Improvisation Based on Audience Requests: Pedagogical Possibilities of the Application “Sanka Play” for Performer and Audience Interaction in Elementary School Music Classes

In 2017, I developed a computer application entitled “Sanka Play,” which enables audience members to participate in improvisational performances by making real-time requests to performers. In most cases of free improvisation, the audience atmosphere influences performers. While audience–performer interaction is generally nonverbal, Sanka Play allows timeous written verbal interaction. This study determines the positive pedagogical possibilities of using Sanka Play for elementary school music classes. It was expected that using Sanka Play for group improvisation activities in music classes would encourage various styles of expression among the students. Sanka Play was used in two fifth grade (age 10–11 years) music classes in a Japanese elementary school. Observation of class videos revealed that the application induced students to use various modes of expression, such as music, dance, theatrical acting, and even karate. Furthermore, various requests the students made not only improved performance in general but also helped highlight particular strengths in each student’s performing ability. The observations reveal Sanka Play’s pedagogical usefulness and several factors that teachers should consider when using the application. This research illustrates the possibilities of employing a new teaching approach to encourage students to creatively use their inherent expressive abilities.

Student perceptions of the classroom environment, student characteristics, and motivation for music lessons at secondary school

The literature suggests that there is often no alignment between student preferences and what and how it is taught in the music classroom. A total of 749 Cypriot secondary school students, aged 12 to 14 years, responded to a survey addressing enjoyment of music, motivation for school music lessons, and perceptions of the music classroom environment. The survey included a questionnaire with six subscales: Involvement, Affiliation, Teacher Support, Task Orientation, Order and Organization, and Rule Clarity. High ratings for Affiliation, Teacher Support, and Rule Clarity suggest that, overall, students’ perceptions of the classroom environment were positive. They were not uniform, but varied on the basis of student characteristics. Girls rated Rule Clarity higher than boys. Younger students tended to rate Task Orientation, Order and Organization, and Rule Clarity higher than older students. Higher-achieving students tended to rate Affiliation and Teacher Support higher. Older boys rated Involvement lower than younger boys, whereas older girls rated Involvement higher than younger girls. It can be inferred that boys experienced a gradual increase in perceived Affiliation as their achievement improved, although the pattern was less consistent for girls. Girls tended to report higher motivation for school music lessons than boys. Motivation was enhanced by classroom environments in which students experienced higher levels of enjoyment of music, engagement, and support from teachers. The findings show that the music classroom environment should be characterized by student engagement, clarity of rules, good organization, clear goals, teacher support, and affiliation between classmates.

Tapaustutkimus seitsemäsluokkalaisten musiikin oppitunneilla tekemien lyhytelokuvien audiovisuaalisista kerronnan keinoista monilukutaidon näkökulmasta

Nuorten elämään liittyy vahvasti audiovisuaalinen media eri muodoissa. Omien teosten tekeminen ja niiden jakaminen ovat helpottuneet digitalisaation ja sosiaalisen median myötä, mutta millaisia audiovisuaalisen kerronnan keinoja nykypäivän yläkoululaisilla on käytössään? Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteissa monilukutaito määritellään eri muodoissa olevien viestien tuottamisen, tulkitsemisen ja kriittisen arvioinnin taidoksi.Tässä artikkelissa tarkastelemme, millaisia audiovisuaalisia kerronnan keinoja seitsemäsluokkalaiset käyttävät koulun musiikin tunneilla tehdyissä lyhytelokuvissa, ja pohdimme, miten lyhytelokuvien tekeminen voidaan nähdä osana monilukutaidon tukemista. Yleisesti ottaen oppilailla on kykyjä käyttää erilaisia kerronnan keinoja, joskin oppilaiden itse tekemistä lyhytelokuvista osa sisältää paljon erilaisia audiovisuaalisen kerronnan keinoja, kun taas osassa keinovalikoima on suppea kaikilla kerronnan osa-alueilla.Monilukutaidon pedagogiikan mukaan monilukutaidon prosessissa edetään omien kokemusten jakamisen, teoretisoinnin ja ohjauksen kautta kohti uusintavaa käytäntöä. Omien kokemusten ja merkitysten jakaminen yhteisöllisesti ja toisaalta niiden asettaminen laajempaan viitekehykseen mahdollistavat sen, että oppilaat voivat kukin kehittyä omista lähtökohdistaan. Lyhytelokuvien tekemisen ja audiovisuaalisten kerronnan keinojen erittelemisen kautta voidaan tarjota oppilaille tilaisuus kehittyä audiovisuaalisen kerronnan keinojen käyttämisessä, ymmärtämisessä ja niiden kriittisessä arvioinnissa.Avainsanat: monilukutaito, audiovisuaalinen viestintä, peruskoulu, musiikkikasvatus, mediakasvatus, elokuvakasvatusCase study on audiovisual storytelling of 7th grade students’ short films made during music lessonsDigitalization and social media have increased and made it easier to make and share one’s own audiovisual products, but what exactly do we know about young people’s audiovisual storytelling? In the Finnish National Core Curriculum, multiliteracy is defined as an ability to produce, interpret, and critically evaluate texts in various forms.The purpose of this article is to explore what modes and forms of audiovisual storytelling the 7th graders use in their self-made digital short films and how the making of short movies can be seen as a way of promoting students’ multiliteracies. The students have the capacity for audiovisual storytelling although storytelling varies a lot between self-made short films. Some of them include various forms of storytelling while the storytelling is limited in others.According to the pedagogy of multiliteracies, learning is a process in which learners proceed from experience to conceptualization, analysis, and to finally applying new practices. Students proceed from their own standpoints while they share their own experiences in collaborative making processes and learn to analyze and conceptualize their works. By making short films and conceptualizing audiovisual storytelling students can be promoted in multiliteracies.Keywords: multiliteracies, audiovisual storytelling, comprehensive school, secondary school, music education, media education, film education

An investigation of some factors relating to the instrumental music at the Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College

This investigation is concerned with the scheme of music in operation at The Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College. Inquiries were made from all the pupils of this college in May 1946. Although the main emphasis has been laid, in this investigation, on the instrumental side of the school music, the choral aspect has not been overlooked, as every pupil has class-singing lessons in school time, and a uniform programme is determined for this, for the whole school by the Director o Music, there was no need to gain information about it from the pupils. All relevant material regarding the choral aspect , e.g. Timetables, Board reports and personal observations, was readily accessible.

An investigation of some factors relating to the instrumental music at the Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College

This investigation is concerned with the scheme of music in operation at The Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College. Inquiries were made from all the pupils of this college in May 1946. Although the main emphasis has been laid, in this investigation, on the instrumental side of the school music, the choral aspect has not been overlooked, as every pupil has class-singing lessons in school time, and a uniform programme is determined for this, for the whole school by the Director o Music, there was no need to gain information about it from the pupils. All relevant material regarding the choral aspect , e.g. Timetables, Board reports and personal observations, was readily accessible.