The social realities we encounter as music educators are an inherent part of our professional lives. Froehlich (2007) magnifies these realities by outlining several of the topics we discussed this semester. They include the achievement gap, which can be a result of socioeconomics, race, gender, and culture. Fortunately, music can be integral to students’ lives outside of school. This brings us back to the differences between formal and informal music learning. Informal music learning allows students to voluntarily immerse themselves in the learning process. Such immersion entails much more than just the music, as students admire their favorite music and musicians by a variety of social factors. On the other hand, formal music learning can often seem old fashioned if not addressed appropriately. It is interesting to note that Froehlich believes formal and informal music learning can meet common ground with the introduction of instrumental music (the voice is an instrument, too) in the formal curriculum. Providing students the opportunity to learn a variety of instrumental music styles can help to build their self-esteem. This can go a long way to unite students from diverse backgrounds.
The diverse backgrounds of our students can also prompt a discussion of the hidden curriculum, which is defined as:
“The set of values, attitudes, or principals that are implicitly conveyed to students by teachers. It is believed to promote social control at school and in society at large by training people to conform and to obey authority, teaching them to regard social inequalities as natural, thereby ensuring cultural reproduction” (p. 119).
Music educators now realize that accepted traditions (e.g., how an audience responds between movements) should be explicitly taught. Addressing the relationships between musical conventions and valued behaviors versus musical preferences and cultural traditions will help us to even the playing field between students with extensive musical backgrounds and those with little or no musical experience. How we respond to the educational needs of our students help us to define ourselves as valuable members of the educational community.
These aforementioned issues are extremely important as they help us to realize that teaching and learning music are social acts. Furthermore, students who immerse themselves in a formal music education are able to develop their cultural capital. Cultural capital involves (a) musicianship, (b) music literacy, (c) performance skills, and (d) the ability to discern different musical styles. Hopefully, such capital will result in a lifelong appreciation and commitment to music, but is this always the case? How often does a committed high school musician stop performing once he or she graduates from high school? This leads us to an important question: What can music educators do to assure their students become lifelong music makers?
What we do is important. Whether you teach music as a compulsory subject in the elementary schools or as an elective in middle school and high school, it is important to remember that you are not only an educator. You are a musician. You are an advocate for the arts. You are a public relations manager. You are a liaison between the school and community. For your weekly assignment, please do the following:
- Read the seventh chapter of the Froehlich text, which is titled, Application of Sociological Constructs in Education to Music Schooling.
- Post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 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, March 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 statements and questions:
- What knowledge and skills would you consider to be important in a culturally literate person? Discuss strategies to teach toward such a goal for different school settings.
- Examine the place of competitions in the world of music learning. Where is competitive behavior appropriate and where does it inhibit learning?
Froehlich, H. C. (2007). Sociology for music teachers: Perspectives for practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Dr. Charles R. Ciorba 
Though the scenario on page 107 of the teacher having students being disappointed in receiving the rating of a 2 instead of a 1 after they worked expectantly hard is very saddening. The teacher’s message that hard work does indeed pay off in the end and that individual practice at home would benefit the entire group is absolutely correct. I believe he could of added a spin of in knowing how hard they worked that no matter what rating they received that day, he was proud to stand in front of an ensemble that has worked so hard to improve themselves and the ensemble as a whole. Thus diminishing the effects of the rating they may or not have received that day and putting the focus on the effort that they put into the hard work in the rehearsal. If the teacher may have understood the hidden curriculum in prepping them in this manner I do not believe he would have had some of the negative feedback that he did. Though I certainly understand the nervousness that the teacher may have been experiencing with the competition at hand because as music teachers we want others to be able to enjoy the hard work that our students put into preparing the repertoire and be well received.
Throughout the rehearsal process, the rating should not be the sole emphasis from the teacher of why students are performing. What should be emphasized is that they are merely going to the competition for experience and that the judges are also very experienced music educators whom also may have helpful tips or suggestions to better the ensemble. This helps set a positive environment and also puts emphasis on the rehearsal process itself. With a positive environment, I believe that the benefits of music competitions and festivals profoundly out weigh the negative outcomes.
Music competitions help motivate students because of the excitement of performing in a different venue in front of an experienced audience maybe very rare for them. Being in an environment such as that is crucial for performance development because it gives them experience being in front of an audience. Competitions add the benefit of students being able to listen to each other from different areas and how they sound. Students may also briefly interact and mingle with students from other schools, which helps develop strong social skills. In their own performance it also gives them another view on how well they are performing and helps them understand the proper way to coop with criticism if any was given. Within their own ensemble the bus trips also helps create a viable community as an ensemble because of the bonding time they are receiving from being together. In the public eye, it showcases the ensemble and brings them together like something that would closely resemble sports.
All in all the with the correct environment competitions can be used as a powerful tool to boost valued knowledge and hopefully create a positive hidden curriculum that will creates a very real experience and lasting memory through constructionism.
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Hi Ashley,
Reading your response made me think about my own journey with taking my students to contest. This was my fourth year to take the middle school full orchestra to contest and the first time we got a superior rating in performance. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty bummed out by the excellent we had received the three years previous. I had never received that rating and I felt like I wasn’t doing a good job (regardless of the unending support and encouragement from my colleagues). So this year they did it and got a 1. I was excited sure but I realized (cheese alert) I was more moved because I felt like the rating finally matched the effort that my students gave me. I know they do it also because they enjoy performing and being apart of the ensemble but contest, in a way, also has the ability to legitimize a program. I walked into a program that was on its last leg and to go from that to a successful full orchestra in just four short… and yet very long… years has made such an impact on me. Maybe its selfish to think about the other side of things, and contest may be irrelevant to the fact, but it is definitely a learning experience.
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Getting students to know and understand the difference between “life” music and live music has been something that I made sure to stress early on in my career (8 short years ago). My goal was to make students the music lovers we all strive for – and not just music on the radio. Froelich’s description of “life” music being music you “chillax” to made me laugh at loud, but was essentially what I teach my students. We have music that we listen to that we enjoy and just listen to in the background. This music that we are studying, which Froelich is correct can seem “old-fashioned and foreign” is music that can make us better Cultured. It’s music that we can listen to and analyze more than Pink or Beyoncé’s music.
“Learning a coveted craft”
This section made me enjoy the fact that once we get students hooked on learning an instrument – they love the art of it! Froelich mentions the idea of teaching in smaller ensemble settings. I agree that this would benefit students much more in multiple ways. As mentioned in the text, the students could be grouped with similar musical abilities and musical interests. A stolen idea I’ve heard to help with this is to do student led ensembles twice a week during your large ensemble rehearsals. Have the students split up into multiple chamber groups, create their own compositions or play legit works. This, of course, is very difficult to try and implement when we are so pressed for time as it is getting ready for festival. If able to structure the time to make this happen, it seems as if the students could benefit much more from the monotony large ensemble rehearsal each day. This will lead to the another topic – the importance of contest in school music.
Large Ensemble…
A take away I wanted to expand on in this section was the idea of the community events. This struct an idea and I’m sure others are already doing it. I’ve noticed that our auditorium is sometimes at standing room only during certain times of the years so collaborating with other programs in the school and community wouldn’t be feasible to fit parents and patrons in our auditorium. The idea this made me think of would be to showcase the small ensembles we have at a local place (i.e. Shawnee Mall) and incorporate the vocal ensembles, art students, drama students doing monologues, etc. What are your schools doing to connect with the community in different ways than your standard ‘large ensemble’ concert?
Culture…
The final section, Froelich mentions that we are not just music educators but also sociocultural agents. This made me think of our concerts that we put on. The past two years, the concert etiquette of the parents and patrons had gone downhill, quite quickly it seemed. I started reflecting about it after each concert. I finally decided it’s obviously my fault that the audience was not behaving the traditionally correct way, because how else would people know how to behave in this high cultural activity unless I am to tell them?! After researching what other schools may do, I found some great resources on NAfME’s website. This resulted in me inserting a “memo to the audience” in the program, as well as having our Head Principal (of 4 high school principals) welcome the parents and patrons, as well go over some proper behavior guidelines. A former administrator thanked the Principal for doing so because it was the “best audience behavior” she’s witnessed. What are some ideas you have for letting the audience know the proper etiquette practices?
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Hi Matt,
I once heard an interesting story about a professional musician who engaged with the audience at regular intervals throughout his concerts. He would encourage all of the audience to write questions down anonymously on a little piece of paper before the program began, and they would be gathered and given to him. The questions would be about many things like etiquette, technique, life as a professional music or music student, etc. It was a really creative way to make people outside of the world of classical music feel more comfortable in a concert and learn more about concert settings. However, it is interesting that this performer would break etiquette in an attempt to explain etiquette to attendees.
I think etiquette of classical concert going could probably use some overhauling in general. Don’t get me wrong, I think people should be expected to be respectful of the music and performers, and I can only imagine the frustrations you have had to deal with in your band concerts. But sometimes I wonder if we are inflicting harm on ourselves with some of our rules of etiquette (myself included, I am a card carrying staunch supporter of concert etiquette). There were points in American history when people rioted because of a performer’s interpretation of Shakespeare. In that same time, people would attend classical art events in numbers far greater than they do today(especially when the rise in population is taken in to account). I wonder if, more than changes in aesthetics, changes in etiquette have excluded many people through the years who would otherwise be enthusiastic patrons of classical music. I once took my cousin, just released from prison, to an opera (as a mini sociology experiment). He loved it. He laughed so hard during parts of “The Marriage of Figaro” that I was uncomfortable (because of my own understanding of etiquette). When it was over he was the first person to stand in applause. He laughed too loud and too long, stomped his foot while laughing, reached over and hit me on the chest to enjoy the experience with me, rocked back and forth in his squeaky seat during his favorite musical parts, and yelled with a rebel yell to show his approval of the performers after arias and during the curtain call. After we got out of the opera and in the car, he showed me a new prison tattoo he gave himself with a homemade gun, put in an Eminem cd, and said he wanted to go watch the new Harry Potter movie. It was fascinating.
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On Large Ensembles:
In and effort to consolidate nightly events at my school I joined forces with our reading night and had my Holiday Chorus concert in conjunction with the event. The event took place at the Norman Library and was a school wide event that included students from K all the way up to 5th. The Lincoln Lion Chorus was the opening segment and was a great way to have everyone congregated together before going to different sessions on reading engagement. A few things happened by doing this…For parents of my choir kids it was a 2:1 event. It helped consolidate their schedules and it also helped with attendance for the event. For parents whose children are not in choir allowed them to see what LLC was all about and acted as free PR for the program. Since then the choir has been a part of performing at other school wide events in an effort to not only bring entertainment factor and music advocacy, but also it has been a “hook” to get more parents too the events.
Proper Etiquette:
On a few occasions I have had students give concert etiquette guidelines in a fun yet “do this or else” way. It was effective with the audience and was much more interesting than hearing me say it. When I was parusing JW pepper one day I found this “Concert Etiquette Rap”. http://www.jwpepper.com/Concert-Etiquette-Rap/3126935.item#.WMX4qmWTWCQ It would be fun to utilize something like this from year to year. You could also use something like this to help teach all students about concert etiquette before going to the orchestra or other live performances.
In my High School musicals our director would have characters come out and do monologues to remind parents of audience behavior/cell phone expectations. Audiences expect this to come and they are bound to listen a bit more if it is done in a creative way. For example, one year it was one of the rule following nuns from “The Sound of Music” who came out and gave strict orders while the other year it was a gun carrying cowboy from “Oklahoma!”.
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Hi Matt,
Large Ensembles
As you know, my school does the Pops concert which I think is very different from most high school large ensemble concerts. We work with the film students to create presentations for the movie music we play. One of our students studies ballet and danced across the stage. We join the band, orchestra, and choir together for a few pieces and last year we even invited the elementary choir to join in. We even use stand lights and dim the stage. This setting appeals to so many people and is a really fun night.
Another great thing that we do is a night on campus celebrating the arts. Every group on campus performs, art work is on display in the buildings, arts and crafts are available for the students, and there is even a picnic sold. Being a part of this is always very fun and a bit stressful. It is a great way to connect with the community and alumni.
Each year the performance opportunities change. This year we are hosting a massive arts festival for over 40 different schools and in preparation high school small ensembles we perform at the middle school, elementary, and primary schools the week before. The younger students will be exposed to art in a much more intimate setting and the older kids are excited to show off!
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The Hidden Curriculum of the Conductor
“It is an accepted behavior in the professional music world that, during rehearsal, conductors are short and direct in their verbal comments, keep praises to a minimum, and are focused more on the music than on those who make it” (p. 107).
Whoa! I found this statement to be so simple, but also so extremely profound! In fact, I felt like I had been hit over the head as I read it. Of course, the truth of the statement is obvious, but I have never fully realized the potential effects of it till now.
This statement triggered a multitude of thoughts and concerns for me. On one hand, I realized something about myself as a player in an ensemble. The conductors I enjoyed performing under the most were always exceptionally kind individuals that not only gave great attention and care to the music, but also, to the players in the ensemble. Furthermore, I realized that the conductors I have least enjoyed in my career are those that gave little attention and care to the people in front of him/her. Is it wrong of me to feel this way? After all, the statement clearly says that it is an “accepted behavior.” Should there not be a balance? How do you feel about this?
On the other hand, this statement sparked a great deal of reflection on my own teaching and conducting styles. Where do I fall on this spectrum? Do I come off as the uncaring conductor and teacher that only focuses on the music? Do I adequately demonstrate to my students that I am truly invested in them as individuals?
It is kind of remarkable how such a simple statement could awaken such thoughts and concerns. As I proceed in my teaching career, I am going to attempt to be exceptionally conscious of this potential pitfall. I want to be that kind conductor/teacher that genuinely shows concern and care for my students—I do not want to be the individual that get so engrossed in the music that I forget about those who are making it. I believe that there should be and can be a balance without taking away from or hindering the music.
Competitions
Competitions can be a slippery slope, and I think they have to be approached with the right mindset for them to be truly educational experiences. There are many benefits to attending competitions: 1) they can be a motivation tool, 2) they provide an opportunity for students to perform outside their own community, 3) they provide an opportunity for your students to experience and listen to other ensembles, and 4) students receive feedback from other professionals in the field.
I believe competitions loose educational value when the primary focus becomes the rating or ranking. Receiving awards and special recognition is not why we teach and make music. This should NEVER be the primary reason for going to a competition. Another potential pitfall of competitions is that oftentimes students are studying the same pieces of music for an extraordinarily long time. This can cause potential musical burnout, but also, it limits the amount of quality music that students could experience within a school year.
I like going to competitions, but I always approach them carefully with my students.
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Hi KG,
I enjoy hearing your thoughts on competitions. I can relate myself to the decline in educational value in situations like this (less the scores and awards associated with competitions). As a performer, when I am working on something that has to be learned (ie. a duet piece for guitar and sax I agreed to play with a colleague), I can’t help but feel cheated at times because I am not able to freely chase my heart’s desire without feeling like I am neglecting my responsibilities to be prepared for the duet. I don’t like preparing for performances at all if it hinders me from being able to learn something new. So I know all too well the frustrations that can come with an observed decline in educational value. The problem you guys, as band directors, have that I don’t (as I willingly agree to situations that create this feeling), is that you have school board members, superintendents, principals, and parents who expect to see these students participate in contests and do well in them. It’s probably a hard sale to convince that group that you’ll be skipping a competition to focus more on a more educationally valuable semester of music studies.
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KG,
Great details when it comes to competition. I agree with each of your 4 points. I also agree hat they loose educational value when the focus is on the rating or ranking. I often find myself telling students that I don’t care what they score at competition or where they fall in the rankings as long as they have grown from our last “benchmark”. Now I also find myself reading many articles about those schools who do not go to any competition and wonder if they have the right idea. There is no crying students after hearing they didn’t make finals, or that they received a II opposed to the I. They can obviously still have the educational value that we do, only minus the competion.
I enjoy going to competions and allowing my students to see the other students their age doing the same weird thing they are doing. I think it creates a sense of community in what we do. What a great concept to debate!
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Reading this chapter brought to light two very important moments in my musical and pedagogical development. The first moment was when I realized that we actually went to contest in middle school. I went to middle school in north Texas. This meant a huge, successful program. I knew that we played well and I knew that the standards set before us were extremely high but we were never told when we went to contest. We would go and play at the Meyerson, the Murchison, or Sandy Lake, in concert clothes and our families were invited but we were literally never told that it was a contest. It wasn’t until college, when speaking with a mentor who had been my private instructor since 6th grade that I realized I had been duped in the best way. As I went to do observations and learned about middle school groups going to contest or taking trips for contest, I spoke to my mentor saying “You know, I don’t ever remember going to contest… I remember going to play at different places but I never knew why.” That’s when my world exploded and he told me those WERE contests. Why did my director do that? How did she do that? Looking back now, I think maybe we went to satisfy the school but her never using contest to motivate is created a strong intrinsic motivation to play well. I am very thankful that she instilled in us a desire to play the music well because that is what the music deserved, what our teacher deserved, and what our peers deserved.
The second moment was again when I was speaking with my mentor. He is like a second father to me. He taught me privately in middle school, high school, and was then my college instructor as well. After I graduated from college he went to teach at a middle school in Texas. After several years, things ended up not working out. He wasn’t happy and decided to leave his job. We started talking about what is a successful program, what is the point of what we do. His program was intensely geared towards doing well at contest and this was his main conflict. He then shared with me the story of a director at a small town in Texas. This directors class size was small but with about 30 graduating seniors, 15 went on to major in music. “This,” he said “is success.” My students are often discouraged from majoring in music, so it never even occurred to me that this would be a possibility! I would love to meet this teacher and observe the passion that he is instilling in his students. Out of this, I have decided that it is my job to help students find an avenue to continue playing in college (if they want of course.) I, now, constantly speak with my seniors about how to keep playing college. Many of them want to but I’ve realized unless I give guidance and really stay on top of them about it, the likelihood of them continuing to play is less than 10%.
How do you measure the success of a program? What do you think about my middle school director’s sneaky ways? Would you ever do this, why or why not?
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Jamee,
Your story about your time in middle school was a bit of a surprise to me as it sounds like it was also a surprise to you! When I was in middle school we were told what we were going to do and what the ultimate goal was (making a superior rating). I loved performing music very much but I wonder how my views might have been different if I was lead to believe we weren’t competing for a rating or a placement. I think I might have looked for more meaning in how we made the audience feel, or how the music made me feel as opposed to simply being proud that we made a superior rating. Because, in the end, music is about connecting emotionally, right? Its not about making a superior rating or getting first place. Somehow, as an educator I can’t help but still focus on the rating instead of making a deep meaningful connection with the audience. I love your mentors definition of a successful music program. Not just the idea that half the senior were majoring in music, but that they had enough passion for music to continue past high school. THAT is why that program is successful. Music learning is so much more than obtaining a superior rating. It is about instilling a lifelong love for making music.
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Hi Jamee,
What an amazing story and an genesis idea! Though I do not take my students to competitions since they are only elementary. In my private studio I have taken
A few students to music festivals to perform and receive a rating therefore I’m not sure how I could get away with not telling them that they are being rated since the judge literally sits at a desk and writes in front of them in clear sight.
I would measure the success of a program much like you described. Being able to make music for the sake of music is such a beautiful thing that I would like my students to enjoy. However, I wouldn’t judge them if most of my students didn’t go on to major in music. Since I have elementary students, they still have plenty of time before they need to choose which path they decide to go on in terms of college. I believe for me, seeing my students happily burst into song without being lead to do so is a success for me. When they do, hearing it makes me tear up a little. I would also say that for them to go on to middle school and pursue band and choir is also a success however after talking to some of the my parents, the way they have music rotated every nine weeks with core classes, it sounds like many of them do not have a real say in what elective they get to take which is very unfortunate.
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Jamee,
When I am considering the success of a program, I would look at several different variables; however, the variable that I feel is most important is engagement (i.e. student engagement, parental engagement, school body engagement, and community engagement). I think many people place too much value on program size and musical ability. I do not believe these are good indicators of successful programs because size and musical ability is going to vary greatly from district to district. A 2A program will never be as large as a 6A program, and the likelihood of a 2A program being able to play the same level of literature of a 6A program is quite slim. But, does that make the 2A program less successful? I don’t think so.
This is why I look at engagement. Are the students fully engaged? Are they receiving a well-rounded music education? Do they enjoy making music? Are the parents engaged in what their children are learning and performing? Do they support the program? How does the rest of the school body perceive the program? Are the other students, teachers, and administrators supportive? How does the community perceive the program? Does the community support, value, and contribute to the program’s growth and success?
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Jamee,
I think the idea that your middle school director developed is something I wish to see replicated at other schools. So many are directors are either competition driven, or the culture that is already established in that school/district is competition driven. This is hard to break. So much of education is predicated on the “results” and not the “process.” While I believe in healthy competition as a form of external motivation, it cannot be the only source. I think the image of the contest versus the concert needs to be addressed. Imagine if our district and state contests resembled our winter or spring concerts. Not just merely performing for three judges and a few spectators in the audience. What type of impact and message would we send our students? Could we challenge our students and ensemble to engage an active audience and perform music at a high level? Not for a rating for the joy of performing? Can we blend the two? I think performing and preparing for some type of summative assessment is great, but the students have to understand that this is only a snapshot into the daily success your students are having in the classroom. I agree that too often we find measuring our entire existence on the rating of a few “old guys” sitting in the back of an empty auditorium.
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“All music is ethnic music, to someone” (p. 110). I’ve always shared this viewpoint, but was not able to frame is this succinctly. I spend a significant amount of time in my non-major course having an open dialogue with students about their own perceptions of music and how it relates to the world around them. We read three different articles that help to illuminate some very basic philosophy and psychology of musical perception. There is a chapter entitled The Music-Culture as a World Music by Jeff Titon and Mark Sloban that describes the universality of music, but the different impact it can have on us and how we experience music as a cultural phenomenon. They also address many of the issues that the “hidden curriculum” can cause. And as an “expert” in the field, I often find myself having to determine when and where to express that understanding while allowing my students to feel like they are in a safe space. We use this as a starting point for our students to begin having a meaningful discussion on music beyond many of our narrow focuses. Another chapter we read is from Daniel Levitin’s book This is Your Brain on Music. The chapter deals with more psychology of music and what influences out preferences to particular genres. Levitin suggests a large component of selecting music is based on the idea that music “bonds social groups of people whom we want to be like, or whom we believe we have something in common with” (p. 232). Froehlich identifies this same idea on dealing with the achievement gap in music (p. 101).
The consequences for the role of the music teacher is something I feel very passionate about. I think this discussion is a reference back to the first chapter when dealing with teacher identity. “Music teachers must wear many different hats, each equally important in building and maintain a successful music program” (p. 112). It is essential to create the identity of an all-around educator, not just music educator. There is a realization that while there is an immense amount of knowledge and technical proficiency (i.e., instrument specific content, conducting, musicianship) and pedagogical knowledge (how to properly instruct with that content knowledge) that must be studied in college, the area of the job that takes place off the podium is of equal and often more importance to creating and maintaining a successful program. Many of these skills are learned “on the job” and are often difficult to teach in a sterile setting of a classroom. Many young teachers profess that this is the most challenging aspect of the job and is one of the largest factors in teacher burnout. I enjoy the illustration of the Web of Interaction. There are many instances where you are required to function in one of the other circles. In my own experience, I found that the one area I was dreading about teaching (the students’ parents and community), became not only a strength but one of the factors that contributed to my growing passion for teaching music!
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I wonder how much the concepts you are teaching your non-major students could be applicable to my middle school and high school students in small-town America. I would like for my students to realize that the music they listen to can have more meaning to them than just “it sounds cool” or “it makes me happy.” What can I do to encourage them to look deeper? What kinds of questions do you ask them? It seems as though they aren’t interested in finding deeper emotional connections to the music they listen to.
I agree with you on the consequences for the role of a music teacher. I was very nervous about the “extra” responsibilities of a music teacher. Thankfully, my first job is as an assistant that allows me to learn a lot of these skills from my colleague. I feel as though my intuition goes a long way in this area but I could not have relied solely on my intuition as a head band director my first year. These skills must come from either observing the behaviors from a mentor or having an experienced teacher to call and get advice from (and not just posting on the national band directors Facebook page, YIKES).
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Eric,
I would first respond and say that students are students, no matter where they are. Our students have a desire to learn, we only need to provide them a safe place to explore and help guide them. I think there is and must be a place in the curriculum to help students understand music in a much more global sense. As we discussed in the previous chapters, this is crucial for their musical identity and if we wish for our profession to continue. I think you could engage with your students in a meaningful way and not take a large amount of class time to do it. Start small. Think about what questions would provoke some discourse within your students. Getting them to just think about the role music plays in their life is the first step. Is music universal? Are children your students’ age listening to the same music in (insert country)? Does music play the same role there? What role does music play in their lives? You’re right that sometimes it takes some poking and stirring the pot to get them going. I am always surprised by the responses I get. What is it that makes it “sound cool” or “happy.” Trying to articulate the aesthetics of music is difficult, no matter the age. This is an area that NAfME would like for all of us to work towards. The connection of personal meaning to an artistic work. How are they connection to the works performed in class? Help them to understand!
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Froehlich illustrates an example of student reactions to competition that I have never thought of before. My own experience in Konawa High School marching band was only positive. Mr. Longest became our teacher my first year in marching band, and that year he took our district marching scores (which were 4s and 5s the year previous) to 2s and 1s. I was never a part of a marching band that didn’t get 1s after that. We worked hard (I tried to pretend I didn’t) and were pleased after every contest. Perhaps my lack in teaching k-12 has blinded me to the other side of the coin in which students work hard but don’t feel validated when their scores are received at a contest. All of this aside, I have had mixed feelings about contests for a while now. I have already voiced my view that was reinforced by the reading a few weeks ago: performance should not be the goal but the natural by-product of a student or group that is in love with music and has submitted to the process of learning music. The problem I see with this viewpoint is that it mostly works in higher ed, where students are studying with me because they plan to make a living off of and spend the rest of their lives learning, teaching, and performing music. High school band students that think this way are probably few and far between. So I see the value in goal (performance) oriented education for the sake of creating motivation and a potential sense of accomplishment in high school music students. I have to be honest and say I am glad I don’t have to navigate through this difficult subject that many of you deal with on a daily basis, as it feels like yet another complex concept in music ed that I am not capable of leading young musicians through.
Although I do not have experience with competitions of this nature, I have taught private guitar lessons to young children. My studio participates in an end of the recital every year, and there are some similarities between this event and the competitions mentioned in the text (with their chance for great feelings of validation or failure). I am very conscious of the importance of beginners having a positive experience in their first performance experiences, so I have a few guidelines that I always follow. I never try to talk a student in to participating in the recital. If a student participates, I feel like they need to know that they are doing so because they want to, and their participation should be coupled with an excitement to display their achievements. I also choose the piece they will perform, and the piece is chosen around 6 months before the performance happens. We learn a piece, they get it right, and I make them practice performing it every day after until the recital comes. We move on to new pieces, but they will continue running through this piece every day for months before ever performing it in front of people. I also, as I was taught by my teacher, make it a point to instill the practice of making the moments after a performance entirely dedicated to celebrating the performer. My teacher warned me that if I wanted a long and happy career making music, I needed to learn to celebrate every performance. So I celebrate every performance with every child as if they just conquered the world, and I don’t entertain any conversation about the failures that occurred (at least until the next lesson).
I would be interested to hear from any of you band teachers how you navigate through the disappointments that come with competition experience.
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I found the reading for this week to be very applicable to my teaching experiences and can see them being applicable to any music teacher. I particularly enjoyed reading about the informal and formal music learning. “Informal music learning happens through voluntary immersion in a music-making culture” (p. 101). I like the way this form of music-making sounds. I think about times I have learned about music in this way. If I heard a new band or song-writer that I liked I would look for more and more music performed or written by that person. For example, when I was younger I was obsessed with the music of Weird Al (I had a very complex taste in music). I began collecting his albums and listened to them a lot. I learned from listening about the culture of parody music. This music also became more to me than just enjoying the music. I would be able to quote the music with my father and make inside jokes and connections with him through Weird Al’s music. This connects to the “life music” that was mentioned a couple paragraphs down. The music allowed me to send messages with my father through the music. Is there any music that helps connect you and someone close to you? What prompted the connection (an event or specific conversation)?
Someone with cultural literacy has a deeper understanding of art, music, and literature of a certain culture. As a music educator, I am responsible for teaching my students a deeper understanding of the music we play and also the important music of our culture’s history. Furthermore, I could go a step farther and make connections between this music and the art and literature of the time. This allows my students to take with them a critical mind that thinks about context of new music they hear and the ideas that influenced the music. Pop music seems to be what my students enjoy listening to the most. If I can find ways to connect that music with context (whether that be political, life event, social status, etc.) then I can show them that this deeper understanding can be applied to the music they listen to on a daily basis and with a deeper understanding comes a greater respect for the music.
Competition has a very active roll in most secondary music classrooms. Many students are motivated regularly through competition. Competition is often a tool music educators use to push their students to a goal. Competition as motivation is great for a music program as long as the end goal does not solely involve a placement or a rating. Without an ability goal, the students could find themselves highly discouraged when the competitive goal is not met. I often tell my students that it is not about our rating or placement at a contest. It is about the growth within ourselves. The competition is simply an assessment of our abilities as we relate to other groups.
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Hi Eric!
I’ve had some similar experiences with strangers and close friends connecting through “life music” in general. Most of the connections happened not because we exceptionally liked the music being played at the events. Many of them where because we where all embracing the art.
I was recently at a coffee shop that was putting on an event named after Bob Marley’s “One Love” song where they where playing light Jamaican music in the background and they later taught us the basic steps of the Cha Cha. Since my friend and I where in the back, the lady if front of us whom we had never met before started a small conversation with us about how she was horrible at keeping beat and laughingly told us not to not follow her for the dance steps. After not taking her advice and watching, she ended up being one of the only people who could keep a steady beat and keep up with the dance teacher.
I also recently had an experience with rock music with a few friends. Though my friends and I really do not listen to heavy metal rock music on a daily basis, it was the music that was being played at the event we where at. After we picked up on the chorus of the song we started happily singing along with the chorus.
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Eric,
I like your viewpoint on the place of competition in music education. “I often tell my students that it is not about our rating or placement at a contest. It is about the growth within ourselves.” This is extremely similar to how I discuss contests with my students; however, I am much less eloquent.
When first discussing OSSAA contest with my middle school students, they are often confused as to why we go to contest if we do not receive a ranking (i.e. 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place). As I am explaining the rating scale, I try to convey to my students that we are not going to contest to compete against other bands, but rather, we are competing against ourselves. We are attempting to perform the music to the best of our ability with the best musicality we can possibly achieve. By doing this, we are attempting to receive the best rating possible for our performance.
I also stress to my students that the ratings we receive are not the end goal. Our true end goal is to grow and learn from the journey that we take as we prepare for contest. The ratings are simply what three people think of our one-time performance.
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Eric,
I too had a weird complex taste in music. I was way too into rap than I care to mention during Jr. High school. However, the friends I had at the time and I had the same taste in music, as well as my sister. I would spend much time in her room listening to Tupac and the Beastie Boys. It was a way we all connected to each other. At the same time I was listening to Alt Rock and Country (ugh).
Your second paragraph was very well put. I agree with all of it! If we can find ways to connect the music they listen to on a deeper level, then we can give them a better respect for their music as well as the literature we play in class! Thanks for sharing your ideas on that topic!
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Blog originally posted by Ashlynn Dickinson on Friday, March 10th
Life Music
We as music teachers have an automatic “in” so to speak since music extends to students’ life outside of the school environment. Let’s not waste it! But at the same time I feel like too often programs do not link the two together and end up with “old fashioned” boring music. I agree that it is important to bridge the gap between students’ life music and introducing them to classic music genres that enhance their knowledge and appreciation for music. As music educators our job is to teach a well rounded curriculum but above all else to help foster a love of music.
Music Programs:
While talking with my principal this past week, she mentioned that music teachers are the “heart beat” of the school. I agree. And I”m glad that she values and sees that too. The underlying message is that almost all of the large community and school wide events involve music. Even programs that are not “music” related are often infused with music in small but meaningful ways whether it is background music, music in a video, etc. Whenever the time comes to showcase students in an actual program I agree that it does “bring school spirit, enthusiasm for formal learning, and common values among the teachers and students”. A third grade teachers doesn’t have to display her classes knowledge up on risers with bright lights and curtain cues. Music programs naturally lend themselves to not only entertainment, but also hopefully appreciation for the arts and how they are integral part of a child’s education.
Hidden Curriculum:
Just this evening my husband opened up a score that was on the counter for an upcoming analysis paper. He asked many of the following questions: “What do you mean you have to analyze this”, “How is it possible to write a paper over music” “How do you analyze the chords” “Don’t you just play it” “Looks like a lot black notes to me”. We take for granted the learned vocabulary we have to describe the music that we play and hear. My husband was high school musician and still plays today in the community setting, but does not have the same vocabulary to describe music as someone who studies it for a living. How can we as educators continue to naturally weave musical independence and instill in our students the words and thoughts processes to describe the music that they hear?
Musical Skills and Knowledge:
I once heard, “Nobody falls in love with music because they know what a quarter note is” How true. Of course our goal is musical literacy, but to use that literacy to make beautiful music. I see this come into fruition every Wednesday and Sunday whenever I participate in my church’s adult choir. People come week after week because they love the community aspect and love the music. I also think every week about how someone along the way helped these adults get “hooked by the music”. Perhaps it was an elementary music teacher or band director along the way. These life long musickers have learned the accepted behavior of ensemble etiquette, have some working knowledge of music reading, and have the ability and drive to sing with others.
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Blog originally posted by Griffin Maxwell on Friday, March 10th
Music teachers understand that music teaching and learning is a social act. Society-at-large may not understand that music teaching and learning is a social act in the way that we do. In my experience students, colleagues, and community member often compartmentalize school into a historical/functional role in society that is separate from the role music plays in their social lives. And often rightly so! An easy target of this discrepancy, like Froehlich discusses, is the uncertainty of concert etiquette. Another compartmentalization example is marching/pep band. “Band” is historically a functional entity used to serve military purposes. Band has been drafted into the education system for social and contextual reasons that still infer a “function.” Non-band students and parents see it as such: a community entertainment tool serving a team or service. This differs from the private capital, the valued subcommunity knowledge, which the music group exchanges. We see our efforts (as Froehlich asserts as a goal, p. 103) as expository and socially influential. (Social, as in society-at-large.) But our social function as music-makers is clearly defined by perception, history, and self-perpetuating systems. Is that our goal? We see the social act of musicking through a lens that finds great value in what we do. But so many of even our own students view our musicking together as compartmentalized. It doesn’t carry the social capital that, say, “pop” music does. And many of our students don’t/can’t transfer our music into one that carries a higher social (at large) value.
I am clearly influenced by my role as a compulsory music educator (a distinction discussed in this reading). My intentions to create “beatful, artful, and tuneful” people would be largely lost without the efforts of the non-compulsory elective structures I feed my students into. Dr. Ciorba presents four endgoals of music teaching that I fully agree are the cornerstones of all our efforts, compulsory or elective: (a) musicianship, (b) music literacy, (c) performance skills, and (d) the ability to discern different musical styles. I wonder, though, how much social capital these carry outside of our music-making communities. Are these the implicit goals of informal music learning (which seems to carry more capital)? I think a goal of music educators should be to blur the distinction between the formal and informal music learning so that a transfer occurs and the social capital of our roles is raised. It is often the non-musical values with which a social group will define our success. Should not our goal, then, be to raise the musical values higher by aligning them more with societal values?
It’s interesting that instrumenting is the “coveted craft” that is purported to have the most social value. I don’t disagree with the argument entirely, but I don’t know how sound it is. The voice is VERY CLEARLY more valued in our culture and carries much more transferable capital. There is even a massively popular show called “The Voice.” (I will forever disagree and combat the values that shows like “The Voice” instill, but it is certainly an example.) As Froehlich asserts, constructivist/cognitivist learning lends itself to the manipulation of instruments to make sounds and children will show much more immediate interest in instrument learning than singing. But children (and people not trained in formal music learning) will also disregard instruments. They often call it “the music” or “the background” to which the singer does her job. Instrumentalists are unnamed while the singer has the album title. This coupled with, say, the eagerness my wide range of students eagerly awaits the arrival of a shipment of recorders for the first time makes me wonder about the argument, especially in the context of the societal placement of music. Is it that students have already marked a line between formally learned music and informally learned music? I wonder ways to aligned value structures that would not make that line so marked. Should that even be a goal of music education?
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Whenever the text mentioned instruments as the “coveted craft” that also had me take a step back. Knowing both of our backgrounds I think we would both agree that “The voice is the most natural instrument and one which every person possesses”. (Essential Keys to the Kodaly concept-https://www.oake.org/about-us/the-kodaly-concept/) That does not discount the importance of instruments in music learning, but it shows the accessibility and importance of teaching “tuneful singing” before branching off into more formal instrument training. Singing is the foundation for matching pitch, auditing, decoding, etc….
I laughed whenever you mentioned your students excitement about recorders… because it is true! The students gravitate towards them, even the “too cool for school” 4th grade boys. It is tactile. They can play songs they know. They can read. They can play together in their first ensemble setting. It is a BIG deal! Student love instruments. Any kind. I often wonder if my approach was different (more instrument heavy instruction) and how that would change the student musicianship achievement.
After giving my survey for this class I think students make a distinction between formal/informal music study very early on. When asking questions about music in class and music outside of class they had a clear distinction about “their music” and “music we learn about”. Bridging the gap is tricky and an important one that takes time and craftiness in teaching. I think helping students to see the beauty as well as “academic” side of all music is important and should be a part of MUED. Because for some students, making connections with their music may be the ticket to helping them see the importance of music outside of their chosen genre. Not that we want all students to have a prescribed playlist of what is “good music” but allowing them to gain the words to describe and ears to hear elements of all music genres is just as important as helping them hear the form or rhythmic patterns in Mozart piece.
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