Kimberly Stromberg

July 10, 2014

Reflection Paper
MUSE 582
Dr. Liu
I really enjoyed learning about all three methods in this class. All three methods are
valuable with great concepts that help teach students about music organically so that it stays fun
and rewarding as it gets more complex. I plan to incorporate much of what I have learned in this
class into my teaching.
All of the methods start class with singing. This is something I already do as a choir
director, however I will incorporate more learning and thinking into these warm ups. Currently,
the warm ups are designed to remind the students to support their sound, increase blood flow to
the vocal cords, stretch the vocal cords, and relax the body. Although some of the warm ups are
designed to make the students think, even more of them can challenge the students intellectually
while also accomplishing my primary goals.
The most appealing aspect of Dalcroze is the main idea of movement through music. I
had so much fun doing the activities as an adult that I hope to recreate that kind of situation for
my students. I will use the critical listening activities in which the students have to adjust their
movements to match the sounds they hear in the music. It will be a great exercise when we study
the Hallelujah Chorus for the Holiday Concert. I also plan to incorporate the concepts of
music theory harmonic function through movement games. The activities that create a sense of
community will also be very important as I am starting a new job and stepping into an already
established community. I would like to adapt one of the circle focus games to include the
Kodaly hand signs and have students sing the notes of harmony ( do mi sol mi do), then change
the harmony when I say so and also sing internally when I say so. I will definitely use the
augmentation and diminution of melodies in canon form for warm ups to teach about meter.

Kimberly Stromberg
July 10, 2014
Reflection Paper
MUSE 582
Dr. Liu
I dont plan to incorporate nearly as many Orff concepts or activities into my choral
classroom. I like the idea of incorporating some dancing to folk songs from outside the students
culture. It would be a good way to introduce the melody of a song we are going to study. It will
also be a great activity to do after concerts when the students expect something new, and they
will be learning without even knowing it.
I already use the Kodaly hand signs and solfege a lot in my teaching. I will continue to
do so while also incorporating even more activities. I will be using the Pizza Pizza song as a
get to know you game near the beginning of the year. It gets them started on improvisation,
movement on the beat, and learning everyones name. The Tue, Tue song is great for warm
ups. I will encourage my students to give suggestions as to how we can try it in different ways. I
really liked the concept of drawing an actual ladder of the sounds you will use for a specific song
or scale. That visual concept will be really helpful to my students who dont understand the
relationships of the notes quite yet. Hey, Ho, Nobody Home is a warm up I will use to teach
my female students about using their chest voice. The words and key placement lend itself to
using a very healthy low sound which many female students hesitate to use. My advanced
students will get to sing one line while clapping the rhythm of another. I think this is a great way
to get my students to look vertically in their music. Lastly, I will use the Circle Walk
improvisation game. This is another great activity to get students to stay musically engaged
during times in the year when they are mentally done such as right after a concert, or right
before a break from school. It is so much fun they dont even realize they are still learning.