A three to five minute per class comprehensive and systematic rhythm study curriculum.
mission statements
- To improve teaching techniques to enhance young musicians performance
in counting and the correct identification rhythms.
It is my belief that by the end of beginning instrumental students' 8th grade year, he or she should be able to read rhythms at a Grade V or VI level. I have seen results with the "Rhythm Masters" system, where students have come very close to achieving this level of success. This does not mean that, in most cases, young musicians will have developed the technical proficiency to perform Grade V & VI concert literature going in as a high school freshman, but will have the necessary counting fundamentals to read any rhythms encountered solidly in place. By sharing experiences and discoveries in this area with other band directors and educators, this site will act as a clearinghouse for such ideas and allow us collectively to take our students closer to that ultimate goal. - To discuss upcoming "accountability standards" band directors may be
held for on a state to state basis.
To come up with our own recommendations for accurate and efficient individual assessment techniques that will enhance the overall performance level of our ensembles. To suggest and prioritize target evaluation areas to minimize instructional time loss in this endeavor if it is necessary, and yet will allow us as educators to maintain high performance standards in our present music programs. Many band directors already use some form of individual assessment in determining grades for their students. Others' use more of a "participation" grade approach. Both are great and suit our own individual situations and settings. If you use an individual assessment approach to evaluate your students, "Rhythm Masters" may have some valuable teaching tools that will aid you from both an instructional and evaluation standpoint. If, we are forced into some form of accountability assessment in our music programs, I would rather seasoned music educators come up with the appropriate tools and rubrics. I also feel it is important to devise an evaluation system that is performance oriented on a student's instrument, not some "bubble in" examination where tremendous amount of instructional time will be lost "teaching to the test". If we start now, we should have a fairly extensive information bank to draw upon that can be effectively used in our curriculums, or presented to our State Departments of Education if needed. - And finally, to come up with a consensus on "performance standards demonstrated" and "mastery levels" for our students, as well as objective evaluation criteria and techniques for band directors, at both a state and national level.