A Reflective Lens: Music Pedagogical Research to Transform Practice | Page 28

Co-operative Learning Structure in Group Music Composition

Peer correction also happened in instances like correcting
the way an instrument should be played. For example,
Student A showed Student C that he should hit in the middle
of the xylophone keys, and Student G told Student H that
he was not supposed to use the stick to hit the bongo.
Peer correction further took place during the practice for
the performance, where the musically-i nclined members
did some quality control of the performance. For example,
Student A corrected Student D saying, “Student D, you
sing it too fast. Try to do it slower.” Of course, it was
followed by peer coaching and in this case, Student A and
Student E taught Student D how to sing the melody at
accurate tempo.
Consulting Peers
It was heartening to observe how the coaching and
correcting part did not turn out to be one-sided as there
were many instances in which members who were not so
musically-inclined asked the more musical members for
help. For example, in choosing a percussion instrument
to play the rhythmic ostinato, Student J asked Student G
whether it was better to use the egg shaker or tambourine.
Student H asked Student G to teach him how to sing the
melody, “How to sing again?” On a separate occasion,
Student D asked Student A what he should play for rhythmic
ostinato before she replied, “tika tika ti ti rest” while
demonstrating how to play the rhythm on the percussion
instrument. Student C also clarified with Student B which
notes to remove for the pentatonic scale, “Which are the
notes we have to take out, B and what ah?” as he removed
the bars from the metallophone.
Besides asking for help, there were also instances where
students consulted each other for decisions. For example,
Student B consulted Student A in deciding whether she
should play the higher octave or lower octave for the
melody played on the xylophone.

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