Opportunities for Creativity in Beginning Band Method Books

Abstract

Method books serve as a key curricular resource in beginning band classrooms. Previous examinations of beginning band method books focused primarily on performance technique and pedagogy; however, a curriculum with a singular emphasis on performance will not meet all elements of the 2014 National Core Arts Standards. Therefore, we analyzed 16 beginning band method books for exercises that included creative activities such as compose, arrange, and improvise. Results indicated that 2.53% (n = 66) of the total exercises (N = 2,612) contained creative activities. The most frequently identified creative activity instruction type was improvise (n = 31, 44.93%), followed by compose (n = 27, 39.13%), and arrange (n = 11, 15.94%). These data provide insight into the degree to which beginning band method books contain exercises that include creative activities, specific activity types, and instructional directives, and may support inservice music educators and fine arts administrators in selecting method books.

Keywords

arranging beginning band composition creativity improvisation method books

Performance-based ensembles such as concert bands remain the primary sources of music education at the secondary level (Elpus & Abril, 2019). Prior to participating in secondary-level bands, students often begin learning their instruments in beginning bands during the fifth or sixth grade (Delzell & Doerksen, 1998). Many music educators who teach heterogeneous beginning band use method books as their primary curriculum resource (Brittin & Sheldon, 2004; Byo, 1988; Singletary, 2018) to provide music and instrument-specific instruction (Byo, 1999). Furthermore, many method books are designed so that individuals can develop their performance skills sequentially without the guidance of a teacher. Considering the importance of the method book in many beginning band settings, it is incumbent upon beginning band teachers to select materials that provide appropriate pedagogical and musical material at an educationally and developmentally appropriate level for their students (Bernhard, 2006).

Many beginning band teachers examine method book content systematically to make informed decisions about curricular materials. Publishers assist with this process by providing perusal materials and curricular highlights of their resources to band teachers through online resources, local music retailers, and at professional conferences. State-level agencies and professional organizations may also provide curricular recommendations to teachers. For example, the Texas Education Agency approved the use of Sound Innovations for Concert Band in beginning band classrooms for the 2021–2022 academic year (Texas Education Agency, 2021). After systematically reviewing perusal materials and recommendations from a professional organization, beginning band teachers often make their final decision based primarily on the instructional sequence and the supplemental pedagogical material for specific instruments (Swack, 2014).

Similar to beginning band teachers who review method books for potential classroom inclusion, researchers have also examined the instructional sequence of method books and their alignment with pedagogical principles. Rhythmic concepts and their presentation order seem to vary among methods (Byo, 1988; Gage, 1994); however, a high degree of similarity has been found in note introduction sequences (Tullberg, 1992) and the tonalities of exercises (Byo, 1988). The majority of method books include a number counting system (Brittin, 2001) and emphasize repetitions of scales and fingering exercises (Schleuter, 1997). Brittin and Sheldon (2004) conducted a comparative analysis between five contemporary band methods and one historical band method. Their findings indicated that the band methods they defined as current included music from more cultures than the historical method, with an average rate of 36% of the current melodies having origins in the United States. The authors also identified that more contemporary band methods provided proximal performance goals that reinforced concepts across multiple exercises before a new goal was established. These findings demonstrate the performance and contextual factors that teachers might consider when selecting a curricular resource, but do not address the creative activities found in beginning band methods such as composing, arranging, and improvising.

In 2014, the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards released music standards that revised and reorganized the previous Music Educators National Conference (MENC) 1994 standards to better reflect the artistic processes in which musicians engage. Along with the artistic processes of performing and reflecting, these National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) included a create process so that beginning band students are prepared to be successful musicians (NAfME, 2019). Beginning band students who meet the create NCAS are to imagine, plan and make, evaluate and refine, and present their rhythmic and melodic motives through compositions and improvisations (NAfME, 2014).

Music teachers have cited various reasons for being unable to meet the creativity-related NCAS in their classroom. Some felt underprepared to teach composition or were worried that their classroom management may be negatively impacted by such new and collaborative activities (Hopkins, 2013; Menard, 2015). Similarly, teachers identified a lack of preparation at the preservice level and deficient theory knowledge as reasons that kept them from teaching improvisation skills (Ward-Steinman, 2007). Other teachers felt that they lacked time to teach creative skills due to music performance expectations (Langley, 2018) or had too many other learning activities to accomplish (Strand, 2006). However, new music technology tools (Yoo, 2021) used in coordination with effective teaching strategies for improvisation and composition (Kratus, 1995; Taft, 2019) may benefit ensemble directors wanting to provide creative outlets for students. By including creative activities in the ensemble classroom, directors may better “develop complete musicians who ‘speak,’ understand, and create music in addition to being able to read and perform it” (Feldman et al., 2016, p. 54).

Because method books serve as the primary resource in many beginning band classes (Brittin & Sheldon, 2004; Byo, 1988; Singletary, 2018), the inclusion of items that guide students’ musical creativity would appear to be relevant for teachers wanting their students to meet the national standards. Furthermore, method books may serve as a resource for teachers who feel unprepared or find it difficult to teach improvisation (Adderley, 1999; Bell, 2003; Byo, 1999) or composition (Byo, 1999; Hopkins, 2013; Menard, 2015; Strand, 2006) in the ensemble classroom. Considering a lack of information about creative activities and their frequency in beginning band method books, a content analysis of such resources seemed warranted. Information pertaining to creative activities could be useful for band directors or fine arts administrators who examine method book series for possible curricular adoption. The purpose of this study was to examine creative activities found in beginning band method books. Our research questions were the following:

Research Question 1: To what extent do beginning band method books include exercises that involve creative activities?

Research Question 2: What types of creative activities are present within beginning band method books?

Method

To identify method books for this analysis, we adopted criteria used in previous examinations of jazz method books (Watson, 2017) and band method books (Brittin & Sheldon, 2004). Our inclusion criteria were: (a) designed for a beginning level heterogeneous band class, (b) published and currently available, and (c) the method book publisher also published music for heterogeneous concert bands. Sixteen method books met our criteria for examination (see Appendix A in the online supplemental material).

Based on the descriptions within the creating domain of the NCAS (NAfME, 2014), we defined an exercise that included a creative activity as any exercise with instructions for students to compose, arrange, or improvise. Therefore, exercises with instructions like “Compose a variation on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (Pearson, 1993) were identified as including a creative activity, whereas instructions such as “Draw one note or one rest to balance each scale” (Pearson, 1993) did not meet our criteria and were not included. Similarly, exercises that instructed students to add phrase markings or change bar lines were not considered creative because correct answers were objective and provided no authentic opportunity for students to make a creative choice.

To ensure consistency in our comparison among method books, we based our content analysis on the student B-flat clarinet book from each method, an approach consistent with a previous beginning band book content analysis (Byo, 1988). To answer our two research questions, we gathered data from each method book related to the total number of exercises, the total number of exercises that included creative activities, and the instructions for each creative activity. Total exercise number tallies were based on exercise numbers provided by the publisher. Supplemental exercises that included creative activities—such as those found at the end of Essential Elements—were added to the total number of items in each method book. Instrument-specific exercises and supplemental scale and rhythm studies found in appendices were not included in our tallies. For method books that did not use a running exercise number tally (e.g., First Division Band), the sum of all numbered exercises was used.

After examining and tallying every exercise, we labeled the instructions for the exercises that included creative activities. We used a priori labels consisting of compose, arrange, and improvise based on the national standards. To determine labeling reliability, we independently labeled the instructions from the Essential Elements method book. Initial agreement was 100%. We then divided and labeled the remaining 15 method books independently. This process was consistent with previous content analysis (Brittin & Sheldon, 2004).

We proceeded to further investigate the instruction types provided for creative activities by examining the instructions for information regarding pitch (dictated, implied, or free), rhythm (dictated or free), and other (e.g., dynamics, articulations, and instrumentation) elements. The dictated pitch was defined as exercises that provided pitches, whether they be specifically notated or a set of pitch options (e.g., compose using the Bb pentatonic scale). Exercises that did not specifically dictate pitches but provided at least three pitches establishing a tonal center were coded as implied. This definition was consistent with a previous analysis of method book exercises (Byo, 1988). Finally, exercises that provided no pitch guidance or implied tonal center were coded as free. Rhythmic elements were analyzed using similar definitions. We defined dictated rhythm as exercises that provided explicit rhythmic directives, whether they be notated for students to use verbatim or a series of provided options from which to select. Conversely, free rhythm exercises included no specific rhythmic elements. Exercises that provided a meter through a time signature or play along recording were also included as free if they did not include other specific rhythm instructions. We did not code any rhythmic items as implied. Having developed the instructional descriptions, we proceeded to use the same labeling process used for instruction type. Interrater reliability was 92.86%. We discussed discrepancies until consensus was achieved and then divided the remaining data between us.

Results

The first research question was, “To what extent do beginning band method books include exercises that involve creative activities?” After reviewing the 16 method books that met our inclusion criteria, we determined that exercises containing creative activities made up 2.53% (n = 66) of all method book exercises. Do It! had the highest percentage of exercises containing creative activities (n = 18, 9.94%), followed by Accent on Achievement (n = 6, 4.48%), Essential Elements (n = 7, 3.65%), and Tradition of Excellence (n = 5, 3.57%). Yamaha Band Student, Best in Class, John Kinyon’s Basic Training Course, and First Division Band Method did not incorporate any creative activities. Regardless of the number of exercises in the book, Do It! contained the highest number of exercises containing creative activities (n = 18), followed by Essential Elements (n = 7), and then Accent on Achievement and Measures of Success (n = 6, each). See Table 1 for frequencies and percentages of exercises that included creative activities and creativity item types by method book.

Table 1.

Frequencies and Percentage of Creativity Exercises and Creative Activity Type by Method Book.

Method book	Creativity item type			n	N	%
Method book	Compose	Improvise	Arrange	n	N	%
Do It!	0	18	0	18	181	9.94
Accent on Achievement	1	2	3	6	134	4.48
Essential Elements	4	2	1	7	192	3.65
Tradition of Excellence^a	1	3	2	5	140	3.57
Yamaha Advantage^a	3	3	1	5	168	2.98
Standard of Excellence	3	0	1	4	143	2.80
Sound Innovations	3	1	1	5	183	2.73
Measures of Success	5	1	0	6	223	2.69
Making Music Matter	3	1	0	4	166	2.41
Belwin 21^st-Century Band Method	1	0	1	2	120	1.67
Sound Fundamentals	1	0	1	2	146	1.37
Habits of a Successful Beginner	2	0	0	2	191	1.05
Yamaha Band Student	0	0	0	0	136	0.00
Best in Class	0	0	0	0	149	0.00
John Kinyon’s Basic Training Course	0	0	0	0	174	0.00
First Division Band Method	0	0	0	0	166	0.00
Total^a	27	31	11	66	2,612	2.53

Note. n = the total number of exercises containing creative activities in the method book. N = the total number of exercises in the method book.

Coded creativity item types are greater than the number of exercises because at least one exercise included more than one creativity item type.

To examine the kinds of creative activities present in each method, we analyzed the instructions for each creativity exercise using the a priori labels compose, arrange, and improvise. Because some exercises included instructions for multiple item types, the total number of coded instructions (N = 69) was greater than the total number of exercises that included creativity instructions (N = 66). The most frequently identified creative activity instruction type was improvise (n = 31, 44.93%), followed by compose (n = 27, 39.13%), and arrange (n = 11, 15.94%).

Finally, we examined the instruction types within each method book. Do It! contained the most exercises involving creativity (n = 18, 9.94%), and all exercises were improvisation based. Six other method books had at least five exercises involving creativity. Five of those six method books had at least one of each creativity exercise instruction type with Measures of Success being the exception. Measures of Success (n = 6, 2.24%), and Essential Elements (n = 4, 2.08%) had the highest number of composition items. Accent on Achievement (n = 3, 2.24%) and Tradition of Excellence (n = 2, 1.43%) had the most arranging items. See Table 1 for frequencies of creativity item types by method book.

To further examine creative activity instructions, we coded the information provided related to pitch (dictated, implied, free), rhythm (dictated or free), and other music elements (e.g., articulations, dynamic, or instrumentation prompts). Nearly all improvisation exercises (n = 28) included instructions regarding specific pitches or scales to use. Fewer improvisation exercises (n = 8) included dictated rhythmic support. Composition exercises (n = 27) did not always include instructions related to pitch or rhythm. When present, pitch information was most frequently implied (n = 10), followed by dictated (n = 8), and free (n = 3). Rhythmic information was closely split in composition exercises between dictated (n = 10) and free (n = 13). Exercises pertaining to arranging were the least likely to provide instructions for both pitch (n = 5) and rhythmic elements (n = 6); however, when provided, instructions typically dictated specific pitches or rhythms to be used. Table 2 contains frequencies of creative activity instruction types.

Table 2.

Frequencies of Instructional Directives for Creative Activity Types Across Method Books.

Type	n
Compose	27
Pitch^a	21
Dictated	8
Implied	10
Free	3
Rhythm^a	23
Dictated	10
Free	13
Other^a	5
Improvise	31
Pitch	31
Dictated	28
Implied	3
Free	0
Rhythm	31
Dictated	8
Free	23
Other	0
Arrange	11
Pitch^a	5
Dictated	4
Implied	1
Free	0
Rhythm^a	6
Dictated	5
Free	1
Other^a	5
Total	69

Note. Bold numbers indicate the total number of creativity item types found in method book exercises.

Exercise instructions did not always pertain to all coded subcategories; therefore, subcategory numbers do not always equal the total number of creativity item types found in method book exercises.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine the creative activities found in beginning band method books. Given that the frequency and type of exercises that contain creative activities varied among the examined materials, our results may assist educators and fine arts administrators in selecting materials that provide opportunities for students to achieve national standards for creativity.

Consideration of the percentage or a raw number of exercises that include creative activities and the breadth of activities afforded in a method book may be a useful starting point when selecting a beginning band method book. Most of the examined beginning band method books included exercises with creative activities; however, these exercises represented a small percentage (2.53%) of the total number of method book exercises. Some method books included a comparatively high percentage of exercises with creative activities, such as Do It! (9.94%) and Accent on Achievement (4.48%). In addition, method books such as Essential Elements (n = 7) and Measures of Success (n = 6) had the highest raw number of exercises with creative activities. Perhaps unsurprisingly, four method books published prior to the 1994 MENC standards, which included improvisation, composition, and arranging, did not include any creative activities: Yamaha Band Student, Best in Class, John Kinyon’s Basic Training Course, and First Division Band Method. Although some progress is evident, given that method books often serve as curriculum (Brittin & Sheldon, 2004; Byo, 1988; Singletary, 2018), method book authors and publishers might reduce teachers’ hesitancy for guiding improvisation (Bell, 2003; Byo, 1999) and composition (Hopkins, 2013; Menard, 2015) activities in the classroom by reviewing and presenting creative activities just as sequentially and thoughtfully as they do pitches in their method books (Tullberg, 1992). In addition, although our purpose was to provide information for stakeholders regarding the creative items found in method books, a more systematic historical comparison of method books published prior to 1994, between 1994 and 2014, and those published since 2014 might yield valuable insights into how method book authors and publishers have responded to standards over time.

In addition to the raw number or percentage of exercises present, educators and fine arts administrators should also consider the types of creative exercises found within method books. Based on our analysis, improvisation (n = 31, 44.93%) and composition (n = 27, 39.13%) exercises were included almost twice as often as arranging exercises (n = 11, 15.94%). Interestingly, 18 of the 31 improvisation exercises were found within a single method book, Do It!, which included no composition or arranging exercises. Educators who wish to develop students’ improvisation skills might select Do It! and develop supplemental composition and arranging exercises to ensure that students are exposed to other ways to demonstrate their creativity. Conversely, educators interested in a more even representation of item types might select Essential Elements or Yamaha Advantage.

One notable limitation of the method books that we examined is that none of them included at least two exercises involving all three activity types. Because the instructional sequence is an important consideration for educators as they select a method book (Swack, 2014), the lack of opportunities to sequentially develop skills in each creativity type may make teachers’ assessment of students’ skill acquisition and creative development more difficult. Method book authors and publishers might consider increasing the number of creative exercises of each type in subsequent editions so that students receive more practice creating music. In the meantime, educators may want to develop or adopt supplemental materials based on exercises from multiple method books to ensure students have experiences improvising, composing, and arranging. These exercises could be added based on rhythmic presentation, which varies somewhat in methods (Byo, 1988; Gage, 1994), or pitch presentation or tonalities which is often similar between different methods (Byo, 1988; Tullberg, 1992).

Music educators have indicated a lack of preparation for presenting improvisation (Adderley, 1999; Bell, 2003; Byo, 1999) and composition (Byo, 1999; Hopkins, 2013; Menard, 2015; Strand, 2006) activities in the music classroom; therefore, identifying a method book that supports directors’ needs for meeting the national standards would seem beneficial for beginning band students. These considerations may include the aforementioned frequency and type of creative exercises but might also include the clarity of exercise instructions and the sequential presentation of the exercises. Similar to more technical exercises found in beginning band method books (Brittin & Sheldon, 2004), a scaffolded approach to creativity experiences for beginning instrumentalists might begin with exercises that provide clear instruction regarding pitch and rhythm elements, a process similar to Hickey’s (2012) open versus closed composition assignments. Results from our examination indicated that increased clarity of the instructions for exercises may be desirable for all three creativity types. For example, only improvisation instructions provided dictated or implied pitch directives for all exercises. Similarly, rhythmic instructions for compose and improvise were more likely to allow for free choice than provide suggested rhythms. Method book authors and publishers may wish to increase instructional clarity for creativity exercises to make them more valuable for students and more accessible for teachers who may feel underprepared to lead these exercises. Furthermore, although we did not systematically examine the teacher edition for the method books, a cursory examination of the books that included the most creativity activities revealed a mix of explicit and implicit attempts to address standards relating to creativity. In addition, little supplemental instructional support for many of the creativity exercises was present; however, additional resource materials were sometimes referenced. Researchers might investigate to what extent these supporting materials provide aid for teachers who may feel nervous with unfamiliar content and how they could be further developed in teacher editions.

Limitations

Although our inclusion criteria were based on previous examinations of method books, other method books that we did not examine exist (e.g., Jump Right In! and Premiere Performance). These books were not included in the present investigation because the publisher does not publish music for heterogeneous concert bands. Therefore, directors may wish to investigate the creative activities found in those method books. Furthermore, method books are designed to develop students’ abilities and knowledge sequentially, but we did not specifically examine the extent that method books sought to sequentially develop students’ creative skills. Are creative exercises found later in the method book more advanced than prior ones? During our analysis, we noted that some exercises provided a more step-by-step approach that led to what we perceived as a more meaningful creative experience for students. Researchers may want to explore the meaning students derive from creative exercises, if any. It would also be interesting to survey beginning band directors about their perceptions and use of the creative exercises found in method books. To what extent do directors use the exercises, and do they feel that they are useful? There may also be interest among directors for more resources that sequentially develop students’ creativity. We also did not examine the extent that creative activities in beginning band method books met the NCAS for novice ensembles (the standards that would most directly pertain to ensembles likely to be using beginning band method books), so investigators might incorporate such considerations into their future research.

Implications and Conclusions

Beginning band teachers can use many resources to supplement the composition, arranging, and improvisation activities in their preferred method book. The Model Cornerstone Assessments are free NAfME publications for teachers to use in developing and assessing students’ creativity skills (NAfME, 2022). In addition to providing activities that assist students through the national standards, teachers are provided an assessment rubric and sample student work to aid the evaluation process. Another model for introducing creativity in the classroom can be gleaned from the Orff-Schulwerk approach where students create their own arrangements and compositions, often including improvisation over a student-created bordun or ostinato. Beginning band students may have experience with the Orff-Schulwerk and other elementary music method approaches such as Kodály or Dalcroze from their elementary general music classes; therefore, band teachers can use processes derived from these approaches to continue students’ creative development in the beginning band. For ways to systematically introduce improvisation in the classroom, teachers can look to the work of Kratus (1991, 1995) whose model for improvisation development distinguishes seven levels of ability, beginning with simple, unorganized exploration of sounds. Teachers wanting to include more composition in the ensemble classroom can examine the work of Taft (2019) who provides eight researcher-designed composition units for those who want to incorporate composition in their classrooms. Teachers may find it beneficial to schedule class time to introduce these pedagogical strategies, and for students to practice and share their creative skills. Music teacher educators might consider explicitly discussing transfers from various music disciplines within their curriculum to aid future educators in creative skill acquisition. For example, instrumental techniques instructors might consider demonstrating simple improvisation exercises by developing a one-note tonic ostinato over which students improvise using the notes of a major triad.

Music educators have been committed to preparing the next generation of independent and comprehensive musicians. The 2014 NCAS further clarified this goal by providing clear benchmarks for creative activities such as composing, improvising, and arranging (NAfME, 2014). For many educators, existing method books function as the curriculum in beginning band classes (Brittin & Sheldon, 2004; Byo, 1988; Singletary, 2018). Therefore, if students who exit the secondary band program should be able to complete creativity tasks independently, then early and regular experiences with creativity exercises would seem just as important and desirable to educators and fine arts administrators as supplemental instrumental pedagogy (Swack, 2014). Furthermore, although we examined method books for beginning band, these benchmarks exist for choir and orchestra; therefore, researchers might examine what resources and activities are used in these classrooms to meet the NCAS.

Our results indicated that although the number of creative activities increased in more recent publications, creative activities within most method books comprised a relatively small portion of the exercises for students. Furthermore, none of the method books examined included at least two exercises from all three creativity activity types (compose, improvise, arrange), indicating a lack of skill repetition and opportunity for development. Method book authors and publishers may want to increase the frequency of exercises that include creative activities and support educators who feel insecure teaching the concepts with instructions that include increased specificity and clear sequencing. In addition to seeking out professional development opportunities at district, state, and national levels, educators and fine arts administrators might consider extracting creativity exercises from multiple methods, seeking out professional development resources, attending an Orff-Schulwerk or other elementary method workshops, and advocating for more presentations on ways to integrate authentic creative activities within the curriculum at state and national conferences. By doing so, students can be provided authentic and pedagogically appropriate opportunities to develop as beginning instrumentalists and creative musicians. Developing musicians who can imagine, plan and make, evaluate and refine, and present compositions, improvisations, and arrangements is possible when students engage with these processes early and often during their formative music experiences.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-upd-10.1177_87551233221128532 – Supplemental material for Opportunities for Creativity in Beginning Band Method Books

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-upd-10.1177_87551233221128532 for Opportunities for Creativity in Beginning Band Method Books by Alec D. Scherer and Bradley J. Regier in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-2-upd-10.1177_87551233221128532 – Supplemental material for Opportunities for Creativity in Beginning Band Method Books

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-upd-10.1177_87551233221128532 for Opportunities for Creativity in Beginning Band Method Books by Alec D. Scherer and Bradley J. Regier in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-3-upd-10.1177_87551233221128532 – Supplemental material for Opportunities for Creativity in Beginning Band Method Books

Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-upd-10.1177_87551233221128532 for Opportunities for Creativity in Beginning Band Method Books by Alec D. Scherer and Bradley J. Regier in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Alec D. Scherer

Bradley J. Regier

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

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