Philosophy of Music Education
Many people ask me why I have chosen to go into music education. They assume I chose is field because of my parents or my love for instrumental music. Both of my parents are educators, one teaching elementary and one teaching 5-12 instrumental music, and they provided the knowledge and support of my chosen career path. While this and other factors push me toward music education, the main impetus for my chosen career path is the need I see for music in South Dakota.
I see music ensembles and classes as much more than just performing pieces and learning about historical figures. I see them as a way to pick out the best parts of each core class and combine them into an art form. Music chooses samplings of math, physics, history, biology, sociology, psychology, literature, art, and all the other courses taught in schools today and mixes them into a universal language that is understood by all. These subjects, taught in their own classes, are combined and made into a tangible idea with which children can understand and experiment. It takes the sound mechanics of physics and gives students the means to produce it through playing a trombone or hitting a drum. One could also consider the mathematics of music: patterns, repetition, fractions, and actively counting. Even literature and art have inspired many composers to write songs and symphonies that can be enjoyed by all. It is this combination that I want to teach, and allow students to see the individual components they might consider boring and uneventful come to life in the classroom.
During my time junior fielding at Watertown High School, I rediscovered the importance of the individualized education that private lessons can bestow. While I had private lessons when I was a student, both with my instrumental teacher and others as I grew more proficient, I have seen how these periods of instruction help develop students at an individual level. Lessons offer the chance for instructors to evaluate their students based on the student’s skill level and draw attention to the specific problems that students have. With these problems addressed and solutions provided, the student feels more confident and can work more efficiently, becoming more proficient and confident in their ability. Hearing different ensembles as a student, I always found the ensembles that provided the opportunity for students to take lessons were usually more focused and very accurate in their playing compared to the ones that do not. As an educator, I would push to give the students the option of taking lessons, not necessarily making them a requirement unless the student was in a special ensemble or performance opportunity, such as contest, All-State Band, etc.
One of my professors once told me that music is a necessity because it enhances life, and I could not agree more. Students use music to relax while driving, studying, or just hanging out with friends. My goal would be to promote this relaxing atmosphere while striving to create the best music possible. A student may not be enriched by the music if they are frustrated by the process of making music. Because I can relate to this through years of my own frustration, I strive to try to be relaxing and positive while teaching students. Teaching clarinet lessons and shadowing professional music educators have shown the great power patience and positive reinforcement have over a young mind.
One should also consider the historical impact music leaves on our students. In my own education, music history was not promoted except in the music appreciation class. We performed many classic pieces, but I wish to delve deeper. As an educator, I plan to offer discussions on historical figures as part of my teaching. In the classroom, I will educate my students about the great composers and players of music history, from classic to baroque, and from concert band to jazz band. This way students will not only start to get an idea of their musical roots, they will have a chance to listen to something in addition to the popular music that is available to them. Popular music does not have the staying power that the music of our forefathers contained. Many songs that were popular and sold record amounts during my time in high school are all but forgotten in the public image. Yet Beethoven’s Fifth, Handel’s Messiah, and Copland’s Rodeo are still used today in many forms, from education to music in movies and television. Without proper introduction to the music of the past, our children may be doomed to shunning previous composers, styles, and works, and only listening to popular music, limiting their knowledge of musical types and genres.
Along with the preceding four reasons, the paramount importance of music is its universal quality. Most students listen to one form of music or another. Most people can feel the moods and expressions composers work into a piece. Not everyone can understand the complexities of math and science. Even I do not understand these subjects, but I can hear a symphony and understand the feeling its melody portrays. Another universal quality of music is the ability for everyone to participate. Music Learning Theory teaches us that everyone, at some level, can perform and understand music. I, as a teacher, must strive to develop that ability to its full potential, whatever that may be. As a student, I was able to test this theory with some of my fellow students during a Human Relations class. We gave an aptitude test to the class (all non-majors with little experience in music) and picked four random participants to learn a brass instrument. In fifteen minutes, we had each student making sounds on the instruments, and most could play Hot Cross Buns. I did not realize the power of this theory until that very moment. Because of that demonstration, my belief is firmly cemented. I now know that any student I teach can perform music, and it excites me and makes me imagine all the possibilities that could happen.
With its combined parts, enhancing power, historical significance, and universal qualities, what other reason would I need to teach music? If these four areas would be pursued in every music program in South Dakota, what kind of musicians could we produce? That question becomes my focus as I prepare to become a music educator. The possibilities excite me, and I know all of my hard work will produce fantastic results.
I see music ensembles and classes as much more than just performing pieces and learning about historical figures. I see them as a way to pick out the best parts of each core class and combine them into an art form. Music chooses samplings of math, physics, history, biology, sociology, psychology, literature, art, and all the other courses taught in schools today and mixes them into a universal language that is understood by all. These subjects, taught in their own classes, are combined and made into a tangible idea with which children can understand and experiment. It takes the sound mechanics of physics and gives students the means to produce it through playing a trombone or hitting a drum. One could also consider the mathematics of music: patterns, repetition, fractions, and actively counting. Even literature and art have inspired many composers to write songs and symphonies that can be enjoyed by all. It is this combination that I want to teach, and allow students to see the individual components they might consider boring and uneventful come to life in the classroom.
During my time junior fielding at Watertown High School, I rediscovered the importance of the individualized education that private lessons can bestow. While I had private lessons when I was a student, both with my instrumental teacher and others as I grew more proficient, I have seen how these periods of instruction help develop students at an individual level. Lessons offer the chance for instructors to evaluate their students based on the student’s skill level and draw attention to the specific problems that students have. With these problems addressed and solutions provided, the student feels more confident and can work more efficiently, becoming more proficient and confident in their ability. Hearing different ensembles as a student, I always found the ensembles that provided the opportunity for students to take lessons were usually more focused and very accurate in their playing compared to the ones that do not. As an educator, I would push to give the students the option of taking lessons, not necessarily making them a requirement unless the student was in a special ensemble or performance opportunity, such as contest, All-State Band, etc.
One of my professors once told me that music is a necessity because it enhances life, and I could not agree more. Students use music to relax while driving, studying, or just hanging out with friends. My goal would be to promote this relaxing atmosphere while striving to create the best music possible. A student may not be enriched by the music if they are frustrated by the process of making music. Because I can relate to this through years of my own frustration, I strive to try to be relaxing and positive while teaching students. Teaching clarinet lessons and shadowing professional music educators have shown the great power patience and positive reinforcement have over a young mind.
One should also consider the historical impact music leaves on our students. In my own education, music history was not promoted except in the music appreciation class. We performed many classic pieces, but I wish to delve deeper. As an educator, I plan to offer discussions on historical figures as part of my teaching. In the classroom, I will educate my students about the great composers and players of music history, from classic to baroque, and from concert band to jazz band. This way students will not only start to get an idea of their musical roots, they will have a chance to listen to something in addition to the popular music that is available to them. Popular music does not have the staying power that the music of our forefathers contained. Many songs that were popular and sold record amounts during my time in high school are all but forgotten in the public image. Yet Beethoven’s Fifth, Handel’s Messiah, and Copland’s Rodeo are still used today in many forms, from education to music in movies and television. Without proper introduction to the music of the past, our children may be doomed to shunning previous composers, styles, and works, and only listening to popular music, limiting their knowledge of musical types and genres.
Along with the preceding four reasons, the paramount importance of music is its universal quality. Most students listen to one form of music or another. Most people can feel the moods and expressions composers work into a piece. Not everyone can understand the complexities of math and science. Even I do not understand these subjects, but I can hear a symphony and understand the feeling its melody portrays. Another universal quality of music is the ability for everyone to participate. Music Learning Theory teaches us that everyone, at some level, can perform and understand music. I, as a teacher, must strive to develop that ability to its full potential, whatever that may be. As a student, I was able to test this theory with some of my fellow students during a Human Relations class. We gave an aptitude test to the class (all non-majors with little experience in music) and picked four random participants to learn a brass instrument. In fifteen minutes, we had each student making sounds on the instruments, and most could play Hot Cross Buns. I did not realize the power of this theory until that very moment. Because of that demonstration, my belief is firmly cemented. I now know that any student I teach can perform music, and it excites me and makes me imagine all the possibilities that could happen.
With its combined parts, enhancing power, historical significance, and universal qualities, what other reason would I need to teach music? If these four areas would be pursued in every music program in South Dakota, what kind of musicians could we produce? That question becomes my focus as I prepare to become a music educator. The possibilities excite me, and I know all of my hard work will produce fantastic results.
