Your First Modern Band Course

Dan Black, Council Bluffs CSD

dblack@cbcsd.org

Where it started in Council Bluffs

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What are we doing today?

I created an Intro to Modern Band course for eighth grade students teaching all students to play every instrument. I learned a lot along the way, and I’m excited to share this work with you and make music together!

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When you leave today, you’ll have tons of curricular resources and some ideas you can use as you design or redesign learning experiences for greater engagement and student achievement regardless of the course you’re teaching.

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Course Overview

My Parameters

• One-semester course
• Non-performing
• Class meets daily for ~45 minutes for ~90 days
• All school-owned instruments that stay at school 24/7.
• Super cool kids

Our Larger Vision

• More entry points to the music classroom for students at all grade levels beyond traditional paths
• Not a vertical path; courses taken in a more a la carte fashion similar to visual arts
• Realize the inherent benefits of modern band for the benefit of student learning and school culture.

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Unit 1: Guitar

Let’s jump in!

Big Idea: Technique enables artists to express themselves.

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This is a slide taken from my curriculum. In other words, this is what my students would see when they’re learning in my class.

Curriculum Design Starting Point

• Used the Understanding by Design framework to design each unit�
• Learning outcomes grounded in the National Core Arts Standards�
• Content resourced from Music Will and the Modern Band Method books

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Understanding by Design Framework

Understanding by Design helps us design teaching for understanding of big ideas and transferable concepts, with multiple opportunities for real-world application, leading to long-term achievement gains.

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As Hattie puts it, the best feature of this approach is that “the focus of decision-making is more about developing the strategies of learning to achieve the success targets, and less about implementing a particular teaching method” (2012)

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(Wiggins & McTighe, 2011)

Misconception Alert!

Before we play, just wanted to say that Understanding by Design is not a prescriptive framework that anyone follows to the letter.

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There are many great ways of going about designing learning experiences, and if you’re really interested in UbD, check out the guidebook.

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Like other resources in this presentation, the image is linked to Amazon!

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Defining Desired Outcomes for Learning

The Understanding by Design framework helps teachers define desired outcomes for student learning and use backward design to build learning experiences that target those outcomes. Ultimately, the ability to transfer is long-term aim, which is the idea that students can take what they’ve learned and use it on their own in new contexts.

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Meaning

• Understandings: The meaningful “take-aways” or transferable insights or abilities in which the content is meaningful and useful going forward. Understandings can’t be “covered” but are “uncovered” over the course of meaningful learning experiences.

Driver’s Ed Example: The time needed to stop or react is deceptively brief, thus requiring constant anticipation and attention.

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• Essential Questions: Ongoing and guiding questions that make it clear to students that true learning is about digging deeper.

Driver’s Ed Example : What must I anticipate and do to minimize risk and accidents when I drive?

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(Wiggins & McTighe, 2011)

Defining Desired Outcomes for Learning

Acquisition of Knowledge and Skill (Content)

Our short-term goals center on the acquisition of knowledge and skill. They are the tools for thoughtful and effective performance. The idea in backward design is that you focus on the essential knowledge and skills related to the desired outcomes.

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By treating teaching content (knowledge and skills) as a means rather than an end, students not only enhance their long-term learning but also become more engaged in the process.

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(Wiggins & McTighe, 2011)

Content or Understanding?

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The ability to interpret chord diagrams to learn to play any chord.

Three-octave F Major Scale played accurately in sixteenth notes at 120 beats per minute.

Tuning your instrument quickly and accurately.

Technique enables artistic expression

The relationship between technology and creativity is shaped by the artists who use it. 

Artists balance the interests and needs of their communities with their own artistic goals and ambitions.

Identify notes on the music staff for your instrument.

Perform at a superior level.

I can apply practice strategies to refine technique and/or music performance

Defining Desired Outcomes for Learning

Standards

It can also be necessary to incorporate established goals, such as educational standards like the National Core Arts Standards. I rely heavily on the NCAS Standards to ensure I’m building units “up to code” as you would in a home construction. Standards help us be sure everything is grounded in the bigger ideas and goals of artistic literacy.

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CREATING

Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.

�RESPONDING

Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning.

PERFORMING

Realizing artistic ideas and work through interpretation and presentation.

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CONNECTING

Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.

(National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, 2014)

As we play, consider the knowledge and skills that are necessary for students to be able to play this music effectively.

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Pitch-adjusted recording!

Knowledge and Skills

Students should know…

• Parts of the acoustic guitar
• Features of standard notation: measures, time signature, strumming slashes, repeat signs
• The note names of the strings
• The four most common chords used in popular music in the key of G on guitar: G Major, D Major, E minor, C Major

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Students should be skilled at…

• Using effective posture and playing position for playing music on guitar
• Applying effective left- and right-hand technique to fret and strum chords
• Tuning the guitar
• Interpreting guitar chord diagrams to play chords
• Changing key centers by applying a capo to the guitar
• Interpreting features of iconic and standard notation to learn a song
• Applying practice strategies to refine technique and/or music performance
• Playing strumming pattern rhythms accurately and with a steady beat

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Wagon Wheel? So What?

Why does this content in particular matter? Wagon Wheel for the purpose of…?

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Why is this a unit worth teaching? In the end, what will this enable students to accomplish in the world?

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Really, this could be any song with these four chords, but what’s the point? What would you have students take away from this learning experience?

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I’ll share my intentions for the guitar unit later. What are your ideas?

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The Learning is the Point!

Importantly, the content in this situation just happens to be suited to a goal.

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My big goal isn’t for students to learn a song. In fact, it’s even more than to have the knowledge and skills to learn any song.

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In this unit, the goal is for students to understand that technique enables artistic expression and to transfer that understanding to other contexts (drums, keyboard, pottery, creative writing, engineering…)

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To put it another way, students should come away from this experience looking to build their technique in ways that can enable them to share their voices with the world.

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That’s a decent reason for learning the G chord, and it’s a LOT more fun!

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Unit 1: Guitar�Big Idea: Technique enables artists to express themselves.

UNDERSTANDINGS

Students will understand that….

• To express their musical ideas, musicians develop and refine technique over time through openness to new ideas, persistence, evaluation, and reflection.�(Related misconception: people are born with artistic talent)
• Popular music artists use similar techniques to play rich, diverse music across time periods and styles.�(Related misconceptions: popular music is simple and repetitive, learning to play one style of music means I can only play one style of music)

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Transfer: Students will be able to independently use their learning to develop artistic technique for creative expression in multiple contexts.

MEANING

Unit 1: Guitar�Big Idea: Technique enables artists to express themselves.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Students will keep considering….

• What does it mean to practice?  How should I practice?
• What is the relationship between technique and creative expression?
• How do artists use aspects of songwriting and performance for creative expression?

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Transfer: Students will be able to independently use their learning to develop artistic technique for creative expression in multiple contexts.

MEANING

I’ll share everything later!

I’m sharing all of my Intro to Modern Band course with you later, so I’ll spare you the boring details for now!

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By the way, your administrators and curriculum specialists would love this stuff.

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Unit 2: Drums

Big Idea: Artists make expressive choices

New big idea!

My students see this song just after introducing a doubled hi-hat. The bass drum is pictured this way as an option for students to try incorporating it into the pattern.

Let’s talk about student choice

Our visual art friends have put a lot of thought into how to manage student choice in an environment with far more creative options in their classrooms!

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(Balsley, 2014)

Choice Without Chaos

How do you involve students in multiple mediums while working toward the same or similar learning goals?

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One approach my colleagues mentioned is called Teaching for Artistic Behaviors, and I encourage you to check it out!

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Teaching for Artistic Behaviors (TAB) leans heavily into the aspects of student choice and agency. This is where I’d like to live in a modern band ensemble class, but it isn’t entirely appropriate for Intro to Modern Band course this presentation is about.

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Book images linked to Amazon!

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Transferring TAB ideas into modern band

One of the established goals of my Intro to Modern Band course is that all students will learn to play all the instruments. That’s a problem with only 1-2 drum sets in the room, and body drumming isn’t going to cut it.

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In creating a new approach, here are some ideas borrowed from my art educator friends:

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• Rather than teaching a skill or a medium, teach artistic habits and behaviors. �Learning to work with a medium (watercolor, pastels, etc.) is a means to a creative end, not the goal itself (sound familiar?)

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• Students “unlock” new opportunities after demonstrating competencies.�Students learn the basics, then have the choice to go further based on their interests.

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• Choice exists on a continuum. �There’s an appropriate level of choice for different learning situations.

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My Approach to Instrument Choice

Introductory Lessons: The Basics

Things everyone should know and be able to do to learn to play

• Introduction to the big idea and setting foundation for learning the instrument.
• Ratio: 100% students playing drums or body drumming

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Middle Lessons: New Concepts

Investigating and exploring new ideas and questions

• Exploring essential questions, understandings while students dive deeper into technique (e.g., drummers learn a bass drum variation, guitarists learn a new chord)
• Ratio: 50% students on drums, 50% students on guitar

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Closing Lessons: Application of Concepts

Performance tasks of essential learning

• Extension opportunity for advanced students to prepare for ensemble playing, all students demonstrate big idea understandings through preferred instruments
• Ratio: 25% students on drums, 75% students on guitar

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But wait!

If the established goal is that all students get to learn every instrument, shouldn’t they all be able to do the same things on all the instruments?

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Covering technique doesn’t necessarily lead to the long-term understandings important to the learning experience, and those understandings can be demonstrated in many ways that reflect the diverse interests and needs of the students in the room.

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Let’s see how this approach looks and feels in one of my lessons!

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Every lesson starts with a class agenda and clear learning intentions.

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A few kids rotating through drums, everyone else body drumming.

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We’re all practicing the same skill and working toward the same concept…

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The conversation!

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You don’t have to be a skilled drummer to engage in this conversation.

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Quick break!

That could be day one of this lesson, and it’s ok to slow down to allow plenty of opportunity for practice and experimentation.

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Also, most of this should look familiar to what you’ve experienced in the Modern Band 101 and 102 workshops! Do before explain, comping, scaffolding, iconic notation…

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Day 2!

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The concept is established, but now we’re allowing kids options to apply that concept in different ways.

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Is this essential for a student passionate about drums to know? Nope, but it affords everyone else the opportunity to grow their technique.

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A great time for independent practice and experimentation.

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This is only the beginning of this conversation about artistic choices.

Whew!

That was a lot to get kids to begin exploring the idea that artists make creative choices! Four songs and lots to talk about!

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Playing a crash cymbal is easy. Making choices about how and when to play the crash cymbal is more challenging. Relating your choices to context and your own creative intentions is far more interesting.

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Remember, the learning is the point. On to the next unit!

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Unit 3: Bass

Big Idea: Collaboration fosters creativity and discovery

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Let’s talk assessment, but…

Before we even touch on assessment, it’s important to consider that “[t]he more transparent the teacher makes the learning goals, the more likely the student is to engage in the work needed to meet the goal” (Hattie, 2012).

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Next, the clearer we are about learning intentions and what that learning looks like, the easier it is to develop good and meaningful assessments of learning.

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(Hattie, 2012)

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Hattie notes that effective learning intentions “make clear to the students the type or level of performance that they need to attain, so that they understand where and when to invest energies, strategies, and thinking, and where they are positioned along the trajectory towards successful learning. In this way, they know when they have achieved the intended learning” (2012).

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Success criteria describe how students arrive at the “end points” of the goal and how to judge their work. Another way of thinking of them is as student “look fors.”

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Clear learning intentions, in turn, are at the heart of formative assessment.

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(Hattie, 2012)

Want to learn more?

Here are some great resources for learning about what works in education and how to build your ability to craft learning intentions and success criteria.

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Let’s talk assessment

Here’s an example learning target and success criteria we can work with to assess the basic skills students need to play the song Sophia:

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Learning Target: I can play beginning bass lines on the electric bass.

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Success Criteria:

• Demonstrate effective playing fundamentals, including posture, left hand position, and right-hand technique.
• Tune the bass guitar to the correct note names.
• Name the E, A, D, and G strings on the guitar and identify the fret positions for necessary notes on those strings.
• Use right-hand picking technique to play single open or fretted strings with a clear, resonant sound.
• Play bass lines accurately along to a track.

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My grading scale! I keep it simple.

LEVEL 4 I know it, my teacher knows I know it and I can help others know it.

LEVEL 3 I know most of it, I made some minor mistakes

LEVEL 2 I know some of it, I need some help to understand the rest of it.

LEVEL 1 I’m just starting to understand. I need help.

LEVEL .5 I didn’t show it, but I put effort into an attempt.

LEVEL 0 I didn’t show that I know anything. I did not attempt.

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Recognize that this grading scale is shown from the student’s perspective. Their ability to self-cue and monitor their learning is very impactful, and any feedback I can provide about that aspect of their learning is very valuable.

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Hey students, what grade would you give this performance?

Learning Target: I can play beginning bass lines on the electric bass.

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Success Criteria:

• Demonstrate effective playing fundamentals, including posture, left hand position, and right-hand technique.
• Tune the bass guitar to the correct note names.
• Name the E, A, D, and G strings on the guitar and identify the fret positions for necessary notes on those strings.
• Use right-hand picking technique to play single open or fretted strings with a clear, resonant sound.
• Play bass lines accurately along to a track.

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What grade would you give this performance?

Learning Target: I can play beginning bass lines on the electric bass.

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Success Criteria:

• Demonstrate effective playing fundamentals, including posture, left hand position, and right-hand technique.
• Tune the bass guitar to the correct note names.
• Name the E, A, D, and G strings on the guitar and identify the fret positions for necessary notes on those strings.
• Use right-hand picking technique to play single open or fretted strings with a clear, resonant sound.
• Play bass lines accurately along to a track.

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What grade would you give this performance?

Learning Target: I can play beginning bass lines on the electric bass.

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Success Criteria:

• Demonstrate effective playing fundamentals, including posture, left hand position, and right-hand technique.
• Tune the bass guitar to the correct note names.
• Name the E, A, D, and G strings on the guitar and identify the fret positions for necessary notes on those strings.
• Use right-hand picking technique to play single open or fretted strings with a clear, resonant sound.
• Play bass lines accurately along to a track.

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Feedback and Assessment

We should always strive to answer three questions related to feedback.

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Where am I going? Once again, the importance of quality learning intentions and success criteria, clarity, challenge, commitment. Students who are more aware of these goals are more likely to seek out and apply feedback.

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How am I going there? Progress feedback that relates to a starting or ending point in mind. Our most valuable feedback happens during the learning, not afterward.

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Where to next? More important than providing these answers is enabling students to have their own answers to this question.

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(Hattie, 2012)

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Let’s do an assessment! Here’s what my students would see in advance of the assessment and the time leading up to the big day. What instrument do you need?

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Assessments don’t need to take long, and they can feel a lot like just making music together!

Reflection

An essential component to each of my assessments is student reflection in our online classroom space. This is where we can calibrate expectations and where I can assess their conceptual understandings, but even more importantly it’s where I can offer feedback related to self-regulation.

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Example Instructions:

After playing the assessment in class, offer a short answer to the following questions.

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1. What’s going well as you begin learning to play the bass guitar?

2. Describe either a challenge or wonder as you switch from playing chords to playing notes using single strings.

3. What grade would you give yourself for this assessment?

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Unit 4: Keyboard and Technology

Big Idea: Technology can empower artistic creativity

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Teaching for Understanding

I’m going to keep the last component very simple. This is the final day and your final breakout session! Our brains are fried!

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There are three ways UbD suggests you could label learning experiences:

1. Acquisition
2. Meaning
3. Transfer

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What’s most important to consider is that any learning approach you use should be geared to the type of learning students need.

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The bottom line is that students will be less likely to make meaning from experiences designed only to build technique. Work backwards from your desired outcomes to pick strategies that suit those outcomes.

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(Wiggins & McTighe, 2011)

Learning Activities for Making Meaning

Challenging Inquiry

• Challenge students with a problem or question to build their ability to tap prior learning or seek out new content to address the challenge.
• Who “killed” Romeo and Juliet?

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Teaching Skills and Teaching for Understanding

• Intelligent use of skill depends on big ideas – underlying principles and strategic application.
• Being a skilled dribbler vs. creating space on offense.

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Learning to Transfer

• Students who “own” an idea are more likely to successfully interpret new situations and tackle new problems
• Establish and keep highlighting clear transfer goals
• Have learners practice judgement in using a few different skills, not just plugging in one skill on command

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(Wiggins & McTighe, 2011)

Technology for the purpose of…

Is what we’re teaching real? Do real artists work the same way as our students? Are we effectively preparing them for that work?

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Scott McLeod’s 4 Shifts Protocol is a discussion tool to help educators design or redesign learning experiences for deeper learning, greater student agency, more authentic work, and rich technology infusion.

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I’ve found it can be handy brainstorming tool. These ideas have to come from somewhere, you know!

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(McLeod, 2019)

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Technology for the purpose of…

The 4 Shifts Protocol isn’t some kind of grand theory of action. You can use it as design or redesign pivot points in your process to shift things in better directions.

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Very simply, if your initial answer to a question in the protocol is “NO”, what change would make it a “YES”? That’s the power of this protocol.

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Let’s Practice:

Authentic Assessment. Are students creating real-world products or performances for authentic audiences? YES | NO | SOMEWHAT

• Contribution. If yes, does student work make a contribution to an audience beyond the classroom walls to the outside world? YES | NO | SOMEWHAT

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(McLeod, 2019)

Speaking of finding ideas, let AI help you!

Designing curriculum is the last thing our brains can handle after a busy day of teaching. Enter ChatGPT…

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If you haven’t dipped your toes into generative AI, it’s worth your time. At this time, I recommend ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/

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If you only try one thing, put this in the chat field and read its response:

“Act as if you're a parent of one of my students. My class is preparing to perform a concert. What enduring understandings that would last 10 years from now would you expect your student to have as a result of this experience?”

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See ChatGPT’s response to me and even continue this conversation here!

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Helpful prompts when using AI

Trying to find words for enduring understandings or essential questions?

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Summarize the following learning experience into a single big idea: (Write as much as you can about the learning experience, your intentions, student outcomes, etc.)

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What are some philosophical questions and statements related to the experience of: (explain your learning experience)

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You can also work in the opposite direction:

What are some misconceptions related to the idea that: (state your enduring understanding)

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AI can be great for wordsmithing:

Check the following statement for clarity and smoothness: (insert draft enduring understanding)

“Act as if” instructs the AI to put itself in the role of an expert. Remember, it does have access to a vast amount of information…

Act as if you are a curriculum expert. Analyze the following learning experience for potential big ideas and enduring understandings: (describe the learning experience)

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Unit 5: Forming a Band

Big Idea: Music can be a source of joy and growth.

The end!

Check out the rest of the course!

I have a gift for you, and I made it myself! I’m providing:

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• A complete 90-day modern band curriculum that teaches all students how to play guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and technology. This course features over 80 different songs from a wide variety of genres including rock, country, pop, hip hop, Latin, indie, metal, and much more.

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• A modern band proposal you can share with your administrators to start a conversation about modern band.

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• A detailed list of suggestions for a complete modern band classroom outfit!

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Intro to Modern Band Curriculum

Understanding by Design Framework

• Desired results detailed as transfer statements, long-term understandings, essential questions, and important knowledge and skills
• Targeted evidence for the desired results
• Detailed, sequential learning plan

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Integration of Iowa Fine Arts Standards

• Integrates all 11 anchor standards on the Traditional and Emerging Ensemble Strand.

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Full Lesson Content & Assessments

• Learning targets and success criteria for each lesson
• All content embedded within Google Slides presentations
• Assessments with online classroom instructions
• Appropriate for both middle school and high school settings. Probably too much for elementary, but it’s still lots of content to pull from!

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Proposal to School Administrators

We’re familiar with advocacy, but how about adding something brand new?

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Tailor it to your needs and your setting, then have a conversation about it with your school leaders.

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I guarantee you that your school leaders would love to talk about more ways for students to learn and achieve in your school.

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Modern Band Classroom Outfit

Take from my suggestions or build your own to your needs. This classroom outfit includes:

• 9 acoustic guitars, 4 electric guitars, 2 bass guitars, 6 amplifiers
• 2 drumsets, cymbals, stands
• 4 keyboards
• PA system, speakers, live/recording mixer, dynamic and condenser mics, mic and instrument cables, mic stands
• Related performance/recording equipment, instrument cases

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While you could easily spend less, with these suggestions you could plan on spending between $10,000-16,000 for a complete modern band outfit.

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By the way, the sound gear will transform your music space for ALL classes!!!

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References

Balsley, J. (2014). Where are you on the choice spectrum? https://theartofeducation.edu/2014/12/where-are-you-on-the-choice-spectrum/

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Routledge.

McLeod, S., & Graber, J. (2019). Harnessing technology for deeper learning: Solutions for creating the learning spaces students deserve. Solution Tree Press.

National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. (2014). National core arts standards: A conceptual framework for arts learning. https://www.nationalartsstandards.org/

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). The Understanding by design guide to creating high-quality units. ASCD.

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Thank you! Questions?

Have fun designing amazing learning experiences and change some lives!

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Please contact me if you find any of this valuable to you! I would LOVE to hear from you and would gladly help you in any way I can!

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Dan Black

Council Bluffs Community School District

Council Bluffs, IA

dblack@cbcsd.org

C: 712.310.3679

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Follow this link to access this presentation and all the resources!

https://bit.ly/3qzB1d0