Preparation JMUke is a participatory music making experience for members of the JMU and Harrisonburg community where individuals can learn how to play the ukulele (strumming patterns and chords) and are then invited to participate in a jam session. The point of JMUke is to provide low barriers and a fun, safe environment for individuals to make music regardless of their age or ability. Experience Design Advertising Materials Reflection This JMUke event (Strum and Sing at the Court Square Theatre) was a community event hosted during Disability Awareness Week by JMU Office of Disability Services and the Center for Inclusive Music Engagement. It was a fun jamming and learning experience following Dr. Lubet’s (keynote speaker of the week) performance. From the perspective of an outside viewer, this event was an open time where facilitators were available to help participants learn the basics of the ukulele in the first 30 minutes followed by a jam session filled with a variety of songs. There was a good amount of ukulele strumming, singing, and laughter. Videos and Pictures
See above in the Preparation section for designed materials, including our experience design, song slides, and event poster. Reflective Commentary
For community members, I think it was an engaging event where they could sing and learn a new skill or practice one they already knew (playing the ukulele). There was an extremely low barrier to entry and I think that the open, welcoming, friendly atmosphere allowed for learners to feel comfortable with making mistakes and learning music where they did not have to perform and have knowledge on what to do. I know this because people were honest and open about asking for help and asking questions. I interacted with one couple who would say something along the lines of “I’m not a musician. I don’t know anything about music.” However, they were open to learning chords and by the end of the time they were jamming and had a good grasp on ukulele basics. Another woman had such a great time at the last JMUke event she attended that she joined in again on this one. She told us that even though it was past her bedtime, she wanted to participate in such a fun experience again. As a leader, designing and facilitating this experience taught me the importance of scaffolding in facilitating an experience. I knew beforehand that there was a lot of scaffolding involved with teaching music, but I made assumptions about the background knowledge and skills of those in MUED 273 and did not set them up as well for success in their products as I could have. I learned the importance of setting clear guidelines and expectations in what the final product should be, meeting in person, and explicitly stating and then leading by example of how to create a positive environment in this participatory community music making event. I also understood more about how to address an issue by bringing it to their attention, rather than calling them out. For example, some of the initial slides from the MUED 273 students were not very accessible in their color choices – so I had to explain to them the importance of fonts and colors (modality). As a musician, I more fully understood the importance of song choice selection. When we reached the event, I was satisfied that we had chosen a variety of songs from different genres that were appropriate for our audience members. However, I failed to remember that tempo of songs when placing them in a set list is also just as important as genre. We would sing a couple of songs in the same tempo and I could see the audience members start to get tired and bored because it was at a more relaxed tempo. As a scholar, I got to see project-based learning in action and apply what we had learned in class to this event. I saw the some of the elements of project-based learning (real world connection, core to learning, structured collaboration, student driven) in this experience. My biggest takeaway from this experience was learning how to facilitate a project-based learning activity. Prior to this, I had an understanding of project based learning, but did not fully grasp that guiding others through this process would take a lot more work on my end than if I had just done the event myself. In order to help students grow and push them towards success, I had to be willing to do the hard preparation work beforehand. I made a lot of assumptions about who I would be working with and instead of just starting them from scratch and assessing where they were initially, I jumped to conclusions and that led to more stress for me. |
Davina MiawHere I will share experiences of my engagement in community. Archives
December 2019
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