Opus 4: “Amplify: Inspiration”
Sponsored by Steinway & Sons
Amplify: Inspiration – Inspiring Students through Music Creativity.
How do we provide for the creation and improvisation of music throughout the curriculum – whether an ensemble, general music, or music appreciation class? Scroll down to learn more.
This Opus, or learning track, will be led by Christopher Azzara.
Pianist, arranger, author, and educator, Christopher Azzara has made important contributions to advancing the understanding of creativity and improvisation in the music learning process. An innovator in music teaching and learning, Dr. Azzara is Professor of Music Education, Chair of the Department of Music Teaching and Learning, and Affiliate Faculty, Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media at the Eastman School of Music. Teaching and performing internationally, he has published numerous articles, books, arrangements, and recordings, including Developing Musicianship through Improvisation, and Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series (GIA). Dr. Azzara’s work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, the Music Educators Journal, Early Childhood Connections, and in The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (MENC/Oxford) and Oxford Online. An active teacher and clinician, he has taught and performed extensively throughout the United States, and in Canada, the Caribbean, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, China, Japan, and Australia. He has presented clinics and workshops in a variety of settings, including TEDxRochester, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, and leading music schools in this country and abroad.
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Learn more about all the Opus learning tracks.
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Six Principles for Music Teaching and Learning
Monday, November 12th, from 9:15 to 10:15 AM
Christopher Azzara
In this interactive session, Christopher Azzara will explore the relationships among music listening, improvisation, reading, and composition. With an understanding of how these skills are related, participants will be able to implement sequential curricula that will help their students learn how to improvise, improve listening and reading comprehension, compose original ideas, and gain a deeper understanding of literature.
Applications of the Six Principles for Elementary Music
Monday, November 12th, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM
Lynn Grossman
In this session, Lynn Grossman will provide suggestions for applying the six principles of music teaching and learning to elementary music instruction.
Applications of the Six Principles for Secondary Music
Monday, November 12th, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM
Alden Snell
In this session, Alden Snell will provide suggestions for applying the six principles of music teaching and learning to secondary music instruction.
Intuition and Reason in Music Teaching and Learning
Monday, November 12th, from 2:15 to 3:15 PM
Christopher Azzara
Drawing upon intuition and reason, Christopher Azzara will introduce participants to key elements and skills designed to: (1) develop improvisation and composition in a variety of musical styles; (2) include improvisation and composition as an integral part of teaching and learning; and (3) assess student learning.
Creativity & Improvisation in Early Childhood through Play
Monday, November 12th, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM
Lynn Grossman
How can we provide rich opportunities for children to develop audiation? Learn how building a repertoire of tonal and rhythm patterns through songs and chants enables children to have something musical to “say” in creative activities. We’ll use manipulatives and puppets for musical movement, inviting children to engage in “conversation.” Participants will practice techniques for building improvisation readiness, giving children opportunities to make connections, imitate, and improvise.
Inspiring Creativity through Effective Composition Mentoring
Monday, November 12th, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM
Patricia Riley
In the 2014 Music Standards prepared by NAfME, creating has been elevated to one of three Artistic Processes, making the creative activity of composing more essential and relevant than ever! This session will explore examples of complete and in-progress student compositions and examples of mentoring comments and advice in response to the compositions. Participants will view and discuss the presented examples and engage in some mentoring activities.
Assessing Music Improvisation
Monday, November 12th, from 4:45 to 5:45 PM
Alden Snell, Christopher Azzara
In this session, we provide methods and teaching techniques for assessing music improvisation. Drawing on a recently completed literature review, we share suggestions for developing reliable and valid checklists, rating scales, and rubrics that encourage students to reflect on their growth as improvisers. We also share rating scales that have been found reliable in a variety of teaching settings.
Inspiration for Creativity in Secondary Ensembles (Part 1)
Tuesday, November 13th, from 8:00 to 9:00 AM
Alden Snell, Christopher Azzara
In this session, we consider how to inspire students’ creativity through performance of standard repertoire in secondary ensembles. By teaching main and secondary melodies, bass lines, and harmonic progressions, teachers can help students begin to think like a composer. When encouraged to think this way, students develop skills for improvising and composing music with understanding. In this session, we will share examples drawn from ensemble repertoire, making connections to various musical styles and genres.
Explore, Improvise, & Compose across the Elementary Curriculum
Tuesday, November 13th, from 8:00 to 9:00 AM
Beatrice Olesko, Matthew Clauhs
General music teachers and ensemble directors can work together to provide students with tools to create and perform original musical ideas. Together, we can provide a cohesive music curriculum that inspires creativity and collaboration. Experience interactive lessons focused on exploration, improvisation, and composition in elementary music contexts, and share examples of student work in addition to connecting these activities to Core Arts Standards and assessment tools that lead to understandings.
Improvisation within four Approaches: Dalcroze, Gordon, Kodály, Orff
Tuesday, November 13th from 9:15 AM – 10:15 AM
Julie Scott, Susan Brumfield, Diane Lange, Steve Robbins
The philosophy of the Alliance for Active Music Making states: “the music educator must have the freedom to move in and out of different approaches, guided by foundational tenets that assist the intuitive teacher in discerning the best solution to meet the learner’s needs.” Join four presenters who specialize in a different music-making approaches. Experience and activities demonstrating how teachers of Dalcroze, Gordon, Kodály, and Orff philosophies involve, engage, and inspire students to be creative as improvisers and composers.
Develop Improvisers in Elementary & Middle Choral Rehearsal
Tuesday, November 13th, from 2:15 to 3:15 PM
Sandra Doneski
Warm-ups can be planned to develop the physical and psychological domains that undergird accurate and healthy singing while also scaffolding the rhythm, tonal, and harmonic understanding necessary for thoughtful improvisation. Giving students opportunities to think in music provides pathways for developing higher-order thinking in choral music-making.
Creativity in Secondary Instrumental Ensembles (Part 2)
Tuesday, November 13th, from 2:15 to 3:15 PM
Alden Snell
In this session, we consider how to inspire students’ creativity through performance of standard repertoire in secondary ensembles. By teaching main and secondary melodies, bass lines, and harmonic progressions, teachers can help students begin to think like a composer. When encouraged to think this way, students develop skills for improvising and composing music with understanding. In this session, we will share examples drawn from ensemble repertoire, making connections to various musical styles and genres.
Improvising and Arranging in Small Groups
Tuesday, November 13th, from 3:25 to 4:15 PM
Christopher Azzara, Alden Snell
Using what they have learned in the “Amplify: Inspiration” Opus, participants will improvise and compose arrangements in small groups and in various musical styles.
Collaborating Creatively & Effectively with Piano
Tuesday, November 13th from 4:25 – 4:55 PM
Steinway & Sons representative
The session will be focused on creating an effective and creative partnership with your collaborative pianist. Learn the Do’s and Don’ts of working with a pianist and how you can prepare with limited rehearsal time. Regardless of group type or size, learn to better communicate and collaborate!
Sponsored by: Steinway & Sons
Wrap up, Questions and Answers
Tuesday, November 13th, from 5:05 to 5:45 PM
Christopher Azzara, Alden Snell
