Philosophy of Music Education
University
of Wisconsin Oshkosh
October
19, 2000
Revised
March 23, 2003
Music. It's the
only language that can be used throughout the entire world. No matter what corner
of the earth one is in, there is guaranteed to be some kind of music. Music can
be used to accomplish endless goals. It can be used to teach children how to
get dressed, count, and dance. Music affects the listener's emotions and offers
an outlet for the unspeakable feelings deep within one's heart. It obviously
has its purpose in the entertainment realm. Music even has medical uses. Music
therapy has been used to stabilize premature babies and help Alzheimer's
patients remember forgotten memories. Preliminary testing has revealed an
increase in spatial reasoning abilities, an increase in the ability to
understand logic, and finally that similar areas of the brain are used when
learning and engaging in music as when one is participating with language
skills. Music is universal in that it is everywhere and it can be used in just about
any setting. Music education is one of the most discussed areas when education
boards are making decisions about standard curriculum. The questions of whether
it should be taught, who should be taught, what music should be taught and who
should teach the music are several of the most common questions in debate.
Because music is
such a universal language, it should be taught in schools and it should be
taught to every student. Schools are the most common setting for music
education. In schools, students are generally expected to sit through lectures
and simply absorb the material. Music is one of a few subjects that are
absolutely interactive. It can encourage certain activities without students
actually being aware that they are learning. Music encourages creativity and
expression. Creative expression through music is an important part of a child's
development because it allows him or her to make choices and begin forming
their own preferences.
Often, music
educators are given the opportunity to work with students with disabilities.
For many, what begins as a scary "situation" to deal with becomes in
the end an experience that
changes lives. There are many ways in which children with disabilities are able
to participate in a musical setting. Blind students and deaf students
have been involved in ensembles. In elementary schools, blind children need to
gain skills to move about their environment as independently as possible
(Peters 79). "Songs that require [students] to move or touch body parts
can be used to help them develop an accurate body image, which is one
prerequisite to moving about space successfully (79). Deaf students in general
music classes should be given many opportunities to play or touch musical instruments
while they are playing. ''[I]t is important to remember that the vibrations of
music have a tactile as well as an auditory component (Peters 75). By
remembering this, general music teachers can give deaf students opportunities
to experience music in a very unique way—one that most hearing individuals
never fully do.
Children with
emotional disturbances can find solace in the ways in which music reaches their
souls while performing and especially while creating it. "The rhythm,
structure, and order of music provide a link to reality that is important for
establishing contact with emotionally disturbed children (Peters 97). Autistic
children at times excel amazingly at music and excel past the "normal"
children in their classes. Nonverbal instrumentation improvisation and
exploration activities and rhythmic imitation activities offer autistic
children a very successful opportunity to participate in music in a general
music classroom (Peters 99). Finally, students with ADHD are given an
opportunity to engage in creating and moving around—often 2 ingredients needed
to kept them focused. More children with disabilities will be able to
participate actively in music as more educators become willing to make minor
modifications to accommodate the students.
Every student
deserves to reap the benefits music has to offer. There are many schools where
it is required to be involved with music in some way. If it had not been
required for me to take music, who knows if I would have been able to have any
of the experiences I have had with music. Music has been there every time I am
upset and need something to describe what I am feeling. It has been there when
I am excited over my best friend's wedding and it has been there when I worship
God. I am not sure that I can describe everything that I have gained through
music. All I can say is that my life would not be nearly the same if music had
not had such a huge impact on me. There are schools where funding does not
allow for a very full music program, let alone one at all. It is at those
schools that the students need to be encouraged to participate even more than
in schools with huge programs. If the students show enough interest, it would
make it more difficult for boards to make cuts in that area. Every single
student deserves to have a chance to learn more about music. It is a course
that can be taken away from the classroom and be applied to every aspect of
one's life.
The language of
music has many different "dialects". Each dialect comes from a
different part of the world and from a different period in history. It is
important to teach a wide variety of music. The point of music classes is to
help students learn more about music. By being taught only one or two genres of
music, the students are being cheated out of a huge amount of music. It is the
responsibility of general music teachers to discover them and share them with
their students. While it is difficult to teach all types of music, it is
possible to expose students to music that they would not have necessarily
chosen to listen to on their own. Perhaps a possible way to achieve this goal
would be to have a special concert that focused on non-western music.
In an elementary
school general music program, the possibility of exploring drumming patterns,
chants, and specifically children's songs/games from African and Asian cultures
is great. Every culture as children's songs, games, and chants. The diversity
of music is an aspect that our students cannot miss out on. By allowing our
students to experience other cultures we help them not only understand the
music topics we are striving to teach them, but we also give them the
opportunity to engage with music and cultures from around the globe.
The method by
which multicultural music is taught is an aspect that needs thorough
understanding. There are two ways in which this music may be used in a
classroom setting. The same song could be used for each of these, but with
different end results. The first is to use the music to teach certain musical
topics that are taught in general music such as rhythm or form. The second is
to use the music to teach about the culture from which the music came. I would
argue that it is imperative to introduce world music on the basis of the second
method initially and incorporate it into the "musical classroom"
later. It is important for the children to understand first where the music
came from and only after that learn the music as a method to teach another
topic. An example of incorporating both methods into one song would be to teach
a chant from another culture that stresses different beats than 1 and 3. Then,
the song could be used to teach children to listen for the beat and also to
help them understand how other cultures treat the beat and stresses.
Consulting an
expert or student of the culture is often necessary when approaching world
music, especially for pronunciation. It is highly critical to be sensitive to
the use of the music within the culture so as to not misuse it and do more harm
than good. Judith Cook Tucker as put together a checklist to evaluate world
music by. Several items that are most important are: biographical information
about the contributors, specific background information, musical
transcriptions, directions for games, and preparation with the involvement of a
culture bearer.
Perhaps even more
important than what is being taught is who is doing the teaching. There are
certain qualities and qualifications that one needs to have to be a teacher.
While the obvious qualifications such as having a teaching certificate and a
place to work exist, there are many traits that I believe are also necessary in
one's personality. One of the first and most important is a love to help others
understand things and a pure love for people, especially children.
However, having
love to help others and for them is not always enough come April or May when
the students only want summer vacation. At those times, patience becomes a
useful characteristic for a teacher. Also, I think it's important for a teacher
to have a good experience with school and learning. I do not believe that it is
necessary for a teacher to have been a 4.0 student; it is important for him or
her to have enjoyed learning.
There are extra
demands placed on a music teacher. If someone is choosing to teach music, it is
usually due to his or her love for music. Any musician could tell you about the
power of music and how it has affected his or her life. That keen sense of
music's aesthetic qualities is necessary to be a music teacher. One
prerequisite that seems obvious but is not always required is that the teacher
should be able to perform what he or she teaches. (For example, a choir director
should be able to sing or at least "croak in tune.") One
qualification that should be required is the ability to at least perform
minimally on the piano. The final qualification of a music teacher is
enthusiasm. Music is really an oral art form and without enthusiasm the true
vibrant life in the music can turn into a noise the audience can fall asleep
to.
Music education is
perhaps the most important part of one's education. The good choices of a
teacher and the curriculum are critical to the class. Music lays the groundwork
for many different outlets later on in life. It opens up the path for
creativity and expression. The benefits of learning music stretch beyond what
any one person could ever articulate. Its universality allows it to be used in
almost any setting from entertainment to medical. Anything with such a huge
range ought to be taught in schools. Music has been such an important part of
my life that I cannot imagine what my life would be without it.