Hill West Research Papers
Singing in School: Pedagogy and Practice
By L Jones
Singing in School: Pedagogy and Practice Introduction and Rationale ‘Singing has the potential to involve children and young people in music on a scale that we have not witnessed before. It is the most elemental form of music making, and is within the grasp of all of us, whatever our ability. It is a powerful community activity binding individuals and community together’ (Himonides, E. et al, 2009:3) Having recently been appointed the responsibility of Music throughout the School, I wanted to carry out a project that would help me with leading and supporting other teachers to improve the teaching of Music. The school was last inspected in Music in February 2008 and was graded as ‘Good’. Main aspects from the report shown are:
Pupils start school with broadly average musical attainment. They make good progress in Key Stage 1, and continue doing so until the end of Key Stage 2 when standards are above average overall. Rhythm work is particularly well developed, although standards of singing remain in line with national expectations. Pupils enjoy music, particularly the partnership activities which do much to promote their self-esteem and sense of teamwork. The music co-ordinator has not yet had any opportunity to observe and monitor the quality of class or instrumental lessons. The school is not aware of or involved with any national programmes, such as the instrumental/vocal programmes for Key Stage 2 or the Sing Up campaign.
An important aspect of this report is the second bullet point shown, where the inspector comments that even though children leave Key Stage 2 with standards are above average overall, standards of singing remain only inline with national expectations. It is from this that I decided to have a focus of singing and the pedagogy of it in order to help improve the standards of singing. The fourth point I have also drawn from the report is that the music co-ordinator at the time did not have the opportunity to observe class or instrumental lessons. This is also something that I felt important to incorporate into the project, so that I could gain a better insight into class music-making within the school. Alongside this, during my PGCE studies at this school, I conducted a research project into the teaching of Music, notably how singing can be used to develop other areas of learning. This was a successful project for both me and other teachers and gave me another starting point for this investigation. Initial research and Planning In order to gain a better idea of how teachers felt about teaching singing throughout the school I designed a baseline questionnaire for teachers to complete about how they felt about singing. There were a variety of questions including scales of numbers and written responses so that I could collect a range a quantitative data (an example of a questionnaire can be seen in Appendix 1.1). Through collecting and analyzing results I found out that: On a scale of 1-5 (5 being most confident) of teachers confidence in the teaching of singing 86% gave themselves a score of 3 or below and 64% gave themselves a 2 or below When asked to comment how they teach singing, teachers comments were mostly ‘Use videos and people singing on tracks’
When asked what resources teachers use to teach singing, teachers generally used traditional or popular songs that they know On a scale of 1-5 (5 being excellent) of the quality of singing resources in the school, 100% gave 3 or below and 86% gave 2 or below
Alongside this, I also gained permission from teachers to informally observe singing and music lessons in the school, as this is something that is suggested in research by Creech in ‘Learning about what constitutes effective training from a pilot programme to improve music education in primary schools’. From these observations I gained a good insight and learnt the following: Children were mainly engaged throughout all of the lessons When teachers were more confident and enthusiastic in their teaching of singing, the children were more engaged in the lesson and made more progress All of the music lessons were enriched by linking to the school’s creative curriculum and topics that the class were studying, giving the lessons more meaning Singing was mainly taught through teaching words first and then learning the melody through a backing track Songs used were traditional songs There wasn’t much development of singing skills, for example singing in harmony or singing in a round The wasn’t clear stretch and challenge for those children who are more able in Music but there was support for those children who needed it The quantity and quality of evidence in books varied throughout the school and included pictures, worksheets and children’s composition notes and ideas From this baseline research, I developed a plan of what needed to be done. I would be leading the singing assemblies for Key Stage 1 so I could use this to model teaching of singing to other teachers. My main foci for this would be to research and demonstrate different teaching approaches, show how to develop singing skills to sustain progress and how to stretch and challenge the more able. I could gain their feedback through informal interviews to see what they had learnt from the sessions. Methodology and Methods Due to the nature of the project I wanted to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. I felt that collecting quantitative data through a baseline questionnaire was important to gain an understanding about how teachers perceived and taught singing throughout the school. It gave me the chance to calculate percentages and collect written comments from all of the teachers, prompting discussion with the Head Teacher and helped me formulate my action plan. I wanted to be involved within the project in order to model the teaching of singing and provide support for the other teachers, as from discussion, they felt that this would be the best way to improve their own practice. Informal discussions would form an important role in my project as I made sure I gained continual feedback from staff so that I could adapt and change according to their needs. I needed to make sure that this project was completed in a natural environment so that it reflected the school and the children being taught. I made sure that in the
singing assemblies, I used resources and skills accessible to all of the staff. By ensuring the lesson observations were informal and fitting it around the teachers’ schedule, this also helped to ensure that I saw teaching and learning in its natural state. To ensure that my investigation was ethical, all of the teachers involved read and signed consent forms agreeing to the questionnaires, informal discussions and lesson observations. Parents of the children sign an agreement each academic year for photo permission and preferences to any areas of the curriculum. I made sure to check this in the school database and make the necessary arrangements. I also made sure that the songs chosen were not biased in any way towards gender, so to engage both boys and girls. Research In order to gain a breadth of insight into the teaching of singing, I felt that I needed to research a wide range of literature, including teaching of singing books, music education books and research articles. From writings on the teaching of singing, I found a number of different theories to pedagogical approaches. Harrison suggests a holistic approach to singing, combining six different areas to train the voice, including singing spontaneously, rhythmically, rapidly, strongly, energetically and expressively. By combining these elements he believes that you can become a successful singer. (Harrison, 2006). He also emphasizes ‘Not only must we distinguish between training the voice and actually singing with it, but we must be aware of the similarities, so that we’re not just training in a vacuum.’ (Harrison, 2006:132) This highlights his approach to holistic teaching. This theory is also put forward by music educationalist Harris, using simultaneous learning to teach. ‘The two fundamental principles of Simultaneous Learning are that everything connects and that we should always be teaching through the ingredients. The result of this kind of teaching is that pupils really understand what they are doing and are then able to apply their understanding.’ (Harris, 2008:27). Bairstow and Greene in ‘Singing through Speech’ contradict this. They believe that ‘Singing is speech beautified. If this were not so, if the voice were merely a musical instrument, then words would only be a distraction and an encumbrance.’ (Bairstow & Greene, 1946:10). Their approach is to develop rhythm and speech first, practising how the words are split up by the music, before adding the melody (Bairstow and Greene, 1946). This technique of rhythmic chanting was also suggested by Walter in ‘Training Children’s Voices’, where he quotes that ‘Every exercise must be in some definite rhythm. The teacher will beat time; the children will feel it.” (Walter, 1922:10) and that ‘Breathing and voice exercises should come first and continue for some ten or fifteen minutes- according to the length of the lesson.’ (Walter, 1922:9). However, this is not always practical, especially in short sessions as time is limited. Walter also comments on the position of the children, including ‘They (children) should stand for voice exercises, and for most of the songs, but may sit for the other portions of the lessons.’ (Walter, 1922:9) This is a technique that I always encourage teachers to use. Even though the main focus of this book is singing exercises, Walter also discusses performance opportunities for children: ‘Greater use should be made of the songs which are learnt. An experiment of having visits from one class to another,
in place of the usual singing lesson, has been tried with considerable success.’ (Walter, 1922:12) This book was very useful, however due to the publishing date being 1922, some of the theories and approaches were irrelevant and out of date with today’s education system and did not fit with the school’s ethos. This was apparent to me when reading ‘Teaching Beginners’ by Paul Harris, where he writes ‘(The second principle is that) lessons should always be infused with creative thought and activity. Creativity is central to the development of a young musician. Most children are tremendously creative in their thinking. Sometimes that is forgotten (or just ignored).’ (Harris, 2008:10). A problem I found with most of the singing books I read was that they were directed at solo singing, not choral singing and there seems to be a lack of research in this area. This was noted by Sundberg in ‘The Science of the Singing Voice’, where he writes that ‘Most people who use the voices for musical purposes are choir singers. Still, very little research has been devoted to choir singing, perhaps because it is generally regarded as a less heroic and spectacular form of voice use than solo singing.’ (Sundberg, 1985:4). This was also reinforced by Creech and Hallam in ‘Music Education in the 21st Century’, where they comment that ‘In the UK, choral education continues to be very uneven in its provision- unlike in the USA with its tradition of choral conducting degrees (DMAs)- resulting in scarce opportunities for extended study into how to foster collective singing development in others.’ (Creech & Hallam, 2010:79) These comments also made me consider some of the pedagogical approaches I had read in these books due to the physical differences between solo and choral singing. Sundberg shows that in an experiment conducted about the differences in frequency between both male and female singers in choral and solo situations, it became clear that the frequency and overtones for the two are different, especially in females. This exemplifies that you need to teach differently for solo singing and group singing. (Sundberg, 1985). Another book studied was ‘Teaching music in the Primary School’ by Jones and Robson, where they discuss creating the right learning environment. They quote that: ‘A first step for creating a singing class- room is for you to generate your enthusiasm and let it become contagious. Your actions can show that singing is a fun thing to do. If you are concerned to create a positive and supportive environment for children to feel safe to explore and take risks with their voices then you need to reflect this in your attitude and behaviour. It is more important that you build an active, participatory, shared sense of vocal playfulness and fun with children than you sing with the perfect voice.’ (Jones & Robson, 2008:38) This came across in all of the literature I read and is something that is promoted across the whole curriculum in the school, so this was a key element to demonstrate when modeling to the staff. Jones and Robson also comment on various techniques in introducing songs to children including letting the song play and children joining in when they remember parts, singing and repeating line by line, using stories, poems and rhythmic chants and using actions to fit with the songs. (Jones & Robson, 2008). I witnessed many of these approaches used by specialist singing and choral teachers when observing and they all engaged the children and helped them to make progress in singing. In the sessions I was modeling, I wanted to experiment with these methods as well to pass on these techniques.
An aspect that came across in both the baseline questionnaire and the lesson observations was the lack of differentiation in singing lessons. On further discussion, teachers felt that they didn’t know how to differentiate in music lessons, especially in singing, so this was something that I wanted to research. Harris discusses a number of ways to do this in ‘Group Music Teaching in Practice’ including by task (setting slightly different but relevant tasks for groups of children in order for them to make progress), by outcome (setting open-ended tasks allows children’s responses at different levels) and by support (giving more help to certain members of the groups or to a particular group, or appointing a ‘lead-learner’ who can direct the group and support children within their group. (Harris, 2009)
Alongside pedagogical research, I also wanted to study ways in which I could lead and help transform singing within the school. Many articles directed me to the ‘National Program of Singing in Primary Schools’. Research was undertaken to determine the baseline singing in schools before ‘Sing Up’ and the effect on schools after five months of ‘Sing Up’ compared to schools without. ‘Sing Up’ is an online database of resources, plans and schemes for teachers to use to promote singing. The project showed that nationally, children who had been exposed to and followed the ‘Sing Up’ program scored better in their assessment in singing and made more progress than children who had not. Creech and Hallam comment that ‘the research is ongoing, but the evidence so far would seem to indicate that the Sing Up portfolio of activities has been able to effect a significant improvement in children’s singing and their attitude towards singing as an activity.’ (Creech & Hallam, 2010:78). On speaking and discussing with singing teachers and specialists, they all advised to use ‘Sing Up’ and recommended the online resources and tools.
Another research article studied singing and vocal tuition in schools and how to develop a singing school. They found that ‘…for the singing school to really become established, the first essential factor was the presence of a committed and enthusiastic individual to drive the singing agenda forward within the school.’ (Daubney et. al., 2012:259). This showed me that I needed to make sure that I was this person and that my role is more prominent throughout the school. They also write that ‘Other factors are also likely to contribute to the status of singing in a school, such as access to good-quality resources such as CDs, song books, online materials, and opportunities to sing with others.’ (Daubney et. al., 2012:263) which reflected my findings in the baseline questionnaire. However, it is shown that ‘The research described here has certain minor limitations. Due to the nature of the project, the research team had contact only with the children who were involved in singing (e.g. participating in Wider Opportunities, singing in the school choir, or benefiting from a whole-school approach to singing).’ (Daubney et. al., 2012:264). Through all of the research I conducted, both through reading, observing and discussing I was able to plan sessions that focussed on different pedagogical approaches and suited the needs of the teachers. I also used the research to plan lessons and resources for teachers to trial to help improve their own practice.
Resources From both the research and discussions with teachers, I created a trial plan and resource for teachers in Year 1 and Year 2 to access and use that would relate to their topics they were teaching. Each resource needed to have:
Backing track Track recorded with singing Lesson plan- differentiated and using different approaches of teaching Work sheet/way of evidencing
Year 1: Around the World- Flamenco (Plan can be seen in Appendix 1.2, Backing track 1.1) Year 2: Kings and Queens-Marching drums (Plan can be seen in Appendix 1.3, backing tracks 1.2 and 1.3)
The teachers used these lesson plans to deliver the lessons and I informally observed. From doing this I found that: Overall teachers seemed more confident in delivering The children were more engaged in the singing The children (especially more-able) made more progress due to differentiation In some cases, staff began to add and change elements of the lesson to benefit their class On speaking to the staff about the lessons, they commented that they were easy to follow and they could see that the children made more progress. Some staff also suggested that the plans could be shortened and more concise, something that I will adapt for next time.
Singing Assembly Planning and Reviews As part of my research it showed that one of the best ways to encourage good practice is to model it. I took the opportunity of the singing assemblies to do this. As the assemblies are only twenty minutes in length, I couldn’t model full lessons so I condensed activities. For each session I wrote a plan and handed it out to the teachers prior to the assembly so that they could use it as a guide to what I was doing and why. An example of a session plan can be seen in (Appendix 1.4). After each session I reviewed and discussed with the teachers, gaining their feedback and what they would like to see more of and also what they didn’t want to see and used this to plan the following sessions. I used the different pedagogical techniques I had researched, although there were limitations as I was teaching all of Key stage 1. I could only select a number of children to use instruments, I had to differentiate in a slightly different way from how I would in the classroom due to the vast age range and there wasn’t as much room for movement as in a classroom situation. I felt that the sessions were valuable to me to improve my own practice and on speaking to the staff they commented on lots of techniques they would use in their classroom. In the weeks that I trialed the assemblies, I recorded the sessions for my own professional development and by the end of term the children had made progress and were singing much more as a collective and seemed to have more excitement for the songs and exercises we were practising. Evaluation and Conclusion
This project has shown me a lot about both my own practice of singing and the beginnings of leading a subject within the school. Overall, the project was a success and has a positive impact on the teaching of singing within the school. The children progressed throughout the project and by the end of the project they could achieve more of the assessment criteria for their year group. The staff also showed more engagement with the teaching of singing and the bank of resources and modeling helped them to think further about how this could be incorporated throughout the curriculum. The research I undertook, both through reading and observing has improved my own practice by a substantial amount, giving me a much broader range and understanding of pedagogical approaches of singing. This project has given me the opportunity to experiment and find ways that have promoted the most learning and enjoyment for the children and has made me more confident in sharing this with colleagues. I have also developed my leadership skills throughout the project. Working with staff to improve the teaching of singing has been a steep learning curve. Using the research and from personal experiences, I didn’t want to approach leading as being an extra pressure for other staff and demanding more from them, as there is already so much to do. So I used an approach where I worked alongside the staff and made it as informal as I could. This helped the project as staff were more willing and enthusiastic to try different approaches and take the time out for informal discussions. However, it was still sometimes difficult to arrange times that were convenient for staff and was something I had to be flexible with. From completing this project, I now look forward to the new academic year and carrying on the enthusiasm for singing in school. I plan to work more closely with staff to further improve my leading skills and the teaching of music. As the focus of this project was for Key stage 1, I now want to begin to develop singing in Key Stage 2, knowing that this will have to be approached in a different way and develop higher level skills. I also want to help teachers improve the evidencing of Music, as this is an area that I feel needs to be developed through use of the school blog, pictures, recordings and worksheets to bring a varied range of evidence to the children’s books. Completing this project has shown me a lot about both leading a subject in school and my own professional practice in the teaching of singing. I hope that in the new academic year I can continue from this project and develop the standards of singing, and music further throughout the school.
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