Class orchestra

Ensemble music

by ANDREA PATASSINI
    School sections
    • Lower secondary school
    Educational subjects
    • Instrumental practice
    • Aural skills (Ear training)

Class orchestra

The school must have the objective not only to transmit competences, but also to lead students to acquire and develop a healthy critical sensibility as a keystone to pass from a passive attitude towards the surrounding environment (television, games on the computer,...) to an active attitude. This is the only way to become actors, protagonists, capable of leaving a mark on things with consciousness and competence.

The main objective was not only to make music strictly speaking through personal and collective experiences, but also to accept and help others achieve a high level of attention, concentration.

Every time we met, the students were the main protagonists because, by making music, they managed to express themselves and communicate to others and with others. Those who were in difficulty were helped to feel part of the group, which led the participants to feel gratified and satisfied in making music and accepting others.

Work tools

The pieces used were drawn from a vast repertoire: classical music, original pieces for bands, pop music, folk music, traditional music.

Since the laboratory was conducted in a traditional lower secondary school, all the arrangements were tailored to the group and adapted on the basis of the students’ instrumental availability.

Educational purposes

The skills, goals and training objectives selected by the teacher for this experience are shown below.

Competences
    Listening
    • Sound perception
    • Interpretation
    • Comprehension
    Production
    • Execution
    Reading and Writing
    • Use of conventional analogic music notation
GOALS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCES [...]
    Lower secondary school
    Listening
    • Understands and evaluates events, materials, and musical works recognising their meanings, also in relation to his/her own musical experience and the different historical/sociological context.
    Production
    • Actively participating in music experiences through the execution and the interpretation of vocal and instrumental music pieces belonging to different genres and cultures.
    • Capacity to conceive and create music and multimedia messages, also though improvisation or collective elaboration processes, using also IT tools, in critical confrontation with models belonging to the musical heritage
    Reading and Writing
    • Using different notation systems functional to reading, analysis and reproduction of pieces of music
Educational targets

The attempt was to meet an implicit request of the society, that is to increase and stimulate the students’ aggregation and forming of associations, even with the parents’ collaboration, during after-school hours. The objectives pursued were are follows:
- to open up to new horizons for personal communication and expression;
- to activate and develop basic abilities: attention, concentration, perception, memorization;
- to become familiar with a musical instrument or the instrument of the voice in a pertinent and in-depth way;
- to learn how to play, sing, cooperate and grow together making music;
- to prevent situations of unease and marginalization of disadvantaged subjects;
- to enhance the patrimony of ideas and experiences (if present) within the students reality;
- to provide new and different opportunities for managing free time.

Community

Commenti inseriti
Slide "Class orchestra"
Presentazione della buona pratica Download