This week with Mr. Weil’s 6th graders, I was able to teach a new piece of music entitled Oh Come All Ye Faithful, in preparation for their upcoming holiday concert this December.

Weil 6th grade 9-11

Since they had just received the music right before class, I was able to teach the “3 to-do’s” when you receive a new piece of music: always look at the 1. key signature 2. time signature and 3. accidentals throughout the piece. As soon as we covered that, we ran the piece and stopped at every number to make sure we were all together. Once we succeeded in playing through the entire piece, we then went back to the beginning and repeated the process once more since they were starting to grasp the concept/sound of the piece. As we approached m. 25 (where the key change occurs), this was when I had the opportunity to teach them about what a “key change” is. “What looks different here at m. 25 that we have yet to see before?” Many of the students picked up the concept fairly quickly, but were struggling with the correct label for it. This gave me the chance to explain to them how a key change is different than a simple accidental they are used to seeing. Check out my video to determine for yourself if you think they grasped it well. I sure think so!

*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 Video: Student Teaching w/ Weil 6th grade (9/11)