Young Producers Group curricula revolve around listening parties where students share their work at the end of each project. This creative discourse fosters community among the students and provides authentic opportunities for them to make use of the vocabulary and concepts they’ve learned. These are central to the YPG pedagogy and will continue to play a vital role in the Capstone project process. However, the individual nature of the Capstone curriculum will require a modified approach. Instead of sharing each new song along the way, listening parties will serve as a check-in point as students progress towards completing their Capstone projects. Each listening party will highlight these check-in points, help students step out of their creative silos, and create an opportunity for them to explain their creative process and verbalize ideas.
Listening Party #1: Project Introduction
Students introduce their project and share the overall vision of what they’re going for with the album. Then, they share what they have made so far with the other students.
Listening Party #2: Project Update
Students share their work again two months later.
Listening Party #3: Composition Review
Students share their finished compositions, picking the track that they feel is most emblematic of the overall project.
Listening Party #4: Mix Check
Students share their progress mixing their music.
Listening Party #5: Final Listening Party
Students share their finished projects with the students, sharing their album art, titles, and any connected mood boards or branding materials.
Overview
These expectations must be clearly expressed and consistently enforced:
A listening party is a safe space.
Everyone must show respect by giving their peers’ music their full attention and keeping all criticism constructive and supportive.
Students are expected to participate in the creative discourse around each other’s work.
The teacher models how to participate by getting the discussion started.
The teacher asks two questions:
What was something that worked well in the piece?
Where is there room for improvement?
No “good” or “bad”, only statements of meaning.
Inspiration instead of intimidation leads to more authentic participation in all activities.
A listening party can foster internal motivation where students are inspired by each other.
Students are much more likely to do their best work if they know their friends are going to hear it.
We recommend listening to every student’s project. But, if a class is too big, there are variety of strategies you can use:
Split students into groups and only listen to one group for each project
Listen to only one minute of each student’s project
Students upload their work to the LMS and students listen to projects on their own.
Good sound goes a long way! We recommend a good pair of speakers and an audio interface if possible:
JBL 306P MKII: $159 each
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2: $179
Deep Dive
THREE RULES
All phones, headphones, computers, and other devices must be put away.
All students must remain quiet when music is being played and when they are not giving feedback.
All songs must get a round of applause before and after they are played!
EXPECTATIONS
RESPECT:
A creative community is built on a foundation of respect.
We expect 100% respect for 100% of the students!
ACTIVE LISTENING:
Great musicians and producers must be good listeners!
In order to actively listen, students must put away all phones, headphones, computers, and other devices and remain quiet.
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK:
Good feedback encourages other musicians and provides actionable items that help them make their music better.
When sharing feedback, avoid words like, “good” or “bad.”
Share specific things that you observed or how something made you feel rather than your personal opinion.
VARIATIONS
Anonymous Listening Party:
Helps students grow more comfortable with listening parties.
Demonstrates that this is a safe space for sharing their creativity, opinions, and critiques.
Standard Listening Party Presentation Styles:
Full Presentation:
The student stands at the front of the room and introduces themselves and their song/project.
Teacher Announces the Artist:
The teacher will announce the student/artist’s name and then play their song.
The teacher will then call on student volunteers for feedback on the song.
Listening Gallery:
Students leave laptops on their desk with Soundtrap project open, headphones plugged in, and a piece of paper for feedback.
Students move around the room and listen to different projects and leave their written feedback.
At the end students share with the class the feedback they found most helpful.
Group Listening Party:
Students are placed into groups to share their projects amongst themselves.
Making use of the collaboration feature or headphone splitters is common so multiple students can listen with their headphones.
Feedback Variations:
Written Feedback, Giving:
Listeners write down their feedback and it is delivered to the student/artist who’s song was played.
Written Feedback, Receiving:
The student/artist who is presenting their song takes notes of all the feedback they receive after playing their song for the class.
This can be taken even further by asking them the question “how do you plan on using this feedback for your next project?”
Ear Training:
Instead of providing feedback, students analyze the song to listen for specific elements or assignment requirements.
Examples: “Listen to see if you can hear…”
Smaller subdivisions in this song.
An A section and a B section.
A bass, synth, and drums.
FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
What is working well in the music?
Sentence starters:
I like how you did _____ with the _____.
The _____ made me feel _____.
Where is there room for improvement?
Sentence starters:
If I was the producer, I would have done _____.
I like how you did _______, but I would try ________ next time.