The Flipped Music Classroom: How to "Handel" It

I began this school year with the flipped orchestra classroom in mind. I realized immediately that even more detailed planning is needed on my part to make sure the objective is clear to our students. First, the students need an understanding of the difference between rehearsal and practice. Rehearsal is that which takes place as a group; practice is the activity done by the individual, whether at home or at school. I sought to flip because I wanted to become more involved in the practice, the individual struggles and successes. Our first “flip” occurred when the students received 20 minutes each Tuesday to practice individually or in small groups while I walked around observing, assessing, and assisting only where it seemed needed (i.e. they fail to correct repeated mistakes). Following this guided practice, students then break into chamber groups where they can continue working on the classroom music, or they can work on student-chosen chamber music by some of the great composers.

Taking the flipped classroom even further, quite by accident I've had a group of students begin forming their own 15-piece chamber group during our 20 minute tutorial period. Right now, they are just enjoying running through tunes. While still in a nascent stage, the next step is that they lead themselves in selecting music, rehearsing, and making group decisions on what and when to stop and fix. Eventually, they could even switch instruments and teach each other’s instruments.

The model of a flipped classroom that I've always known includes teacher-created videos for the students to study at home. The closest comparison that I have witnessed is teachers and several university professors recording excerpts for the students so that the student may see a professional performing at a high level with the option to play along with that master. Taking this to the next level, a technology company called SmartMusic allows students to record and be assessed by the computer. While really great, my hesitancy here is that the students may become reliant on their eyes and not their ears to fix their mistakes. I guard against the video game mentality, regardless of how motivating it can be. Take Guitar Hero…I’ve found trained musicians find it less intuitive because music involves so many more parts of the brain than just lining up symbols and buttons.

YouTube videos, professional recordings, and now even companion DVDs to our method books are valuable resources that I encourage students to utilize. An especially useful YouTube channel comes from violinist, Todd Ehle, who has created 60 quick videos on numerous concepts of string playing, from the basics of posture to the finesse of advanced both strokes. We learn language best by imitating, and these resources are especially beneficial in the formative years as students are mimicking how to create beautiful phrasing lines and sounds. In the long run, I would hope that they form their own performance opinions and move away from just imitating the ideas of others.

The flipped classroom is an investment well worth the time and risk. Our ultimate goal should be that our students develop such a passion for learning ours or any subject that they are able to continue learning well past their days within our four walls. I am hopeful that we will continue developing a safe culture that allows us to take these risks. When we succeed, the student becomes the master.