Hello Music Teachers! Today we would like to share some resources around giving student feedback and, more importantly, helping them evaluate themselves.
These methods are classroom-tested and help to remove the barriers that prevent students from being receptive to feedback, while building mutual respect across the classroom.
Earlier in my teaching career, I was fairly careless with the way I gave feedback. This was effective with some students and not as effective with others. Over time, my methods developed and shifted to what I am sharing today. I’ve found this sequence to be incredibly valuable but, as always, your mileage may vary.
Fundamentals as reference
One of my primary tools for giving feedback is a shared set of fundamentals and classroom language. These skills, developed in fundamentals and warm-ups, become the source for all feedback. Instead of saying “good” or “bad,” we address concepts.
Here is a handy menu for students to reference with many of these concepts. When students evaluate themselves, they can refer to this list:
Questions are better than directives
The best change in my personal feedback sequence came when I stopped telling students what they were doing wrong and started asking them what they hear instead.
When I hear something I want to address in a rehearsal, I start by asking the students what they heard and noticed. Sometimes they don’t have an opinion. In that case, I ask them to play/sing again, but to have an opinion this time.
I may also ask a leading question if the students aren’t noticing what I am noticing. I may ask, “What do you think about the balance/tuning/etc.?”
Simply asking the question gives students a moment to think and changes the rehearsal dynamic from “waiting to be told what’s wrong” to “actively listening for things we can improve.” Between these two practices, I find that students are able to identify the problem 90 percent (or more) of the time. If they can’t, I know what fundamentals need to be addressed!
Have students suggest the solution
The best part of most musical problems is that the solution is obvious once the problem is identified. A section playing too loud is solved by that section playing softer (or everyone else playing louder); a wrong note is fixed by playing the right note.
Even though the options are often obvious, it’s valuable to ask the students what they think should be done to fix the problem. This focuses on solution-oriented thinking and helps them start addressing their own problems independently.
What to do if they don’t see what you see?
In the rare instances where students just can’t see or hear what I hear, I will do the following: I will ask them if it’s okay for me to give feedback.
While I might not take this step in every single situation, I find it incredibly helpful, especially for individual feedback. Almost all of the time, the student says yes. If a student says no, this isn’t a good time to give that feedback, and I’ll catch that student at a different time. This is a sign of respect that opens the student up to receive the feedback and shows them we are on the same team.
Process oriented ideas as feedback
Judgment such as “that was good/bad” is not particularly helpful. This type of personal judgment is subjective and gives no real directive. Instead, I focus on feedback with ideas and strategies to make our music more effective.
Judgment: “The dynamics are bad.”
Instead, try process: “What if we tried adding a crescendo here to make this dynamic change more powerful?” or “I’m not hearing a difference in volume between these two sections; what might we do to create contrast?”
Feedback Sequence Outline
This diagram is an abbreviation of this feedback sequence. In real life, it takes practice and nuance. Just remember, the focus is on helping the students develop taste and enhance their artistry, not just to fix a problem. While that takes some extra time to begin with, students start to find and solve their own problems. This is not only a time saver down the road, but central to a habit of lifelong musicianship.
Self-reflection Rubric
One other strategy that can be incredibly powerful is for students to be in the habit of listening to and reflecting on recordings of themselves. This handout is a great way to have students go through this feedback sequence independently.
I’ve found these strategies to be incredibly powerful. If you do too, or have additions or other strategies, please share with us in the comments, and let’s keep making amazing music.