"This isn't about wholesale change or chasing trends...it's an exploration of practical ways to further engage our students in music-making in the classroom"
As experienced music educators, we've all been implementing the Musical Futures 3-step process for some time:
1. TOOLS: Equip students with essential musical tools
2. MODEL: Demonstrate effective use of these tools
3. USE: Facilitate independent learning
This approach has proven valuable, effectively combining informal and non-formal teaching/learning strategies. However, as we all know, education is a dynamic field, and our methods continually adapt to meet our students' needs.
In recent collaborative ‘Big Gig’ workshops, we've been exploring potential enhancements to our existing framework. Specifically, we've been considering how electronic music and music production techniques might complement our informal learning approach.
Understandably, the prospect of integrating new elements into our already full timetables might seem daunting. Rest assured, this isn't about wholesale change or chasing trends. Rather, it's an exploration of practical ways to further engage our students in music-making in the classroom.
A refined model
Through classroom trials, we've observed the emergence of a refined model. It's not a replacement, but an evolution of our current effective practices. This refined approach builds on our existing framework while incorporating new elements:
1. Explore
We lead the way, with supportive resources at hand. The focus is on getting students making music first - through singing, playing instruments, or discovering music production tools. No complex theory or notation as a starting point - just genuine musical experiences that naturally build essential skills and through which identified aspects of theory and notation reading can be integrated.
Resources for 'Explore':
2. Recreate
This is a new approach to learning how to make music in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) or using electronic music hardware. It starts with tutorial-style videos made by our expert educators. They are not boring tutorials on how to use BandLab or GarageBand...they are punch-cut, highly curated videos with clear instructions to help someone recreate part of a song. Students can also recreate songs they know using their voices and/or instruments with the support of our popular resources packs.
Resources to try:
3. Create
This is where we can step back and observe our students take ownership. They choose their music, work at their pace, and apply their learning. It's authentic engagement that reminds us why music education matters.
Resources to try:
The strength of this approach?
It naturally progresses from guided learning to independent creation, whilst keeping the focus where it belongs - making music together.
This refined model honours both our teaching expertise and our students' musical journeys. It's not about fads or gimmicks - it's about practical, proven strategies that put students first.