music trying tofind the next opportunity to catch up. Iactually don’t need to hear the specificmusician with the difficulty. I’m moreinterested in how they address their dif-ficulties at this point.

Frequently, the teacher will be tempt-ed to lock in on weaknesses in the stu-dent’s ability. I find that identifyingstrengths in the less experienced playerscreates a better learning environment.What can they do? What is their scope ofmusical knowledge beyond the instru-ment in their hand?What do they notice?

Identify what is limiting students:• Lack of experience/technical knowl-edge of the instrument.• Limited or unusable music readingskills-identify if melody, rhythm, orboth are affected.• Student presents strong musical skills,limited playing or attention spanendurance• Lack of problem solving skills• Absence of ensemble experience.• Discomfort with pace of the rehearsal,duration of the rehearsals, or frequencyof performance intervals• Look at the music from the performer’schair. What does she see, what willslow her down?

Once the assessment is underway,music assignment can begin. I look atthe music page, and see if the part isplayable with reasonable preparationfrom the student. If not, then I can lookfor a part assigned to an alternate instru-ment in the orchestra and see if thosepatterns will work better.

Common reasons to reassign music:• The pace of music is too fast or thereare too many notes.• Student does not know how to play allof the notes in the key, or the part isbeyond her range.• The student doesn’t have the enduranceto perform all the sections in the part.• The student lacks the reading skills tohandle all of the information on thepage. She can play the notes, but needsless information about articulation anddynamics to focus on learning the notesand rhythm. The students will play whatyou emphasize. I may need to removeunnecessary information from the page,and supersize (enlarge) the part so theywill focus on what you want them to.

The student needs to learn the piece insmaller sections, so new sections willappear in her music in gradual stagesthroughout the piece until she has thewhole thing. In the meantime, she willbenefit by listening to the orchestra prac-ticing those sections, so the aural expo-sure occurs before the associated notereading. I write out the parts at the pacethe student can manage.

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BY BRIDGETTE COSTIN KHOO,

DIRECTOR OF CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

ABOUT BRIDGETTE COSTIN KHOO•Orchestra Director

•8th year at Madeira

•Musician and teacher

•Mom, wife, reader, travel enthusiast

TO READ MORE, PLEASE GO TOWWW.MADEIRA.ORG/ETC

CREATIVITYin the Classroom

Frequently, the teacherwill be tempted to lockin on weaknesses in thestudent’s ability. I findthat identifying strengthsin the less experiencedplayers creates a betterlearning environment.