Stage two – second half of spring term 23/02/10 – 23/03/

In the previous term, all three teachers involved in the study and two of their teaching assistants had expressed an interest in learning to play the ukulele to accompany their classes’ singing after observing me using the ukulele to enhance the ‘hello song’. Enid was extremely supportive of this idea and expressed her own interest in joining such a group. Although I could play the ukulele to a very basic standard and well enough to accompany some of the repertoire I was using within the study, I had never taught anyone else to play and did not feel adequately equipped to do so. At this point, I experienced some anxiety about being asked to teach something to others when I did not feel secure in my own skills. This afforded me an opportunity for empathy and better understanding of how the teachers themselves had admitted to feeling in relation to classroom music teaching during the baseline study. Consenting to the establishment of such a group would mean that I would be altering my original research design and entering professional territory in which I did not feel secure, just as I was asking the teachers to do by participating in the study.

Regardless of my feelings of mild panic about teaching the ukulele to others, based on the evidence of the baseline study that the teachers aligned musicality with the ability to play an instrument, I recognized the potential of group instrumental learning for increasing the teachers’ confidence in their perceptions of their own musicality and their practical musical skills. I also viewed the teachers’ request to learn the ukulele as a critical development in the study in that they were now taking direct ownership over how they wanted to develop their own musical skills and knowledge. This being so, I suggested my colleague Kirsten to Enid. Having worked closely with Kirsten for a number of years, I knew that she had the experience of adult ukulele tuition that I lacked, while I had more experience of working with young children. Kirsten was keen to develop her existing primary and early years music teaching skills and Enid was so supportive of the ukulele group idea, she offered to pay Kirsten to come weekly and lead it. Given that an hour after school would not be an optimum use of Kirsten’s time each Tuesday afternoon, we agreed that she would voluntarily join the

classroom musicking each week as a professional development opportunity before leading the ukulele group once the children had gone home.

Although this was a fortuitous arrangement in which we all stood to gain in terms of professional development, I did have some deep concerns about introducing Kirsten, a new and unfamiliar adult ‘visitor’ into the study, no matter how similar her pedagogical approach to mine. The introduction of an unfamiliar adult might have posed a risk to the relationships established at this point and I did not know at the time what the result might be. However, Enid and the three teachers were insistent that they wanted to learn the ukulele and were completely positive about Kirsten joining the study in order to make this possible. In response to their wishes and in recognition that this course of events reflected the teachers’ growing sense of agency over what and how they learned within the study, I put aside my concerns. Knowing Kirsten well, I was fairly sure it would not take long for all of the study participants, myself included, to adjust to her inclusion. In addition to suggesting the teachers’ increasing sense of agency over the study and their own learning within it, their willingness to welcome Kirsten, another musical ‘expert’ and an unfamiliar one at that, into the study ‘team’ signaled the establishment at this point of trust in me and my judgment of Kirsten as an appropriate professional to include. This also suggested that either they trusted me not to invite someone who might act in a way that would undermine any aspect of the study and the relationships being developed within it or that by this point, the teachers’ confidence had increased in so much that they did not mind so much about their musical skills and class music teaching being observed and evaluated by another unfamiliar adult as they had at the time of the commencement of the baseline study.

Towards the latter weeks of the study, Kirsten’s presence in the classroom musicking sessions had an unexpected benefit. Kirsten was occasionally able to ‘stand-in’ as co- leader of musicking with the teachers, which enabled me to carry out a small number of non-participant observations of musicking activity in the classroom, hitherto an impossible task.

I return now to describing the activity as the study progressed into its second stage. Including the development of the children’s ‘appetite’ for musicking, their response to Kirsten when she first joined the study and the first teacher ukulele group meeting.

23/02/10

The children recall the songs of the last half term well and Leanne’s class tell me that they sang with Leanne every day for the rest of the week since my last visit and up until the holidays. After introducing Kirsten to the children, I teach all three classes and teachers a new tune to sing for the hello song, deliberately keeping the words the same as before to enable both adults and children to concentrate on learning the new melody. The children respond enthusiastically to this familiar activity which signals the start of our singing sessions while the modification of tune serves to revitalize this, by now, well rehearsed activity. We revisit warm up activity and then in response to Patricia’s request for movement and Ruth’s for fine motor work, I introduce a simple game of sung instructions with simple melodies that correspond with actions based on the principles of Dalcroze Eurthymics55. For example, a rising octave with the sung instruction to ‘stand up’ and the same octave descending to indicate ‘sit down’ and slightly more complicated actions such as ‘wiggle your fingers’ (so, so, mi, so, mi)56 or ‘stre-etch up high’ (doh, mi, so, doh) up the octave and the reverse for ‘bend down low’. Occasionally, I sing the same instruction twice in a row to ‘catch them out’ and encourage focus and close listening while the game also expends excess energy and encourages fine finger movements of wiggling and stretching.

In the first minutes of each session, the children are curious about Kirsten but once introduced, the children accept her presence easily and she joins in without leading at this stage. I facilitate the content of these first sessions, leading the songs but enlisting the help of the teachers to elicit the children’s ideas and requests in order to create a sense of increased co-leadership between us.

55

Developed by Swiss composer Emile Jacques Dalcroze, Dalcroze Eurhythmics is a method of musical learning through rhythmic physical movement.

56

Reportedly invented by Sarah Ann Glover (1785-1867) to teach teachers to sing and then

championed by Zoltan Kodaly (1882 – 1976) as a means to support children’s singing, Solfa or Solfege is a pedagogical system for the teaching of singing, sight singing and interval training in which each note of the scale is given a name (doh, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti).

23/02/10 – The first teacher ukulele group lesson

This visit culminates with the first meeting of the staff ukulele group led by Kirsten. All three teachers participating in the study attend, along with head teacher Enid, teaching assistants, Karen and Louise, Reception teacher and able guitarist Francesca and three members of staff from Nursery, Sandra, Yvette and Eileen. The meeting is after school in Leanne’s classroom and lasts for 45 minutes.

We sit in a circle of red, plastic children’s chairs. The atmosphere is informal with the teachers arriving a few minutes apart depending on how quickly they were able to see off their children. Kirsten welcomes the group and begins by reassuring us that as we are all beginners, the pace will be steady.

Patricia, Louise, Karen, Sandra, Yvette and Eileen haven’t access to their own ukuleles so I furnish them each with a brightly coloured instrument that Kirsten and I have borrowed. So keen are Ruth and Enid to learn the ukulele, they have already bought their own. Enid’s is a good quality expensive looking instrument and we all admire it. Ruth proudly shows off her bright yellow ‘SpongeBob Squarepants’ ukulele and we all laugh at her whimsical choice, which will no doubt be very popular with the children. Leanne has borrowed a rather battered looking ukulele from her boyfriend which she tells us has ‘just been lying around the house’ while Francesca has brought her own pink ukulele that she has had ‘for a while but never really learned how to play properly’.

There is a sense of excitement as Kirsten introduces us to the basic features of the instrument, the strings, frets and tuning pegs. Sandra and Eileen laugh self- consciously as Eileen attempts to strum her ukulele and declares her fingers ‘too fat’. We learn how to hold the ukulele and the pitches to which the strings should be tuned. Kirsten teaches us a melody to assist in tuning using the words ‘my dog has fleas’ and offers to tune the new ukuleles this first time for those who need help. I tune Ruth’s while Kirsten swiftly tunes Enid’s and then Leanne’s. Meanwhile, I notice Francesca has independently tuned her ukulele using a clip-on digital tuner. Eileen and Yvette comment on Francesca being a ‘professional’ and Francesca laughs.

Once tuned up, we all learn the one-finger chord of C and practise strumming that chord with our thumbs while Kirsten counts a steady beat. Once mastered, she goes on to show us the slightly more complex two-finger chord of F and we practise this in the same way. The group is quiet as everyone concentrates on the task. Kirsten praises us and says ‘it’s time for a challenge’, we are going to try to move from one chord to the other in slow eight beat phrases. Eileen and Sandra groan comically, they ‘already found F quite challenging’. We begin as Kirsten slowly counts and the group members experience varying success. Enid and Francesca change chord adeptly, Karen seems to manage it well too, while the rest of the group agrees with Eileen, that moving between the chords is tricky. ‘You need more than two hands and one brain!’ exclaims Ruth and we all laugh. We practise the chord change again for a few minutes more with Kirsten providing one to one support and encouragement to Eileen and then she teaches us to play ‘Row Your Boat’ on the single chord of C, which everyone finds much easier to return to. The ‘reward’ of learning to play and sing a song simultaneously is met with enthusiasm and the lesson ends with positive exclamations of thanks from the group to Kirsten.

Comment:

The first ukulele session was successful, with a balance of learning and relaxed fun. The content of the session was basic but the teachers felt that they had quickly advanced their skills and this was evidenced in their enthusiasm with regard to playing a song at the end. Although among the group there were varying levels of competency, beginning at this basic starting point allowed everyone, myself included, to feel secure. I was aware that Eileen and others were nervous about learning the instrument as was evident by their self-deprecating humour but the group members supported each other and the laughter provided an enjoyable environment and sense of camaraderie. We were aligned as learners and this was of particular importance in relation to the study and my relationships with the teachers directly involved in the field study as Kirsten taking the lead and my basic, self-taught skill on the ukulele meant that I was on an equal footing with the teachers in terms of skill in this context as opposed to being ‘expert’ as I may have been perceived by others in the classroom musicking context. I was also experiencing first hand how it might feel for the teachers to be learning a new musical skill, alongside developing my own professional understanding and skill in terms of teaching the ukulele to others.

16/03/10

In the third week of this stage Peter, an until now observant but quiet little boy in Ruth’s class, puts his hand up to tell me that he likes to listen to his Dad’s ‘Jackson Five’ CD. Keen to accommodate all requests in order to make clear to the children that I value their ideas, I suggest ‘Rockin’ Robin’. Peter is very happy with this and I sing a rather made up version of the four-line verse and the chorus to the children and note engagement from most of the children. I sing each line slowly for the children to copy:

He sits in the treetops all day long

Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and a singing this song All the little birdies on Jay Bird Street

Love to hear the robin go tweet, tweet, tweet Rockin’ robin, (tweet, twiddly deep)

Rockin’ robin, (tweet, twiddly deep)

Ooh rockin’ robin goes a-tweet, tweet, twi-ddly deep!

After practising the verse again using call and response, I split the circle into two, ensuring that Ruth and Karen are each singing with one half. I allocate the ‘rockin’ robin’ part of the chorus to Karen’s ‘team’ and the ‘tweet, twiddly deep’ line to Ruth’s half. I conduct from the centre of the circle and once we have sung the song in this way a couple of times, we swap parts. This was Ruth, Karen and the children’s first experience of part-singing and their response is extremely positive. I leave the room feeling moved at the sense of pride among them.

23/03/10

In the final week of the spring term, Kirsten leads more of the classroom-based activity, partly as a result of her increasing confidence in working with the children and partly to enable me to observe the musicking and the responses of the children and teachers to it more closely.

In Patricia’s class Kirsten and I teach a new song that introduces the ideas of sequential actions. This is a direct result of Patricia requesting such a song a week or so earlier to tie in with the children’s science learning about sequences and recipes. The song is about making a banana milkshake:

(Chanted) Bananas of the world unite! (clap) (Sung) Shake banana, shake, shake banana x2 Peel banana, peel, peel banana x2

Chop banana, chop, chop banana x2 Mash banana, mash, mash banana x2 Blend banana, blend, blend banana x2 Drink banana, drink, drink banana x2 Go bananas, go, go bananas!

Go bananas, go, go bananas!

(Chanted) Bananas of the world unite! (clap)

Accompanied by various peeling, chopping and mixing actions and culminating in the invitation to ‘go bananas’, this song is immensely well received and we have to repeat it several times before the children have had enough.

Later, Patricia tells us she’s ‘delighted’ with the song and will use it again during the week if we write the words down for her. I ask her if she wants me to record it so she can remember the tune and she says ‘no, that’s all right. The children will remember it and keep me right if I sing it wrong’. She asks if I can give her my session plans for past sessions so that she can try to repeat some of the content with the children adding ‘we’ve learned so many songs now, I need a list so that we don’t forget to practise them all’.

Comment:

I gave Patricia copies of my session plans, along with audio recordings of songs she found difficult to remember. Her request for these resources is significant for two reasons. Firstly, the request indicated an intention on Patricia’s part to continue to use these activities with these children and her future classes. Secondly, such documents represent one’s intellectual property and so to be willing to ask for copies and for that request to be granted, shows a close relationship in which there exists a significant level of trust that they will be used as intended and not ‘passed off’ as the recipient’s own work. I was more than happy to share my work with Patricia in the interests of ensuring the legacy of the study and felt comfortable enough in my relationship with her to do so at this point.

23/03/10 (continued)

Arriving in Leanne’s classroom, we discover that Leanne is off ill. The supply teacher is clearly relieved we have arrived and hands the class over to us. She sits apart from the group and busies herself with paperwork, leaving Kirsten and me in charge of the class. We begin with the ‘hello song’ practised last week and most of the children join in well, although some are clearly tired and flushed. The children are fractious for the remainder of the session, reluctant to sit still and to contribute ideas. Even the dances we try fall flat with a few children giving up and sitting down. The time goes very slowly and Kirsten and I are both relieved when it is time to stop.

Excerpt from my reflective diary

I was disappointed by what happened with Leanne’s class today. Normally they seem to love the singing but something was clearly amiss this afternoon. I think it was because Leanne wasn’t there and the supply teacher wasn’t that engaged. I would have liked to ask her to join in and to support us but I don’t know her and felt uncomfortable asking for her help. It didn’t help that she immediately went and sat elsewhere. I think she must have assumed we usually take the class for Leanne. It’s a shame because the children practically missed out on singing today. She didn’t even introduce herself to us!

Comment:

In this part of the study there is increasing evidence of the teachers’ agency over ideas for content of sessions, along with a subtle growth of musical confidence among them. For instance, Ruth and Karen’s willingness to ‘experiment’ with the spontaneous two part singing of ‘Rockin’ Robin’ and Ruth’s more audible singing along in general. In addition, Patricia’s request for a specific type of song to support wider class learning about sequences and her request for lesson plans show that she was beginning to feel capable of replicating and perhaps extending the singing activities independently.

Leanne’s absence and what ensued showed the vital importance of the teacher in terms of successful partnership. Without Leanne, the musicking simply couldn’t happen in the optimum way that it usually did. Given her fragile relationship with

music and her long-standing view of herself as musically ‘deficit’, the discovery of the key role that she played in supporting the children’s ability to music together was