Take a moment to consider the terms teaching and learning. While doing so, please reflect on Froehlich’s statement, where she indicates it is a common belief in our profession that both terms are “nearly indistinguishable from each other” (p. 37). This certainly can be the case when examining self-taught musicians, but think about the teaching and learning that occurs in your own music classroom. While much of what is learned is indeed a result of your instruction, it is important to consider the other variables that play a role in the teaching and learning process. Do some of your students come from a home environment where music learning is encouraged through supportive parental involvement? Do some of your students perform in a church group or a garage band? When students rehearse and perform in your ensembles, are some of them simply faking it? Even if we can come up with legitimate answers to these questions, it is difficult to determine if teaching and learning are completely aligned in the music classroom.
Music learning outside of the classroom can be accomplished through casual listening, having conversations about music, and active music making. With all of this musical activity occurring outside of school, it is apparent that music is an important part of our culture. As a result, students arrive in your classroom with a clear set of music preferences. Taking this into consideration, I believe music educators should be encouaged to develop a clear set of instructional goals pertaining to the styles of music they want their students to learn (and hopefully appreciate). When students and teachers share common musical values, it is more likely that students will be motivated to learn. Motivation plays a critical role in the learning process. According to Asmus (1994), it is estimated that 11 to 27 percent of achievement in schools can be credited to motivation.
Froehlich goes on to discuss the role of music teachers as bridge builders between music communities in and out of a formal school setting. Three sociological perspectives are outlined in this discussion, and they include the macro, micro, and interactive views.
- Macro View: The birds eye view, which involves the development of theoretical and broad-based perspectives.
- Micro View: The bottoms-up view, which examines the behaviors of individuals to gain a better perspective of society.
- Interactionist View: Utilizes both the macro and micro views as a means to examine the large patterns of a society (macro) and the efforts put forth by individuals (micro). Usually longitudinal in design.
For your weekly assignment, please do the following:
- Read the third chapter of the Froehlich text, which is titled, Music Learning and Teaching as Socially Situate Acts.
- Post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 10th. Do not attempt to summarize the entire chapter. Instead, try to expand on a particular topic within the chapter that is of interest to you.
- By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 12th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.
As you work on this chapter, please feel free to draw from following questions:
- How do you react to different types of music present in today’s culture with which you are not very familiar? How would you educate yourself about such music in a way that you would allow yourself to incorporate it in your teaching?
- Considering the different styles of music that exist side-by-side in our society, take the position of a macro-sociologist, a micro-sociologist, and an interactionist. Discuss how they might suggest we teach about music as a social phenomenon. Include in your discussion how each of the three perspectives might impact research on the diversity of musical styles in our society.
Asmus, E. P. (1994). Motivation in music teaching and learning. The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning, 5(4), 5-32.
Froehlich, H. C. (2007). Sociology for music teachers: Perspectives for practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ:p Pearson Education, Inc.
Dr. Charles R. Ciorba 
With today’s culture it is very easy to come across two opposite genres that co-exist side by side or intertwined with another. The more I have explored contemporary music; I have been able to isolate subtle and extreme style crossovers between styles. My findings include the Bach’s Brandenburg’s Concerto No. 3 being transformed to a contemporary driving pop piece by a group called the Black Violin or a rock/dubstep band called Kronicles. Personally, I have found myself to be entirely open to these new and very different musical styles. Though I still have not been able to come to terms with country music yet, I have been known to listen and enjoy just about every genre.
When researching contemporary music for the classroom and my after school choir, I look at the music from a micro-sociologist point of view. I ask myself questions such as, “is the piece congruent with some of the concepts that we are learning in class and does it have a sing able melody that my students would be successful finding?” Sometimes the ranges and rhythm of these pieces are too difficult for young beginners to sing with the words easily jumbled. They often at times have hidden inappropriate messages for elementary level students.
Though I do not agree with the use of contemporary music as a basis of learning vocal music and notation in the regular classroom. I have in the past used this type of music to create a hook to expand on music history or used it as a springboard for awareness of musical careers by introducing current music professionals in the music field. My students are always at awe at how well they can play and their interests are sparked by the interviews of how the professionals where inspired to pursue a career in music and their advice of wanting them to continue learning music.
As Froelich recommended, teaching in this manner can “strengthen a student’s social as well as musical-self” because they are able to “connect music learning familiar to students outside of school with formal learning in school” (pg. 40). My after school choir has been able to do exactly this with the some of the contemporary pieces that have been apart of their concert. These students are also always requesting to sing pop however once they are confident they have mastered a concert type piece some of the students are more willing to sing concert music in performance. Finding appropriate contemporary music for the elementary level that isn’t entirely “babyish” has also proven a challenge and the vocal quality of the choir has made little to no improvement singing these styles. What I have seen is the connection they make with the music is more immediate with pop music that is familiar to them than classical type concert pieces.
I have found that the more contemporary music type music I have been able to put forth in my after school choir concerts, the more accepting the community seems to be. The vast majority seems to be able to respond to the pop feel more than anything else we have performed even when it is evident they are not familiar with the music. Because of this, my concerts have mixed concert type pieces with one or two contemporary style pieces in this ensemble.
Have you considered using contemporary music as a hook in the classroom? In what ways was it successful and unsuccessful?
What are some of the things you look for in a solid contemporary music?
Can students really improve vocal quality by singing pop music because the connection is immediate?
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Hi Ashley,
It seems like you and I encounter some of the same experiences with contemporary music in the classroom.
I’d like to speak to your question about improving vocal quality by singing pop music. I am not a choir teacher and only have education experience with singing from high school choir and college vocal lessons, so please read my words from that perspective! My current work has a “players” club that meets once a week and is open to any and all students interested. Many of the songs that I have heard them perform seem to be inspired by what we see on tv, and as I’m sure you know, many of those pop acappella arrangements of songs can be extremely challenging. I think that for other students who may not be enrolled in any music class, but enjoy this experience learning and performing challenging current music, it is improving their vocal quality. They are learning to harmonize, sustain, tune difficult chords, etc. through that immediate connection. Again, I could be completely wrong but from the outsiders perspective of knowing the students involved and the level of musicality and skill they are able to achieve, I just assume that the current shift towards music performed by groups like the Pentatonix must have something to do with it.
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I notice that the chapter is divided into distinct sections: the first acts much like essay writing, and the second is a summative catch-up of sociology texts. Froehlich presents responses to the educational issue of a disjunction between teaching and learning—with the assertion that it’s an issue of the teacher lacking contextual knowledge. Froehlich presents three foci of music education, but doesn’t cite them. I wonder if what she stated still holds true. The structure of the music teacher education program would certainly indicate that her three reasons are the prevailing case: preparing musicians, promoting the time-tested art of Western classical music, and creating audiences that perpetuate the other two. In the macro-view sociological strain, Froehlich presents huge and far-reaching questions about the value and role of art, the nature of quality-of-life (in relation to music), and what is “good” in terms of art/music that she writes will be addressed in future chapters, but I feel like music learning and teaching as socially situated acts bear some burden of those issues.
I think a lot of the implications of this chapter are farther-reaching than the author intended. Students have a pre-conceived notion of music and their own set of values attached to it. We can guess this. But is our role to reconcile our goals as music teachers by “getting on their level”? With her suggestions for curriculum development, listening selection, and community response, she is saying that is our job. I have two experiences that have taught me to bridge this teaching/learning disjunction from the opposite side: a micro-view. I view popular music as being a cultural phenomenon whose training is to be derived from popular culture. (i.e. If you want to do pop music, learn from pop contexts.) I have often felt an air imposition from my students during the (not infrequent) times that I bring popular/commercial music into my classroom as if I have invaded their social bubble. The musics that they have communal value in as distinct from mine are fair to respect as separate (and possibly a good teaching strategy). Secondly, I have been able to append a musicking culture in the little sphere of influence I have. Instead of imposing upon a social system (pop music) that exists, my philosophical efforts have led me to “impose” my own. Through changing the method and style of performances, getting community involved in performance musicking with their children, and having a curriculum I’m open with, I witness and hear parent stories of my students interacting with music (theirs or mine) with the intended understanding for which I taught. Examples include the Kindergartener who composed a pop song using the intervals that were commonly used in our classroom ariosos or the fifth grade church guitarist who can (kind of…on the right track) write out the chords he’s using in standard notation for the other musicians in the worship band.
The section that concerned itself with the sociological perspectives (micro-, macro-, and interactionist views) was interesting. There is a consensus that the interactionist perspective is the truer of how social systems interrelate, but I can see how a study with an approach focusing on micro- or macro- would serve to enlighten an individual or perspective issue. I wish I had a clearer understanding of these perspectives, though. It’d be beneficial to try to go through the flowchart where Froehlich incorporates music teaching/learning concepts and try to really piece together the interactions with examples.
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Griffin,
I agree with your experience of student’s perception of our encroachment into their musical realm. I have strong opinions of popular music. And many of my students do as well. I try to instill in my students a sense of justification in their tastes. Whether they like or dislike a particular type of music, I ask that support their argument with something more concrete than “it’s just bad music.” Having them think critically about music, gives them an opportunity to use higher order thinking skills which extend to subjects beyond music. I agree that we have our area of expertise. There is an understanding to some degree of what I teach in my classroom is what I feel I can effectively communicate and demonstrate at the level of understanding that will allow my students to grow. As I wrote in my post, there are avenues in which we can support and propose that would allow for students to also grow in these other areas, while not expecting us to be the expert in that particular genre. Your ideas of incorporating these two worlds are fascinating and would help to bridge that gap of practical knowledge used in a practical setting.
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Our world is completely and entirely saturated with music. It is everywhere you go! It is in stores, malls, special events, schools, television, movies, worship services, funerals—the list goes on and on. Music is an integral part of the human culture. Whether we are pumping it into our ears through our ear buds, enjoying a live concert, or hearing it like second hand smoke in the department store, music is part of our everyday lives.
I think it is very interesting how my students’ tastes in music change and evolve from 6th grade and on through high school. I find that my younger students often gravitate to the same music as their parents. However, as they grow older and begin to gain a sense of personal identity separate from their parents’, their musical preferences to begin to change. After all, what we like, be it music, activities, books, or movies, makes up a great deal of how we identify ourselves—I think this is particularly true for high school students.
How do we, as music educators, bridge this gap between what our students like/believe to be popular and what we feel they should be learning/performing? Honestly, I have a much easier time closing the gap in my music appreciation class than I do in my band classes. The music appreciation course that I teach is a nine-week rotation course. At the start of every nine weeks, I begin by asking students what genres of music they listen to and enjoy. Then throughout the next week, we begin what I like to call my “hook” unit. I put together a PowerPoint presentation containing music videos of the artists/genres they mentioned to me on the first day. Without fail, one, if not more, of those artists belong to a musical family. Then we segue into discussing other musical families with which they are familiar. Finally, I will casually start talking about the Bach family and then the Marsalis family. Throughout the course, we cover five units: “Hook Unit,” Cultural Music, Jazz, Broadway Musicals, and Film Music. Within each unit I try to connect their likes and interests with the main topic/subject.
Like I mentioned before, I struggle bridging these gaps in a performance class. Other than playing pop tunes in the stands at Friday night football games, I don’t really attempt to connect pop culture music to the music we are learning/performing on a daily basis. However, I certainly connect our music to other areas like folk music and other cultural music. Truthfully, before reading this week’s text, I haven’t given much thought to this issue. In my experience, my students rarely, if ever, complain or express a desire to learn/perform a pop culture tune. I THINK they truly enjoy and appreciate the music we learn and perform.
I am curious how my colleagues deal with this issue in their performance centered classes? Do you ever hear students complaining about the lack of pop culture music in the classroom? Do you incorporate “pop” music in your classrooms?
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Hi KG,
I think I would enjoy taking your music appreciation class. What a great way to connect with your students.
Your response really resonates with many of the things that I wrote. Something I didn’t mention, but is relevant to the questions you listed at the bottom, is what happens when they do ask to play a certain song. A few years ago I had one grade play an arrangement of Pharrell Williams “Happy” for the next year all of the younger ensembles had BEGGED to play it. My hesitation actually is not that I don’t want them to play a pop tune but that I want them to play a new one. To create their own connection with something they did. I think If I didn’t provide such a wide variety of content for them to play throughout the year I would probably be more conflicted with throwing a pop tune in every once in a while. Honestly, I need to seek out more relevant examples for beginners. I don’t know about you but I always have students who come to school and want to show me what song they learned to play from the radio. In order to do so they have learned a new fingering or rhythm and they are proud of what they are playing! If anything, I know that I need to encourage this more.
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One of the things that I struggle with being a band director is selecting appropriate music. I mean, what does that even mean, appropriate for who and why? As I read this chapter and the statements about the director’s music selection being a reflection of themself (at least to the audience) and the quote at the beginning “If you teach someone to cook, make sure there’s someone who will eat,” I made several connections to my experiences thus far. I often feel that concert bands are more apt to try and legitimize their art than say a string orchestra or a choir. In the grand scheme of things being a relatively new musical form, I feel that band, and concert band specifically, struggles to receive the respect allotted to full or string orchestras. So, from this we end up in an interesting situation. Do we embrace request to play “fun” music or do we present the classics of concert band literature? After all, we are capable of both. If the different subjects serve the same role in music education, should the expectations be the same. It is usually a novelty when a choir or an orchestra perform a pop arrangement such as Cold Play’s “Viva La Vida” but not quite so when performed by a concert band.
After much deliberation, I’ve decided to embrace “fun” music in my program. Music that is relevant to the individual in my ensemble, the families, and their peer groups. I’ve started a pep band for sporting events that plays both the “Hey Song” and “Bang Bang” ironically respecting pep bands roots while embracing songs that people under 20 can also sing along with. I like to think that I do this carefully. As we all know, when today’s hits are written for choirs, orchestra, bands, etc. the notation can be very challenging and often requires to students to differentiate what they know of a song on the radio and what they read in front of them. In their excitement to get the new piece ready for the game, the hard work or rhythm and range becomes much more manageable. So now, as we approach contest season and a performance of the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, not only are my students better readers but they have an extended range and stronger chops. They also appreciate this transition to a different musical style; partly because playing the same 15 songs every Friday night for a few months can prepare anyone for a change, but also because we discuss the context of the music and do at least one guided listening exercise per piece. When Froehlich says that music teachers shy away from spending class time on listening because of the amount of time that it takes to develop these listening skills, I was pretty shocked. In the high school program I went through, we listened to music and did listening exercises often.
Selfishly, I also enjoy hearing what it is that my students hear in a particular piece of music, many times comparing examples, or listening to them appreciate a professional recording. Ultimately, my goal is to give students the option to expand their musical experiences but also to teach them how to play music. As far as developing those initial skills it doesn’t matter if they learn a particular rhythm from a pop song or a folk song, as long as they learn it.
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Jamee,
Pep band is one of the greatest ways to incorporate pop music into the band program. In Lexington, we are always arranging fun pop tunes we hear on the radio for the football games (our most recent was Hand Clap by Fitz and the Tantrums). You’re right, the kids and fans enjoy when we change it up. I also agree with what you said about the students having a hard time reading the notated rhythms and differentiating that from something they have heard on the radio. They almost have to relearn how the rhythm goes when they have the original in their head.
You discussed also listening to music in the classroom. In Blanchard, where I student taught, they have a listening every week and the kids have to make notes. Sometimes is connects to what the students are currently working on and sometimes it is just fun to listen to. I think that is an easy way to help give your students an appreciation for the variety of classical music that is out there and what you can do if you end up performing music beyond high school.
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Jamee,
I am finding many similarities between the experiences you have just outlined and my own experiences. Like your band, our band really only explores the world of pop culture music when rehearsing and performing pep band music. I also think what you mentioned about students being more willing to explore difficult rhythms and ranges in pop culture music is extremely accurate!
Although many times music educators try to steer clear of pop culture music, I will admit it has its benefits. Oftentimes our students respond faster and become more engaged with music with which they are familiar and they believe to be “popular.” This heightened excitement about exploring new music will often result in them learning new and, perhaps, difficult rhythms. It would be assumed that these exposures to new rhythms, harmonies, notes, etc. would develop skills that would transfer to the literature we wish them to learn and perform.
It has also been my experience that audiences demonstrate more interest when hearing music they recognize and enjoy. Being in a smaller rural community, we realize that our Friday night marching shows MUST be entertaining to our crowds. When selecting music for our shows, we always take this into account!
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Before diving into chapter 3, Dr. Ciorba’s prompt had me thinking already. “Music learning outside the classroom can be achieved through causal listening, conversations about music and active music making.” I have not been taught much about improvisation, nor do I have a vast knowledge to be an outstanding teacher on the topic myself. However, I do believe in one thing that I have been told that will improve anyone’s ability in jazz improvisation and that is listening to the greats. By listening to their licks over the chords, you can get an idea of what you want to add to your library. You are learning through listening and teaching yourself when practicing through the changes.
Another idea that came to mind was the question what are my students listening to? I’ve realized I’m to the point in my life of when I was in high school I would call people old because they didn’t know and understand my music. I am ashamed to say I do not know what is on the top 40 this week. I do not know what my students have on their iPhones. With that said, my goal has been to create a culture in the band program of students who are interested in adding great band literature and jazz charts to their playlists. I know that is starting to gain traction, but with self reflection, I think I need to at least know what THEY are interested in.
In the reading, we read about how the music instructors own biases may be shown by the music we chose to teach and perform at our concerts. I agree that we should not only play music that is what we personally enjoy but give our students a well rounded experience when it comes to the literature. I’ve made sure to challenge myself the past couple of years on choosing music that I may not be comfortable with in order to allow my students to experience something different.
The text mentioned how it would be appropriate for schools with a large Hispanic population to have a Mariachi band or other cultural performing groups. I have not tethered our local cultural demographic with musical opportunities. Native Americans hold a very large percentage of the population in the community. Finding a way to incorporate music from their heritage could be a beneficial tie for our students and to the community.
With all of my self reflection and feeling like I don’t do as much as I could, I still think I have a good selection of music being provided to the students when it comes to band literature. I feel it is important for them to play music of different levels, composers, and eras. After reading this chapter, the immediate addition I would like to add is active listening during rehearsals. I would like to have an activity of students listening to different music in similar styles of what we are performing and reflecting through writing short entries in journals.
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Hi Matt,
I would like to reply to your reflection on listening during rehearsals. At the elementary level I could design more designated active and guided listening activities. I have found that if I give them a couple of experiences of walking step by step of what to listen for, it creates a springboard for further listenings. By giving them the words and tools I can easily work in a mini guided listening into any new rep or classical piece that I throw their way.
For me, it wasn’t until my freshman year of undergrad that I was given the tools and verbiage. I think it is great that you are wanting to give your students the opportunity to actively listen and be knowledgeable players and listeners of music. I still use the acronym that my beloved music history teacher taught me during my intro to music study course. It was simply, SHMRG. (Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Growth) By breaking the piece into these sections, it wasn’t quite as scary for me as a very green music major. As four years went by, the SHMRGs became more complex as my vocabulary and knowledge grew. The music wasn’t necessarily harder, but by having very clear things to listen for I had more to say about the piece. I think that breaking anything into chunks or categories gives students at least SOMETHING to say, instead of “I don’t know”. I know that the SHMRG format (or something similar) helped me as I was starting out and still impacts how I organize my own casual or formal listenings today.
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Ashlynn, I’d love for you to elaborate more sometime on your listening activities at the gradeschool level. I always need hints. I incorporate listening a lot, but massive class sizes of small children really hinder a fulfilling listen-through without some sort of active engagement. I do a lot of dalcroze-y/orff-y movement, use story-telling as a hook OR as part of the listening engagement, and fade out after an age-appropriate time spent with the music. I ~know~ this doesn’t fulfill the “musicality” component of quiet internally-processed listening and assessment, which is on one hand a philosophical requirement of mine. But on the other hand, an audience-based listening experience is fairly new to humanity and only a musicality requirement of Western art music. Most other world musics are much more active and participatory. I also think that one of our social/philosophical music ed requirements (much like the three that I mentioned before from Froehlich) is to equip the children to parse what they are hearing so that, like what triggered Matt, they can have those conversations and casual listenings and active musicking that will educate them when they leave our guidance.
Matt, I love to hear that you are arranging music for your band. Honestly, the band context with the popular music is a quality bridging situation. And you get to use your arranging chops, which will hopefully instill some level of music parsing into your students (e.g. the young tuba player who doesn’t know that she can dissect the bass line of what she hears on the radio reads your arrangement, and subsequently starts listening at that level. She may then have those musicking conversations with her peers.)
OU has an American Indian music specialist. And you are so close to so many tribal headquarters. American Indian music is not inherently band oriented, but maybe you can consult with your resources and get a small ensemble going. Also, look into American Indian composers. Last fall I got to see Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s oratorio (entirely in Choctaw) about the origin story of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations. In itself, an example of Tate’s Native American sociopolitical contexts immersed in a classical form: another bridge to connect musics of the classroom and of social contexts.
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Hey, Matt!
Like you, my jazz improv chops are not nearly as strong as they should be! I also had very little training in jazz, but, again, like you, I feel like this is an important aspect of music to which my students need to be exposed. When I ask other jazzers what I can do to improve mine and my students improvisation skills, one of the answers I always receive is “listen to the greats.”
I believe there is a lot to be learned from listening to great musicians be it jazz or other genres. In my middle school jazz band, I try to incorporate a great deal of jazz history—how it began and how it evolved. We explore the different eras of jazz history by learning about and listening to several different artists: Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Glenn Miller, and many more. I will admit that although I do a good job of exposing them to this history and music at the beginning of the year, I do not do such a good job as the year progresses. One thing I have gotten from the chapter is that I need to do a better job of engaging my students in listening activities in ALL of my band classes—not just jazz band.
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With the variety of music in popular culture, it is important as a music educator to attempt to keep up with the music the students enjoy listening to. I am open to many different styles of music and most usually can find some enjoyment or at very least some appreciation for the music I listen to. If a student introduces a song to me I work hard not to show any displeasure while listening. How could I expect my students to give the music I put in front of them a chance if I won’t give their music a fair listen? I remember when I was in high school, I was on a bus ride with the head band director. I asked if he wanted to listen to a song that I was really impressed with but that he may not enjoy or appreciate (the song was “Confined” by As I Lay Dying). His response is what really stuck with me, he said that he really enjoyed the song and appreciated the technical skill necessary for the instrumentalists, specifically the drummer. I did not expect my band director who, at the time, was in his late 30’s to say he enjoyed the harsh, metal sound of the band. I wonder what my emotional response would have been if he had immediately rejected the song and told me, “Oh, I don’t like that kind of music.” Instead, with his positive response, I gained a new respect for him and I felt as though we connected in a way that we hadn’t in the past.
Relating pop music to what we do in the classroom is a concept that in theory seems like it would be a relatively easy task, however it is something that rarely comes to my mind. The easiest thing I think I could do to relate pop music to the classroom would be to use a song that has a similar rhythm to something we are learning in class to use as an example. It is best in this case to write out the melody of the song that uses the rhythm so the students can see it and even play the rhythm on a unison note if applicable. Another might be to demonstrate what an ostinato rhythm is from a popular song as ostinato rhythms are used all the time in pop music. I really should listen more for opportunities to connect pop music to concepts we are learning in class.
The different styles of music co-exist in society because of the individuality of the styles. The beauty of music is that if an individual does not like a piece of music they can simply not listen to it. It allows for many different genres and styles to be enjoyed by a large variety of people.
Do you have any experiences where you connected with a mentor or pupil over a style of music that you did not expect to mutually enjoy? Did it open a channel of communication that wasn’t there previously?
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Eric,
I had an experience in college when one of my piano professors brought one of her mentors to play at a piano concert at the university. I was one of the students chosen to turn pages for their concert and got to sit in on a few of their rehearsals. Both of the performers played exceptionally well playing only classical repertoire where the pages where almost completely black with notes.
What struck me was when my professor brought her mentor to our theory class. We got to ask him questions about himself and his music. One of the questions was what type of music he listened to. He said that he absolutely adored Lady Gaga and enjoyed listening to her. He even started singing one of her songs. I believe it was either “Poker Face” or “Paparazzi”. Our minds where blown that he enjoyed listening to the same things we did nor did we ever believe he would sing a pop song for us.
After the interview, I went from seeing him as an intense professional pianist who may have lived and breathed classical music to someone who was more relatable. The remainder of the rehearsals where less intense and he actually had a more laid back personality. I do not think that if it weren’t for the interview, I would have never seen him in that light. He also made listening to contemporary less of a sin.
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Hi Eric,
One way that I have opened a channel of communication with students was by introducing the acapella group, Pentatonix, to my general music students. This was before they were as mainstreamed as they are today. It started two years in an attempt to modernize the Nutcracker. I brought in PTX singing “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” as a way to show that the ballet and it’s music is still very much alive during the holiday season and that a sign of something being a classic is whenever it is revamped by artists year after year. This viewing also brought up easy ways to weave in SATB, acapella techniques, beat boxing, etc into my curriculum. This was the start of my students really taking a liking to acapella music and seeing how pop music can be performed in a new “mashed up” way.
The following year my choir begged to sing Carol of the Bells, just like Pentatonix…I brought out the standard 2 part arrangement…note quite the pentatonic arrangement, but I didn’t tell them…seeing one of their favorite groups sing it brought excitement and a reference point for phrasing, diction, etc. For boys, it was great for them to seeing three successful male vocalists singing and it helped wear off the stigma of “choir is for GIRLS”. By students simply watching PTX videos online at home it has brought up musical conversations and has shown that we have a common interest. I have since used videos such as their “Evolution of Music”, “Sing”, “That’s Christmas to Me”, “Star Wars Tribute”, and many more to enhance my lessons and enhance student engagement and conversation.
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Eric,
I agree that we spend a vast amount of time preparing literature ideal to our realm and not spending much time thinking about programming pop music. I really like the idea of using rhythmic or even melodic phrases from current pop music to help reinforce something in the works you are preparing. Having something the students can connect to is always going to be a positive experience and help to reinforce their learning. I know during marching season, many directors will use pop music during stretching. They will find something that is consistent with the tempo of their stretches or evenly phrased for marching fundamentals. In the non-major class I teach, we talk about phrase and form in music. I provide a few examples that are clear for their initial exposure to it, then I find some songs that are more open to interpretation and create some class discussion. Often, I will have them pick a song on the spot and I analyze it with them. These same principles can be applied to teacher concepts we wish for our students to understand. Teaching phrasing in the context of a concert band piece or jazz improvisation is an ongoing struggle. Incorporating listening could help to address two areas at once.
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Eric,
Having that response from your director is a wonderful approach to listening to new music and also teaching how to appreciate music that is different. And like you mentioned, it taught you and now are teaching that same appreciation to students. That is so important as we are passing on what we have been taught from older generations. With my private lesson students, I like to ask them what their favorite styles of music are and find ways I can include it as part of their studies. I have had success with jazz and improvisation with some of my older students, and they seem to really light up when they get to show off. They become more expressive and are more open to playing music that is different than what they are used to. The challenge though is finding the balance of exploration and working on their audition music or solo’s for contest. Usually we work on this at the end of the year or in the summer when we are in a more “relaxed” setting. I do not do this quite as much with my elementary students, but they love to hear the “star wars theme” on piano or ask to play a piano solo they have been working on.
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Eric,
Great viewpoint about students bringing music for you to listen to. If we are going to turn our nose to their music, they will more than likely turn their nose to ours (at least at first). I remember being the student asking the directors what kind of “non-band” music they enjoyed listening to and trying to see what thier music was all about.
I do have an instance in which my students and myself would talk pop music. In fact, just this past week. They were asking me what I listen to other than band music. This week I’ve been listening to an old favorite album from junior high/high school, Incubus – Morning View. I was talking with my drummer in jazz band about it and got him hooked. I think the kids having a different point of view on the directors musical tastes is a good thing. It can connect us a little deeper when we are trying to prove to them that the literature we put on their stands is great music!
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I found the idea of “contextual constellations” at the beginning of the chapter intriguing. When studying music of other cultures and times past the songs and music rituals were only “experienced in the moment in which they were intended”. Music was not ready made and at their fingertips. The music was passed down and was born out of contextual meaning that the performers and listeners were equally a part of. Presently, music is very much alive in our culture, but for most it provides the soundtrack for our daily lives. Whether that is in the car, dinning out, or over the loud speakers at a sporting event. Perhaps that act of “doing” music is not as prevalent as it once was, but it is still saturated in the daily lives of people young and old. People know about music. They know that they like it. But they may not be able to tell you exactly why they like it.
Today students have the world of music ready to be discovered through streaming services and youtube. As a teacher it is important for me to acknowledge their music and be interested in knowing how they connect with it. The text discussed that their is often a disconnect between what happens in music class and what happens in real life music. I think it goes much farther than simply “bringing pop music into the classroom”. It is about giving your students the tools they need to make authentic connections with the music that they hear at school and at home. Having an open dialogue about music in general. Not just guys in powdered wigs. Making conscious efforts to connect the music of the past with the present. Showing how at the surface they may seem completely different, but music from different genres and times can also have similar qualities as well.
With all of that being said, I am lucky to be at a school that values the arts as well as the 21st century student. As of this year, each classroom is either equipped with 1X1 ipads or macbooks for each student. When the text mentioned the challenges of being aware of the music as an art form and as a way for students to be doers of music it immediately had me thinking of a project that the librarian, classroom teacher, and myself have developed for our 5th graders. Our students are taking on a project based learning unit over the solar system that incorporates research skills, music, visual art, and garageband compositions. The “immerse stage” of the project involves a parent bringing her cello and playing themes from Holst’s “The Planets”. After researching their favorite planet or solar system element they will then compose a short theme that describes their chosen planet/element. To present their knowledge they will then play their composition and pair it with either visual or dramatic art. This project excites me because I literally see worlds colliding. And it scares me at the same time as I take on something that is completely outside of “the norm”. Back to what excite me… I see a “bridge between the community” as a parent comes in and shares her love and talent with our students. I see students “listening in the classroom” to standard repertoire and seeing how it connects with other fields of study (science/ astronomy/ visual arts) I see students applying what we have learned in music class and developing their own musical ideas in fun and creative ways. I see dialogue between students and experimentation as they develop the perfect soundtrack for their chosen planet. I see real musicking. I see innovative musicking… While brainstorming this project I was plagued with thinking that it would cut into too much of our regular curriculum, but after reading this chapter it helped validate that going outside of the box is worth the risk. I am excited to see what will come of this collaborative and authentic learning project!
Questions:
In what ways have you opened “musical doors” in your music program? (ex: mariachi bands/steel bands/other specific music clubs).
The text had me thinking about my own musical awareness. I would be dishonest in saying that it is as broad as I would like it to be. I have an appreciation for a broad range, but am not as knowledgable as I would like. For the music that I have spent the most time with professionally and personally ( classical repertoire/sacred/musical theatre) is not necessarily the musical vernacular of my students. As a music educator, do you think that you have a broad musical awareness? How does your musical awareness directly affect what you choose for your students to listen to/ perform.
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Ashlynn,
I also have to confess that I am not as good as I would like to be about incorporating other styles of music into my music classroom. I would like to at least have a more open dialog about different styles of music all being similar in the fact that they are all the same notes and rhythms just used in different patterns and instrumentation. This could even be proven to them in fun and exciting ways. For example, I said in my post that I could listen for similar rhythms in pop songs as to what we are learning in band and play a recording of the song with the melody written out on the paper. This would allow them to see the melody written out and play the rhythms on a unison note just so they can understand the correlation. I think this method of incorporating pop music would be simple and effective in bridging the gap between “classical” type band music with the pop music they listen to.
As far as my musical awareness, I would really like to guide them to more styles of music that they are not used to listening to, or even music they don’t know exists. I feel as though I have the musical awareness to incorporate different styles of music, I just haven’t put in the effort or thought to make it happen.
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Ashlynn,
What a fascinating project! I would be eager to hear how this turns out and am curious to propose something like this at my school. There is great value in teaching students the connection of music with all subjects. So far I’ve had teachers ask if I can help them learn songs for different class plays that go along with the history they are learning.
In regards to your question about “musical doors” I would say at my first school, we had a set of 14 djembe’s that were in a storage closet not used in years. I pulled them out and introduced my students to the djembe’s origin of West Africa and how it came to the West Indies. I showed a video of drummer’s who would gather all together and play and why. Then taught them hand technique and rhythm’s on the djembe. I then split students in to groups and each group would create their own rhythm and perform for the class. They loved it, and didn’t have too many complaints from my teacher neighbors!
I feel like my musical awareness is broad from traveling and different courses I’ve taken, but I know there is always more to learn and understand. I think it’s allowed me to not be afraid of teaching my students new songs. Sometimes students will laugh because they are singing in a different language so I ask them why does it sound silly? And then we get in to learning about the country and the language they speak, and then I preach how we should learn to respect and appreciate songs that sound different than what they are used to. Hopefully it resonates.
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Ashlynn,
The ways I have opened the “musical doors” in my program has only been through the literature we play each year. During the Mid-Winter and Contest times we play great band literature, as much as we can on our reachable grade level and below. I use the Christmas concert and Spring concert to attempt and expand our musical culture. We pass out pop music, music from different cultures, and music written for cultural reasons. I would love to add a steel band or other types of musical ensembles and clubs to enhance that void.
I am right there with you on my musical awareness not being as broad as it should be. I do believe that as music educators, we should probably have a vast knowledge of the music that is out there, that would include pop music of today, music of the local community, and music of the cultures represented in our student body.
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I have some strong opinions on what is included in the school music curriculum and what messages we are sending our students regarding the “value” of music. I feel my views have dramatically changed from the time I first stepped into a classroom. What is music? This is one of the first questions I ask my non-music major students on the first day of class. I think there is an importance of dispelling the notion that “those who cherish ‘good art’ are therefore better human beings” (pg. 40). So how do we portray this philosophy in the public school setting? There has been a growing number of districts around the country that are beginning to embrace other avenues for music making. Many schools are adding guitar, class piano, electronic music, steel drum, mariachi, etc. There is evidence of the support from a larger community of music teachers with the addition and inclusion of these ensembles and instruments in the National Core Arts Standards. These strands are identified as emerging ensembles and harmonic instruments. Now, I fully understand the needs and demands of many music educators to provide “results,” district size and structure, funding, etc. Many of these are legitimate concerns, however, they might also be used as roadblocks to prevent us from adding to our plate, or even exposing our lack of understanding. I remember sitting in a professional development meeting talking about the future of education and our students (something like a Did You Know 2.0 video). What is music education going to look like in 20 years? What are the skill sets we should be teaching our students in college to prepare them for being the authority on music? Do we place value in teaching our students to be as complete musicians as possible and willing to experiment with new musical endeavors?
The portion of the chapter dealing with building bridges is interesting. I think it could become a nightmare if too many opinions are given in regards to controlling the selection of the literature. Given that much of the research from the last chapter spoke to autonomy and control of a teacher’s curriculum, I think there is a slight disconnect. There is a fine line between teaching the concepts and skills necessary to fulfill the major objectives of a music course and introducing music that is of importance to the student and community. I do think the idea of a “concept” concert or organizing your program around a central focus is of merit. Overall, teachers should be open and not dismissive to student’s interests, ideas, and cultural influences. The exclusiveness will only turn students and stakeholders away. Music must remain engaging and enjoyable for the student to make a meaningful and a positive connection that will last with them. The concept of “contextual constellations” reminded me of Alan Merriam’s 10 Functions for Music (including emotional expression, entertainment, communication, symbolic representation, enforcing conformity to social norms, to name a few). Regardless of how we see our role and what we perceive as important, we must remember that music serves many other purposes and we need to embrace those viewpoints to create “life-long learners” of music.
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Eric,
I whole-heartedly agree with you that there is a boundary of teaching concepts and music specifically to placate the community especially at the elementary level where most students are still learning basic aural skills and music literacy. If students lack the fundamentals of music than their music foundation will not be sufficient enough to support playing or singing in any genre that is handed to them. Current music is not a solid enough foundation to build upon. It may help with rhythms or excitement however how do we know they truly understand the rhythms or are they regurgitating it from what they listen to.
At the elementary level, students strain their voices because they can’t sing the low notes or the raspy style that we are hearing today. Most often when they sing these songs they are shouting more than singing. Though they like listening to the music, it is not fit for their voices just yet and they start to get discouraged. However by focusing on teaching them the basic objectives, they can start building their own musical house because we gave them the foundation and the tools to do so.
I also agree that we should be open to what our students listen to due to the fact that it’s out there and they seem to find a connection to the music. I recently asked my 5th graders this week what they like to listen to, as it turns out I share some of the same interests in music. I also realized that as a music teacher I have more of an impact of what they like to listen to more than I thought I did.
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I think we have similar attitudes about the value of musics. I affirm everything that you have said! You connected to the previous chapter re: autonomy of curriculum with this chapter’s bridging concept. I think you expressed it much more simply than I did. What’s the value of “getting on their level” vs “being the taste-setter”? Did Froehlich contradict herself? This and other disjunctions were a big take-away for me upon reading and I’m glad someone else had taken away something similar. I need to look up Merriam’s functions for music. Those are probably good elements to fulfill when putting together a curriculum.
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My initial instinct is to lean towards the genres I am more familiar with over one that is different, but I think understanding all types of music is important in order to appreciate the entire spectrum of our field. If there are certain genres that I am unfamiliar with, I try to make an effort to learn the origin, history, and influence in society in order for me to understand it and then teach it more effectively to my students.
I want to approach the three perspectives based on my current school’s “culture” as it is unlike what I’ve experienced in my own public school music classes growing up.
From a macro-view perspective, students at my school receive a Classical Christian education where Christianity is at the root of the school’s culture and in turn the music is as well. More specifically, Latin hymns and chants that date back hundreds of years. It is interesting how Froehlich mentions how cultures use songs to as part of daily rituals or for certain events because my school is instilling song in to daily routines. Students sing in Matins in the morning and evensong at the end of the day and students will say a “Chorister’s Prayer” as part of their music class routine. Even jingles have been created to learn historical events. Along with the new students, these routines were something I had to learn very quickly and adapt to because of the school’s mission and culture. In the broad spectrum, the goal is for the students to learn the Latin hymns and Gregorian chants that are at the very root of music itself.
From a micro perspective, I realize the routines in my school might be the only time particular students are exposed to this practice- meaning that it is not necessarily a part of their daily life outside of the classroom. This is where I am able to focus on ways to engage students in all aspects of music through folk songs and dances and ancient to modern musical eras that stems away from the “roots” of Latin hymns and chants.
From an interactionist perspective, I want students to find the common ground that music is interrelated in one way or another and for them to develop an appreciation of where it came from, where it is now, and where it is headed. Granted, this may take several years for students to discover as they are exposed to more music and cultures over time.
This chapter really challenged how I approach choosing music. Yes, I want my students to be engaged, yes, I want them to be exposed to new types of music while teaching them traditional, yes, I want them to compare and contrast certain styles within a genre- but how do we really know that students are learning and engaged in what we are teaching? Am I choosing music that fits the school’s values while also exposing students them to different types of music? Can I do this harmoniously? Do they see the big picture? These are rhetorical questions, but also curious if you may have these thoughts as well.
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