Polly Westcott
Instrumental Music, Grades 4-6
Professional Background:
B.A. Music Education, Johnson State College External Degree Program, 1995
My teaching career began nontraditionally in 1985 when I was hired as an assistant to the Director of Music at Kurn Hattin Homes in Westminster, Vermont. Ten years later, I had earned my degree and took a position teaching choral, general, and instrumental music at Keene Middle School. I began teaching the instrumental programs at Chester-Andover and Cavendish Town Elementary Schools in August, 1997.
Philosophy:
Playing an instrument is multitasking at its finest, involving a wide variety of fine motor skills, decoding, decision making, problem solving, expression, and a finely tuned sense of timing. Notation is essentially a second language since a single symbol conveys which note to play as well as how long to play it. Additional symbols, read simultaneously, communicate how loud, specific articulation, and whether or not to alter a note’s pitch within a key signature.
An even broader aspect implies phrasing, tempo, and other general instructions. To perform in a group, instrumental musicians read music while watching a conductor and listening across the ensemble.
Aural skills are vital to playing in a group as all members must develop the ability to hear not only themselves, but be able to listen across several layers of sound occurring simultaneously. This demands an extremely high degree of accuracy. A band playing at 90 percent accuracy, renders the music nearly incomprehensible. Band students also learn that silence is as important as sound. This extends beyond the obvious observance of rests to being aware of the minute silences between the notes themselves.
Playing an instrument is much more than a creative outlet and a chance to perform before an audience. It requires teamwork, contributing to socialization skills, builds self-confidence, and enlarges a student’s exposure to other students in the school. Studies have indicated that music enhances other learning while standing as an educational experience in and of itself.
For these, and many other reasons, my basic philosophy is simple: any student who desires to learn to play a musical instrument should be given the opportunity.
Curriculum Outline:
Students at CAES and CTES may begin playing an instrument in fourth grade. Most students are paired up with another student playing the same instrument at approximately the same level of musical development.
The “text” for both programs is Standard of Excellence, a standards-based band method that builds a student’s skills sequentially. Students progress through this series of three books at their own pace. This practice keeps the level of competition between students minimal and allows for the individualized attention all beginning musicians need.
Ordinarily, students are invited into band once they can read and play eighth notes. In Chester, band meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:51-2:30 p.m. We present two concerts a year and three parades. At Cavendish, band meets Thursdays after school as soon as enough muisicians have developed the skills necessary to hold their own in a group. They perform two concerts annually and occasionally entertain at the community luncheon.
Helpful Information:
Current notices of Band Notes keep parents updated as to the activities of the programs in both schools. Copies of notices are given to directly to students. In Chester, extra copies are placed in an envelope hanging on the music room door. These notices are also posted on the website under “classroom pages.”
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