An Approach to Music Education

An Approach to Music Education

This paper is an outline of my personal philosophy of education, specifically music education. Throughout this paper I will examine the aims of education and how they apply to music education. In doing so, I will also examine how these aims can be reflected in several key issues that have been discussed in the course. The specific aims I wish to discuss are, education for personal autonomy, education for well-being or flourishing, and education for knowledge or wisdom.

Education for Personal Autonomy in Music Education

I feel strongly about putting a great concentration on listening in my approach to education. One major problem in music is that people do not know what to listen to, and so they go by what someone or something else – a friend, a co-worker, commercial success and recognition – tells us. In my personal philosophy of education, I believe that a full education of music is imperative in granting students the autonomy to appreciate their own style of music and for them to find what speaks to them, as well as how and in what method they can best express themselves through music. True appreciation of music comes from a true knowledge of music and an understanding of the various aspects of it. This means that education of musical theory and ear training could be greatly beneficial in aiding students to know what to look for in music. I propose that by teaching students how to listen, we grant them the autonomy to explore the musical world

as individuals, and begin to „construct an identity‟, rather than replicating an image that is thought to be acceptable by their peers.

Commercialization and Personal Autonomy in Music Education Not too long ago in my conducting class, we discussed the idea of playing popular music in concert band and whether or not it should be done. Someone said „why not‟, they felt that if it was going to motivate the students, it was fine. He mentioned the possibility of keeping the popular music – movie soundtracks, adaptations of radio songs - until the end of the year, so that it wouldn‟t interfere with the pieces being prepared for the festivals and big concerts. I wholeheartedly disagree with this approach for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I do not feel that making competition the central aim of music education is coherent with facilitating personal autonomy. In making music festival participation a central aim to music education, we are supporting commercialization of schools. This may be a bit of an obscure comparison, but I feel that good standing in music festivals is often aspired to for the prestige of the school. In extreme cases, schools may even become exclusive as to the musical level that students must reach in order to participate in the music festival. Exclusion of sub-par music students does not facilitate autonomy, but instead reinforces barriers that are so prevalent in society and should not be present in education, especially since one student‟s advanced skill may be due to private lessons that a student from a lower socioeconomic background may not have the same access to. The other day, a friend of mine and I, were discussing our personal experiences of the music programs in our high school and he was explaining to me the festival based

approach that was taken at his school. He mentioned that they always participated in the festivals and that they always did quite well, but that there was something wrong with it. He mentioned that they would start practicing the songs for the spring festival in September and would practice them non-stop until the festival. Then he described the high school that they often competed against and often won. He remembered seeing one of their ensembles in a huddle five minutes before the performance, deciding what song to play. In my opinion, this last minute song choice reflects a music education that truly facilitates personal autonomy. The participation in music festivals should be purely for the experience of performing, for the students to demonstrate what they have learned, and be critiqued by an expert; it should not be a fundamental aim of the school year and should not be used as a way to entice parents to have their children attend a school because of a superficial label. In my teaching career I would like to focus on personal autonomy as a key aim, which means that my focus will be to teach the fundamentals of music that can then be transferred to any genre and facilitate students to pursue any type of musical direction they choose, as well as provide them with the level of musicianship required to be able to play any musical work to a high standard, at any time. My second, and very strong objection, to the statement made about popular songs for concert band lies precisely in the playing of popular songs.

On this issue, I know

that many people will disagree with me. Like my classmate said, if it motivates the student to play music, why not play pop songs? The reasons are multiple. Firstly, students rarely have any difficulty in discovering pop music on their own. They can listen to almost any radio station and it will repeatedly play the most popular

songs of the time, they look in a magazine, on a bus, watch T.V, and they will be exposed to pop music and musicians advertising „Coke‟ or „Pepsi‟, or a variety of other products. So, in terms of facilitating autonomy by way of exposure to a variety of different musical styles, exposure to pop music is irrelevant. Secondly, I feel it is important to assess the value in music that we choose to use as an educational tool for students. I will discuss this matter in detail further on in my paper.

Technology and Autonomy in Music Education This is perhaps a section in which I am not fully educated and also one that I plan on exploring in the coming years of my education. I feel that it is incredibly important to be well versed in terms of technology and how it can be used in music. Technology can offer a variety of possibilities in music from recording, sound engineering, sound manipulation, composition, and practice aids. I think that the important thing to emphasize to students is to control the technology, rather than be controlled by it. After all, we are aiming for autonomy. I would like to teach students how to manipulate technology to make new and unique sounds, how to change the things that they don‟t like about the technology being used, and also, not to rely on the technology. A friend of mine is an up and coming Canadian musician who makes all of his own effects, and microphones. He is a perfect example of what I would like to demonstrate to my students. If he wants to make a sound, he finds a way to do it. He is not afraid of physically altering his guitar, despite the advice of other guitar players, he

makes his own contact microphones so that he can use pedals on his acoustic guitar, and he constructs his own pedals in order to get the sound he wants. At the same time, he is able to play music at an equally compelling level with or without these technologies. If he wants to make his guitar sound like bagpipes he can, but the effects are never used to mask a lack of skill. I think this is an important point to emphasize to young musicians who may become obsessed with the technologies and neglect their actual musicianship. I also think it is important to not override musicality with technology, to question what the technology is being used for and if it is really necessary. Perhaps a good motto to instill is „just because you can do it, it doesn‟t mean you should‟.

Education to Promote Students Well-Being/Flourishing

In many ways, I feel that education to promote well-being or flourishing encompasses many of the same ideas as education for personal autonomy. After all, we can easily accept that in order to flourish, we must be autonomous. However, I do feel that it is possible to be autonomous and not to be flourishing. Therefore, I would like to look at the ways in which we can ensure that students‟ well-being will be promoted through music education.

Labour, Leisure and Well-being in Music Education Very few students will actually choose to pursue a career in music and those who do will usually be supplementing their music education with private lessons on their

instrument. However, I still feel that music education is an important aspect that relates greatly to students well-being or flourishing within both labour and leisure, but for the sake of time, I will focus on leisure. Music is a fairly universal form of enjoyment. What I feel quite passionately about, is educating students to listen actively and critically, so that they can seek out forms of music that are both challenging and stimulating. I don‟t feel this will be easy to instill, as most people hold their musical choices as quite personal. However, I do not aim to influence the musical tastes of students, but rather to invoke in them the desire to ask themselves what it is that they like or enjoy about something. I find this can be very nicely compared to food. Some people swear that they love fast food and that this is where they get the most enjoyment. But this is not nourishing, it has no substance, no subtleties – it is not hard to say that fast food does not promote wellbeing. This is the same case for much of the popular music of today. I want to educate students to look beyond the flash of the music that is presented to them in popular culture. Take away the attractive singer, the dance moves, the glamour, and what is left? It is also important to state that I don‟t feel that all popular music is bad; some is quite good. What I want to instill in students is the ability to discern between fast food and haute cuisine. I want to teach them to hear the subtleties of music - to understand form, chord changes, melodic structure, and simple beauty both in lyrics and melody. Beyond listening and music appreciation, music still has a lot to offer as a valuable way to spend leisure time. I would like to teach students not only musical knowledge, but also the ways in which they can use music to participate in group and community activities. Of course, as a music teacher I will be involved in extra-curricular

activities associated with the school, but I would also like to lead a musical group outside the school and invite students to be a part of it. When I was 13 yrs old, I had a tough time with my peers at school, but I was a part of a youth concert band made up of other kids my age from all over our county. This became an excellent social outlet for me; I could associate with other students who were passionate about music and about engaging in musical learning. I think this is an important thing to offer, as well as an important way of demonstrating to students valuable ways of connecting to their communities, and engaging socially.

Teaching Students with Different Abilities I feel that music is an excellent medium through which to teach students of various abilities at the same time. Students who excel can easily be kept with their peers, as repertoire can be chosen that gives advanced students the opportunity to be featured and to work on skills that are more advanced than the other players in the orchestra. For example, if there were a clarinet player in the class who was far ahead of his or her classmates and needed to be challenged, I would choose a piece that featured him or her. There are many more possibilities as well, including giving advanced students the opportunity to conduct, to tutor their peers, to compose, arrange, or double on another instrument. The danger to this is that the student may develop an ego, or that the other students may feel resentful to the attention he/she is receiving. I think that the answer to this is a balance and discretion. In terms of discretion, it is only slightly possible. If a student is given the chance to conduct, all of his/her peers will be aware of it. However, by giving a number of students the chance, or by approaching it casually – for example,

after asking the advanced student to conduct, I would see if anyone else was interested – I feel that students would feel less resentful about it. In terms of students with disabilities, I feel that music can be an excellent therapeutic outlet. I recently wrote a research essay on the effects of music therapy on children with autism and was overwhelmed by the amount of research and the amount of positive effects. Throughout my research I found no reason why a music class should not be offered to students with autism as a form of music therapy. Although I admit there could be difficulties in terms of inclusive classrooms, from my research, I do believe that this can sometimes be possible, but when it is not, I propose having a music therapy class in which students who were interested in that field could help in the organizing and the teaching. I may be slightly naïve in this subject – I don‟t profess to be an expert after writing one paper – but I feel that there is great potential here and I hope to continue my research on the matter.

Education for Knowledge and Wisdom

I feel that education for knowledge and wisdom is key in education to facilitate personal autonomy and education to promote well-being. Knowledge and wisdom give us the opportunity to pursue whatever we choose and to excel and gain the most enjoyment from it. In music, I have strong convictions in education for knowledge and wisdom and feel that they are linked with the all of the matters that I have already discussed, as well as to the overall aims of the QEP.

Interculturalism and Knowledge/Wisdom in Music Education In terms of „constructing a worldview‟ and approaching interculturalism, I feel that music education is a very interesting medium. After all, every culture has music. I would very much like to expose students to a variety of cultural music and also to explore the history and meaning behind it. I recently did a presentation in my „multiculturalism‟ class on this matter and was shocked at the responses of my classmates. Many of them remembered playing songs in high school, but never learned anything about those songs or about any musical history. Without learning these things, it is impossible to find meaning in music. Music is a very important outlet and one that has archived the hardships and oppression of many cultures, as well as religious, spiritual, and every other form of expression. I feel it is ridiculous not to explore this with students, as it is an excellent and honest way for them to „construct a worldview‟. The music of any particular culture will be a much more honest depiction of that culture‟s history than what we get from many high school textbooks.

Grading and Knowledge/Wisdom in Music Education I feel that grading is an important matter to discuss in terms of music education. From my own experiences, the grades in music class were often known as „freebies‟. Just about every student had an A and had to do little work to get it. I feel that this is wrong for many reasons. Although I don‟t believe that high grades should be what students aim for, it is the case for the moment. As I mentioned in class, I think a good alternative would be for a student to simply pass or fail, but throughout their education

compile a collection of reference letters from teachers who have felt that they demonstrated great effort in their learning process. At the end of the student‟s education, he or she would hopefully have a good set of letters from teachers that they felt inspired by. Although I would love for this to work, for the moment I will have to focus on traditional grading methods. In this matter I feel that grading in music should be much more difficult than what I experienced. I feel that students – including myself – make a greater effort when they know that they need to strive for the grades. In both this class and my conducting class, I felt that the grading was more difficult than other classes in which I could get an „A‟ without much effort. The results were that the two difficult classes were where I put my emphasis, as well as where I felt that I learned the most. I believe in teaching students to pursue a life-long education. By giving them easily attainable grades, they don‟t get the feeling that the information they are learning is difficult and goes beyond just the class. I want to instill in my students that they should continue working on the things that I have shown them beyond the semester, the year, and even their high school education. For this I expect to get some criticism from parents for putting too much strain on students for a course like music, which will not lead to a career. I expect to hear that music should not interfere with science or math or whatever. I feel that complaints such as these will be missing the point. If I am able to succeed at teaching all of the aspects of music that I wish to, I will be equipping my students with tools that will help them with the success of their other courses. In music we work on a lot of skills that are necessary for learning in all fields. We practice for hours on end, which requires concentration and

solitude. We search for abstract meaning in musical form and style. We develop fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, and artistic expression. We also need to develop both confidence and humility in order to play in public and be part of a group. In my opinion these are all skills that will help to „empower‟ students, not only in music, but also in the other aspects of their education and in their personal lives.

Conclusion

I realize that many of my ideas are only just beginning to be formed and that I expect to encounter many difficulties along the way. One that I expect will be the most difficult will be time-constraints. However, I truly hope that many of my convictions will stay with me, since they are key in my decision to become a teacher. I will also keep in mind a conversation I had with the same friend who I described as an expert with technology. I told him that I was excited to pursue music education and briefly described some of the points I have made in this paper. When I finished, I said that I just wanted to be able to show students things about music that they normally would never have access to; I want to show them new things. My friend smiled at me and said, “I‟m sure they will show you a lot of things too.” I was very pleased at this. I hope that this will be the case throughout my career as a music teacher. That both my students and I will make great efforts to learn about all of the things that music can show us.