Dream Albums in Middles Music
At the beginning of each school year, we spend some time thinking about what we want our classroom community to feel like and what we hope to accomplish together. In every Center School Classroom we take the time to find and express our hopes and dreams for the year. This central philosophy of our pedagogy extends to the music classroom. We asked the Middles, what do you hope to get out of music this year? What would you like to learn, try, create, or become more confident doing?
To make this idea our own, the Middles created their own “Dream Albums.” Each student invented a creative artist name, came up with an album title, designed album art, and created a track list made up of their hopes and dreams for music this year. Students included hopes to write a song on their own, share a favorite piece of music with the group, start a band, learn new ways to move and dance to music, become more confident performing, or learn to play a new instrument. Others imagined more specific musical projects they would like to try. Together, these albums gave us a picture of the many different ways students want to participate in music this year.
Our first artist study has given us a chance to think about one way a musician can turn personal experiences and ideas into songs. We have been learning all about Dolly Parton, starting with reading Dazzlin’ Dolly, a picture book about her childhood and early musical life. Dolly grew up surrounded by music and began writing songs about the people, places, and experiences she knew. Her story gives us a useful starting point for thinking about songwriting as a form of personal expression, and how we can work hard to follow our dreams. A song can be about something important and serious, or something small and ordinary. It can tell a story, capture a feeling, remember a person or place, or simply share something that matters to the person who wrote it.
This idea will continue throughout our music classes this year. We will study musicians and songwriters from a range of musical traditions and backgrounds, paying attention to what their music sounds like and why they made it. Students will have opportunities to write and perform their own music, learn instruments, sing, move and dance, listen closely, and share music that is meaningful to them. We will use the music of other artists as inspiration while also making space for students to develop their own musical voices. For some students, that might mean writing a song. For others, it might mean creating a beat, learning a chord progression, choreographing a movement sequence, performing for the class, or introducing everyone to a song they love.
Our Dream Albums will also give us something to return to as the year progresses. We can look back at the hopes students recorded at the beginning of the year and notice which ones have become part of our musical lives and which ones are still waiting for their turn. In this way, the albums are more than an opening activity. They are a reminder that music class is something students help shape. We are building a space where students can try new things, listen to one another, take creative risks, and discover that their own musical ideas are worth sharing.