Help Your Students Grow With The Music Performance Reflection Guide
The process of music making requires continued personal reflection in order to keep growing.
As music teachers, we understand this process and so we work to help our students understand it too.
Several years ago I began creating resources for my students to help them reflect on their music making.
This included simple rubrics where they could score aspects of their performance and then provide themselves feedback. Similarly, they could record themselves and then listen back to the recording and use the rubric to assess their performance, much like we do for scoring an honors ensemble audition or something similar. You can read more about this concept from this article from 2018.
The goal is not for students to label their performance as “good” or “bad,” but to guide them in reflective listening. To get their minds to think - “let me add a little more dynamic contrast here” or “let me improve my intonation in measures 8 and 9,” as an example.
So, I created the Music Performance Reflection Guide for my students to help walk them through what to listen for in their performances.
What To Listen For
Within the guide the students are to reflect upon their intonation, rhythm, balance and blend, and musical expression. In the guide I break down each concept for them. Here is an excerpt from the guide:
Conclusion
After listening to or thinking back on their performance, the students give themselves a score between 1 and 10. They also write down any observations they have about their performances. This includes specific measures that need work and so on. With this in mind, it can help guide their future practice.
If you’re interested in grabbing a copy of the Music Performance Reflection Guide you can check it out below at my store!
The Music Performance Reflection Guide was created to help my students listen critically and reflect upon their musical performances. This leads to growth for them.
The Music Performance Reflection Guide includes a description for how to use the guide, what students should listen for in a performance, and what areas they should reflect upon.
On the reflection sheet, students will assess themselves on a 10 point scale and be encouraged to offer specific observations about their music making.
Students are encouraged to listen to the overall execution of solid intonation, rhythm, balance and blend, and musical expression. The guide includes a break down of each of these areas of their musical performance.
