Knowledge

1. ■The teacher understands criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of performances, compositions, arrangements, improvisations, and teaching materials.
   

Performance

1. ■The teacher facilitates student self-evaluation of music and musical performances.
   

2. ■The teacher demonstrates techniques for evaluating music and musical performances.
   

Reflection/Elaboration on Standard

    Beyond the idea of listening and analyzing music, teachers should also be able to adequately evaluate music.  This requires the teacher to first understand the criteria for an effective performance of the music.  With the correct background knowledge acquired from the aural skills of listening and analyzing, the teacher will be able to formulate rubrics of expectations for evaluating effective performances.  This can be applied to their own students’ playing as well as when choosing recordings for the students to listen to and evaluate.  The teacher should not only be able to evaluate the accuracy and musicality of a performance but should also be able to decide on the quality of a composition or arrangement when considering it’s use for the musical classroom. 

    As a teacher in rehearsals, it is important that the teacher can evaluate on the spot and be able to use this evaluation to guide students.  Beyond their own abilities to evaluate, teachers should also use guided teaching to direct student evaluation while they are rehearsing.  This could include asking the students questions such as “How were the dynamics in this section?” or “Was the correct articulation used in measure 43?”.  This will help the students to learn how to listen for certain aspects of an effective performance.  Teachers should also expect students to evaluate performances.  This could be done through rubrics or discussion while listening to recordings of their concerts.

    As a performer, I have been adamant to listen to a recording afterwards and evaluate how I feel that the performance has gone.  I also have developed my understanding of quality compositions and arrangements through conducting classes where we would learn what makes a piece effective for the educational classroom and the criteria it should meet.

Artifacts

    My first example of evaluation of music and performance is a sample high school band curriculum that I wrote.  In this curriculum, I have put together what I believe to be an effective plan for a year of band, including goals and objectives for the ensemble, repertoire, and assessments.  This curriculum contains music that I feel is quality literature for performance as well as education, so that the students have a valuable experience throughout the year.  My curriculum also includes my rationale for each decision made as far as literature itself and the concert groupings.  Through this project, I was able to showcase my abilities to choose quality repertoire by evaluating how beneficial each piece would be for the students and being sure that there is a balance of difficulty, culture, historical background, and other important aspects.

    Through working on this project, I was able to examine some literature and really critically analyze what would be a good fit for the ensemble.  In teaching, I would hope that I spend a good portion of time before the year begins considering these same aspects.  This way, the basic curriculum will be set and the students will be guaranteed a well-rounded and beneficial musical experience.

    My second example of an ability to evaluate musical performances is through my duties as a student staff member for the Kansas State Marching Band.  I served on student staff for the 2013 marching season and had many obligations.  Student Staff is considered a step below the graduate assistants - they help with field set up and tear down, equipment management, and all the teaching aspects that go along with marching band, including drill and music.  While on staff, I spent time helping to run music rehearsals with sectionals as well as critiquing music quality on the field on a daily basis.  The expectation is to act as an assistant to the directors - something that is very important with a 400-piece ensemble.

    Student staff has been a learning opportunity in all aspects of being an educator.  In the way of music performance evaluation, I feel like this is one of the most realistic opportunities I can have.  There really isn’t much preparation that goes into this; we play most of it by ear.  Therefore, my evaluation has to be immediate, and I have to be quick on my feet to think of things to improve and give quick feedback.  It is also realistic because the ensemble is not all music majors, so I have to be able to think on a level slightly below the collegiate/professional one that I am used to when giving feedback.  This experience on a regular basis has helped me to grow in my evaluation techniques.