In 2002, the nationally renowned author Dave Eggers ("A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," "The Circle," "What Can a Citizen Do?") started a nonprofit organization with educator Nínive Calegari dedicated to helping kids learn how to write well. The program pairs middle and high school aspiring writers with journalists, teachers, and creative writers. In the eighteen years since it's inception, student authors in the program have written and published over one thousand books on subjects from baseball to botany.
One of the most successful elements of the program is their student magazine. Over the period of a semester, middle and high school students decide on the topics, research the contents, and write (and rewrite) every word in the magazine. They are guided through every step by professionals, teachers, and mentors, but in the end, it is the students who do the work. There is no set curricula or format, and it can change from issue to issue. The objective of the program is to get excited about writing because they are writing about things that they are passionate about.
The program has produced noteworthy results and is making an impact on the next generation of writers. If this approach can affect the language arts, could the same hold true in the musical arts?
I have always been a fan of integrated thematic instruction. One of my most memorable teaching moments was a nine-week project my students and I worked on called a Concert of Heroes in which the students chose their personal heroes and then researched, communicated with, and created artistic representations of people they admired. Several years ago, Richard Saucedo and I collaborated to recreate the project with original music called Heroes Near and Far.
In my observations, we as a profession are getting better at context. Program notes, the internet, self-publishing composers, and commissions are allowing students greater access to information and a better understanding as to what the piece is trying to say and how it is being said. But I wonder if we did a deeper dive, if it would result in a different or better experience for our students.
To be clear, I know that the vast majority are already doing this. But, if you will permit me to think out loud for a bit, we might come up with something interesting. For instance, what if we asked our students to:
Write a poem about how the music makes you feel?
Take a segment and write lyrics/words to the melody?
Create a piece of media or art centered around it?
Copy their music with colored or torn paper?
Rehearse in a room with minimal or colored light?
Create a dinner menu or recipe with ingredients inspired by the music?
Create a photo essay inspired by the various movements?
Write a short story using the title or elements from the piece?
Improvise/rewrite the melody in a small section?
Performed outdoors, in the cold, or the heat, in front of an audience rich and poor?
We are only limited by one's imagination. But the hope is that by allowing time and energy to spend on peripheral exploration and understanding, it's possible that the students will not only grow in their knowledge of the literature but become more attached and emotionally connected to it as well.
In other words, with better or different context comes better or different content.
Creating music is different for every individual and piece of music. We consume, internalize, and create in a way that is unlike any other class or curricula. This presents both opportunities and obstacles that are unique just to music. As teachers, this is where we can connect and impact our students in profound and meaningful ways that will help shape their personal and emotional identity long after the music has faded away.
Just something I've been thinking about.
Have a great week.
