Today we looked at the figure notes system of reading music. Julie explained that the system was developed in Finland as an educational tool that creates a more inclusive way of learning to play an instrument. A combination of symbols and colours are used to identify individual notes. Using this simple yet effective system, we each learnt to play Twinkle Twinkle, Frere Jacques and Jingle Bells on the glockenspiel. This enabled me to see how easy this system is, and how it opens up the world of music to everybody. This is a very effective way of boosting an individual’s confidence in music, and the system is designed to make progression to traditional notation easy.
Using our short experience with the figure notes system, Julie then explained how to use a pentatonic scale. By using only five notes, CDEGA, and taking away, quite literally, the F and B notes, we had to improvise a 16-bar section of the song “Hit the Road Jack”. This was quite daunting at first, however once we got into it, it sounded quite good and wasn’t anywhere near as bad as anticipated. This is an effective way to increase learners confidence, as you are taking away any possibility of making a mistake, increasing the likelihood of participation. This shows learners that there is no right or wrong answer or combination of notes, there are infact a mutitude of possible solutions, which Eisner (2002) states is an important lesson we can learn through the arts.
The visual arts input had us begin by creating our own paint brushes to use later in the class. We had a variety of materials to choose from, from an assortment of colours and thickness of wool, string, cotton and polyester fibre stuffing, to feathers, foam shapes, paper and wooden sticks. This in itself was an enjoyable activity that really got our imaginations going, and is something I will definitely be using in the classroom. It served to ensure from the start, that there was no expectation to produce “perfection” in our artwork, but rather emphasised the individuality and uniqueness in our work, with the focus on the process.
The second part of this input was to paint a picture. The method Diarmuid used of ‘reading’ the painting to us, definitely developed my tolerance for ambiguity. Far from just a painting lesson, this was a lesson that required good listening skills, imagination, confidence and a willingness to just give it a go, some skills and abilities that us adults can often lack. This gave us a chance to experience what a primary school pupil may feel when asked to replicate a specific image that they do not possess the skills for. This willingness to have a go, to risk being wrong, is an important attribute in this modern, ideas-driven society, and it is an attribute that is being dismissed and transformed into fear of making mistakes, by our current education system and the hierarchy of subjects putting arts at the bottom (Robinson, 2006).
Both of this week’s inputs can be related development of a number of the TALLIS Habits (Tallis Pedagogy Wheel Guide, 2017). They developed my ability to be persistent, to stick with difficulty, tolerate uncertainty and take risks. My imaginative and inquisitive skills were extended, through experimentation with materials and ideas to create my paintbrush, playing with possibilities for the different notes for the improvisation, challenging my own assumptions on what makes a good painting and the notion that there is not one single way to create a painting. I also learnt to be disciplined in my artwork, through refining and developing my painting and finally reflecting critically on my progress in the module so far, in this week’s inputs and the processes involved.
REFERENCES
Eisner, E. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind. London: Yale University Press.
Robinson, K. (2006) Do Schools Kill Creativity? 19.24 mins. [Online] Available: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity [Accessed: 21 September 2017].
Tallis Pedagogy Wheel Guide. (2017) [Online] Available: http://www.thomastallisschool.com/tallis-pedagogy-wheel-guide.html [Accessed: 12 September 2017].
