Pedagogy Special Session
Garrett Michaelsen
First off, I would like to thank Paul for starting this important new
interest group. I unfortunately could not attend the meeting last
month, but am interested in following up on one of the special session
possibilities discussed at the meeting. I would like to get the ball
rolling on the improvisation and pedagogy topic suggested at the
meeting, and would be happy to spearhead our efforts in putting this
together.
To my mind, this session has two main goals: to convince attendees
that improvisation should be included as an essential activity in
music theory curricula, and to provide attendees with as much
practical help as possible so that they, thus convinced, can go about
incorporating improvisation into their teaching. We should consider
how to infuse improvisation into the entire curriculum, including:
written and skills classes; use of keyboard, voice, and other
instruments; improvisation in solo and group contexts; in-class
activities, homework assignments, and larger assessments; improvising
with many parameters such as melody, harmony, rhythm, form, timbre,
tonal and post-tonal (and pre-tonal?) materials. The session should
take the form of an interactive workshop in which we demonstrate or
invite attendees to try out the activities we share. We could even
include a review of available textbooks and articles that attendees
might consult in the future.
If you have done work in this area, or would like to, and are
interested in collaborating on a special session, please let me know.
If you have any ideas about how the session might be structured,
please do share. This session could be an excellent way to proselytize
improvisation to the larger SMT community while providing them with
specific practical advice.
Best,
Garrett Michaelsen
Indiana University