A reflection on the content of EDUC 4254 Section 600 Winter 2017 by Lindsay Gray
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Introduction
Welcome to my EDUC 4254 Reflection! Below you will find my responses to our various sessions along with a variety of personal reflections and teacher resources that I think are beneficial to myself and other future teachers. I hope you enjoy my reflection!
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SESSION ONE
What is music? It seems like a silly question when initially asked but when you think about it, it can be difficult to answer.
Session 1 was on introduction to the course that focused on defining music and comparing it with sounds. We learned that in every sound there is a potential for it to be musical if there is human organization. This was an interesting point to me as it led me to reflect on times where I have heard music in sounds that aren’t musical at all like a washing machine rattling or someone typing.
We also looked at some quotes about music with my personal favourite being, “Music is a strange thing. I would almost say it is a miracle” said by Heinrich Heine. There have been times where I have heard songs or musical pieces that have, as corny as it sounds, made me feel like someone understands a situation I am going through which is a miracle to me.
I think it would be interesting as an initial activity to ask your class what music is to them. It would be interesting to hear how much music affects their lives or how much or little they think music can affect their lives. It is important to know students’ background and prior knowledge before going into a unit. Here is an example class survey (that can be tweaked for your class) that could be used to get to know your students initially.
http://www.teachjunkie.com/planning/art-and-music-sub-plan-ideas/
Another major thing we discussed in session 1 was if music was a science or art. The interesting thing about this discussion was how we kept adding to it over the course of the semester. My opinion hasn’t changed though. I still think music is more of an art than a science. I think music definitely has scientific tendencies but all in all the ability to create and tweak things to make sounds go together nicely is more of an art than a science in my opinion.
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SESSION TWO
Session 2 began with learning about the idea of visual bias. We were asked the question, “Why do TV converters have a mute button for the sound but not for the image?” This was a very interesting question because I couldn’t think of a solid answer. I personally think it couldn’t hurt to have a mute button for image and not sound. There are many reasons why this would be a good idea. For example, sometimes people want to fall asleep with background noise but don’t want the bright light of the television.
We then turned our focus to visual bias, a term that I had never heard before but was very interested in. Our world has such a focus on what we see as opposed to our other senses. When learning about this I couldn’t help thinking about my grandmother who has very limited eyesight. Our family is very quick to show her pictures of hand her the computer when Facetiming our cousins without realizing that she can’t see these images.
We learned that the two major reasons for our visually biased world were money (I feel like money is ALWAYS the reason) and literacy. Literacy as a reason was an interesting realization. It reminded me of my time working at a summer literacy camp where there is such a big focus on being able to identify letters by their shape as opposed to sound.
We looked at how auditory processes add enhanced meaning to our everyday lives. Music and other sounds can add a contextual framework. We looked at various media clips with their soundtrack changed and looked at how this changed the context. Here is another video that I found that shows this as well from Lord of The Rings.
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I think showing videos like these to your primary/junior classes is an excellent idea, especially with movies that they know because I find students respond so well to watching videos and it's a great way to give them a practical example of enhanced meaning.
The last thing we looked at was the two types of musical listening: active, where you listen for purpose, and passive, where the music is accompanying another medium. Personally, I find that passive music listening quickly turns into active listening. I find I’ll be trying to do work with background music but get too into the song and just listen to it fully. I also love going to concerts so I definitely use my active listening skills there.
Our final question was whether music education should focus on teaching kids how to create, perform, and appreciate music or if it should concentrates on the intricacies of the auditory world and how humans use musical sounds as a principal way of knowing and understanding the world. That is a difficult question to answer as a combination of the two would be the desirable option.
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Although we never really talked about concerts (other than during active listening), I wanted to add this clip that I took during a Bruno Mars concert in 2013. I think it is important to acknowledge the way the music effects people and how it brings everyone together. This video shows 10,000 people actively listening and singing the same song. To use some key terms, it has really great texture. I just wanted to add this as I feel sometimes there is a major focus on creating music and not a lot of focus on the emotions surrounding it and I think concerts are an amazing way to dive into that emotion. (I also had a VERY tall person standing in front of me the entire show so good thing music is for ears and not eyes!)
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SESSION THREE
Session 3 focused on the new paradigm of music where music has become essentially free and ubiquitous. Since there is this new paradigm of music, a new paradigm of music education should surely follow as curriculum should be a reflection of society. But is this the reality?
We are living in the time of the MP3 Revolution where live music is hard to access because of all of the recorded music, normally free from the internet, is so available. I recently had computer issues and lost all of my music but luckily I still buy CDs so I am currently in the process of burning hundreds of CDs back onto my computer and I am realizing just how much music I have access to. I remember my dad telling me stories of how he’d wait for songs to come on the radio and record them. He had a recording of Dream On by Aerosmith where his dog started barking and to this day when he hears the song he expects there to be a dog bark at a certain point.
Even within my lifetime, I have seen such a large difference in ways to access music. I remember having a Walkman and just absolutely loving it. Then I got an MP3 player that held 70 songs and I thought it was so cool! Now I can store 16 GB of music on my iPod which is equal to 4000 songs!
My portable music devices over the years
I think these ideas are really relevant in music education because so many students, especially in the junior grades have iPods and MP3 players. In my current practicum placement, my teacher allows students to listen to music when doing work and I think this is an excellent idea. I see with my own eyes students who are distracted putting on headphones and immediately start doing work. I see students who are frustrated at the constant chatter start listening to music and are able to focus again. It’s a great tool for independent work if implemented properly! There are also so many videos of background music on YouTube but I think those should only be implemented if all students are okay with it.
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In session 3 we also focused on music in other context such as video games, TV themes, sporting events, commercials, and news. The importance of this is that it adds to the idea that music is available 24/7 even if you don’t notice it. And I definitely agree that the music education paradigm needs to shift. The amount of classical musical training students are receiving is disproportional to the amount of classical music children are exposed to. The resources to teach students using music that is relevant to their lives is out there but I think educators have a hard time adapting to change as I don’t think a lot of people consider the background soundtrack of video games qualifies as music.
Here is a video that I thought was pretty funny talking about the different kinds of music within video games. I think it would be interesting to show to students who do play video games as the different tunes the person is playing in the video do convey different meanings and instil different emotions.
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SESSION FOUR
In Session 4, we looked in detail at the difference between a music teacher specialist and a generalist teacher. The issue is that many teacher education programs have limited instruction on how to teach music. I will admit when I learned that I was going to be taking a music education course at Nipissing I was genuinely surprised. This made me feel kind of silly because obviously as future teachers we will need to know (or at least should know) different tools and techniques so that our students can get the best music education that we can provide, just like they would in any other subject that we teach.
I’ve had experiences with both music specialist and generalist teachers in my elementary schools. I found that the generalist teachers focused more on formal music education like the staff and note durations where with the music specialist worked with the 6 elements of music without learning those formal techniques. It bothers me that there are some teachers who do not teach music as I have seen this happening in my practicum placements. There is such a focus on visual arts but when it comes to music (and even drama and dance) there is a great reluctance and frustration that just isn’t there with other subjects.
We also looked at the curriculum and what is expected when teaching music in Ontario. The three major strands in the music curriculum are:
1. Creating and performing
2. Reflecting, responding and analyzing
3. Exploring forms and cultural contexts.
I was surprised to learn that the music curriculum was only 1/3 performance as that is what I remember doing most in school.
The next part of session 4 was looking at the 6 elements of the music curriculum. Rather than explaining what each one is, I’ve found 6 different games students can play that work with the 6 elements. They can be found by clicking on the words below (they are hyperlinks):
DURATION
PITCH
DYNAMICS
TIMBRE
TEXTURE
FORM
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A graphic I made to help remember the 6 elements of music.
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SESSION FIVE
In session 5, we looked at the differences between major and minor. We learned to associate major with happy and minor with sad which I think is a great way for younger students to understand the difference. We also looked at conducting and different patterns of conducting. I had a lot of trouble with this as I am not a very coordinated person. But learning about how to conduct can help students keep time and learn about different speeds and durations. It can also be used as a leadership activity. One student could conduct while the other students follow a pattern.
We then looked at what we thought the purpose of schooling was: curriculum or the hidden curriculum. I believed the purpose of schooling is right down the middle. It is important that students learn the set of skills that will aid them in their futures but I also think there are so many hidden benefits that school can bring out like social skills, leadership, and kindness.
We then looked at the curriculum vs. hidden curriculum debate in terms of why we teach music. Again, I think it is right down the middle. I think music can be connected to so many other subjects so that links into the curriculum but I think it also links to the hidden curriculum because music can help us learn general life principles. I went through the Catholic education system and each month we would have a monthly celebration where we would sing a bunch of songs. There was no lesson plan involved. We just sang and celebrated and learned through the lyrics.
My grade 8 class (I am front row, third from left). I participated a lot in music in this class from taking piano lessons to being in choir. I have some good musical memories with these peers.
Does music make you smarter? That was our next question. We looked at the no and yes side. In my opinion, I believe doing anything can make you smarter whether that’s reading, writing, exercising, playing games, watching videos, or participating in music education (whether that’s reading it, writing it, or just playing it). I think adding any knowledge to your brain repertoire can’t harm how smart you are.
I think overall even if you don’t continue music education post elementary school, it still can influence your life. I haven’t had formal education training since grade 9 but this past October I began learning how to play the ukulele and I was able to use my knowledge from 8 years ago to help me learn. I think I am in correct in saying that almost everyone enjoys music so it would be foolish to say that music has no impact after school.
Me, pretending I’m better at ukulele than I actually am.
It is important to note that music is a form of intelligence that is often overlooked when talking about Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory. The EQAO definitely does not have a focus on music intelligence. Music incorporates your heart and your brain and making sense of the world and overall it is fun! I remember getting so excited to do music in elementary school whether it was my grade 4 teacher bringing out the recorders or my grade 8 teacher bringing out the Home Depot buckets for bucket drumming. It is those moments that I remember and value, not math or science (but those are important too!).
https://gradeslam.org/blog/multiple-intelligence-theory-is-it-real
Lastly we looked at the 4 important points AKA The Bottom Line:
1. Music is a legally mandated right for all children in publicly funded schools across Ontario.
2. Music helps kids academically, socially, culturally, and emotionally.
3. You do not have to be Mozart to be an effective music teacher. The new paradigm of musical experiences makes it much easier for generalist teachers to provide a meaningful and effective music curriculum.
4. Music has incredible power and can help you develop relationships with your students, move away from transmission, and foster personal and classroom growth. Treat it with respect, and your overall teaching will improve.
These four points summarize why it is so important that students get the music education they are entitled to and as teachers we should do everything that we can to provide them with that education.
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SESSION SIX
In session 6, we focused on musical competency and literacy. We learned about how many famous musicians were unable to read music. I wholeheartedly agree that you do not have to be literate in music in order to be competent in music. Personally, I play the ukulele just by reading the chords as letters as opposed to tab or notes on a staff.
Relating this back to the classroom, there is definitely a major focus on teaching music as notes on a staff. I think the reason for this is that it is very objective. A C is C. A D# is a D#. When you take away the staff and allow students to fiddle around with music not knowing specific notes, you lose a sense of control. With that being said, I think it is important to give students the opportunity to see both sides of it. I know that if someone plays a note, I have literally no idea what it is just by ear. When I was in music class, I relied on the notes on the staff to read music. It is important that you are providing students with differentiated instruction depending on how they will learn best. As an aside, when reflecting on this session, I was reminded of a video that I saw of Broadway star Kristen Chenowith trying to match pitch with a car alarm and I think it’s incredible that people are able to do that (VIDEO).
To generalize, musical literacy is synonymous with classical music and musical competency is synonymous with pop music. I think teaching kids classical music is, for lack of a better word, annoying. I have first hand experienced in my grade 9 music class the difference in attitude and participation when given a popular song that students in the class know than when given Beethoven (no offence, Ludwig). Students are much more exposed to pop music and enjoy pop music a lot more than classical music in most cases.
We then looked at assessing creativity. The issue with any art is how to assess. Music and creativity can be very subjective things to assess. As generalist music teachers, there is a fine line between training students on how to do things and educating students to ask questions about why to do things. Do we train students in music or do we educate students in music? I do not know where my opinion stands on this issue.
http://www.otoole.me/teaching/learning
The last important thing we looked at this session was looking at music as a pedagogical tool across the entire curriculum. I think music can and should be incorporated into any and all subjects whether it's the connection between English and lyrics, social studies, history, geography, and origins of music genres, or math and pitch. There are endless ways music can be incorporated to the classroom outside of direct music lessons.
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Terrence Fletcher (from Whiplash) is an excellent example of the music teacher that I do not want to be.
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Session Seven was not completed prior to this assignment being due.
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