21st

Century Skills in the Large Ensemble: Whats the Point?

by Nicholas Rosath (www.nicholasroseth.com)
Let me get to it:
The point of the twenty-rst century music educaEon is to create boFom-up soluEons
where individuals are acEvely making musical, creaEve, and invenEve decisions through criEcal thinking
and meaningful communicaEon.
More than a decade into the twenty-rst century, many music educators are s?ll trying to gure out how to
develop twenty-rst century skills in students through music. Many others are ignoring these skills en?rely.
The Colorado Department of Educa?on (I live in
beau?ful Colorado) describes ve twenty-rst
century skills and abili?es: cri?cal thinking and
reasoning, informa?on literacy, collabora?on,
self-direc?on, and inven?on. Many other states
dene twenty-rst century learning in similar
terms.
You can likely describe many instances or cite
several studies demonstra?ng how band,
orchestra, or choir classes develop these twenty-
rst century skills. Learning to manipulate an
instrument into crea?ng pleasant sounds,
reading a piece of music, and performing with
others does require some degree of cri?cal
thinking, literacy, collabora?on, self-direc?on,
and inven?on.
However, despite the seemingly inherent and benecial twenty-rst century-skill-developing quali?es of music
making, signicantly more can be done in our classrooms and rehearsal halls to develop and encourage
twenty-rst century learning.
For the be)erment of music educa3on, we need to be doing more.
Recently, I was explaining to my Physical Educa?on colleague how tradi?onal music educa?on is not taking full
advantage of the twenty-rst century learning. The P.E. teacher, who is a non-tradi?onal P.E. teacher, said to
me:
The tradi3onal approach to P.E. is to hand students a racket, explain how to hold the racket, how to swing the
racket, how to hit the ball. Technique is prac3ced. Then rules are taught. Ul3mately, the point of a tradi3onal
P.E. class is about teaching kids how to play a game or sport. While those things are important, the point of P.E.

in a twenty-rst century world isnt to teach kids how to play a sport. The point of P.E. in the twenty-rst
century to get every kid to be physically ac3ve.
What is the point of music educa?on as it relates to twenty-rst century skills and a twenty-rst century
world?
Yes we need to teach kids how to hold an instrument, how play the instrument with proper technique, how
read notes on a page.
Yes we need to teach the rules of the game.
However, the point of music in a twenty-rst century world isnt simply how to sound notes on a page as
decided by the music teacher.
The point is to have every single child to be musical, to be crea3ve, to be cri3cal thinkers, to be communica3ve.
In order to encourage musical thinking and playing, we need to teach using student-centered strategies
where every student is acEvely making creaEve and musical decisions. This is precisely what twenty-rst
centuries teaching aims to develop.
A Brief History Lesson:
Ci3zens of the early twen3eth century were avid concertgoers and frequently a)ended professional band,
orchestra, and choir concerts. Addi3onally, community ensembles were highly visible and incredibly ac3ve at
the turn of the twen3eth century. It is es3mated that over 10,000 community bands were performing in the
1890s (compared to approximately 2,500 today). School programs were modeled aZer these highly visible
professional and community ensembles. This model was only further reinforced by professional concert
musicians (who ini3ally were not trained to be music educators) who taught early school ensembles.
I would argue that classroom music ensemble teaching never truly evolved a unique approach to teaching
music, but instead used the centuries-old top-down approach typical of professional ensembles. (Lets face
it, our teaching style is old and denitely not mindful of twenty-rst century ideals.)
By tradi?onal top-down approach I mean this: As music teachers, we tell students how to play, interpret, and
perform every aspect of the music being taught. Few to no crea?ve decisions, informed by crea?ve and cri?cal
thinking, are being made by our students.
Goodness. CreaEve and thoughOul music students?! What?!
Ques?on: What about the tradi3onal-top-down approach encourages musical, crea3ve, cri3cally thinking,
and communica3ve individuals?
However, even more problema?c is that in most large ensemble classes we corral and herd students like
sheep. We forget we are teaching individuals.

Ques?on Correc?on: What about the tradi3onal-top-down, herd-kids-around-like-faceless-cows, educate-

everyone-the-same, group-mentality approach encourages musical, crea3ve, cri3cally thinking, and
communica3ve individuals?
FURTHER, we very oXen forget that our students LIVE IN THE 21st CENTURY.
Verbal communica?on and wri\en communica?onthe la\er of which is rarely seen in large ensemble classes
are both s?ll very important. But in recognizing and valuing a twenty-rst century learner, we need to
recognize forms of communica?on which are relevant to our students: helloooooo technooooology!
I digress. As I was saying, technology is a relevant form of communica?on for our students. This a good ?me to
remember that as teachers we need to start where our students are and bring them to where we want them
to be.
Final Ques?on Correc?on and The $64,000 Ques?on: What about the tradi3onal-top-down, herd-kids-
around-like-faceless-cows, educate-everyone-the-same, group-menatlity, talk-at-kids-and-con3nue-to-ignore-
student-relevant-forms-of-communica3on approach encourages musical, crea3ve, cri3cally thinking, and
communica3ve individuals?
Answer: It doesnt. (At least, not very well.)
So, I bring you back to my original point:
The point of the twenty-rst century music educaEon is to create bo/om-up solu4ons where individuals
are ac4vely making musical, crea4ve, and inven4ve decisions through cri4cal thinking and meaningful
communica4on.
Today I will present four student-centered
(bo\om-up) ac?vi?es you can start today.
But rst, a quick review. Remember good ol
Blooms Taxonomy?
In order to have students ac?vely
making musical, crea?ve, and inven?ve
decisions through cri?cal thinking
and meaningful communica?on, we need to
aim for the top ?ers!
1) SelecEng Concert Music
There is much to consider when it comes to
selec?ng literature. For the purpose of this post,
lets just say you have picked several pieces for

an upcoming concert.
You may have to remove one of the pieces you have selected, but put together a collec?on of pieces and allow
students to pick one.
Heres the key, aZer presen3ng (discussion, listening, etc.) each of the pre-selected pieces, students must
describe and explain (in musical terms) their ra3onale for selec3ng the nal piece:
How does it musically compare to the other selected works? How does it contrast? How does its content or
story t with the other pieces? Why does it belong in this concert? Why are the other pre-selected pieces not
a good t for this concert? What would be the best way to program/order the pieces in the concert? Would
programming a dierent piece be more and less eec3ve? Why?
These kinds of meaningful conversa3ons with students are incredibly enlightening.
Are your students able to engage in these kinds of broad musical considera?ons? Are they able to clearly
ar?culate musical ideas in musical terms?
This conversa?on can place in many formats (verbally, wri\en, online, etc.). Regardless of the discussion
format, students need to be able to discuss and jus?fy their responses in musical terms:
At some point in a childs music educa3on, there is no reason to accept the music sounded loud and had a lot
of stu happening at once. Assuming students have been taught words like forte, texture, polyphonic,
they should be using these terms.
This literacy component creates meaningful conversa3on and is essen3al to twenty-rst century teaching (and
is just good teaching in general).
Allowing students to select music in this way encourages twenty-rst century skill development (and musical
ownership) through musical discussion before students even begin learning the new music.
2) Music InterpretaEon and Rehearsal
As men?oned in part one, most of our concert band, orchestra, and choir students are talked at and quickly
learn that the music teachers interpreta?on is the correct interpreta?on.
Students can be guided to discover musical interpreta?ons on their own.
As an example, lets discuss staccatos:
A tradi3onal top-down and not-very-twenty-rst-century approach would be to say, This marking is called a
staccato. Staccato in Italian means detached. Listen to my performance of this staccato and copy my
performance.

A student-centered, twenty-rst-century skill-laden approach would be, This marking is called a staccato.
Staccato in Italian means detached. It tells us that the composer wanted this note be detached from the
notes surrounding it. What do you suppose I mean by the word detached? Once some agreement on the
word is reached, the teacher would ask, How detached do we want this note? Allow the students to perform
and discuss various interpreta3ons of the staccato then guide the students to an agreement.
An extension of this lesson could be to ask the students to play the phrase with the staccato in a dierent style
or tempo and examine how a staccato might be interpreted in those situa3ons.
Teachable moments like this one are innumerable.
(Look for these many teachable moments. They should serve as inspira?on for what to teach our students.)
Music making is far more meaningful when students are allowed to make some musical decisions of their own
and are allowed to explore music in this way.
It just s?cks be\er.
Possible Side Eect of Student-Decided Interpreta3ons: You will hear how does this sound again? far, far, less
oZen.
Of course, not every ar?cula?on, phrase, tempo marking, and chord need be examined, but oering students
the opportunity to decide on the interpreta?on of even a few aspects of their music encourages twenty-rst
century thinking and musical learning.
3) ComposiEon, ImprovisaEon, and Arranging
Beyond music interpreta?on, the tradi?onal approach to ensemble music teaching usually ignores other
incredibly valuable musical opportuni?es for learning and expression: composi?on, improvisa?on, and
arranging.
Some music students par3cipate in ensemble music classes for many years without ever having any signicant
composi3on, improvisa3on, or arranging experiences. (Composi?on, improvisa?on, and arranging are terric
ways to assess what students know. A post about this is coming!)
With careful planning, students can be guided through immensely crea?ve, rewarding, and educa?onal
composi?on and improvisa?on ac?vi?es ranging from simple to complex.
A simple composi3on: Student will be given the rst four measures of an eight measure phrase from our
concert music. Students will compose and perform an original four-measure closure to the phrase. We will then
discuss musical dierences between student closures and the composers closure.

A complex composi3on: Students will compose and perform small ensemble works using various musical
characteris3cs found in our concert music like forms, 3mbres, textures, melodic and harmonic concepts.
Composing in this way not only develops twenty-rst century skills, but it reinforces what is being learned in
concert music. The possibili?es are endless when designing composi?ons this way.
I do composi?on ac?vi?es in my large ensemble classes.
It is not nearly as noisy and chao3c as you might think.
Go for it!
When students are asked to write, discuss, and perform composi?on or improvisa?on assignments, there is
li\le doubt that these exercises in crea?vity strike at the very core of twenty-rst century values.
4) PresenEng Concerts
Throughout the process of learning a new piece of music, share with students important musical and historical
details about the pieces they are learning.
A thirty-minute lecture about the historical signicance of the piece and its composer is ridiculous and
unnecessary.
Instead, provide ?dbits of informa?on, when musically relevant, spread out during the en?re learning
process. Lead student discussion toward discovering why the composer chose a par?cular tempo (or some
other aspects of music), or how the piece is a reec?on of what was happening in society when the piece was
composed, or how certain musical components (like harmony, melody, texture, rhythm) help paint certain
intended pictures, or how a piece of music is similar to a work of art from the same era as the composi?on.
Research the music you are teaching. It will unleash many teaching opportuni3es!
Using the informa3on they have learned about their music and the ac3vi3es they have completed (like
composi3ons u3lizing components of the music they are performing), allow students to create interes3ng
presenta3ons or introduc3ons to each of the pieces to present at the concert.
Students can write speeches about a composer being performed, display diagrams explaining the form of a
piece, perform (or show video clips of) short student composi3ons composed in the style of the piece, or create
a short lm about a piece and its composer. There are many possibili3es here.
OXen the best way to learn is to teach. And students who create concerts that teach are developing twenty-
rst century skills!

Technology in Music?
What technology to use and why use technology are frequently discussed in music educa?on. A Google
search or two for technology in music educa?on will yield many results.
However, there are many fewer discussions on how to use technology eec3vely, especially in regards to
developing twenty-rst century skills.
When considering good use of technology there are two things to keep in mind:
Thing #1: Technology is only a tool. Going through the ac3on of using technology is not necessarily developing
twenty-rst century skills.
Thing #2: In order to develop twenty-rst century skills, technology must encourage musical, crea3ve, and
inven3ve decision making through cri3cal thinking and meaningful communica3on.
Look! Ive posted a YouTube video of the Berlin
Philharmonic on my class blog! My students are
sooo twenty-rst century!
Using technology, like watching a video on
YouTube, is not twenty-rst century learning. In
fact, in many descrip?ons of twenty-rst teaching
technology isnt even men?oned as a skill to be
developed.
Thats because like a pencil, YouTube is a tool and
not a skill.
But student-relevant technology, like pencils and YouTube, are important tools. Because tools can be used to
develop twenty-rst century skills.
Technological tools are simply a means to an end.
Said another way, while learning to use a specic tool may be relevant in the twenty-rst century, the purpose
of twenty-rst century music learning is about the musical and crea3ve output which results from using said
tool.
One last example: GarageBand is another example of a tool. In the grand scheme of the twenty-rst century,
knowing how to use GarageBand is probably not a relevant twenty-rst century skill.
But the types of thinking, crea4vity, and expression which results from using GarageBand are relevant to the
twenty-rst century.

Since I cannot possibly write about every kind of technology in existence (not enough coee in the world), I
wont try.
But I will write about one readily available technology and explain how I might encourage twenty-rst century
skills through its use. Of course, the principals can be applied to any technology.
A class blog is a great star?ng point by which students can engage online, be crea?ve and musical, and also
discuss or reect on their musical par?cipa?on through meaningful communica?on. The Internet provides
countless musical, fun, and engaging ac?vi?es. Here are just a few ways to use a class blog:
1.

Students can logon to nd daily at-home prac?ce schedules (including specied warmups, method
book exercises, concert music excerpts) then discuss some aspect of their prac?cing: Describe the
most challenging part of exercise #12. What was challenging about that part? How did you prac?ce to
be\er play that part?
2. Students can discuss student-created content (composi?ons, recordings, etc.): Using musical terms,
describe what you found interes?ng about Sarahs composi?on. OR Which of Sarahs composi?onal
techniques would you include in your next composi?on? Why?
3. Students can complete music theory games or teacher-created online quizzes. Following the game or
quiz, students can compose a performance-based exercise to improve areas of deciency.
4. Students can watch YouTube videos (or other media) and reect: What is the best way to describe the
texture at 1 minutes and 23 seconds? OR Iden?fy your favorite moment (provide minute and second)
then describe in musical terms what you were hearing.
I could go on and on...
Tip: Google Forms is an incredibly powerful tool for collec3ng data on your class blog. You can create surveys
and forms u3lizing mul3ple choice, lists, checkboxes, short answer, long answers, grid, and scaled responses.
You can even create assessments! Which Google Forms can automa3cally grade! Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Just sayin.
Technology can be incredibly engaging both creaEvely and musically. And kids, of course, love great
technology.
But regardless of what great and powerful technology you use in your classrooms, remember:
Technology is only a tool. Un3l you elevate technologys use beyond the level of a tool (where students are
making musical, crea3ve, and inven3ve decisions through cri3cal thinking and meaningful communica3on), it
(probably) isnt developing important twenty-rst century skills.
As music teachers we are making crea?ve and administra?ve decisions all of the ?me (like choosing and
interpre?ng literature, running rehearsals, planning concerts, etc.).
We can exploit many of these decision-making responsibili3es as incredible opportuni3es for musical and
crea3ve learning.

We must also remember the crea?ve and musical value of ac?vi?es which oXen go ignore in large ensembles,
such as composi?on. In my opinion, composi?on is one of our more valuable tools for encouraging musical and
crea?ve decision making.
Regardless of the types of decisions our students are making, a decision in itself is not enough. Students must
also use musical and crea?ve cri?cal thinking skills to musically jus?fy, evaluate, explain, elaborate, and/or
discuss (read: communicate) their decisions in meaningful ways.
And lastly, technology is a tool. Tools have very li\le to do with twenty-rst century skills. But the results of
using tools can be incredibly relevant to developing twenty-rst century skills.
Although it may seem like educa?on is speeding up and demand is ever increasing, if we want to be be)er
twenty-rst century teachers we need to make 3me for be)er teaching.
Time to get out your calendar and make some room for
even beFer teaching!
I know you are under pressure to prepare for next weeks
concert, and to perform at the spor?ng event on Friday
evening, and to prepare for the fes?val next month.
I know you are saying, I barely have ?me as it is, how can I
possibly give up ?me to lead detailed discussions on musical
interpreta?on, guide composi?on assignments, incorporate
musical technology, facilitate discussions regarding history,
and encourage crea?ve wri?ng? What you are sugges?ng
takes TIME! I dont have Eme to make more Eme!
But we need to make 3me to provide crea3ve and meaningful student-centered ac3vi3es which take full
advantage the twenty-rst century-developing characteris3cs of music.
Here is what I am going to do to make more ?me: present fewer concerts and parEcipate in fewer fesEvals.
Seriously.
If one less concert means you will have ?me to explore the many interpreta?ons and possibili?es of your
concert music, allows for addi?onal ?me to compose and improv, allows for opportuni?es to provide
meaningful twenty-rst century-relevant ac?vi?es, and provides you with the necessary ?me to be a be\er
teacher, you should denitely consider the benets of lessening your load!
Fact: Our students will be be)er musicians and be)er people who are be)er equipped for the twenty-rst
century because of the addi3onal 3me we give ourselves and our students.
Okay, maybe I made that fact up.

But I do believe that I am correct.

I am willing to bet that you did not become a music teacher to see how many concerts you can cram into a
school year.
You probably did not become a music teacher to see how your students measure up to another teachers
students.
And I am also going to guess that you did not become a music teacher to feel obligated to teach music as it is
expected.
Most likely, you became a teacher with the intenEon of delivering your students the best music educaEon
you can provide while also imparEng skills which will make them successful people.
For me, considering the frequency and amount of ?me I see my students, while also understanding the
demands of providing a quality twenty-rst century educa?on my students both need and deserve, it seems
foolish not to schedule one less concert.
If one less concert and fes?val is absolutely not an op?on for you, then consider a\ending fewer spor?ng
events, or selec?ng slightly less challenging music or fewer pieces, or perhaps restructuring your rehearsal, or
all of the above. Then spend the extra ?me to supplement student learning with twenty-rst century strategies
and ac?vi?es.
As teachers in the twenty-rst century, we cannot con?nue to believe that the tradi?onal approach does
enough to foster twenty-rst century skills in our students.
(I worry that methods and philosophies steeped in centuries-old approaches will con3nue making music
educa3on increasingly dicult to jus3fy in a twenty-rst century world.)
We all know that music has incredible poten?al for the twenty-rst century learner, but we need to explore
this poten?al to its fullest.
If we want to be a truly relevant twenty-rst century subject, we need to make Eme to carefully culEvate
new and relevant student-centered approaches.