May.inddMatthew L. Garrett Director of Choirs and Assistant
Professor of Music Education Case Western Reserve University
[email protected]
Teaching for Transfer Developing Critical Thinking Skills with
Adolescent Singers Matthew L. Garrett
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 25
E ducators often espouse the value of critical thinking, yet
research suggests a disconnect between the expressed value and the
amount of
actual time spent developing critical thinking skills.1 Choral
directors who value independent musicianship can engage students in
critical thinking activities through learning objectives,
assessment tools, and instructional strategies. From a ten-minute
warm-up sequence to a ten-week composition project, adolescent
choral musicians can learn to incorporate critical thinking skills
and develop musical independence. Students who develop critical
thinking skills as adolescents can truly shine as young musicians
and continue to make music independently for life.
Developing students’ critical thinking skills involves the
behaviors of analyzing, evaluating, creating, and
transferring.
Photo of Los Angeles Children’s Chorus by Lee Salem
26 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10
A Chorus Classroom of Critical Thinkers
“Who can tell me how this piece is put together? In other words,
what is the musical form of this piece?” Crystal San- chez surveyed
the quizzical expressions on her seventh-grade students’
faces.
Suddenly, one of the tenors raised his hand. “Ms. Sanchez, I feel
like we sing some of this music more than once in this song. Like
it repeats or something.”
“Yes, Charlie, we do repeat some musical material,” Crystal
replied. With the conversation started, other students quickly
added the locations and frequen- cy of repeated material until
students
had determined the formal structure for the short piece. Crystal
knew rehearsal time was running short, but she asked one more
probing question: “How can understanding the form of the song help
us in rehearsal and performance?”
After allowing the students to refl ect for a few moments, Crystal
encouraged Helena to share her thoughts. “Well,” the teenager
began, “I think knowing where stuff repeats will help us perform
better because we’ll know what’s coming up next and we won’t get so
nervous.”
“Excellent point,” Crystal responded enthusiastically. “Now, let’s
put that theory to the test and sing through the piece without
music once before the
bell rings!” Students like those in Crystal San-
chez’s seventh-grade mixed chorus leave a choral ensemble
experience with a greater ability to think and act independently.
In this win-win situation, students provide musical leadership and
contribute to the ensemble, and the teacher adjusts roles from
knowledge- giver to learning-facilitator, allowing students to
think for themselves. When students develop critical thinking
skills in the context of choral rehearsals, they are afforded
opportunities for lifelong learning. Imagine a situation in which
your building administrator, superinten- dent, or school board
members were
Teaching for Transfer Developing
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CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 27
middle school musicians who continued with avocational music making
as adults. What an incredibly positive situation for a school music
teacher! Although this article focuses on choral singers, it is
important to remember that critical thinking skills can be
developed using any subject matter and at any age. Teach- ers
simply need a working knowledge of vocabulary, ideas for
assessment, and effective instructional strategies to
proceed.
Critical Thinking: Definition and Context
Generating a defi nition for critical thinking might best begin
with what it is not rather than what it is. Recalling the names of
pitches in alto clef, classifying compositional traits of Romantic
com- posers, and explaining the difference be- tween legato and
staccato articulations are all ways students can demonstrate
understanding, but these behaviors do not constitute critical
thinking. Critical thinking involves actively using a base of
knowledge for a specifi c purpose.
Using the revised Bloom’s taxonomy2
as a guide, critical thinking incorporates the behaviors of
analyzing, evaluating, creating, transferring, and purposeful refl
ection in order to make reasoned decisions, solve problems, and
master concepts. Students who develop critical thinking skills
understand how to trans- fer knowledge gained in one context to
another. Within a middle school/junior high context, consider the
possibilities of a classroom full of adolescent musicians who can
transfer skills and techniques from a ten-minute warm-up sequence
into a musical performance, read and analyze music, discuss musical
concepts and ideas, and create music of their own.
As mentioned earlier, there is no doubt that educators agree on
the
importance of critical thinking skills; yet surprisingly, research
indicates that the development of these skills is not yet fully
integrated as a core value in our educational system.3 Discussion
of teachers’ and students’ use of critical thinking in the choral
rehearsal envi- ronment has been sporadic over the past several
decades. In a 1977 article titled “Metaphoric Behavior in Choral
Conducting,” Carroll Gonzo advocated the importance of teaching for
transfer by using metaphoric language.4 He sug- gested that a
director’s successful use of metaphor during rehearsal allowed stu-
dents to analyze intent and attempt to apply that information in
the context of performance. Ten years later, Ann Small challenged
teachers to help students understand the difference between
conversations that ended with right or wrong answers and healthy
interactions that incorporated critical thinking using refl ective
questioning techniques.5
In 1993, Rosemary Watkins con- ducted one of the fi rst research
stud- ies on critical thinking in choral music classrooms.6 She
observed that teachers spent very little rehearsal time engaging
middle and junior high school students in critical thinking
behaviors. Similar re- sults were found in a 2013 study of high
school teachers.7 However, it was also noted that when teachers did
engage students in critical thinking activities, they did so
irrespective of the ensemble’s musical ability level, thus
providing equal opportunities for growth throughout a tiered choral
ensemble program.
Organizations like the Partnership for
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
“Critical thinking incorporates the behaviors of
analyzing, evaluating, creating, transferring, and
purposeful refl ection in order to make reasoned
decisions, solve problems, and master concepts.
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28 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10
21st Century Skills (P21)8 help remind teachers that students need
to be self- directed learners in order be effectively prepared for
the demands they will face as adults. Education, community,
business, and government leaders col- laboratively founded P21 in
2002 with a mission to help provide students with the knowledge and
skills necessary to be productive citizens, workers, and leaders in
the twenty-fi rst century. P21 proposes a model in which mastery of
core sub- jects, including the arts, coincides with the development
of key learning and innovation skills, including critical think-
ing. (Figure 1)
The revised Bloom’s taxonomy and Robert Marzano’s Taxonomy of
Educa- tional Objectives9 provide teachers with additional
information to effectively engage students in critical thinking
activi- ties. These general education resources, which directly and
indirectly include the arts, can have positive implications for
music teachers seeking a more direct connection with critical
thinking con- cepts.10
Although critical thinking is applicable to any subject level,
music teachers are effectively poised to develop critical thinking
skills due to the active learn- ing qualities of rehearsal
environments. Students participate in ensembles be- cause teachers
want to actively make music, and choral directors continue to work
with school music ensembles because they enjoy actively making
music with their students. Responsibili- ties for teaching and
learning can—and should—be shared between teachers and their
students by coaching them to transfer musical concepts from warm-
up exercises to repertoire, engaging them in refl ective dialogue
to deepen their experience with music, planning appropriate time
for self-refl ection, and encouraging creative exploration.
Teaching for Transfer: From Warm-Up to Repertoire
Recall the example of Crystal and her seventh-grade mixed chorus.
Now imagine a situation in which your students take factual
knowledge and apply it to appropriate situations dur- ing rehearsal
without prompting from you. This example demonstrates the principle
of transfer. Transfer is a learned behavior that requires
creativity, some advance planning on the part of the director, and
lots of repetitions with ado- lescent musicians. Assessment of
transfer can be formative (i.e., through direct observation and
teacher feedback) or summative (teachers might ask students to
identify a recent warm-up exercise that would assist with the
challenges located in a particular passage). Students
who can apply knowledge from warm- up exercises to repertoire
demonstrate a level of achievement with regard to transfer. These
students can then begin to focus on other aspects of performing
musically.
Teachers who train independent musicians can have more productive
rehearsals as students develop skills necessary to make musical
decisions for themselves. Aimee Beckmann-Collier described her
success with teaching and assessing critical thinking skills
through refl ective writing assignments.11 She felt that this type
of student-centered learn- ing provided students with a deeper
understanding of what they were singing and why they were making
performance decisions.
Sherri Porterfi eld has worked with hundreds of adolescent students
and
Teaching for Transfer Developing
Figure 1. Partnership for 21st Century Learning Skills: Framework
for 21st Century Learning (2011). Reprinted with permission of The
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Twenty-First Century Student Outcomes and Support Systems
Learning and Innovation Skills - 4Cs
Critical thinking • Communication Collaboration • Creativity
Core Subjects - 3Rs and Twenty-First Century Themes
Information,
Media, and Technology
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 29
teachers throughout the United States and has created a number of
outstand- ing compositions for middle/junior high school ensembles.
“Sing a Song of Six- pence” was written for two-part voices and
piano accompaniment. Each treble part has a range of a tenth, and
the piece is set to rollicking mixed meters with a bevy of dynamic
and articula- tion changes. “Sing a Song of Sixpence” presents
several challenges for young voices that could be solved by inte-
grating healthy singing techniques into warm-up activities prior to
rehearsing the piece. Following are three examples of warm-ups that
could help students
transfer concepts from vocal exercises directly into the music: 1)
closing vowels to consonants; 2) contrasting articula- tion; and 3)
fl exibility, intonation, and intervallic leaps.
1. Closing vowels to consonants The piece begins with buoyant
repetitions of the word sing, and Por- terfi eld has instructed the
chorus to “Close to ‘ng’ immediately.” (Figure 2) With advance
planning on the part of the director, students can work through
resonance and tone color issues related to singing this velar nasal
consonant be-
fore they reach these spots in the music. A simple fi ve-note
descending pattern using text similar to that found in the music
would be helpful in this instance. (Figure 3)
Directors may want to use a similar tessitura for this pattern as
it appears in the music or alter the key for use as a more general
exercise. To focus specifically on resonance and tone color—bright
or dark as the vowel(s) and consonant(s) may dictate—direc- tors
can model the vowel for students in
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
“Transfer is a learned behavior that requires creativity,
some advance planning on the part of the director,
and lots of repetitions with adolescent musicians.
American Choral American Choral Directors AssociationDirectors
Association
@TimothySharp@TimothySharp
the warm-up and apply that procedural knowledge to musical
performance.
2. Contrasting articulation Porterfi eld paints the text of
this
piece vividly through contrasting ar- ticulation. Singers depict
differences between the king and queen through staccato and legato
articulation, respec- tively. (Figure 4) Students might easily
recall the difference between the terms staccato and legato.
However, under- standing the vocal technique associated with
performing these styles requires prior knowledge and a cognitive
deci- sion to apply that procedural knowledge.
a slower tempo and have students also sing in a slower tempo. When
students sing using extended vowel sounds—at a tempo that allows
for extension— teachers can more easily identify tone color
quality. Teachers could also model tongue placement for the [i]
vowel us- ing the left hand, fi ngers pointed up, to illustrate the
lower teeth and the right hand to show a raised and forward arch,
fi ngers touching those of the left hand. This visual image of
tongue placement can help students understand that the tongue is
raised in an arch and forward in the mouth, toward the teeth, thus
cre- ating more open space for resonance in
the throat while singing a brighter vowel. Getting students to
transfer vocal
technique from warm-ups to reper- toire initially requires teacher
coaching, several repetitions for students, and appropriate teacher
reinforcement of the desired behavior. Students must understand the
connection you want them to make between the warm-up exercise and
repertoire to be rehearsed. Again, after suffi cient repetition of
trans- fer activity and positive reinforcement when students do
begin to associate vocal technique with repertoire, transfer
behavior will become more automatic for students as they analyze
the focus of
Teaching for Transfer Developing
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 31
Concepts of contrasting articulations could be taught using warm-up
exercise B. (Figure 5) Directors would guide stu- dents through the
types of breath sup- port needed to produce these sounds and ask
students to locate specifi c places in the score where this
knowledge of support would be helpful.
3. Flexibility, intonation, and intervallic leaps
With ranges of a tenth in each of the two voice parts, Porterfi eld
creates the need for securing certain intervallic leaps with
adolescent voices. Between measures seven and eight of Figure
6,
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
singers transition an octave from low e-fl at 4 to e-fl at 5
(middle C = c4). The leap of a fourth for part one requires good
audiation skills and effective vocal technique. Warm-up exercise C
(Figure 7) can be performed in a variety of ways to isolate
potential challenges.
All ensemble members can sing the exercise together to master fl
exibility, in- tonation, and the leap of a perfect fourth. To
further challenge audiation skills, Part Two might sing the fi rst
measure, fol- lowed by Part One, with everyone tutti in the fi nal
three measures. Remember, students will not initially understand
that you are trying to develop critical think- ing skills through
transfer. As with any
32 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10
rehearsal behaviors we expect students to internalize, teachers
must teach for transfer and reinforce the expectation of this
behavior.
For example, fi rst teach the warm- up activity in Figure 7. Follow
this activity by asking students to examine the fi rst two pages of
the musical score and iden- tify an ascending, stepwise melodic
line followed by a leap of a perfect fourth. Reinforce the idea
that successful singing of the warm-up exercise will help stu-
dents to prepare and perform success- fully when a similar passage
appears in their music. Initially, students need to be guided to
this connection. With suffi cient practice and reinforcement,
however,
students should begin to look for these connections on their own
and transfer the skills developed during warm-up to
rehearsal.
Students can also make transfers within a piece of repertoire using
rules or guidelines to help them focus on spe-
cifi c examples. Judy Bowers, Professor of Choral Music Education
at Florida State University, created a series of “Rules for
Transfer” that help remind students when and how to perform
expressively through application of prior procedural knowledge.12
As an example, the “Rule
Teaching for Transfer Developing
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CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 33
of Punctuation” requires students to lift or breathe after
punctuation marks. The reverse also applies: carry through text
with no breath if no punctuation is pres- ent. Exceptions to this
rule occur where directors ask students to ignore certain
punctuation marks for musical reasons. However, directors can
maximize re- hearsal time by indicating exceptions rather than
talking through every breath of every phrase of every piece.
Teaching students to transfer con- cepts and ideas from one context
to another leads to more time singing and well-paced rehearsals.
When students are taught to transfer musical concepts from warm-up
exercises into repertoire, they begin to approach music in a more
self-suffi cient manner. It can be helpful to think of transfer in
terms of sight-reading. Choral directors work with students over
time to integrate the develop- ment of rhythm and pitch reading
using numbers, counting systems, and solfege.
With suffi cient and consistent rep- etition, students’ ability to
sight-read will improve. Empowered with music literacy skills,
students can now audi- ate and sing more challenging music,
developing tools essential to lifelong music making. Another idea
might in- volve teaching students to crescendo through the middle
of a musical phrase and decrescendo through the end of the phrase.
Gestural language can be used to show phrase shape, or a direc- tor
might choose to verbally describe where and how much dynamic
change
to use. A student-centered option might be to teach crescendo and
decrescendo over time during warm-up exercises and then guide
students to transfer those concepts to appropriate locations in
repertoire.
Again, with repetition and teacher reinforcement, students will
begin to identify possibilities for dynamic contrast within musical
phrases. These students can then make individual artistic deci-
sions based on previous experience and actively make music with the
director. Further nonverbal communication in the form of gestural
language from the director can reinforce student-teacher artistic
experiences. In other words, with a little advance planning and
opportuni- ties for students to develop the habit of transfer,
teachers can solve musical problems before they happen.
Reflective Rehearsal Dialogue
Conductors frequently debate how much teacher talk is too much
while on the podium, and “seven words or less” is a popular phrase
used by conducting teachers. Jessica Napoles examined the effect of
duration of teacher talk in the high school classroom and found
that choral ensemble performance ratings were not adversely
affected by what she labeled “high teacher talk
conditions.”13
Perhaps the quality of teacher talk should be considered along with
those seven words…or more? John Dewey
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
Suggested Repertoire
Sing a Song of Sixpence Sherri Porterfi eld (b. 1958) Two-Part,
piano (2’20”) Vocal Ranges:
Part I c4 to e5
Part II b-fl at3 to d5
Alfred Music Publishing 00-SV9407 $2.25
The Old Lost Road David N. Childs (b. 1969) CCB, piano (2’30”)
Vocal Ranges:
Cambiata I g-sharp3 to g-sharp4
Cambiata II f-sharp3 to d4
Baritone c-sharp3 to c-sharp4
Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Inc., SBMP 1051 $1.95
Hope is the Thing with Feathers Kenney Potter (b. 1970) SATB, a
cappella (2’30”) Vocal Ranges:
Soprano d4 to e5
Alto c4 to b4
Tenor g3 to f-sharp4
Bass c3 to c4
one context to another leads to more time singing and
well-paced rehearsals.
referred to dialogue that incorporated reasoned thinking and
application of prior knowledge as “refl ective.”14
Refl ective questioning leads students to analyze, evaluate, and
create. Direc- tors can guide students through these cognitive
processes using planned in- teractions that require verbal
responses from students. Discussing the formal structure of music
is a great way to engage students’ analytical skills.
David Childs composed a haunting yet beautiful piece for CCB voices
with text by Rudyard Kipling.15 “The Old Lost Road” offers students
an excellent opportunity to discuss formal structure, including the
difference between short and extended forms. Examining ex- cerpts
from the score provides a start- ing place for dialogue with
students and offers a potential rehearsal sequence. The work opens
in F-sharp minor, with cambiata one an octave higher than the
unison cambiata two and baritone parts.
(Figure 8) New structurally thematic material appears in measure 22
with a tonicization of E major. (Figure 9) After a short piano
interlude, Childs returns to musical material from the opening
vocal lines of the work in the original key of F-sharp minor.
(Figure 10)
Directors may use a questioning model similar to the one
illustrated in Crystal Sanchez’s fi ctional classroom. Questions:
a) guide students in the process of differentiating musical ma-
terial into formal structures and b) help students determine how
formal structures relate to one another, engage their analytical
skills, and lead them to answers. Discuss articulators of form that
signal changes in structure (e.g., text, rhythmic patterns, melodic
material, harmonic material, dynamics). Start by asking, “How is
the music in measures 4–8 similar (or different) from the music in
measures 22–25 (or 32–36)?” Another line of inquiry might focus
on
composer’s intent: “Why do you think the composer changed the
repeat of the A section starting in measure 37?” Beginning ones
questions with “why” and “how” can quickly guide students toward
analytical and evaluative thinking. Formal analysis of music would
certainly be expedited if the director diagrammed the structure for
students and provided them with the answers. However, teach- ing
students to recognize articulators of form on their own and
providing op- portunities for them to analyze musical examples will
lead to greater indepen- dence and transfer.
In addition, teaching students how to analyze formal structure in
music can help with the memorization process. Teacher-student
interactions that dem- onstrate the development of critical
thinking skills can be easily observed during rehearsal, and
formative as- sessment can be provided to students through teacher
feedback. Teachers
Teaching for Transfer Developing
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 35
often use formative assessment to measure the process of learning
and to modify instructional strategies for more effective student
learning.
Summative assessment is used to
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
measure student learning as a product at a specifi c time. Teachers
wanting to measure analytical skills using summa- tive assessment
might provide a musical example and direct students to
identify
both the formal sections and the articu- lators of form that lead
them to their analytical conclusion. In this example, student
learning is being measured at a specifi c time, and assessment
results
36 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10
Teaching for Transfer Developing
would indicate to what extent students could demonstrate critical
thinking skills in the form of musical analysis.
Rehearsal Reflection and Evaluation
Choral directors function in three worlds on the podium: past,
present, and future. They are constantly evaluating what they have
heard while continu- ing to conduct in order to reinforce
appropriate singing and correct errors for future performances.
Directors take ensembles to music festivals and submit ensembles to
the comments of adju- dicators with the hopes of continued
improvement. Why not ask students to share in the responsibility of
perfor- mance evaluation? Directors can inte- grate student
assistance with rehearsal checking or monitoring and critiquing
toward a goal of improving performance quality. Helping adolescent
students understand what you, the teacher, are hearing and how you
are making musi- cal decisions develops students’ critical
thinking skills and strengthens rapport within an ensemble. Any
musical ele- ment can be checked or monitored during
rehearsal.
A student, for example, might be asked to come out of the ensemble,
stand in front of the group, and listen for clarity of diction.
Directors can easily guide students from general responses to more
specifi c, in-depth feedback by chaining—asking additional
questions. A director might also ask students to perform
kinesthetic gestures to aid in
tonal production. “Throw the frisbee” is a phrase often used to
help students feel and visualize the concept of sound pro- jection
and breath support. Ask students to create their own ideas for
gestures that might help the group sound bet- ter in a specifi c
location and have them “conduct” their peers. Group refl ection on
the effectiveness of gestural language created by an ensemble
member can further guide and reinforce this type of critical
thinking behavior. Formative feedback during the rehearsal process
can develop students’ ability to evaluate their peers in a positive
and constructive manner. In addition, allowing students to create
gestures that may improve per- formance unlocks creative
possibilities for adolescent musicians.
Summative assessment of students’ critical thinking skills provides
a clearer measure of progress for individual stu- dents. Teachers
can place students in
the role of director by asking them to critique specifi c elements
of a rehearsal or performance. Any criteria can be used for
students to listen and evalu- ate what they hear. Directors can
easily simplify choral festival adjudication forms to include only
one or two criteria to help students focus their listening. Writ-
ten critical thinking assessment can take place during rehearsal or
at home with the help of rehearsal recordings.
With beginning-level students, direc- tors might simply ask yes/no
questions
with some form of follow-up response. For example, students might
be directed to listen for dynamic contrast between forte and piano
sections: “Did the chorus sing using accurate dynamics? If improve-
ment is needed, how could you help make a positive difference as an
en- semble member?” Refl ective questions, like the latter in the
previous example, encourage students to think beyond factual recall
and promote a sense of independent musical leadership.
As students become more accom- plished with written performance
evalu- ation, assessment requirements should continue to challenge
students. Sherri Porterfi eld created several sample as- sessment
rubrics for use with adolescent students in Teaching Music through
Per- formance in Middle School.16 These tools range from
assessments that target per- formance specifi c repertoire to more
targeted sectional rehearsal assessments.
“Teacher-student interactions that demonstrate the
development of critical thinking skills can be easily
observed during rehearsal, and formative assessment
can be provided to students through teacher feedback.
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 37
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
Written rehearsal evaluations can also be open-ended in an effort
to stimulate students’ critical thinking through refl ec- tive
expression. Figure 11 is a sample
of an open-ended student ensemble evaluation based on Porterfi
eld’s rubrics.
Directors may choose to have stu- dents focus on specifi c musical
elements
(e.g., pitch, rhythm, dynamics, diction) to further guide their
aural focus. Mark De- Turk, Associate Professor of Music and
Coordinator of Music Education at the
Name ______________________________ Date
_______________________________
Chorus _____________________________ Piece
_______________________________
Write your evaluation of the ensemble performance. Include specifi
c measure numbers assoicated with your comments. Be as honest and
detailed with your remarks as possible.
STUDENT ENSEMBLE EVALUATION
Measure Numbers My section's challenges during this performance
Ideas for Improvement
Measure Numbers Ensemble strengths during this performance
Measure Numbers My section's challenges during this performance
Ideas for Improvement
Figure 11
Teaching for Transfer Developing
University of New Hampshire, proposed that critical thinking about
music could be measured through written assess- ment in which
students demonstrate: (1) understanding of musical elements (e.g.,
melody, rhythm, harmony, form), (2) application from one context to
an- other (warm-up to repertoire), and (3) informed decision
making, such as know- ing when to transfer musical information from
sight-reading practice to reading a new piece of music.17 Student
evaluation behaviors must be approached with ad- equate thought and
careful planning to foster appropriate constructive criticism
behaviors, especially when using peer evaluation.
Creativity in Choral Rehearsals
Creating is the highest form of critical thinking.18 Composers
create. Improvis- ers create. How do our students cre- ate?
Clifford Madsen and Terry Kuhn advise teachers to establish a
learning environment that fosters both creative processes and
products, placing initial emphasis on the act of creating.19 Music
teachers often cite time constraints due to performance obligations
as a road- block to creative activity. But how much more meaning
might students draw from performing a composition if they had the
opportunity to create some-
thing of their own for performance? In a typical chain of events,
composers create new music, directors interpret and rehearse the
music, and singers perform the music. However, composer Kenny
Potter approached his setting of an Emily Dickinson text with a
unique, collaborative twist. (Figure 12)
Potter instructs students to refl ect on this section of
Dickinson’s text and cre- ate an alternate setting for performance.
Directors and students could engage in refl ective dialogue to
determine the po- et’s intent and how music might be used to
express that intent. Students could be asked to work in sections to
brain- storm collaborative suggestions for their
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 39
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
own voice parts using specifi ed pitches. Students might also
choose to explore variations of pentatonic tonal patterns as part
of their creative process. These ideas focus on creating new music
at the encouragement of a composer and
ultimately lead to student ownership for this portion of a musical
performance. Assessment of creativity, in the case of Potter’s
composition, might be forma- tive and focus more on the process of
composition than an adjudication of the
fi nal product. Student compositions can be used
functionally as part of the rehearsal process. When teachers think
about composition, an element of fear or uncertainty frequently
creeps into the
40 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10
picture. However, simple sight-reading examples can offer students
an excellent opportunity to begin the compositional process. To
start, students should have some familiarity with unison
sight-read- ing examples and a basic understanding of musical
notation. After an initial ex- planation of the task, composition
could be completed in a unit format, over time as a pre-rehearsal
activity, or while the director leads sectional rehearsals. Eight
criteria provide structure for an eight- measure sight-reading
example:
Teaching for Transfer Developing
1. Use treble or bass clef, depending on individual student’s voice
part.
2. Use common time for the time sig- nature.
3. Use G major for the key signature.
4. Use any pitches from Sol below Tonic Do to Sol above Tonic
Do.
5. Begin and end your composition on Do.
6. Use stepwise melodic motion or skips of the tonic triad (Do, Mi,
Sol).
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7. Use rhythmic values of halves, quar- ters, and eighths.
8. Individuals should be able to perform their own
composition.
Teachers should allow ample time for creation and revision in an
effort to provide insight into the compositional process and to
ensure comprehension of fundamental musical knowledge. As- sessing
this type of creative endeavor might involve one of three options,
de- pending on students’ ability level. Direc- tors might consider
competency-based assessment as students begin to develop
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 54 Number 10 41
Critical Thinking Skills with Adolescent Singers
compositional skills. For example, while the product may not be
superior, the process of composition may be suf- fi cient for an
initial experience. As stu- dents develop more confi dence in their
abilities, additive criterion scoring could serve as a means of
addressing suc- cessful completion of the eight criteria mentioned
above. Directors seeking to assess more advanced students could
develop a compositional rubric to take into consideration the
degree to which students successfully met task criteria and level
of creativity or originality.
Conclusion
“Ms. Sanchez, I really like how you let us answer questions without
telling us we’re wrong, even when our ideas are a little
crazy.”
Crystal smiled at the remark made by one of her young tenors as he
left the rehearsal. She replied, “Some days I think I learn just as
much from you as you do from me. I am glad you enjoyed our
rehearsal today!”
Creating a learning environment that fosters musical independence
through the development of critical thinking skills can have a
tremendously positive impact on students. If we want students in
our chorus classrooms to analyze, evaluate, create, transfer, and
refl ect, we have to provide opportunities for them to develop
these behaviors. The rewards for both students and teachers will
last a lifetime.
NOTES
1 Matthew L. Garrett, “An Examination of Critical Thinking Skills
in High School Choral Rehearsals,” Journal of Research in Music
Education 61, no. 3 (2013): 303- 317. doi:
10.1177/0022429413497219.
Rosemary C. Watkins, “Nonperformance Time Use in Middle and Junior
High School Choral Rehearsals,” Update: Applications of Research in
Music Education 11, no. 2 (1993): 4–7. doi: 10
.1177/875512339301100202 . Watkins, “Nonperformance Time Use in
High School Choral Rehearsals: AFollow-up Study,” Update:
Applications of Research in Music Education 14, no. 2 (1996): 4–8.
Matthew Lynn Strauser, “The Classification of Language of High
School Choral Directors” (PhD diss., University of Oregon, 2008)
Dissertation Abstracts International 69, no. 8 (2008).
2 Lorin W. Anderson et al., eds., A Taxonomy for Learning,
Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives (New York: Longman, 2001).
3 The Critical Thinking Community. The Foundation for Critical
Thinking, 2013, http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/
our-mission/599.
4 Carroll L. Gonzo, “Metaphoric Behavior in Choral Conducting,”
Choral Journal 17, no. 7 (1977): 8–12.
5 Ann R. Small, “Music Teaching and Critical Thinking: What Do We
Need to Know?,” Music Educators Journal 74, no. 1 (1987): 46–49.
doi: 10.2307/3401236.
6 Watkins, “Nonperformance Time Use in Middle and Junior High
School Choral Rehearsals,” 4–7.
7 Garrett. 8 Par tnership for 21st Centur y Skills.
Par tnership for 21st Century Skills, accessed May 15, 2013,
http://p21.org/ overview.
9 Robert J. Marzano and John S. Kendall, The New Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives, 2nd ed. (California: Corwin Press,
2007).
10 Wendell Hanna, “The New Bloom’s Taxonomy: Implications for Music
Education,” Arts Education Policy Review 108 no. 4 (2007): 7–16.
doi: 10.3200/ AEPR.108.4.7-16.
11 Aimee Beckmann-Collier, “Teaching Critical Thinking Skills
through the Choral
Rehearsal,” Choral Journal 37, no. 5 (1996): 27–28.
12 Judy Bowers, “Structuring Success in Beginning Middle School
Choral Ensembles,” in Teaching Music through Performance in Middle
School Choir, ed. Frank Abrahams and Paul D. Head (Chicago: GIA
Publications, 2011), 70–72. Jessica Napoles et al., “Beautiful
Singing with Developmental Choirs,” in “On the Voice,” ed. Sharon
Hansen, Choral Journal 53, no. 3 (2012): 62– 65.
13 Jessica Napoles, “The Effect of Duration of Teacher Talk on the
Attitude, Attent iveness , and Performance Achievement of High
School Choral Students” (PhD diss., Florida State University, 2006)
Dissertation Abstracts International, A 67, no. 10 (2007).
14 John Dewey, How We Think (1910; repr., New York: Dover,
1997).
15 “The Old Lost Road” was commissioned by the Cambiata Institute
of America for Ear ly Adolescent Vocal Music. CCB voicing includes
voice parts for Cambiatas One and Two and Baritone.
16 Sherri Porterfi eld, “The Role of Assessment in Helping
Middle-Level Singers Become Musical Ar tists,” in Teaching Music
through Performance in Middle School Choir, ed. Frank Abrahams and
Paul D. Head (Chicago: GIA Publications, 2011), 38–56.
17 Mark DeTurk, “Critical and Creative Musical Thinking,” in
Dimensions of Musical Thinking, ed. Eunice Boardman (Reston,
Virgina: Music Educators National Conference), 21–32. Mark DeTurk,
“Critical and Creative Thinking,” in Dimensions of Musical Learning
and Teaching, ed. Eunice Boardman (Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefi eld, 2002), 39–53.
18 Anderson, et al. 19 Clifford K. Madsen and Terry Lee Kuhn.
Contemporary Music Education, 2nd ed. (Raleigh: Contemporary
Publishing Company, 1994), 39.