Krissandra Gardner

Philosophy of Music Education

As teachers, we are trusted with the education of young minds and trusted to make the
right decisions on what our students should be taught and how to approach that information. For
students in music classrooms, classes often consist of practicing repertoire and constantly
looking forward to a performance as an end goal. Here, in our classrooms, the status quo does
not enable student learning or motivation. We should be challenging our students to learn
materials that are significant to them and to the world they live in, ideas that provoke further
investigation, and skills that help them to feel like contributing members of their society. Rather
than working towards a performance, we should work toward individual growth and growth of
an ensemble; the performance should just be one step along the way. Concerts should be an
opportunity for students to learn, not the product of their learning.
Music classrooms should be a cooperative learning environment where students seek
information aided by the teacher. Units of instruction include historical context and
contemplation of intent and interpretation, documented by student progress musically and in
written form. As students learn in a variety of ways and no two students will gain the exact same
influence from material, knowledge and skills must be assessed through formal and informal
means with clear expectations everything, especially assignments which will have a grade
assigned to them. In order to motivate students, we must share clear expectations with them and
allow for significant progress.
In his theory of multiple intelligences, Howard Gardner lists eight specific intelligences
which humans use on varying levels to learn and process information. Of these eight, seven are
naturally integrated into performance classes and the eighth, naturalistic intelligence, can be
identified in many pieces of culturally significant repertoire. Gardners theory concerns the
development of the brain, but from his theory and others we also draw the concept of different
learning styles, the most widely recognized being visual, auditory and kinesthetic. I believe that
music education approaches learning from all three angles simultaneously, making music
essential for student development.
Music unites ones thoughts for brief moments, drawing connections that may not
otherwise exist between emotional and logical thinking. Students who study music actually study
mathematics and language, history and context, patience and time management. Skills gained
through music are not limited to music, but extend to all aspects of human existence. John Morris
Russell, director of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, explains that in music, we start at 100 percent.
In Ohio, 90 percent is an A, but if students in a music ensemble were to play ten percent of the
notes incorrectly, the result would be cacophony. Unlike other subjects, music asks students to
go beyond perfection. In ensembles, we want students to begin with all the right notes and
rhythms and work past that, driving past perfection to interpretation and contextual
understanding. In non-performance classes, we ask students to consider context, but offer
interpretations as answers. It does little good to know the date of an event if you dont know its
significance. Music helps students to value interpretation and contextual application of
knowledge.
As a music educator, my mission is to motivate students in their individual goals and
allow development of skills to aid young people in any and all aspects of their lives.