SO UN D I N G T H E T E A CH IN G
2
Exposition
EXPERIENCING MUSIC COMPOSITION
Student Leadership
Development Through
Community Drumming
BY SH AH RIN MAH MUD, GR EENRIDG E PRIMARY SC HOOL
Did it ever occur to you that a simple music activity such
as drumming can help develop students’ leadership skills?
I tend to focus a lot on musicianship skills in my lessons
so it was time to look into developing other skills such
as leadership.
We know that leadership is an important
aspect in music making, but how much
do we know about the experiences of
student leaders?
What goes through the leaders’ minds as
they carry out their leadership roles?
The primary purpose of this project is to
highlight the experiences of students who
lead a community drumming group and
examine the leadership experiences of
these students.
PURPOSE
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To investigate how students who took
on leadership roles in a community
drumming group perceived their
experiences and how these experiences
have changed them.
QUESTIONS
How do students perceive themselves
as leaders?
How do they perceive their leadership
experiences?
CONTEXT
At Greenridge Primary School, our mission
is to nurture Lifelong Learners - Gracious,
Responsible and Public-spirited students
in thoughts and deeds. In addition, the
school places a lot of emphasis on student
leadership due to the impact leadership
programmes can have on students.
Our students will inevitably encounter
challenges in their leadership roles.
By understanding what these challenges
are, we will be able to better evaluate the
effects and outcomes of our leadership
programme.
EX A MI NI NG MU SI C LEA R NI NG EX P ER I ENC ES
LITERATURE REVIEW
In his dissertation, May (2009) mentioned
Chapman and Aspin’s (2001) argument that
developing student leadership through
specific programmes is crucial to promoting
social responsibility, community leadership,
active citizenship and service leadership.
In a workshop conducted at the 32 nd ISME
World Conference on Music Education
entitled Drum Works by Beer, Wills and
McDouall (2016) from the Guildhall School
of Music & Drama, UK, it was mentioned
that the community drumming project
provides opportunities for students to
support their personal development by
mentoring other students.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Leadership is the process in which one
person sets the purpose or direction for
one or more persons and gets them to
move along with him or her and with each
other in that direction with competence
and full commitment (Jaques & Clement,
1994, p.4).
Leadership is an interaction between two
or more members of a group that often
involves a structuring or restructuring
of the situation and the perceptions and
expectations of members. Leadership
occurs when one group member modifies
the motivation or competencies of others
in the group. Any member of the group can
exhibit some amount of leadership (Bass,
1990, p.19-20).
GENERAL BACKGROUND
OF PARTICIPANTS
None of the leaders held a key leadership
appointment in their school or class (e.g.
prefect, class chairperson or CCA leader)
They had gone through at least one
leadership programme conducted by
their school at the Primary 4 or 5 level
They were selected for this research
based on their leadership potential an d
good sense of rhythm as determined by
their teachers
METHODOLOGY
This project employed qualitative methods,
which included video recordings, interviews
and students’ reflection worksheets.
From the data derived through the
interview and journaling process, we drew
an overall picture of the experiences of
participants and the meanings participants
constructed from their experiences. From
there, themes regarding the participants’
experiences as student leaders emerged.
THE ENRICHMENT
PROGRAMME
Four sessions, two hours per session
SESSION 1
Introduction to percussion instruments and
playing techniques. Compose and perform
simple rhythms in small groups
SESSION 2
Work in sections to compose a rhythm
incorporating music elements such as
dynamics and pitch
SESSION 3
Combine all the rhythms
SESSION 4
Compose and perform a new piece
(two separate groups)
BRIEFING/REFLECTION/
INTERVIEW SESSION
FOR LEADERS
(30 minutes before and after each session)
Leaders were tasked to lead all activities.
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