This is the first post in a 4-part series on Integrated Music Teaching.Check out part two here, and part three here.
This is the first post in a 4-part series on Integrated Music Teaching.
Check out part two here, and part three here.Ā
Check out the podcasts:
3 Pillars of Integrated Music TeachingĀ
3 Steps to Teaching an Integrated Music Lesson
Integrated Music Teaching in Action
About 10 years ago, I realised that there was something very different about my music teaching compared to other teachers.
It became obvious when Iād take make-up lessons, masterclasses and mock exams with other teachersā students, and Iād ask the students seemingly simple questions like:
ā¦and get totally blank looks.
I was surprised because these would seem to be fairly fundamental areas of musical knowledge that students should understand if they want to play to even a moderate standard.
In fact, Iām not even sure how itās possible to teach music or have students learn music without understanding or at least referencing these elements!
I also couldnāt comprehend how a student could possibly have a solid musical understanding of a piece of music without knowing a little about its construction – things like itās harmonic and rhythmic basis, the patterns itās built on, the modulations, the title, perhaps a little bit of history about the composer, and so forth.
In addition, Iād listen to students who couldnāt tell that they were sometimes playing an extra beat in their waltz that should be in 3-4 meter or whose swing rhythm was lopsided or who couldnāt tell when they were missing accidentals in pieces.
Over time, Iāve come to realise that the reason for this lack of understanding in students was because of three key factors associated with a traditional music lesson:
But before we look at each of these topics in turn, I want to highlight some of the other struggles that teachers are facing today.
One of our members, Dawn, recently told us, āIāve been teaching piano for a squillion years and students have changed so much.ā
Sheās not kidding! Have you felt the same?
20 years ago, children didnāt have nearly the number of activities dividing their focus. Kids didnāt have phones. They didnāt have the worldās knowledge at their fingertips. They had much more strict parents and routines and they werenāt overburdened with after school activities.
Letās face it – kids can teach themselves music on apps and YouTube if they want (and many do). Even my 9-year-old son started teaching himself piano with Simply Music without so much as a second thought. All I needed to do was provide a login (and credit card). And it was pretty impressive.
After-school pursuits are changing, our studentsā desires are shifting and technology is impacting everything.
Kids have no patience and want everything now.
Many kids donāt connect with āhistorical musicā and traditional methods of teaching anymore.
And through it all, music teaching has remained relatively unchanged.
And that meant that teachers, many of whom have been teaching for 20+ years, are starting to struggle.
Students are quitting early because their lessons arenāt fulfilling their desires.
Some studio enrolments are tanking and waitlists diminishing for the first time.
Something has to change.
Unfortunately, the traditional approach to teaching music often follows a very linear path (and has done for 150 years).
What do I mean by linear?
Well, in many lessons, the student enters, plays some scales then moves onto piece no 1, followed by piece no 2, and then finally piece no 3. Perhaps there will be time for a little improv or a pop song before the student departs with their practice orders.
Indeed, for many teachers, ālinearā can also describe their overall approach to curriculum planning, particularly in exam cultures, where the goal seems to be to zip through as many grades as possible year after year.
For some exam students, what this linear approach means is that the only time any of the underlying musical knowledge is explored is in the 2-week lead-up to an exam when teachers suddenly realise they havenāt covered any of the āgeneral knowledgeā content and attempt to cram as much of this information into the student as possible.
Unfortunately, this misses the entire point as learning about these musical elements and connecting them to the written repertoire – during the learning process – can have a profoundly positive impact on learning outcomes.
So how do you teach these elements during lessons?
While by no means perfect, my own students would always be able to answer questions such as the ones I posed at the start of the article because I was constantly discussing and connecting these musical elements in lessons.
For example:
Some of the above questions could be asked before they even started the piece, assuming theyāve been learning for a few years.
For example, any piano student should be able to predict the basic chords or harmony likely to be found in a piece of music in a given key before they even look at the music. Side note – this is the basis of fluent sight reading.
So a great question to pose before a student starts reading a new piece is, āWhat chords do you expect to find outlined in the LH?ā and then while looking at the music, āWere you right? Letās go through the harmony together.ā
Teachers can also make connections outside of music.
For example, for a student who only practises by playing a piece through from start to finish, reference can be made to sports practice when students rarely get to play a full game (of tennis, soccer, basketball, etc.) and instead will do drills and running and push ups or whatever.
Music practice is like drills; playing the piece from start to finish is like playing a full game. Sometimes, this analogy alone is enough to help students understand the importance of breaking-up their practice.
Another connection might be for students who consistently rush their playing and play too fast, for teachers to talk about the F1 car racing concept of āwalking the trackā. Iāve got a full blog about that over at staging.topmusic.co.
There are many more connections that can be made as you get to know your students and their interests. You just have to find them.
In addition, we can also go further than just asking questions and making references.
At TopMusic, weāve already spent the best part of a decade helping teachers to think āoutside the boxā and be more creative in their lessons.
Through activities like the 12 Bar Blues, 4 Chord Composing, learning to accompany, playing and creating lead sheets, improvising, playing by ear and playing pop music from chords, students will enjoy much more varied musical experiences and be able to showcase their own creations to the world.
These are what I call ābottom of the icebergā activities.
We know how hard many classically-trained teachers have had to work in order to confidently lead students through these activities, given they were not exposed to them as students themselves.
Adding creative elements to music lessons adds enormous value and enjoyment for students.
However, we can go a step further.
By integrating these creative and theoretical elements with the repertoire and scales students are already learning, we can immerse students in a much deeper and more meaningful learning experience and strengthen their understanding of all the interconnected parts.
āOf what value would it be to teach the definitions of dynamic markings without having students observe such markings in their current repertoire? Or to have students learn complicated rhythmic patterns but never play them? All elements of music instruction must be consistently integrated so that students perceive all segments of music study as an integrated whole whose parts are all interrelated. Teaching a student to compose integrates and compliments the skills needed to become a proficient reader in ways that many other parts of teaching cannot.ā -Dr Martha Baker-Jordan for her 2003 book Practical Piano Pedagogy.
For example, here are some activities that strengthen connections between repertoire, theory, harmony, technical work, etc.
And so forth.
What Iāve come to realise is my teaching, and the approach of teachers who lay the strongest foundations for students, is not just creative; itās inherently interconnected or integrated as I like to call it.
So, after a decadeās teaching and research work, presentations, workshops, webinars and speaking to thousands of teachers, Iāve codified the approach to make music lessons a much more cohesive, connected and immersive experience.
It combines 20+ years of my experience, teaching both in classrooms and instrumental studios in countries including Australia, the UK, NZ and USA in subjects including PE, Outdoor Education, Health, Maths, Information Technology and Music.
And it blends what Iāve learnt from years of personal research and external study in Music, Business, Education and Performance.
Itās called Integrated Music Teaching (IMT) and itās a teaching approach that any teacher can adopt to suit their teaching style while keeping the repertoire they love as the core component.
You donāt need to completely change everything you do, you donāt need to change all your music, you donāt even need a new method book series.
This approach integrates with the teaching youāre already doing and enhances it. Big time.
Indeed, some of you may already be doing this in your teaching right now and perhaps using our framework, lesson plans and integrated activities will take it even further.
Related: IMT Podcast- Episode 300 Integrated Music Teaching
Integrated music teaching is based on a set of 3 foundational pillars:
And is delivered through a 3-step teaching process, which will initially be teacher-led, but eventually we hope our students will start taking the lead:
Weāre going to go into more detail of these pillars and steps in our next article and podcast. Weāll also share videos showing how these connections actually look in practice.
Before I wrap things up, some of you may be thinking, āWell, I donāt need to use this approach. My teaching is fine! Iāve got a waiting list and my students all perform well and pass their exams with flying colours. Whatās the point?ā
If you have a studio full of dedicated, highly-committed students who practice hard, enjoy the masterworks and love high-level performing and you enjoy teaching them, then perhaps this isnāt something you need to worry about. Lucky you! Youāre probably in the 2-5% of teachers in the world in this space.
For the rest of us who teach students who donāt always want to practice too much, who donāt always show up prepared, who are picky about their music, who teach themselves songs online, who have busy social and/or sporting lives, who play video games and use their phones too much, who donāt like traditional performances and for whom music is just a small part of their leisure time activity, then this approach is for you.
By having a student-first teaching philosophy and teaching in a more integrated way, youāll help your students make stronger connections with music and keep them learning longer and hopefully playing or singing well into adulthood.
The ultimate goal is that your students will eventually make these connections themselves, and in so doing, become more curious musicians. But as you get started, youāll need to find and model these connections by analysing the music, finding the elements and then planning activities you can explore to integrate them, asking lots of exploratory questions along the way.
I hope that the Integrated Music Teaching approach has struck a chord with you. And hopefully, youāre keen to explore it in your own teaching, particularly if this is a new way for you to teach.
I canāt wait to share more about the approach in our next articles and podcasts.