This arrangement is by far one of my favorite arrangements we have done all semester in Practicum. Although we did this specific one not too long ago and haven’t even done a reflection about it, I’ll talk about it a little more on here instead. First off, take a look at the videos.

(P.S. My apologies for splitting up both videos. I couldn’t download them on here any other way and I made it a goal to have this specific arrangement posted!)

*Due to the safety and privacy of previous students, all photographs and video recordings have been graciously taken down as of August 4th, 2015. Please contact the creator personally to grant access if desired to view independently.*

Title of Videos:

Chamber Ensemble 1

Chamber Ensemble 2

To begin with, some explanation would be well needed! At the beginning of this arrangement lesson, we were divided into groups and were given the option to choose any one picture. We were then asked to “make music” to the picture we had chosen (by telling a story, etc.) My fellow classmates, Danielle Hughes, Courtney Kuhn, and I had decided that we had the perfect instruments to tell a story of a certain picture! We were then given approximately 45 minutes to develop an arrangement. Take a look at our Chamber Group Lesson Plan and Dog Picture.

The second portion of the lesson (which is not videotaped), had the same set up but differed in one simple aspect: instead of “making music” based off of a picture, we had to come up with an arrangement based off of what we felt in a bag.

To make my reflection semi-brief, this was by far my favorite lesson from the entire semester! It is such a great way to focus in on the 5 senses while also involving music composition. Each individual group had such a different take on each picture and object (from the second half of the lesson) that it was a very eye-opening experience that showed the endless possibilities to creating such unique lessons for students of all ages. It’s amazing to see what anyone can come up with in just a small time period of 45 minutes. I wonder what could happen in the span of a full year general music curriculum!!!