Module 7 - Playing

(Representation of activity coming soon.)

Deep, meaningful playing occurs when people work with what they know in an unstructured way, producing new ideas, connections, and insights. The playful introduction I have designed is for a beginning class of music students of any age. After introducing myself at the beginning of class and chatting with the students a little bit, I hand out blank sheets of paper and crayons, colored pencils, or markers. I explain to students that we'll be listening to some music, and I want them to color on their papers, what each song reminds them of. I emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers, and I am interested in whatever they are thinking of when they hear each song. Then, I play four or five pieces that I think induce some strong emotions. Two of my favorite examples are Bach's Toccata in d minor (scary/spooky song) and Vivaldi's Spring. I do not tell the students what the name of the piece is, or what it makes me think of.

This activity is playful, in that it encourages students to have a bit of fun with their music. Often, when students are first starting, their parents have just told them how hard it's going to be, how hard they'll have to work, and they walk in to their first lesson expecting to not have any fun. If this activity is done in a school band or orchestra, students are in the mindset of “this is school, it's hard, it's not fun.” But hand out some coloring utensils, tell students there's no right or wrong answer, and I even tell them they don't have to actually draw anything, that just scribbling colors is great, and suddenly they start having fun. It's asking them to be creative, in a safe environment, which is fun.

This activity is meaningful because it asks students to connect with the music being played. An important part of performing a piece is communicating something to the audience, an idea, emotion, color, or story. This is often difficult for students to accomplish, and all too often we hear wooden performances played exactly the way it is on the page, but without any life. Giving life to music, giving it a purpose, a message, helps to distinguish the mediocre from the great. However, before students can create this message in their music, they first have to be able to hear it in others' music. This activity encourages students to hear a message in music.

I developed this activity to help get my students thinking about music. They don't have to be advanced players to do this, in fact, I will often do this with younger siblings of students; young children that have never played an instrument before. It can also be done with older and more advanced students, and it might help some of them relax. Before I let a student perform a piece, they have to come up with a story for the piece. I do explain that it can be as simple as a color or emotion, but they have to come up with something for it. While I might ask for clarifying details, I never criticize or correct a student's story. What they hear in the music is unique to them, and is theirs to share. So I developed this activity to help get my students started in thinking about music as a communication tool, rather than just another chore or skill.