Abstract

This project set out to stimulate creative thinking in 5th grade beginning band students.
Through musically creative activities and a final presentation, students worked on
fundamental playing skills and collaborated creatively with their peers. Factors that
encouraged or discouraged creative thinking in the beginning band classroom were also
explored. For their final presentation, students worked in small groups to create their own
musical accompaniment to a children’s storybook. Through informal and formal
assessment, student musicians that participated in the project did not appear to grow
significantly in their musically creative abilities, playing skills, or collaborative abilities.
This appeared to be due to the pace of the class: students appeared to lack the skills
needed to address the musical problems found in the activities and final presentation.
Students also did not appear to know how to collaborate effectively to create musical
ideas. Factors that encouraged creative thinking in the beginning band classroom were: 1)
focusing student efforts on real-world problems (a live performance in front of 1st grade
students); and 2) activities that were fun for the students. Factors that discouraged
creative thinking were 1) a lack of procedural structure; 2) repetition without reflection
and change; and 3) unattainable performance standards.