Each Monday evening at 8PM EST, music teachers get together and share ideas about important topics within music education. It’s a great chance to interact directly with educators from all over the world and to get new tips and tricks to help you succeed in the classroom. The entire #musedchat discussion is organized and moderated by Joe Guarr.
#musedchat I'm Sandra in San Antonio, and my dream halftime show would be one that is mostly boring, to give us all a chance to get up, stretch, take a potty break, refill our plates/glasses w/o missing a thing!
Hi Kelsey, welcome. I think the Minnesota super bowl last year (?) featured the UofMinnesota marching band quite a bit. Hope that catches on #musedchat
Q1: What makes an outstanding SSB performance in your opinion? Do you consider yourself a traditionalist, or are you open to creative interpretations? #musedchat
Q1: What makes an outstanding SSB performance in your opinion? Do you consider yourself a traditionalist, or are you open to creative interpretations? #musedchat
A1: I think overall just good technique and trying to enhance the song not yourself. It's not about you in this moment! Then again, Whitney's is one of my favs so I'm fairly traditional. Loved Gladys! #musedchat
A1: Not a huge fan of excessive embellishment, but I do enjoy some fresh harmonies. I really enjoyed John Williams' arrangement.
https://t.co/Jl5LTS7qXY#musedchat
A1: I am a fan of tuneful, evocative singing. When I teach the song, I teach the roots (to Anacreon/battle of Ft. McHenry), as well as stylized renditions. So long as it's in tune and is sung intelligently & emotionally, I'm down! #musedchat
A2: My favorite one to teach is by a group called Mix'd Co (and now Google has NO idea who I'm talking about!! They must have disbanded.) They arranged it in 4/4, sang it a capella, and included beat boxing. It really keeps the kids' attention. #musedchat
A2.2: I don't have a particular favorite just for the sake of listening. It seems a bit odd to have a favorite of song "owned" by so many people. #musedchat
Q3: How old were you when you learned about the other verses to the Star Spangled Banner? How would you approach analyzing them in a classroom setting? #musedchathttps://t.co/l6g9fd1uBI
A3: I learned about the other verses last year! It would be a great vocabulary lesson for students, the first verse alone has a lot of unfamiliar words. I want my students to know what they're singing if they're performing for others. #musedchat
Q3: How old were you when you learned about the other verses to the Star Spangled Banner? How would you approach analyzing them in a classroom setting? #musedchathttps://t.co/l6g9fd1uBI
A3: Didn't know about the other verses until I was out of college. I don't teach them or analyze them in my setting. We do a big unit in 4th grade and understanding the language and singing well is enough. #musedchat
A3: I think it was 5th grade, when social studies was dedicated to US history that year. We didn’t really sing them, but talked about the significance. I’d use a similar approach now, and address how events affect music: political, protest, folk songs. #musedchat
A3: I was in middle school when I heard the other verses. In elementary, I focus a lot on only the first verse because of the language of the day and they don't know much beyond the opening line. #musedchat
A3: While I'm sure I knew there were more verses, I never really looked at them until I started teaching them - which is also precisely when I STOPPED teaching them. Now, I mention that more verses exist, but we don't spend another iota of time on them. #OldWounds#musedchat
A3 I think it may have been in high school or later...some of the language in the verses might seem vague to modern students, not sure how I'd approach it with them #musedchat
A3 : In all seriousness I was today years old when I found out about other verses. I’ve only ever played the verses that are commonly sung, I had no idea! #sp19edfb4338#MusEdChat
Wonder if any artist would consider performing that 3rd verse as a political statement, sort of like how Childish Gambino took on minstrelsy, etc in This Is America #musedchat
In general, I tend to be a fan of anthem performances that reflect the musical heritage of the performers and their cities, like Dr. John/Aaron Neville/Aretha Franklin https://t.co/AnJgJWVkuH#musedchat
Question for #musedchat since you’re discussing it tonight... what do you do for Ss who can’t learn the SSB bc of their religious beliefs? What’s your justification for continuing to teach it?
We've had a couple JWs in our marching band. They respectfully stand at attention when we perform it during pregame.
Teaching/performing it remains an expectation in the world of athletic bands. #musedchat
I still teach it as part of an American education. However if they cannot stay in the room while we're teaching it, I try to have a vocabulary sheet of the words I'd be explaining to the S's still in the room. #musedchat
allow those children who choose to not sing it to skip those questions on the test. Generally, they are willing to accept that as a compromise. #musedchat
And as for learning about in a classroom setting...there are hundreds of high quality performances for us to analyze the musical elements of, for us to compare/contrast. Often those students are free to learn about it the history and musical elements, but not perform #musedchat
As a string teacher of many JW students I wrestle a lot with the “why am I really teaching this” question. Good answer! I don’t ever have the “athletics” reason. #musedchat
A1- I'm pretty open to creative interpretation, as long as it is tastefully done... and intonation is good. Honestly I was pleased with this years SB SSB, which I typically am not. #musedchat#sp19edfb4338
