I'm a singer in a band in my (limited) spare time. Recently, our drummer left and we've got a new chap in. He's fab. He's enthusiastic, friendly, driven - and he's an extremely skilled drummer with years of practice behind him.
He's also got a huge task. We've got a back catalogue of 11 original songs plus three covers - and we've written 10 songs for a new album. With a total of 24 songs to learn, he's got his work cut out for him.
And he's doing great. He's got 9 down already, since the middle of September.
While we were rehearsing on Thursday, I reflected that Drummer Boy (henceforth DB) and his situation are not terribly dissimilar to my Y10s.
Hang with me for a minute.
My Y10s are enthusiastic, friendly, and driven. They are skilled readers and analysers with years of practice with challenging texts. Like DB, they have the skills.
What they both lack is the knowledge of the new material and the ability to consistently apply their skills to that material. For DB, that would be our songs. For my Y10s, it would be the poems in the Conflict cluster.
So, I had a think about how we structure rehearsals so that DB can learn our new songs.
1) He listens to a track repeatedly for a week in advance and drums along with it at home.
2) We listen to it again at the start of rehearsal. He drums along with his hands on his seat.
3) We visually display a breakdown of how the song is organised. Ha, 'visually display' sounds so professional. We write in Sharpie on an A2 piece of paper and use blu-tak to stick it to the wall near his kit. (A simple song looks something like "Intro riff x4, verse riff x2, verse w/vox x4, bridge x2, chorus x4, crazy riff x2, verse w/vox x4, bridge x2, chorus x4, solo x8 - guitar x4, keys x4, crazy riff x2, off-time weirdness x3, chorus x4, key change chorus x2, outro.)
4) We play through the song once.
5) We talk through the bits that went well and put a star next to the bits that didn't go so well.
6) We go back to the original track and listen to the parts where it went a bit wrong.
7) We start with the first section that went wrong, and we JUST play through that section. We talk through how it goes, play it, talk it, play it - until it's right. Then we move on to the next section.
8) Once each section is ironed out, we play through the song at least three more times. After the first time, we take the structure off of the wall so that he plays the song from memory.
9) We then put the song into its place in the set and play through the set - all the songs he's learned before plus the new one.
10) We decide on a track to focus on for the next week. We say what's gone well and what might need a bit more work. I make a note of it and put it on our Facebook group so that we all know areas we need to look at.
So, as my Y10s face their first rehearsal exam, I've considered how I can apply this sort of approach to our lessons next week. It's been effective for DB (and we only have about 2 hours a week to rehearse - I'll have 2.5 hours with my Y10s before their rehearsal).
1) Listening to a track repeatedly at home. Pupils have read the poems and annotated them for homework (with guidance ahead of time in class).
2) We listen to it again at the start of rehearsal. In the classroom, we review key content, language and structure at the start of lesson.
3) Visually display a breakdown of how the song is organised. Display suggested essay plans on board.
4) Play through the song once. Pupils write a paragraph of analysis.
5) Talk through the bits that went well and put a star next to the bits that didn't go so well. Pupils peer assess the paragraph against a checklist.
6) Go back to the original track and listen to the parts where it went a bit wrong. Pupils look at a colour-coded WAGOLL and colour-code / self assess their own work.
7) We start with the first section that went wrong, and we JUST play through that section. We talk through how it goes, play it, talk it, play it - until it's right. Then we move on to the next section. Pupils choose one skill to focus on and write a paragraph, practising orally before writing. They peer assess. If they get it right, they move on to the next skill. If not, they practise that one again.
8) Once each section is ironed out, we play through the song at least three more times. After the first time, we take the structure off of the wall so that he plays the song from memory. Pupils write a full essay, focusing on incorporating the skills they've been working on, with the scaffolding taken away. They annotate and show where they've improved. (I'm not going to make them write it three times. There's a limit to this analogy.)
9) We then put the song into its place in the set and play through the set - all the songs he's learned before plus the new one. This would be akin to writing it in the time limit within a full exam, which we don't have time for in a single lesson (50 minutes) - but it would be great practice if we could!
10) We decide on a track to focus on for the next week. We say what's gone well and what might need a bit more work. I make a note of it and put it on our Facebook group so that we all know areas we need to look at. Pupils record a key skill / aspect they still need to develop and practise it for homework before the rehearsal exam.
Hopefully the approaches we've taken with DB will help Y10 rapidly gain the ability to apply their skills more effectively to the new material. I shall update when they've sat their rehearsals!
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