#1. I found myself at a disadvantage in this chapter. I read the section about the male voice in its relation to children's voices. I am not a singer by any means and have trouble even in my own limited range. Now that I have learned that children will try to alter their natural voice to match my bass voice I really need to be careful on how I sing with students.
#2 Another point of interest came at the end of the chapter on helping children to think musically. I have always thought that teaching students certain things would help them to think musically. I believe that there is a natural path to thinking musically; I never really noticed how much instruction and guidance is needed to make children think in a musical manner.
The paragraph states many strategies that can be used to help kids on their way to think musically. Singing, moving, playing, listening, reading and creating. The next sentence says that discussion and reflection is key in the process to thinking like a good musician. I also appreciate the statement how the strategies must be carefully selected over time. The road to thinking musically is long and does not happen overnight.
#3. The last point of interest that hit me was the perception of children in relation to pitch. I never actually realized (although I should have) that a keyboard is not a great way to teach pitch. When a child visualizes a keyboard, or sees one in real life, it is on a horizontal plain. The fact that pitches sound 'higher' and lower' than one another is lost on a child looking at a keyboard. Because higher and lower denote a vertical plane, showing pitch on a horizontal plane is not a good idea at all.
Reading this section has made me more aware of some of the mistakes that I have made with children. I now have an idea as to why some of the concepts I like children to get, they do not. They have not reached the appropriate stage for me to be teaching them concepts the way I did. Thankfully I changed the concepts to match; although I did so thinking that my students were a bit slower than normal. It will now remain in my mind that students must have reached an appropriate developmental level before I start mixing and matching concepts together.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Chapter 4 Points of Interest
My first point of interest of this chapter was about the phrase "folk-song singing has been replaced by rock-song shouting." I was rolling this idea around in my head for a while. I finally came to a conclusion that I do not mind this statement. In fact it makes me happy.
Aside from the 'shouting' part of this phrase I would absolutely agree with it. Many children do not sing folk songs and would much rather hear the melodies of modern music. I personally do not see why this is such a problem. Rock music today is much simplified from the classic rock that my mother grew up with. Complex rhythms are mostly left out, melodies are simple and catchy, and they reach a wide range of humans around the world.
If anything, I see rock music as a huge benefit to the music educator. Because the songs are easy to teach and are so accessible they become great teaching tools. I am actually glad that students know so many rock songs because, at the very least, they are listening to some type of music.
The second point of interest that I landed on was the simile of the marionette. I have more recently been acquainted with this simile and actually like it a lot. However I have never seen it used in conjunction with an actual puppet.
I like the fact that the students can see what is going on with the marionette's and adjust their own to match it. I find this concept of visual comparison very useful, especially because an adult's body is so much different than a child's.
The last point that struck me was the assessment tools that were used. I have a great respect for these tools and was trying to find a huge fault in them; and I could not.
The only concern that I would have is that something was left out of it. I cannot put my finger completely on it, but I have a gut instinct that something else should be assessed in addition to what is on the list.
I do particularly like the expression assessment. Because wind players have to keep so many facial muscles in place for optimal sound, they show little emotion. So having an assessment that deals directly with expression and intent is really interesting to me.
Aside from the 'shouting' part of this phrase I would absolutely agree with it. Many children do not sing folk songs and would much rather hear the melodies of modern music. I personally do not see why this is such a problem. Rock music today is much simplified from the classic rock that my mother grew up with. Complex rhythms are mostly left out, melodies are simple and catchy, and they reach a wide range of humans around the world.
If anything, I see rock music as a huge benefit to the music educator. Because the songs are easy to teach and are so accessible they become great teaching tools. I am actually glad that students know so many rock songs because, at the very least, they are listening to some type of music.
The second point of interest that I landed on was the simile of the marionette. I have more recently been acquainted with this simile and actually like it a lot. However I have never seen it used in conjunction with an actual puppet.
I like the fact that the students can see what is going on with the marionette's and adjust their own to match it. I find this concept of visual comparison very useful, especially because an adult's body is so much different than a child's.
The last point that struck me was the assessment tools that were used. I have a great respect for these tools and was trying to find a huge fault in them; and I could not.
The only concern that I would have is that something was left out of it. I cannot put my finger completely on it, but I have a gut instinct that something else should be assessed in addition to what is on the list.
I do particularly like the expression assessment. Because wind players have to keep so many facial muscles in place for optimal sound, they show little emotion. So having an assessment that deals directly with expression and intent is really interesting to me.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
MUED 350 Article Reaction
This article was a bit tough for me to get through. I am not sure if it was the writer, theme, or the PDF, but I found it extremely difficult to get through. However I took a lot from this article that I found very fascinating.
The first point I would like to share is the 'music babble'. I thought that this concept was very intuitive and most likely a good way of explaining how young children learn music. I like the fact that it is based (a little bit) off of language. The one question that I was left with was that of a musical impediment.
Just like speech, a child must hear their respective language spoken. If that child manages to somehow screw up what he hears, then he will mess up how he will repeat what he hears. I am wondering if a child could end up with an impediment in which they cannot fully play notes correctly or cannot fix certain rhythms that they have physically and mentally memorized.
I am not at all sure that this is possible, but it is some nice food for thought.
The next point I would like to talk about is more of a question that came up from this reading. What do we do with the talented children that just have no interest in music whatsoever? I have seen many kids that I deem musically talented and have watched as they perform at a high standard and could not care less.
I understand that as music educators we are supposed to reach every student and give them musical experiences, but it seems unfair that this child will not be sharing his talent with the world. This brings me to my next point of what do you do with a student that wants to continue in music, but as no musical intuition at all? Again I do not expect a direct answer, and I am sure there is probably not one, but I feel that I have met my fair share of music educators that seemingly have less than optimal musical intuition.
My last point of interest was the part that talked about the musical aptitude before the age of 9. I was very intrigued by the facts that came up during this section of the chapter. I was a bit wary to believe them, and I still am considering what I have experienced. I am not expert on musical aptitude, but I find it impossible that someone has an almost stagnant aptitude after the age of 9.
Humans continually learn throughout their life. As humans we must accommodate our changing bodies as they age, therefor we must always be learners. I have my doubts that someone aptitude to learn something stops at such a young age. I am not sure if I misread that passage, but as a music educator I do not want to give up on students who have had their aptitude diagnosed at 9. As long as someone has the love to learn music, they should have the right to, and because they love it, it will not matter what aptitude they have because they will succeed no matter what.
The first point I would like to share is the 'music babble'. I thought that this concept was very intuitive and most likely a good way of explaining how young children learn music. I like the fact that it is based (a little bit) off of language. The one question that I was left with was that of a musical impediment.
Just like speech, a child must hear their respective language spoken. If that child manages to somehow screw up what he hears, then he will mess up how he will repeat what he hears. I am wondering if a child could end up with an impediment in which they cannot fully play notes correctly or cannot fix certain rhythms that they have physically and mentally memorized.
I am not at all sure that this is possible, but it is some nice food for thought.
The next point I would like to talk about is more of a question that came up from this reading. What do we do with the talented children that just have no interest in music whatsoever? I have seen many kids that I deem musically talented and have watched as they perform at a high standard and could not care less.
I understand that as music educators we are supposed to reach every student and give them musical experiences, but it seems unfair that this child will not be sharing his talent with the world. This brings me to my next point of what do you do with a student that wants to continue in music, but as no musical intuition at all? Again I do not expect a direct answer, and I am sure there is probably not one, but I feel that I have met my fair share of music educators that seemingly have less than optimal musical intuition.
My last point of interest was the part that talked about the musical aptitude before the age of 9. I was very intrigued by the facts that came up during this section of the chapter. I was a bit wary to believe them, and I still am considering what I have experienced. I am not expert on musical aptitude, but I find it impossible that someone has an almost stagnant aptitude after the age of 9.
Humans continually learn throughout their life. As humans we must accommodate our changing bodies as they age, therefor we must always be learners. I have my doubts that someone aptitude to learn something stops at such a young age. I am not sure if I misread that passage, but as a music educator I do not want to give up on students who have had their aptitude diagnosed at 9. As long as someone has the love to learn music, they should have the right to, and because they love it, it will not matter what aptitude they have because they will succeed no matter what.
MUED 350 Chapter 3 Points of Interest
I found myself very impressed with many of the ideals that were mentioned in this chapter. I have been thinking a lot about what I would want out of a classroom of musicians. What keys can I give to my students that will help them as adults? I found a lot of help in this chapter with a lot of my thoughts.
The first key point I wanted to share about this chapter is a realization that Emile Dalcroze came to; children (as well as adults) fall into a trap of having tremendous understanding of mechanics, but no understanding of music. This means that people may be technical virtuosi on their instruments, but have no way of making their technique musical. As I have been performing much more regularly, I have seen how a technically player can bring down an ensemble.
I think it is very smart of Dalcroze to address this in his style of teaching. Children especially need to know key musical processes such as counting in 4/4 against 2/2 or how to correctly place a triplet. The fact that Dalcroze puts emphasis on this key point of 'breeding' musicians instead of mechanics is brilliant to me.
The second point I found key was also from the Dalcroze section. I actually touched on this point in my last paragraph. Dalcroze attempted, in his teachings, to create a foundation through musicianship. Again, I love this approach to teaching. The way that I took this approach was to take care of the "problems" that occur in later music and learning as the students are still children. I am not sure quite how to do this at the moment, but a good example is to teach what a triplet is.
Playing Paul Ferguson's jazz numbers have required me to be so 'tight' on my Dalcroze eurythmics that I have found them invaluable. Knowing how to correctly place a triplet has been imperative in many jazz arrangements that I have played. I wish that I could teach every student of mine how to do this (it took a good two semesters to accomplish my learning). Just having the tools to figure out rhythms, notes, and time signatures as a child would greatly help out any musician in the future.
The last point I found interesting in this chapter was Kodaly's idea to incorporate the pentatonic scale in his teachings. I do not want to talk too much on this topic, but I will say that the pentatonic scale may be the key for getting the world to appreciate music and keep it in the schools. This video shows why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6tB2KiZuk
I love the pentatonic scale and its powers.
The first key point I wanted to share about this chapter is a realization that Emile Dalcroze came to; children (as well as adults) fall into a trap of having tremendous understanding of mechanics, but no understanding of music. This means that people may be technical virtuosi on their instruments, but have no way of making their technique musical. As I have been performing much more regularly, I have seen how a technically player can bring down an ensemble.
I think it is very smart of Dalcroze to address this in his style of teaching. Children especially need to know key musical processes such as counting in 4/4 against 2/2 or how to correctly place a triplet. The fact that Dalcroze puts emphasis on this key point of 'breeding' musicians instead of mechanics is brilliant to me.
The second point I found key was also from the Dalcroze section. I actually touched on this point in my last paragraph. Dalcroze attempted, in his teachings, to create a foundation through musicianship. Again, I love this approach to teaching. The way that I took this approach was to take care of the "problems" that occur in later music and learning as the students are still children. I am not sure quite how to do this at the moment, but a good example is to teach what a triplet is.
Playing Paul Ferguson's jazz numbers have required me to be so 'tight' on my Dalcroze eurythmics that I have found them invaluable. Knowing how to correctly place a triplet has been imperative in many jazz arrangements that I have played. I wish that I could teach every student of mine how to do this (it took a good two semesters to accomplish my learning). Just having the tools to figure out rhythms, notes, and time signatures as a child would greatly help out any musician in the future.
The last point I found interesting in this chapter was Kodaly's idea to incorporate the pentatonic scale in his teachings. I do not want to talk too much on this topic, but I will say that the pentatonic scale may be the key for getting the world to appreciate music and keep it in the schools. This video shows why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6tB2KiZuk
I love the pentatonic scale and its powers.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
MUED 350 Chapter 2 Points of Interest
My apologies for being tardy with this assignment, this week has been a little hectic for me. However "Music In Childhood" took me back to my days in Educational Psychology. With the names of Vygotsky and Piaget as well as Bandura being used, it was a little hard not to get nostalgic.
Three points that struck a chord with me were Gardener's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. I have been intrigued by this theory for many reasons. First of all Gardener's theory claims that an individual may possess more than one type of intelligence. This means that a person can be intelligent in many ways such as musically, mathematically, and spatially. This is a very cool way to look at the intelligence of humans and fascinates me.
I have a theory of my own that fits into this model of multiple intelligence. I believe that intelligence is the skill to adapt and modify new and old material to fit present and trying situations. This definition of mine stems from a few observations that I have made.
Sometimes people can be very good at moving their bodies, like being talented at a sport, but they cannot perform well once pressure is on or the sun casts shadows. I feel as though Gardner's theory can only be used if this is taken into account. I do agree with there being many different form of intelligence, but it must be known that being 'unintelligent' at on means being 'unintelligent' at others.
The second point of interest that I found was the three learning modalities; aural, kinesthetic, and visual. a Although it was simple to understand it makes so much sense to me. I find it very interesting when a student is able to connect the three modalities together. Watch the "aha" moment on a child's face is a precious moment. I think I appreciated this section because of how much that moment means to me.
The last interest point was the Myers, Briggs, McCaulley, and Most personality traits. There are 8 traits that can be compared in four groups of two. Introversion/Extroversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. After a person decides what trait they identify more with, they can then find out what type of personality they are. Then they can compare their personality with others that have also taken this test.
While I do not ultimately agree with this specific personality labeling, I still like to see what I am. I actually took this test not to long ago (my girlfriend suggested it), and I had a lot of trouble identifying what I am. I feel that a lot of people have this problem. Not everyone is a strict extrovert or introvert, as well as a judge versus a 'perceiver'. While the end results of a more extensive test that uses these characteristics may be helpful, this specific one (Myers, Briggs, McCaulley, and Most) may be misleading.
Although these points stuck out to me, this chapter was a nice refresher to the many different ways that children may learn and mature. We may never know the exact way that children learn, but it will always be important for teachers to be there to guide them on their journey.
Three points that struck a chord with me were Gardener's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. I have been intrigued by this theory for many reasons. First of all Gardener's theory claims that an individual may possess more than one type of intelligence. This means that a person can be intelligent in many ways such as musically, mathematically, and spatially. This is a very cool way to look at the intelligence of humans and fascinates me.
I have a theory of my own that fits into this model of multiple intelligence. I believe that intelligence is the skill to adapt and modify new and old material to fit present and trying situations. This definition of mine stems from a few observations that I have made.
Sometimes people can be very good at moving their bodies, like being talented at a sport, but they cannot perform well once pressure is on or the sun casts shadows. I feel as though Gardner's theory can only be used if this is taken into account. I do agree with there being many different form of intelligence, but it must be known that being 'unintelligent' at on means being 'unintelligent' at others.
The second point of interest that I found was the three learning modalities; aural, kinesthetic, and visual. a Although it was simple to understand it makes so much sense to me. I find it very interesting when a student is able to connect the three modalities together. Watch the "aha" moment on a child's face is a precious moment. I think I appreciated this section because of how much that moment means to me.
The last interest point was the Myers, Briggs, McCaulley, and Most personality traits. There are 8 traits that can be compared in four groups of two. Introversion/Extroversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. After a person decides what trait they identify more with, they can then find out what type of personality they are. Then they can compare their personality with others that have also taken this test.
While I do not ultimately agree with this specific personality labeling, I still like to see what I am. I actually took this test not to long ago (my girlfriend suggested it), and I had a lot of trouble identifying what I am. I feel that a lot of people have this problem. Not everyone is a strict extrovert or introvert, as well as a judge versus a 'perceiver'. While the end results of a more extensive test that uses these characteristics may be helpful, this specific one (Myers, Briggs, McCaulley, and Most) may be misleading.
Although these points stuck out to me, this chapter was a nice refresher to the many different ways that children may learn and mature. We may never know the exact way that children learn, but it will always be important for teachers to be there to guide them on their journey.
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