Chapter 9 POI"s

POI #1: Listening for Complexity.

I was very confused by this concept. More clearly defined in the book as humans are drawn to complexity. I would actually tend to disagree with this statement. I would argue the exact opposite and that humans are drawn to the more simplistic.

As a human race our goal has been to simplify everything. Inventions like the wheel, paper, and ramps, have made very difficult tasks far easier to accomplish. I believe that this characteristic carries over to music. I see it in the fact that a human can perform music alone with only their voice and body.

In my opinion, music that is too complex loses its appeal and therefor loses its audience. I am for teaching children about more complex music, but basing it off the fact that humans are drawn to complexity, I feel, is wrong.

POI #2: Active Listening

I have grown to love active listening. I think it is a great tool to have in your back pocket as a teacher. There are just so many activities that you can do with active listening that it can be put into any curriculum with a great amount of ease.

Another wonderful thing about active listening is how easily it enables as cross curricular opportunity. Without going into too many specifics, I feel that having students develop a sense for active listening will enable them to focus themselves in other areas. When a students must listen for a specific pattern or dynamic or even an instrument, you give listening a purpose rather than for just enjoyment.

This skill will prepare students if they will have a future in professional music. Being able to hear a seventh rubbing against an octave or being able to pick out the slightly out of tune trumpet. Developing the active listening skill now will prepare a student to be a fantastic musician.

POI #3: A POI Inspired by Chapter 9

I have always been curious why certain songs and keys evoke the emotions that they do. I have surmised that there is something aurally special about certain keys and phrases that make this so. Over the summer I was trying to determine why some of this truth was so evident in the musical world.

For instance, the key of C minor has been considered a very dark key. If you wrote in C minor you meant business. For some reason when a composer wants to write in a fashion that depicts triumph or agony or melancholy, C minor seemed to be the key of preference.

Another example is the key of F minor. Again this key is very popular among many jazz standards as well as many British tunes. Holst's Second Suite in F utilizes the power of F minor frequently. Adding the 7th to a F minor triad creates such a wonderful pull that when many jazz players improvise they play it.

I am still unsure as to why this appreciation or drive to use certain keys to evoke certain emotions . It may very well be a human instinct just like the pull to the number three. But I am sure that certain keys, phrases, rhythmic patters, and timbres are more comforting and appealing to every human ear.