Relection Post Week 6 - Creative Activities in Music

1.  Rhythmic composition exercise - Suitable for MS or HS ensembles - During sight-reading instruction, I provide students with certain rhythmic elements (quarter notes, quarter rests, half notes, etc) with which to compose their own 4-8 measure exercise.  The rhythmic elements are in line with whatever they are learning to read at the time.  I generally start these activities at the beginning of the year, using only quarter notes and quarter rests.  The students have the opportunity to be creative within the context of the skills they have acquired. 

2.  Improvisation - Suitable for MS or HS ensembles, or general music - Students are given a melody and ask to improvise a rhythmic accompaniment.  They are allowed to clap, tap, snap, etc to make up their rhythm.  I generally start with just having them make up a short rhythmic pattern and clap it.  As they progress and gain confidence in their improvisation skills, we move on to accompanying melodies. They are allowed to use their improvisation skills and creativity to come up with multiple rhythmic accompaniments.  This could eventually lead to melodic improvisation.

3.  Aleatoric music - Suitable for MS or HS ensembles - Pieces of music such as Eric Whitacre's "Cloudburst" contain aleatoric sections in which students are required to sing specified pitches in whatever order they choose.  Similar to improvisation, the students are given freedom to sing the pitches in any order, and at any speed.  The resulting sound is a wave of tone that contains all of the pitches.  One of the best ways to prepare students for this type of creative experience is to have them sing an ascending and descending line (Do-Sol or 1-5) and allow the students to alter the tempo, and later allowing skips from one note to another.  

4.  Guided expressive choices - Suitable for MS or HS ensembles - Students are given the opportunity to make expressive choices under the guidance of the director.  I will generally offer students 2-3 choices on how to sing a particular phrase of music (legato vs marcato, pianissimo vs forte, where to breathe, etc).  We will experiment together and come to a consensus as to which decision is the most musical (and appropriate).  Students give their opinions using musical language and reasoning, and then a vote is taken.  If done properly, the students will arrive at an acceptable expressive decision together, though the teacher always has veto power!

5.  Choreography - Suitable for HS ensembles - Student choreographers in show choirs are a great way to encourage creativity among students.  When I use student choreographers, I give them a general idea of the style and formation of a particular piece.  The students then are allowed to brainstorm ideas and present them to me for approval.  If approved, they teach them to the show choir.  If not approved, I offer suggestions on how they might make changes to their ideas to make it work.  Additionally, every student in the show choir has the opportunity to suggest choreography if he/she has an idea.