With Lisa Barth and Jennifer GalbergWhen asked to interview a teacher, the first question that went through my mind was, “Why interview just one?” From that moment on, I knew the two teachers I’d interview. Lisa Barth and Jennifer Galberg, both secondary school music teachers, as well as two of the most influential people I know. But what would I ask them? What was I trying to find out from this interview? I decided that my goal was to find out how their experiences with music education growing up affect them as music educators today.
I started this interview by getting them to tell me a bit about why they decided to start teaching. Both knew from a young age that they wanted to teach. Jennifer, whose Mother was a teacher and Father was a musician always felt that she would become a teacher. “I knew from being a bossy little girl that I wanted to be a teacher” joked Jennifer, as we discussed the things that pushed her towards education. Lisa, whose Father and Sister were involved in music was also influenced from a young age. “When I was around five I wanted to be a doctor or a teacher, and then I decided that I hated blood, and so I’d better be a teacher” said Lisa, describing how she stuck with her career decision that she made as a child. I then asked how music education influenced them growing up, and how it affects them as music educators today. For both, it was the social aspect of music that they were drawn to in school. Jennifer talked about the network of people that her music department provided her. “I still connect with the friends I made through music. The friends you make through music are some of the closest friends you’ll have.” Jennifer says, as she talks about how through her school’s bands and choirs she met likeminded people that she was able to make lifelong connections with. “As a music educator, I get to see these connections being made everyday.” Lisa saw it as way to release during school. “It was my outlet. You have your sciences, and maths, and english, but with music you could just be free.” she expressed. “Now I get to be a part of these kids’ wonderful journeys as a music educator, seeing these students grow up, and providing that opportunity for these students in our program.” Lastly, I asked them what music education means to them. For both, it was about the love of music. For Lisa, it was about the experiences that music provides for students. Her closing remarks summed up both of their thoughts. “What does music education mean to me? Well, I don’t know. Learning about music, creating it, listening to it, being inspired by experiences that you either take part in or get to witness, whether it’s going to a big concert hall, or listening to a recording; it could be taking part in your first festival, or going on your first band trip, it’s about the wonderful artistic experiences that you have with the people around you.” It was both enjoyable and insightful being able to interview these amazing teachers. It showed me that music a education goes far beyond just teaching music. It’s not only about learning to read music, or learning an instrument. It’s about the experiences, and having moments and memories that last a lifetime. These experiences stay with you, and it is a music educator’s job to facilitate these experiences as much as they can.
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Hickey, M. (2009) Can improvisation be 'taught'?: A call for free improvisation in our schools. International Journal of Music Education 2009 27: 285 DOI: 10.1177/0255761409345442
I really enjoyed reading this article. This is a topic that could be debated until the end of time, and this article gets right to the question of whether or not improvisation can be taught. There were several points that I really enjoyed about this article, but there was one that really caught my attention: the fact that improvisation is a creative process to be nurtured, but not taught. I couldn’t agree more with this statement. The best way to learn to improvise is to just go for it and learn and grow from your mistakes. This helps the student view improvisations as a more personal way of creating music, rather than a set of preconceived ideas and rules. What really surprised me about this article was Hickey’s idea of going backwards through the stages of improvisation when teaching. The idea of starting freely and moving towards a more structured approach could completely change the way we view the idea of teaching improvisations. This begs the question: How would this affect the way students view improvisation/learning to improvise? I think this would have a much more positive effect on the students view improvisation, because as they develop as musicians and start to move towards a more structured approach, the have the freedom and creativity to be able to structure their improvisations accordingly. The one thing I think should be emphasized more in this article is the fact that this does not only pertain to a jazz setting. Learning to improvise and play freely is important in all settings of music. It fosters sensitivity in the students’ playing, because it requires them listen, not just focus on playing a piece with perfect technique. I believe that, in practice, students should set aside a small portion of their time just playing around on their instruments, whether they are a classical violist, a jazz trombonist, or a pop vocalist. It requires them to listen to their sound, which in turn will boost their musicality. If I had a chance to meet the author of this article, I’d love to discuss the whole article, because agree with everything he has to say. This is a great piece for discussion considering how common this topic is within the field of music education. I’d discuss this with anybody in the field of music, because at some point or another, this is something that all musicians encounter. Bowman, W. D. (2004). "Pop" goes . . . ? Taking popular music seriously “ In Rodrigues, C. (Ed.). Bridging the gap: Popular music and music education. US: MENC.
This is a really interesting article. It asks some very important questions that music educators must think about constantly. The two main questions are, “should popular music be integrated into the school curriculum?” and if the answer is yes, then “how will that affect the way people learn/teach music?” I really liked the idea behind this this article, and I personally agree that popular music should be studied in schools. This would be helpful and relatable to students who have an interest in music. It gives them a broader range of knowledge when understanding the history of music, and opens up more areas of study within the field of music. Alternately, I strongly disagree with the content of this article, and how Bowman tries to make his point. All music is subjective. You can pull apart and study a popular music piece just as intensely as you can study Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. I completely disagree with his statement “Its audience is comprised extensively of amateurs.” I know plenty of musicians who enjoy popular music, and I know many non-musicians who would rather listen to classical or jazz music. What surprised me about this article was definitely when Bowman wrote “It is designed to pander to the lowest common denominator of human taste.” This quote really grabbed my attention, because it made me think. I don’t know what to make of this statement. At first, I took it as an insult to popular music, but on the other hand, maybe he meant that it’s meant to be enjoyable to the majority of those who listen to it. If I was able to have a conversation with Bowman on this article, I think the main quote I’d want to address is, “They enter into and fall out of fashion rather than standing the test of time.” This statement is, oddly enough, both true and false at the same time. True because with rapid advancements in technology, music is constantly changing. Conversely, it’s false, because even with the changes, the general opinion as to what is seen as “popular” stays the same. Realistically speaking, with the evolution of music, you won’t find two people with identical music tastes. So it no longer has anything to do with popular vs. non-popular music, the question becomes, “How can we create a well rounded curriculum that includes all aspects of music, and all tastes in music?” The first video I’ve chosen demonstrates a game that teaches kids rhythm and pulse. It is very simple for kids to pick up and it is a really smart way of teaching kids to keep a steady beat. I chose this video because it focuses on an aspect of teaching that most educators encounter, which is “How can I make this lesson fun?” By making games out of lessons, it keeps kids from associating music with boredom, because they don’t realize that they’re learning, to them it’s just a fun game. The context that this video is in is a young elementary classroom; however, I believe that this concept could be used for older students as well, only the question then becomes “How can I make it more challenging, but still keep it fun?” Games make the kids want to learn more. It keeps things interesting and makes them happy. I think that this is an excellent way of teaching kids, because this boosts imagination and curiosity, and those aren’t things you can really teach. Think about it, kids have more curiosity and imagination than anybody. Why? I think it’s because at that age, almost everything is a game. Learning new things about the world around them is fun. Being creative is fun. How can we keep them curious and imaginative? Make things fun. Kids associate with fun things. If we can make things fun for them, we can teach them anything. The second video that I’ve chosen shows a teacher using sounds to teach rhythm. I chose this video because it exhibits ways of teaching young kids basic concepts of rhythm in an intriguing way. I like the idea, because it gives the kids a way of connecting different rhythmic patterns. The only thing I would change is I’d teach each sound first, then get into the activity, not just throw it at the kids and expect them to understand the concept. This may have been the case and just not shown in the video. I feel that rhythm is one of the most important concepts for kids to learn at a young age. This activity is demonstrated with very young kids. It makes rhythmic patterns easier for kids to learn because they have something to associate each pattern with. It also helps the kids differentiate between quarter notes, eighth notes, etc. which becomes very useful as they progress with reading music. This is definitely a method I’d imitate in the case that I have to teach kids rhythm.
If you'd like to read the article, it can be found here. Kratus, J. (2007). Music education at the tipping point. Music Educators Journal, 94(2), 42-48. Doi: 10.1177/002743210709400209
In this article, John Kratus explains how most in-school music programs have yet to adapt to both educational and societal changes. Kratus believes that this lack of evolution is the reason behind the decrease in size of most school programs. One of the problems that Kratus addresses that really peaked my interest is the fact that most schools teach in a way that don’t allow students to express individuality through performance. Being expressive is a fundamental part of being a musician. Without expression, music has no life; therefore there is no connection between the performer and the piece. The school program I came from emphasized the importance of creativity and expression. To add to this point, Kratus talks about the vocabulary used when referring to teachers. He says, “People who lead school ensembles are called “directors,” not “teachers.” (Directors direct and teachers teach) In many cases, the ensemble director selects the music, makes all the artistic decisions regarding interpretation, and shapes the resulting performance through tightly managed rehearsals to match a preconceived notion of the piece, correcting errors along the way.” This illustrates how most teachers don’t focus on nurturing a student’s passion for creativity and emotion in playing music. As an aspiring music educator, I found a lot of the points within this article relevant to most other music programs I’ve heard about. I found it really interesting to read about some of the programs that have been created to promote education in music. The high school I attended has a samba band, which was completely uncommon in a high school music program. It was mostly based on student compositions, and focused on the percussive sounds and rhythms of Brazil. Another unique thing that I’ve found interesting as an adolescent was my school’s charity jazz night. The senior jazz class organizes and runs a jazz concert, mostly featuring solo repertoire from the seniors, and all money raised goes toward a predetermined local charity. This not only promotes expression through solo repertoire, it also gives back to the local community. There are many ways of teaching music that are interesting and relatable to all students. There were a few points in the article that surprised me, the main one being that most programs don’t use technology within the classroom. Technology can be used in many different ways for music education. For example, when arranging a pop/jazz piece for jazz combos in class, I’d often use music notation software like Sibelius, or Finale. Another way of using technology within the classroom is using recording devices when practicing or performing in class, which then helps in hearing and practicing weak points. I’ve also had to use technology in class to listen to different interpretations of a given piece, and then write a short review. Technology is a very useful tool in for creating interesting assignments in music education settings. Overall, I found this to be a very informative article, with many intriguing topics regarding the field of music education. In my opinion, there are no points made that I disagree with. Some points surprised me, but there was no point where I thought the ideas given in this article were wrong. I really enjoyed reading this article, as there are many points that are relatable to most in-school music programs. A lot of these points actually make me think back to my own music education and how I can relate to the ideas in this article. This is an article I’d like to bring to my own high school music teachers and discuss. |
AuthorMy name is Kareem El-Tyeb. I am an aspiring Percussionist and Music Educator. Archives
November 2015
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