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CHORTEACH
Community, Cooperation, and Collaboration through Orff Schulwerk in Middle School Ensembles

ARTICLE

op respectful social norms such as ensuring full group much in the same way that they would address their
inclusion and valuing compromise without pausing peers—neutrally and thoughtfully, focusing on the val-
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musical activity to make time for a non-musical team ue of the content and not the creator. 32
builder.
Sharing critical feedback in neutral and receptive
ways will be key in establishing group work norms. More Ideas for Application
A solid approach comes from Frazee, who asks that As you wade into the world of embracing collabo-
students and educators target the material and not the ration and student-led creative work in the ensemble,
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student when verbalizing constructive comments. By tune your own internal critic to focus on the value of
helping students learn to address the content of a per- the content delivered and lessons learned rather than
formance, composition, idea, etc., we reinforce two key expecting yourself to be a perfect collaborative lesson
analytical and reflective skills in addition to keeping creator right away. Give yourself the time and grace to
things civil in the classroom: experiment, edit, and grow in the application of these
ideas, just as you will for your students.
1) Students learn to listen/watch content rather than Allow for messiness and growth on the part of you
person. and your students; grow comfortable with the uncer-
tainty of creativity by working with these activities in
In a social media-driven world, the word “content” small ways on a regular basis. These activities need not
has, in many ways, come to mean watching, judging, always generate longform compositions to carry great
and assessing a “content creator” rather than assessing creative meaning. We can use Krueger’s approach to
their creation. The challenge will be clear and over- careful score study and Orff Schulwerk-inspired play to
coming it will be vital. Work immediately to help your embed simple and attainable creative student collabo-
students practice watching and listening to the musi- ration into the rehearsal space.
cal and creative items contained within the activity be-
ing addressed and word feedback appropriately, rather 1) Sing: Enlist student groups to develop and refine pen-
than ascribing value words to the person. Even as you es- tatonic scale canons to add into the warmup routine.
tablish positive and productive routines where students Repeat the activity as student skill develops over the
learn to consistently target critiques at content rather course of the year to add fresh, student developed ma-
than creator, students will need to be reassured that it is terial and keep warmups engaging and purposeful.
not personal, and that they are all vital contributors to
the collaborative process. 2) Say: Enlist student groups to develop and refine
word-based rhythmic ostinatos that thematically and
2) Students can then be directed to think more neu- musically relate to concert repertoire.
trally and productively about their own work utilizing
the same approach: focus critiques on the content, not 3) Dance/Move: Enlist student groups to develop and re-
the creator. fine physical gesture that they believe best represents
desired musicality in a segment of the repertoire. Iden-
Performance anxiety’s grip on adolescent musicians tify the most effective gestures with the help of the en-
extends far beyond the wings of the stage. Sharing with semble and utilize them in your conducting gesture for
important others (such as peers) can create a sense of the piece from then on.
importance around performative sharing that may in-
crease anxiety levels. Working early and diligently to 4) Play: Transfer the ostinatos from the “say” activity
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establish productive feedback routines will help with to percussion or instrumentation and add to your per-
these anxieties. We are often our own worst critic. Help formance of the piece as accompaniment or present
students learn to reflect and revise their personal work alongside the piece as a programmatic pairing.

74 CHORAL JOURNAL November/December 2024 Volume 65 Number 4