“Acclaim helped students to better understand the physical aspect of conducting. They crave instant feedback.” – Ben Caston, Truett McConnell College
Ben Caston is the Chair of the Music and Arts Division and Director of at Truett McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia. In the Fall of 2014, Dr. Caston taught a conducting class to four students in which he incorporated Acclaim for conducting assignments.
Acclaim: Tell us about your conducting classes. What is the course content?
BC: Fundamentals of Conducting is an introductory level class for both choral and instrumental music students. Students learn posture, alignment, and meter; as well as different patterns of conducting. Most of the course materials are drawn from the online text book, On Music Conducting. We meet two times a week for one hour. Students are sophomore and juniors, and have had about eight courses in music when they begin my class.
[IMAGE: Student Conducting Assignment with Instructor Comments on Acclaim]
Acclaim: Can you tell us a bit about the conducting assignments using Acclaim?
BC: Students have to complete a total of five conducting assignments from the On Music Conducting textbook using Acclaim. In the assignments, students practice the following skills:
1. Three and Four Beat Patterns
2. One and Two Beat Patterns
3. Entrances on Other Beats, Fermatas, and Cues
4. Subdivisions, Accents, Syncopations
5. Asymmetrical Meters, Sustaining Gestures
After I record the videos, I assess students based on how their left and right hands compliment each other, their use of facial expressions to indicate breathing patterns and emotional content, and how they indicate syncopations and phrasing. The assignments encourage students to balance the intent of the composer while also allowing freedom for musicians.
[IMAGE: Student Conducting Assignment with Instructor Comments on Acclaim]
Acclaim: What aspects of using Acclaim have been helpful to your teaching? How does it expand your capabilities for providing students with guidance, and/or fostering discussion?
BC: Before Acclaim, students had a private YouTube channel. The channel became quite busy, and it was hard to keep all the student videos organized. I could provide students with feedback, but it was difficult for students to understand precisely which parts of their practices I was referencing.
With Acclaim, it is really helpful for students that I can comment on their performances at an exact point in time. When students go back and review, they can see my feedback visually. This was especially useful as I was teaching Laban techniques. It helped students to better understand the physical aspect of conducting. And they crave instant feedback.
Also Acclaim allows you to create folders based on the project or on the individual. You can make things much better organized.
Acclaim is far superior to using YouTube for a class.
[IMAGE: Student Conducting Assignment with Instructor Comments on Acclaim]