The VPA Dept. has been discussing some observations we have in regards to how students critique art in their VPA classes…
In general, here’s what we see: when students are asked to give “positive praise” we often hear comments like, “good job,” “I like your song,” or “it makes me think of…” Essentially, nice words but nothing that provides the artist with true feedback on their artistic process and/or final piece.
So, to help our students provide more specific ways to offer praise, in both Digital Photography and Interactive Music Studio classes, we tried giving students a few note cards with artistic vocabulary terms (including the definition) and encouraged students to use them when sharing aloud in class. This was helpful and in general, we found the quality of what students offered improved.
However, we continued to notice that students struggled when giving and taking constructive critique. Students steered clear of offering anything that might be seen as constructive, probably because they fear that their comments will be seen as negative and fear any sort of backlash. So, how do we change this? How do we create an environment where students can offer constructive criticism? What tools do we give them to offer criticism? And then, how do we help students act upon the feedback and suggestions given?
I would love to hear what other teachers do in their classrooms. What works for you?
Category Archives: Critique
Composition, Commercials, Critique
Students in my Interactive Music Studio Class were recently tasked with the project of composing a piece of original commercial music for use in a “2017 Back To School” campaign scenario. I asked them to imagine that a store (such as Target, Kohls, or Walmart) had commissioned them to compose a piece of music that would fit with a visual advertisement. The piece needed to capture the mood of a “Back to School Campaign” and fit within the 20 second time frame.
Within minutes students were actively researching other advertisements, exploring different instrumentation, experimenting with mood, and developing their musical ideas. Initially I was concerned about giving them such a sophisticated (and relatively broad) assignment so early in the semester, but when it came time for the students to share their compositions and reflections with the class, I was pleasantly surprised!
The presentations involved students sharing a bit about how they came to write the piece: what came easy to them, what was more challenging, what they liked about it, and what they wish they could improve upon. While students didn’t necessarily have the proper musical vocabulary to describe their pieces, the essence of what they were saying was accurate and true! As for the compositions themselves, well…when a music teacher is still humming the melody to your ad days later, you may be on to something! The critiques were kind and safe; what I expected given that this was the first time they were playing out their own music for their peers. However, after reading Andrew Kjera’s post about critiques and his success in using Seesaw, I plan to try and incorporate it into my classroom and will encourage students to comment in this digital platform.
Carondelet student, Megan Ju’s commercial composition:
“I envision my music being played in the background of a commercial ad for children going back to school. I imagine a kindergartner walking into their new classroom at school…that the child is talking to all the other children. I can see the kindergarten children playing on a colorful carpet surrounded by toys.
I learned that it is easy to start out with a simple melody and then expand to more sounds from that. For this project, I started out with a guitar melody that repeated for the rest of the song. Then I added the beat and the glockenspiel melody. I discovered that different instruments bring different thoughts to people. For example the glockenspiel brought out a Christmas feel to some of the people who listened to the song. I also realized how fast or slow the beat is changes the feel of the song.”