Philosophy of Music Education:
Throughout my life, I have always seemed to defend myself when discussing my interests in music. I have been asked “Why don’t you become a lawyer?,” “Being a musician isn’t a career,” or “You play the violin and sing, that’s so cute.” I always struggle with responses to these statements and am simply in shock of what just entered my brain. My interests in music began in lower school when we were given the option to either go to recess or participate in beginning violin class. This decision in itself was extremely hard to make for a young elementary school student, but I stuck with instrumental music because the first week of class made an extremely lasting impact on my future as a musician. It was the community surrounding my class that made me continue with music. From the students in the class to the supportive music teachers, I knew that this environment I found was just right for me. When I arrived to high school, I continued my passion for violin and expanded my musical horizons by joining the high school choir. I met the same types of supportive young student musicians and teachers that would eventually support my decision to continue with music in college. If it were not for the supporting community of students and teachers in my music education that I had access to during my lower, middle and high school years, I may not have chosen a path in music education. I chose a path of teaching because I believe music is a culture of its own and is a community that supports one another. I teach because I want to continue igniting a spark with students who feel they are not supported to choose a path in music. I teach because I want to foster a welcoming and positive environment for my students so they have the tools necessary to succeed in music or in another field through music.
Although I began studying music education in college, my passion for teaching began in my middle and high school years where I taught English in the Dominican Republic and China. I later started a non-profit organization, Musicians With A Purpose, that brings music education into underfunded schools and communities. Through the creation of this organization I found my passion for teaching in music.
As I continue my educational journey, I have found that there are some educators that use fear to teach. I disagree with this method and find that it limits creative freedom and confidence. These are essential skills necessary in any music class. During my student teaching, I was able to work with a high level string orchestra where we played a Latin Tango piece. The students were struggling on how to play syncopated rhythms in a difficult minor key signature. I encouraged the students to sing with me and move along with me as I demonstrated the rhythms and intonation necessary for the piece. Many of the students were self-conscious and were concerned more about how they looked singing and dancing rather than feeling the music. I instructed the students to cover their eyes to perform the activity. Surely, one by one, the students began to feel the syncopated rhythm through their multiple means of expression and were performing the rhythm and notes correctly. The students then lifted their hand away from their eyes and immediately had smiles on their faces. I knew at this moment that the students had an environment that was safe, encouraging, and positive. Moments like these are reasons why I continue to teach music and why music in K-12 schools is a necessity for a proper education.
An education which includes performing arts, motivates students to show their most vulnerable and pure self. I encourage my students to story tell through music. An instrument is an amazing bridge that aids students in expressing themselves without the need for words. This in turn creates an environment in my music classroom that allows students to take a breath, break or reset from the pressures of everyday life for a small portion of their day and focus on just making music. My role as a music educator is greater than a regurgitator in front of a classroom, but one that combines social justice, equity, inspiration, and a nurturing environment for my students to learn and grow. I have seen these values succeed through my own musical growth as a student and will incorporate them into my role as music teacher.
I will use a variety of methods to create a successful learning environment. Students in my class will be able to perform with technical accuracy and a unified sound in addition to sight-reading competency. Students will also have a general understanding of the historical and social implications of the music they are performing. Students will be able to perform a variety of repertoire including solo, small ensemble, and large ensemble music from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. I begin each class session by performing a scale, improvisation or a sight reading exercise that is related to the key, rhythm or articulation of our main piece of focus for the day. I will always include movement in whatever warmup activity is necessary as I believe in Dalcroze Eurythmics. This method teaches rhythm and expression through movement. (Anderson, 2011) Using the Dalcroze method, my students will use tactile, kinesthetic, aural, and visual senses. Exposing students to improvisation allows for greater creative freedom when composing or performing certain pieces. Incorporating movement into my lessons will help my ensembles develop a greater sense of inner pulse as well as improvement in rhythmic accuracy. (Sultela & Juntunen & Ojala, 2019) I then give section leaders the opportunity to write trouble spots on the board for their section to work on at the end of class if time permits. If the lesson extends past the opportunity to practice playing spots in class, students will be assigned these spots for homework and will receive feedback electronically.
In my music classroom, I will focus on performing and creating music from a wide variety of diverse cultures and backgrounds. In my classroom, we will focus on a variety of musical genres which include Classical, Romantic, Latin, Folk, Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Rap. While performing and creating music from these backgrounds is essential to having a diverse background and knowledge in music, it is equally important to know the background and history surrounding certain writers and composers. For example, when my instrumental ensemble is focusing on a piece from Shostakovich, they will know the impact and control on music performance and creation in Russia during the time of Stalin and the Soviet Union. When studying hip-hop and rap we will have a discussion on difficult topics in history such as slavery and black oppression. It is imperative that my students know the reasoning behind certain musical styles in order to perform and create music of these styles. This social justice approach will also allow my students to reflect on their own backgrounds in relation to what they are studying.
The philosophies, teaching techniques and approaches I use may be met with some backlash from parents and or the school district itself. Parents may have disagreements to historical or even religious backgrounds of certain pieces being performed or studied. By performing these pieces, I am not proclaiming a bias towards any one side of history or religion. I am simply exposing students to important social, historical, and religious pieces to make them an aware student capable of making their own conclusions while recognizing their own biases. This neutral approach towards certain music will aid some of the backlash from administration or parents. Another obstacle I may face is providing the proper funding to students for classroom tools. For example, providing sheet music, exercises from method books, and instruments for all students may simply be out of the schools budget. I will need to fundraise through booster or parent engagement. I may have to apply for grants as the district may not see music as a budgeting priority. During my student teaching, I have seen what positive parent environment does to a music program in regard to funding and political support to a school or school district. Some of the best musical and teaching experiences I had were made possible through grants and parent support.
My goal as an educator is to maintain a socially aware classroom fostered by support through student, parent, and teacher support. I believe these are essential to a successful music environment. Mixing this positive environment with proper organization and teaching techniques such as Dalcroze Eurythmics, specific regimented warmups, and historically and socially diverse repertoire all create a high level musical education experience. I hope students walk away from my program feeling positive about the opportunities available to them because of their musical education. In addition, I hope my students walk away from my music class with the confidence to use some of their learned skills for other outside non-musical activities they encounter.
References:
ACRL Instruction Section Research and Scholarship Committee (2018). 5 Things You Should Read About Asset-Based Teaching Retrieved March 18th, 2020 from https://acrl.ala.org/IS/wp-content/uploads/is-research_5Things_asset-based-teaching.pdf
Anderson, W. T. (2011). The Dalcroze Approach to Music Education. General Music Today, 26(1), 27–33. doi: 10.1177/1048371311428979
NYU. (2018, October 29) An Asset-Based Approach to Education: What It Is and Why It Matters. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://teachereducation.steinhardt.nyu.edu/an-asset-based-approach-to-education-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/
Rao, K and Meo, G. (2016). Using Universal Design for Learning to Design Standards-Based Lessons Retrieved from journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244016680688.
Sutela, K., Juntunen, M.-L., & Ojala, J. (2019). Applying music-and-movement to promote agency development in music education: a case study in a special school. British Journal of Music Education, 37(1), 71–85. doi: 10.1017/s0265051719000184
Trafton, A., & MIT News Office. (2015, December 16). Music in the brain. Retrieved November 9, 2018, from http://news.mit.edu/2015/neural-population-music-brain-1216
Although I began studying music education in college, my passion for teaching began in my middle and high school years where I taught English in the Dominican Republic and China. I later started a non-profit organization, Musicians With A Purpose, that brings music education into underfunded schools and communities. Through the creation of this organization I found my passion for teaching in music.
As I continue my educational journey, I have found that there are some educators that use fear to teach. I disagree with this method and find that it limits creative freedom and confidence. These are essential skills necessary in any music class. During my student teaching, I was able to work with a high level string orchestra where we played a Latin Tango piece. The students were struggling on how to play syncopated rhythms in a difficult minor key signature. I encouraged the students to sing with me and move along with me as I demonstrated the rhythms and intonation necessary for the piece. Many of the students were self-conscious and were concerned more about how they looked singing and dancing rather than feeling the music. I instructed the students to cover their eyes to perform the activity. Surely, one by one, the students began to feel the syncopated rhythm through their multiple means of expression and were performing the rhythm and notes correctly. The students then lifted their hand away from their eyes and immediately had smiles on their faces. I knew at this moment that the students had an environment that was safe, encouraging, and positive. Moments like these are reasons why I continue to teach music and why music in K-12 schools is a necessity for a proper education.
An education which includes performing arts, motivates students to show their most vulnerable and pure self. I encourage my students to story tell through music. An instrument is an amazing bridge that aids students in expressing themselves without the need for words. This in turn creates an environment in my music classroom that allows students to take a breath, break or reset from the pressures of everyday life for a small portion of their day and focus on just making music. My role as a music educator is greater than a regurgitator in front of a classroom, but one that combines social justice, equity, inspiration, and a nurturing environment for my students to learn and grow. I have seen these values succeed through my own musical growth as a student and will incorporate them into my role as music teacher.
I will use a variety of methods to create a successful learning environment. Students in my class will be able to perform with technical accuracy and a unified sound in addition to sight-reading competency. Students will also have a general understanding of the historical and social implications of the music they are performing. Students will be able to perform a variety of repertoire including solo, small ensemble, and large ensemble music from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. I begin each class session by performing a scale, improvisation or a sight reading exercise that is related to the key, rhythm or articulation of our main piece of focus for the day. I will always include movement in whatever warmup activity is necessary as I believe in Dalcroze Eurythmics. This method teaches rhythm and expression through movement. (Anderson, 2011) Using the Dalcroze method, my students will use tactile, kinesthetic, aural, and visual senses. Exposing students to improvisation allows for greater creative freedom when composing or performing certain pieces. Incorporating movement into my lessons will help my ensembles develop a greater sense of inner pulse as well as improvement in rhythmic accuracy. (Sultela & Juntunen & Ojala, 2019) I then give section leaders the opportunity to write trouble spots on the board for their section to work on at the end of class if time permits. If the lesson extends past the opportunity to practice playing spots in class, students will be assigned these spots for homework and will receive feedback electronically.
In my music classroom, I will focus on performing and creating music from a wide variety of diverse cultures and backgrounds. In my classroom, we will focus on a variety of musical genres which include Classical, Romantic, Latin, Folk, Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Rap. While performing and creating music from these backgrounds is essential to having a diverse background and knowledge in music, it is equally important to know the background and history surrounding certain writers and composers. For example, when my instrumental ensemble is focusing on a piece from Shostakovich, they will know the impact and control on music performance and creation in Russia during the time of Stalin and the Soviet Union. When studying hip-hop and rap we will have a discussion on difficult topics in history such as slavery and black oppression. It is imperative that my students know the reasoning behind certain musical styles in order to perform and create music of these styles. This social justice approach will also allow my students to reflect on their own backgrounds in relation to what they are studying.
The philosophies, teaching techniques and approaches I use may be met with some backlash from parents and or the school district itself. Parents may have disagreements to historical or even religious backgrounds of certain pieces being performed or studied. By performing these pieces, I am not proclaiming a bias towards any one side of history or religion. I am simply exposing students to important social, historical, and religious pieces to make them an aware student capable of making their own conclusions while recognizing their own biases. This neutral approach towards certain music will aid some of the backlash from administration or parents. Another obstacle I may face is providing the proper funding to students for classroom tools. For example, providing sheet music, exercises from method books, and instruments for all students may simply be out of the schools budget. I will need to fundraise through booster or parent engagement. I may have to apply for grants as the district may not see music as a budgeting priority. During my student teaching, I have seen what positive parent environment does to a music program in regard to funding and political support to a school or school district. Some of the best musical and teaching experiences I had were made possible through grants and parent support.
My goal as an educator is to maintain a socially aware classroom fostered by support through student, parent, and teacher support. I believe these are essential to a successful music environment. Mixing this positive environment with proper organization and teaching techniques such as Dalcroze Eurythmics, specific regimented warmups, and historically and socially diverse repertoire all create a high level musical education experience. I hope students walk away from my program feeling positive about the opportunities available to them because of their musical education. In addition, I hope my students walk away from my music class with the confidence to use some of their learned skills for other outside non-musical activities they encounter.
References:
ACRL Instruction Section Research and Scholarship Committee (2018). 5 Things You Should Read About Asset-Based Teaching Retrieved March 18th, 2020 from https://acrl.ala.org/IS/wp-content/uploads/is-research_5Things_asset-based-teaching.pdf
Anderson, W. T. (2011). The Dalcroze Approach to Music Education. General Music Today, 26(1), 27–33. doi: 10.1177/1048371311428979
NYU. (2018, October 29) An Asset-Based Approach to Education: What It Is and Why It Matters. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://teachereducation.steinhardt.nyu.edu/an-asset-based-approach-to-education-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/
Rao, K and Meo, G. (2016). Using Universal Design for Learning to Design Standards-Based Lessons Retrieved from journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244016680688.
Sutela, K., Juntunen, M.-L., & Ojala, J. (2019). Applying music-and-movement to promote agency development in music education: a case study in a special school. British Journal of Music Education, 37(1), 71–85. doi: 10.1017/s0265051719000184
Trafton, A., & MIT News Office. (2015, December 16). Music in the brain. Retrieved November 9, 2018, from http://news.mit.edu/2015/neural-population-music-brain-1216