TylerSmalling

PhilosophyinMusicEducation
Educationisnoteffectiveifitdoesnotreachitspurposeinanengagingway.Musicnaturally
captivatesthelistenerbecauseitismeanttoevokeemotionwhichisprimaltothehumanexperience.
However,thestudyofmusicthrougheducationcanquicklydiluteitsintensityifalackofhuman
connectionismade.Whetheritcomesinpracticingmusictheory,masteringthetechniqueofan
instrument,orexaminingthepiecesofasong,educatingstudentsinmusicmustengageanindividuals
senseofexpression,freedomandexploration.

Whenlisteningtoasong,youbegintoanalyzeandgraspapatternbeforethesongisover.A

pianowillplayaDmajorchordinarepeatedpatternwithlyricsthroughSectionA,pastthechorus,into
SectionBandthroughtherestofthesong.BySectionB,youmostlikelyknowthenotesofthechorus
orSectionAbymymemory.Thisisthesimplestformofmusiceducationtheattentionthatthesong
drawsfromthelistenerforcesthemtofocusonthecomponentsofthesong.Thelistenergraspsan
understandingofthesongbasedontheirpreviousknowledgeandexperiences,andthemusicitself
beginstochangetheiroutlookonmusic.Whenyoulistentoanysong,youareconveyingemotions.Any
childwillgothroughanexperimentalstagewhereheorshewillexperimentwithcertaintypesofmusic
becausetheylikethewayitsounds,butmostly,howitmakesthemfeel.

Thisisknownasanaestheticexperience.Thelistenerlearnsaboutthepiecebyunfoldingthe

partsofthemusicfirsthandthroughpersonalknowledgeandunderstanding.Toteachaboutmusicina
didacticstructurewouldbetotakeawayfromtheintimacythatmusicprovidesinstead,itmustbe
taughtinamannerthatmakesthelearneranactivepartofthepiece.Musiceducation,likemusicitself,
mustexisttoengageusandteachusthroughtheseaestheticapproaches.(Reimer)

Thislevelofexperiencecanbereachedbyinvolvinginlessonstheexpressionofhumanemotion

throughmusic.Theteachermustutilizecreativity,relatablefactors,andmovementinhis/herteaching
lessons.Thecreativityaspectinvolvestheinstructorrevolvinglessonsaroundmoreinteractivesettingsin
whichthestudentsareencouragedtoexploretheflexibilityoftheirinstrumentsorvoicesotheycanview
musicfromavarietyofperspectives,eachoneinsomerealmevokingadifferentspectrumoffeeling.
Thestudentswillnotlosefocusasmuchandtheywillbemorelikelytowanttoexpressthemselvesin
differentandcreativeways.Ensuringthatthestudentsthemselvesarecreatingand/ortakingpartinthe
musicthatisbroughtforthintheroomkeepsthemactive,andforcesthemtoanalyzeeachpieceasthey
progressthroughit.Duringorafterapiece,aninstructorcanthenstopandaskthestudentshowthe
progressionofthemusicmadethemfelt,andanalyzehowthefluctuationsinsoundandemotionrelay
backtothecomponentsofthemusic,suchastonality,accents,andsoforth.Theeducatormust
recognizetheimportanceofkeepingtheclassroomasanopenenvironmentforlearningasmuchas
theymustteach,itisalsovitalthatthestudentfeelsincluded,andthattheinstructorisopentolearning
moreabouthowthestudentindividualizestheirinterpretationofmusic.