Module 8-2

Although I personally disagree with several of the itemized points in this article, I was able to wade through presentation to see the main point of the writing: the traditional American family is in peril. This writing directly points to a belief that a child should be raised in a home with a male and a female.  While I do agree that this is the ideal situation, there are several modern communities such as the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered community who would oppose.  Further more, the idea that, "Boys  (in the absence of a father) will grow up with no consistent male figure on which to model their behavior. They will not learn basic things such as attitude toward work and women, and personal qualities such as honesty and favorable attitudes toward self and others.They are handicapped when it comes to dealing with life," is preposterous. (Hoffer, p.1)  Again, as a married mother of a son, I personally agree that the ideal situation for raising children would be to have both the wife and husband positively active in the child's life, however, my husband is an amazing,confident, hard working, honest, loving father who grew up without a father. According to the previous definition, men like him and President Obama for that matter wouldn't exist. 

I will say that while the best option would be a loving father to be a young boy's icon, there are other options for a "stable male role model".  This is where I feel the school could come into play more. There are several existing programs whose mission is centered around the same cause.  Instead of trying to invent another form of artillery, we could utilize one already created. One option for schools would be Big Brothers Big Sisters.  The organization is the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network.  They make "meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. (They) develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people". (Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, 2014)  By local schools reaching out to their area BBBS, they would be supporting their students in ways that would not be so easily done otherwise. Another outstanding program is the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.  The BGCA's mission is, "to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens." (Boys and Girls Clubs of America, 2014).  They offer A safe place for children to come, ongoing relationships with caring adults, and life-enhancing programs and character development experiences.  Both of these organizations are constantly looking for ways to reach children.  What better way to kick off this initiative than to open the doors of the school for volunteerism and in-school mentoring projects?  I do like the idea of family music nights at school as well.  Something as simple as playing a concert for parents or having parents sit in on an evening rehearsal.  Maybe afterwards light horderves could be served.

As far as the government and legislation is concerned, I am not sure what the best solution is (which is why I wouldn't run for office), but I do feel that there could be some sort of accountability measures placed with in local areas.  For example, in Georgia students must attend some type of school.  If they have excessive absences the parent s could actually be in legal trouble.  I remember being a student when this law was first introduced.  There were some who thought that they shouldn't be responsible for their teenager who refused to go in the school when they got off the bus.  On the contrary, I remember going to school with a boy whose mother rode with him on the bus and personally escorted him to class for this very reason!  Laws like this, and one perhaps requiring students to have a school approved community mentor for a period of at least one full year before graduating would be great starts to putting an end to this epidemic. If we truly believe that attitudes are not taught, but rather they are products of our nurturing (or lack thereof), then legislation and programs like the ones mentioned would be very helpful in this cause.

Module 8-1

• How will what you learned in this course about philosophy and aesthetics affect your teaching in the future?

 Hoffer stated, "He (Aristotle)  said that music directly imitates the passions of the soul-gentleness, anger, courage, temperance, and their opposites and other qualities; hence, when one listens to music that  imitates a certain passion, he becomes imbued with the same passion; and if over a long time he habitually listens to the kind of  music that arouses ignoble passions his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form." (Grout, 1973, p. 7) In the article, Music: Its Expressive Power and Moral Significance, Whitfield begins with an in-depth overview of ancient philosophers of contrasting opinion who all agreed that music is on of the most powerful art forms. She journeys through several explanations ranging from theories to mathematics, but the results are that music plays an important role in affecting human emotion.  Those emotions, she writes, goes on to effect the complete human being. Whitfield concludes, "The creation and practice of music is tightly wound with human emotion, character, and the overall tapestry of human experience. Music arouses sentiment, whether it evokes the intended sentiment or not. Thus, music cannot be underestimated as a powerful shaper of human virtue, character, and emotion." (Whitfield, 18) With these powerful, educational findings, I feel empowered to rest in what has always been my personal philosophy: Music affects human character.  Though I have felt this way for a while, prior to this course I did not have substantial information to support my belief. Learning more about philosophy and its relation to music has given me the missing links to connect my personal philosophy to my professional teaching philosophy.  

Further more, I have learned that aesthetic experiences are moments created for students that have no practical utilitarian purpose, involves feelings, involves intellect, involves a focus on attention, and finally, it must be experienced.  These experiences can in turn introduce students to various styles of music and serve as a launching pad for further musical studies. I plan on incorporating these types of experiences in my classroom, and be reminded avoid treating these experiences as moments for teaching music history and/or 

music theory.  

• How will what was covered in the parts on sociology, social psychology, or psychology affect your teaching in the future?

Although there was much discussed in these areas, my main take-away is the topic of socioeconomic factors of music. In learning the socioeconomic factors of music and their effects on music education, I have made several correlations to my own teaching experiences.  It has also helped to give clarity to a number of different challenges faced during my previous year of teaching.  For most of my teaching career I have taught mostly at-risk youth.  That is to say that most of my students have come from low socioeconomic statuses with minimal parental involvement.  This year I transferred to a brand new middle school where I had the opportunity to build the program from ground zero.  I did not realize that the culture of the school would be so drastically different from my past experiences.  The socioeconomic factors were the main differences.  

In my present teaching situation most of the parents have graduated high school and a great percentage of them have attended college. Most of the students come from families where there parents are either nurses, engineers, business owners, clergy or educators.  Similarly, most of the students live in homes where they have their own bedroom and since of privacy.  These will likely be students who will each have their own cars when they reach driving age. Culturally, the divide is probably 50% white, 30% black, and 20% other.  Because of our location in Georgia, as expected, there is a very high percentage of Christians and Christian groups in my school as well.

Obviously, the big shift in SES from my previous experiences to my current experiences effected the musical selections a bit.  The majority of the repertoire choices remain the same as I strive to use quality pieces of music no matter what SES of students I teach.  Still, the differences between the teaching situations should be observed.  With the majority of the music learned in my chorus classes, the only difference between the two teaching situations were that in my previous teaching situation I had to spend more time relating the Classical repertoire to the students' preferred styles of music (which was mainly Pop and Rap).  My current students seem more accustom to delayed gratification as mentioned in the text, which makes it a little easier to explore more challenging choral pieces. I plan to use this information to raise the standard in my choirs next year and challenge them more. I feel better about pushing them having realized this contrast in my teaching experiences.

The social psychological foundations of music education spoke quite extensively on conformity and its significance to the adolescent and the implications for the music educator. As a middle school choral director, I found this section very interesting as well. I always try to use conformity in recruiting and expanding my program. My teaching style is one that is fast paced, energetic, and rigorous. The pacing of my lessons are intended to foster student engagement and minimize classroom disturbances.  I always begin the school year with team-building activities and ice breakers and try to instill a sense of cooperation and homogony within the group.  In fact, I often refer to my ensemble as a team and often compare their work ethic in class to that of an athlete.  One way that I acknowledge hard working students is with a monthly award called the Star Student award.  This award is presented to the choral student who demonstrates good rehearsal etiquette, gives 100% during rehearsals, works cooperatively within their sections, and shows improvement in skill.  I make it clear that this award is not presented to the best singer or performer but instead focuses on the hard working music student. I considered omitting the latter strategy (Star student) from my class room next year, however, after learning about the importance of conformity and social psychological, I may consider keeping it.

• Choose any one of the previous seven units in the course, and explain how what you have learned will affect your teaching in the future.

While there are several aspects of this course that were helpful, I found module seven, The Psychological Foundation of Music Education, to be especially helpful.  I like to explore concepts in my classroom, but like any realistic teacher, I know there are many things that I could be reinforcing and doing better.  Learning that concepts are primarily a classification process that will also increase the likleyhood of recall was as useful as it was interesting.  i found being able to identify and design lessons for my own classroom to be very beneficial and these concepts are presently what I look forward to implementing the most in my classroom.

1. Rhythm (duration). For this concept, I could incorporate more rhythmic exercises in my warm-ups.  Currently, I use most of my warm-up time for sight-singing with pitches. Of course rhythm is incorporated here but there is no direct attention placed on rhythmic reading.  Dotted-quarter notes and dotted-half notes are the notes that need the most re-enforcement in this concept.  I have not introduced sub-dividing into rhythmic reading, but could utilize this approach for these types of notes especially.  By allowing my students to feel the pulse of the eighth note in the dotted-quarter note and the pulse of the quarter note in the dotted-half note, the students would be more apt to successfully perform these notes.
2. Pitch. The specific area of this concept I would like to develop is being able to transfer the student knowledge of reading pitches from sight-singing to actual repertoire.  In my experience there is a disconnect from the skills they use in sight-singing and the skills that they use in rehearsing their actual music.  It seems that students are use to being given the pitches by the teacher that they disengage in the reading process.  There are three ways that I can help develop this area: 1-use actual music excerpts for sight-singing, 2-have students sight-sing the re-occuring theme of new repertoire (where appropriate), or some section of the music before it is rehearsed, 3-play the piano with the students as they read instead of relying completely on vocal modeling.
3. Dynamics. For this concept, I can give practical references to identify the dynamic making.  Although my students are use to the dynamic terms and their meaning, sometimes the execution of the dynamic gets lost in translation.  For example, my students can identify that mezzo piano means medium soft and that mezzo forte means medium loud, but singing a line mezzo piano and then repeating that line mezzo forte can get a little confusing to them.  However, if I explain mezzo piano further as being the volume you would use to speak to your friend who is seated beside you and mezzo forte as the volume you would use to give a presentation to the class, students would have more of a practical reference that they could use to perform the dynamics.  Other examples could include, forte as loud as the roar of a lion, pianissimo as quiet as a sleeping baby. Also, posting these dynamics with their practical references somewhere in the classroom will help serve as a constant reminder.
4. Tone. This year my students have vastly improved their overall tone. Still, there is room for improvement.  To develop this area more fully, I could focus more on tone production.  I identify four basic steps to tone production with my students: 1-'singer's breath' (engaging the diaphragm), 2-raise the soft palate, 3-drop the jaw, 4-rounded lips.  I could consistently use these steps sequentially in everyday warm-ups.  For example, I could start the warm-up with deep breaths where the students focus on diaphragmatic breathing. Next, I could have them practice dropping the jaw, raising the soft palate up and lowering it through releasing their 'singer's breath' on 'ha'.  Lastly, I could have the students move from 'ha' to 'who' (like an owl). This would re-enforce rounded lips.  If I use this as a beginning warm-up consistently, perhaps the students will think of these tone production steps in a sequential manner and incorporate them in their everyday choral singing.

Module 7-3

Musical Concepts and Development

While there are many aspects of music that I like to explore in my classroom, there are a few that could stand re-enforcement.  Here are four concepts that I would like to develop more in my classroom:

1. Rhythm (duration). For this concept, I could incorporate more rhythmic exercises in my warm-ups.  Currently, I use most of my warm-up time for sight-singing with pitches. Of course rhythm is incorporated here but there is no direct attention placed on rhythmic reading.  Dotted-quarter notes and dotted-half notes are the notes that need the most re-enforcement in this concept.  I have not introduced sub-dividing into rhythmic reading, but could utilize this approach for these types of notes especially.  By allowing my students to feel the pulse of the eighth note in the dotted-quarter note and the pulse of the quarter note in the dotted-half note, the students would be more apt to successfully perform these notes.
2. Pitch. The specific area of this concept I would like to develop is being able to transfer the student knowledge of reading pitches from sight-singing to actual repertoire.  In my experience there is a disconnect from the skills they use in sight-singing and the skills that they use in rehearsing their actual music.  It seems that students are use to being given the pitches by the teacher that they disengage in the reading process.  There are three ways that I can help develop this area: 1-use actual music excerpts for sight-singing, 2-have students sight-sing the re-occuring theme of new repertoire (where appropriate), or some section of the music before it is rehearsed, 3-play the piano with the students as they read instead of relying completely on vocal modeling.
3. Dynamics. For this concept, I can give practical references to identify the dynamic making.  Although my students are use to the dynamic terms and their meaning, sometimes the execution of the dynamic gets lost in translation.  For example, my students can identify that mezzo piano means medium soft and that mezzo forte means medium loud, but singing a line mezzo piano and then repeating that line mezzo forte can get a little confusing to them.  However, if I explain mezzo piano further as being the volume you would use to speak to your friend who is seated beside you and mezzo forte as the volume you would use to give a presentation to the class, students would have more of a practical reference that they could use to perform the dynamics.  Other examples could include, forte as loud as the roar of a lion, pianissimo as quiet as a sleeping baby. Also, posting these dynamics with their practical references somewhere in the classroom will help serve as a constant reminder.
4. Tone. This year my students have vastly improved their overall tone. Still, there is room for improvement.  To develop this area more fully, I could focus more on tone production.  I identify four basic steps to tone production with my students: 1-'singer's breath' (engaging the diaphragm), 2-raise the soft palate, 3-drop the jaw, 4-rounded lips.  I could consistently use these steps sequentially in everyday warm-ups.  For example, I could start the warm-up with deep breaths where the students focus on diaphragmatic breathing. Next, I could have them practice dropping the jaw, raising the soft palate up and lowering it through releasing their 'singer's breath' on 'ha'.  Lastly, I could have the students move from 'ha' to 'who' (like an owl). This would re-enforce rounded lips.  If I use this as a beginning warm-up consistently, perhaps the students will think of these tone production steps in a sequential manner and incorporate them in their everyday choral singing.

Module 7-2

Behavioral objectives and Assessments

1. Identifying solfege in written examples. In assessing this objective, students will be given four examples.  Each example will have two measures written in common time where the first pitch is 'Do'. Students will be asked to write in the solfege for the remaining pitches based on their knowledge of the major scale.
2. Singing skips from Do-Mi. For this assessment, students will be given a four measure sight singing exercise in common time where the first pitch is 'Do'.  The exercise will consist of pitches in step-wise motion with two skips from 'Do' to 'Mi'. The teacher will instruct students to identify every place where there is a skip.  Next students will practice singing that skip with hand signs. (Students will be asked to use Curwen hand signs for the example to re-enforce their pitches).  After the practice period, students who successfully sing the example with hand signs would have met the objective.
3. Singing solfege in written examples. For assessment, students will be broken up into four groups. Each will groups will be given a pitch to identify, either 'Do' 'Mi' or 'Sol'. A simple, eight measure example will be displayed on the SMART board.  The example will be written in common time and will only consist of the previously mentioned pitches and will only have half notes, quarter notes, and eighth-notes (eighth-notes will be on one pitch only).  Students will be asked to identify the pitches in the example.  Students will be given time to practice and the entire class will sing the example. As an extension of this assessment, student will be asked to identify their assigned pitch in the example.  After identifying their pitch, students will be instructed to only sing their assigned note in the example. Students who successfully sing their assigned pitch will demonstrate objectives 3 and 4.
4.  Singing in two parts.  As an assessment, students will be taught, "Music Alone Shall Live" by rote.  Next, the students will be dived into two groups.  One group will begin singing,while the second group waits until measure three to enter (from the beginning).  Students will repeat the entire song. Group one will hold the last dotted-quarter note until group two reaches the same note at which time teacher will end the song.  When the class successfully sings through this exercise, they would have demonstrated this objective.  

Module 7-1

For this post, I have decided to imagine having to teach my choral students to sing this piece instead of playing it as I feel there would be a bit of a disconnect with the instrumental aspect of the teaching.

Behaviorist
One strategy that I would use for teaching this to begin the rehearsal with an activity where I would borrow work out bands from the gym department.  I would have one for each student.  We would begin with a normal warm-up.  Next I would hand each student a band.  I would ask them to pull the band over a span of four beats.  Next we would pull the band while holding singing a pitch for the duration. Next, we would continue this process for a span of 8-beats.  After this, we would sing our major scale ascending and descending with this same process.  When we begin rehearsing this piece,  would reference this activity as a way to stimulate the desired legato response.

Cognitivist
With this approach, I would begin rehearsal with two sections on the board.  One would read "staccato" and the other would read "legato" (the students would already be familiar with these terms).  The entering activity would be for students to write one aspect of each term under each heading on the board.  Next, we would have a class discussion on the descriptors.  Next, We would compare and contrast the terms.  Finally, we would select descriptors under the "legato" heading such as "smooth", "connected", "flowing",and  "energy". We would discuss what we could do as singers to perform in this way.  Acceptable responses would include "engage the diaphragm", "sing with forward motion", and "raise the soft palate".

Module 6-2

Teaching creativity can be challenging in the music classroom.  For starters, the concept of creativity is usually an ambiguous complex one that many are uncomfortable with.  Still, not only is it important to a holistic music education but it is a necessary concept for aspiring musicians.  In this post, I have compiled a list of five activities that are effective in introducing and teaching creativity in the music classroom.  These particular activities are intended for the upper grade, elementary general music classroom but can be adapted for other grades.

(1) Rondo is my name: In this activity, all students will be given an index card and a pencil.  The class will begin by stating their first name only.  They will then be instructed to say their first name in varying speeds and rhythms (a teacher model will be needed here). After selecting a rhythm for their name that they like, each student will come up with a way to "notate" the rhythm for their name. Notation choices could include dashed lines, dots or any way that is most useful to the student.  Next, students will need to be grouped in three's and given a number (1,2,or 3).  They will introduce their rhythm on their name to the group.  Each group will learn every group member's rhythm and practice performing the rhythm in random order. Students will focus on fluidity in these stages. Lastly, students will be introduced to Rondo form (ABACA).  They will be asked to perform their group rhythms in rondo form, where #1-A, #2-B, and #3-C.  The students who are 'A' will leave a space where their card should go as the line progresses.

(2) Drum Circle-phase 1: The students will sit in a circle and have either hand drums or another non-pitched percussion instrument.  The teacher will have a dominant sounding non-pitched percussion instrument, such as a Djembe. The teacher will start by reviewing the correct technique.  Next, the teacher will have the students participate in echoing the teacher.  That is to say, they will play the rhythm that the teacher plays while maintaining the steady beat.  After the students become comfortable with this process, the teacher will then choose another student to be the 'teacher'.  The teacher keeps her instrument but the student will be the initiator of the echoes.  After that student has completed four measures of this, they will choose another student to take their place as the 'teacher'. This process will continue until all students have had a turn to be the 'teacher'.

(3) Drum Circle-phase 2: This activity begins the same as phase 1and should only be done after successful completion of phase 1. In this phase, the teacher will tell the student to her left that they will be the 'teacher' immediately after the class echoes her.  The next person to the left that student will be the next so that the cycle will be in a clockwise motion.  This process will continue ('teacher'-class-'teacher'-class) until the cycle reaches the actual teacher of the class again.

(4) Musical Story Time: This activity will begin with each student reviewing the technique for classroom instruments.  Each student will have a barred instrument with mallets. The teacher will select (or write) her own short story for this activity.  The teacher will instruct the students to listen for verbs (a review will be needed here). The teacher will practice with the students on three verbs first like run, fly, and jump.  The students will play musical sounds that reflect the verbs. The students will improvise musical sound to accompany the verbs read in the story. *Note: the teacher will have to slow the pacing down for each verb to allow time for student response. A very short story is encouraged.

(5) Improvisation: Each student will have a barred instrument.  The teacher would have arranged the bars for a C pentatonic scale.  The students will learn two chords that will be used to cover four measures.  They will play C-E, C-E, C-F, C-E on whole notes.  They will play each chord on beat one of each measure.  After the class is successful with this, the teacher will improvise eight measures or two repetitions of this sequence.  After modeling the improvisation the teacher will select a student to begin this process.  Afterwards, the teacher will arrange an order for the improvised solos and the improvisation will begin. *Note: the class will continue to play the entire time so that all students are participating throughout the activity.

Module 6-1

This week's module focused on the social psychological foundations of music education.  It spoke quite extensively on conformity and its significance to the adolescent and the implications for the music educator. As a middle school choral director, I found this section most interesting. I always try to use conformity in recruiting and expanding my program. My teaching style is one that is fast paced, energetic, and rigorous. The pacing of my lessons are intended to foster student engagement and minimize classroom disturbances.  I always begin the school year with team-building activities and ice breakers and try to instill a sense of cooperation and homogony within the group.  In fact, I often refer to my ensemble as a team and often compare their work ethic in class to that of an athlete.  One way that I acknowledge hard working students is with a monthly award called the Star Student award.  This award is presented to the choral student who demonstrates good rehearsal etiquette, gives 100% during rehearsals, works cooperatively within their sections, and shows improvement in skill.  I make it clear that this award is not presented to the best singer or performer but instead focuses on the hard working music student.  I try to make our uniforms as teen and economically friendly as possible. In fact, for my spring concert the students wore jeans and a solid black top with black shoes.  This was partially due to the fact that as a new school we have not had enough time to fundraise for uniforms, however, this worked very well for the concert.  

When I go to recruit students for my program I always mention trips as an incentive.  I even tell them of the friendships gained through performing together with a group of people and then the excitement of  going on performance trips with those new friends.  For the sake of conformity, I usually hold off on the number of student assemblies we will do throughout the year until after their first couple of successful performances. Initially, I usually have to ease their apprehension about public performances in the beginning of the year.  Again, here I reference sporting teams.  I tell them of how baseball players practice hard everyday just like they do.  I then pose the question, "How weird would it be if the baseball team never had a game?"  To this they usually laugh and reply that they wouldn't feel good about practicing because they would not have a game to prepare for.  I then respond by encouraging them in their thoughts and asking, "...then why would we practice everyday in class and not have our 'game day'?  Our game day is our performance."  This usually helps to change their perspective on public performances. After they have experienced this type of success they are more motivated to put on an excellent show for their peers in school.  Lastly, I do try to incorporate a Pop piece at least once during the year.  It helps to have a sense of give and take in the classroom.  Although I have not specifically asked my students which Pop piece they would like to perform, I do keep up with the Billboard hits and usually choose a piece from the Top 20 to write an arrangement.

These strategies directly play-off of conformity in the middle school teaching situation and has brought me success.  I plan to continue with these strategies and add more throughout the year.

Module 5-2

In learning the socioeconomic factors of music and their effects on music education, I have made several correlations to my own teaching experiences.  It has also helped to give clarity to a number of different challenges faced during my previous year of teaching.  For most of my teaching career I have taught mostly at-risk youth.  That is to say that most of my students have come from low socioeconomic statuses with minimal parental involvement.  This year I transferred to a brand new middle school where I had the opportunity to build the program from ground zero.  I did not realize that the culture of the school would be so drastically different from my past experiences.  The socioeconomic factors were the main differences.  

In my present teaching situation most of the parents have graduated high school and a great percentage of them have attended college. Most of the students come from families where there parents are either nurses, engineers, business owners, clergy or educators.  Similarly, most of the students live in homes where they have their own bedroom and since of privacy.  These will likely be students who will each have their own cars when they reach driving age. Culturally, the divide is probably 50% white, 30% black, and 20% other.  Because of our location in Georgia, as expected, there is a very high percentage of Christians and Christian groups in my school as well.

Obviously, the big shift in SES from my previous experiences to my current experiences effected the musical selections a bit.  The majority of the repertoire choices remain the same as I strive to use quality pieces of music no matter what SES of students I teach.  Still, the differences between the teaching situations should be observed.  One great example of this is my spring concert this year.  I chose to use the same piece that I used last year in my old program mainly because it went so well, I knew that the performance would be different with my new students, and I am limited in music at my new school so using what I already had was in my best interest.  The piece is called, "Rock the Jukebox".  It is a musical revue that chronicles music from the 1940's to the early 1990's.  In the middle of the show, there is a section called, "Forever and Ever Country". At my old school, I chose to omit this section and add a Motown medley in its place.  I did not find that the Country music section would be relatable to my audience.  The Motown section was a hit!  This year, I did decide to include the Country music section and the Motown section...and they both were successful with the students and with the audience.  I think this came in to play more because of the popular music that was included in, "Rock the Jukebox". With the majority of the music learned in my chorus classes, the only difference between the two teaching situations were that in my previous teaching situation I had to spend more time relating the Classical repertoire to the students.  With my current students, they seem more accustom to delayed gratification as mentioned in the text, which makes it a little easier to explore more challenging choral pieces.

Either way, the information on socioeconomic statuses and external factors is beneficial for the educator.  The information is not intended to negatively categorize students based on their background; rather, it is intended to equip the music educator with necessary tools to better reach and educate today's youth.

Module 5-1

For module 5 the sociological aspects of music were explored.  In response to this, we were asked to reminisce on an event where music was played and to recall the social aspects of the environment.  The following is my personal account of such an event. 

I had the privilege of attending a PJ Morton concert in Atlanta, GA some time ago and had a wonderful experience.  The social situation was one that was laid-back, professional and intimate.  It was held at a small, respected, "hole-in-the-wall" type venue called, The Apache Cafe.  The event was a musical concert so those who had gathered were there with the intention of enjoying the music of PJ Morton and his band.  The music can best be described as a fusion of Soul, Funk, with a touch of R&B.  PJ Morton would be considered an underground or Indie artist so I cannot say that his style is commercial, which is one of the reasons I enjoy his music so much.  He played about an hour's worth of music with most of his pieces lasting between 7-10 minutes.  This is largely due to the fact that he does a great deal of improvisation and groove sets in his shows.  The music itself was for the social activity of enjoying good music and consequently was intended for both careful listening and moments of participation.  The group consisted of at least 10 members. PJ was on the keyboard, there was another keyboard player, a drummer, bass guitarist, lead guitarist, saxophonist, trombonist, a trumpet player, and two background singers. Their dress code reflected their musical style.  Most everyone had on a pair of jeans with either a button-up shirt or graphic t-shirt.  Most of the time they all stood for the duration of the performance, including PJ.  The band made sure to interact with the audience through excellent stage presence. They allowed their bodies to be affected by the music by swaying, rocking, and clapping. The brass section along with the keyboardist did have sheet music, although, I think that it mostly consisted of chord symbols, transitions and the set list.  They did have amplification as most all the instruments (except the brass section) was electronic. There were times that PJ would introduce a song that his fans already knew and he would encourage them to sing at certain points.  Additionally, he cleverly embedded popular songs throughout the show so that the audience would be encouraged to sing-a-long.  As is customary of these sorts of environments, he made sure to properly introduce and acknowledge all soloists.

I felt completely comfortable with the audience at this event.  The general age range was 21-35 years old and the socioeconomic status varied. In the parking lot you could easily spot a Honda Accord parked next to a Mercedes Benz and BMW. There were no printed programs and the audience did dress nicely for the event.  It was more upscale casual and business casual dress for the evening.  Admission was charged at the door and seating was on a first-come-first-served basis as the seating itself was limited due to space.  There was a light menu and drinks served at the venue as well.  I distinctly remember the band ending with an original arrangement of the theme song from "Cheers".  The concert ended with voices soaring and smiles on faces. 

Module 4-1

In the video made available in module 4 called, "The landfill Harmonic Orchestra", insight was given into the musical lives of the citizens of Cateura, Paraguay .  In general, the statements and overall impact of the video send a clear message concerning the value of music in people's lives.  Right away you can see the impoverished situation that the citizens live in. Their society is built on top of a landfill where one man states that a violin is more valuable than the homes. Upon finding the shell of a violin in the trash, one man was inspired to use the trash to construct musical instruments. One young girl even states that her life would me worthless without music.  My interpretation of her statement is not that she felt she would not have value without music, but rather that her life has been given direction and clarity because of her opportunity to experience music.  This sentiment is echoed throughout the video by each young person who spoke and performed.  Furthermore, one could see that the young children were having successful aesthetic experiences.  This can be realized through statements such as, "I get butterflies in my stomach when I hear the violin."


Because of the many blessings that Americans have each and everyday, it can be challenging to communicate the ways in which music can enrich human life.  However, it doesn't mean that it is impossible.  It just becomes the responsibility of the music advocate to creatively find ways to relay the message.  One such option could be to have an open mic night with a twist.  This could be easily held at school.  The event should be planned in a way that is both entertaining and informative.  Each student performer would select a piece to perform and write an excerpt about how music has affected their life.  After each selection, the student would take a moment to address the audience on the importance of music to them.  The show could end with a finale number that supported this theme such as, "Seasons of Love". Another option would be to have parents participate in a choir rehearsal.  A great time for this would be during the second semester Open House Night.  This is usually the time that parents come in with their children, review their new school schedule and have a chance to speak with teachers.  Instead of telling them what happens in class, the students could lead their parents in a revised daily schedule of the class complete with singing! Lastly, arranging a unique line up of repertoire for community performances could double as a chance to promote the value of music in everyday life.  For example, at my school students are constantly invited to perform at nursing homes, restaurants, and businesses that partner with our school through their financial support.  One great selection that could be performed is, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" by Bill Backer, Billy Davis, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway.  Students could also be asked to compose a creative writing excerpt for ways that music has changed their life and how it can change the lives of others.  A few select writings could be integrated in the performance. I have used this in a spring concert before and it was very memorable for the audience and for the students.  Such creative options could offer meaningful and informative experiences for all who are involved.

Module 3-1

Module three introduces the concept of aesthetic experiences.  The text describes these experiences as having and involving five components: (1) Little or no practical value, (2) Feelings, (3) Intellect, (4) Focus on attention, (5) Experience. Personally, I have had several aesthetic experiences, as I would assume most music educators have, and the affect of those experiences have shaped my personal life and career.

It was the Spring of 2010.  I was a sophomore at Georgia State University and a member of the University Singers under the direction of Dr. Allen Raines.  There were many pieces I enjoyed learning and performing during my year in the choir, but one in particular grasped my attention right away. "Amor De Mi Alma" by Z. Randall Stroope took me on a sonic adventure from the first rehearsal! The lyrics were beautifully penned and the song's form and chord structure was a perfect bed for them. Although one could say that the piece was taught with the purpose of educating or performing, the idea of music having a practical purpose is a harder case to establish according to the text.

The most memorable aesthetic experience I have with this particular piece is a performance at a high school.  I had just ended a two year relationship with my very first boyfriend. Despite the fact that it was a peaceable separation, the fond emotions of the relationship were still present.  As with each of my performances I focused on expressing the text.  I knew from the moment the first few notes were sung that I would have a hard time keeping my composure. I felt completely vulnerable to the text. I focused on the lyrics and translation as written by Garcilaso de la Vega.  They can be found below along with a link (click on the song title) to a recording of the piece: 

Amor de mi alma

Yo no naci sino para quereros;

Mi alma os ha cortado a su dedida;

Por hábito del alma misma os quiero.

Escrito está en mi alma vuestro gesto;

Yo lo leo tan solo que aun de vos

Me guardo enesto.

Quanto tengo confiesso yo deveros;

Por vos naci, por vos tengo la vida,

Y por vos é de morir y por vos muero.

I was born to love only you;

My soul has formed you to its measure;

I want you as a garment for my soul.

Your very image is written on my soul;

 Such indescribable intimacy

I hide even from you.

All that I have, I owe to you;

For you I was born, for you I live,

For you I must die, and for you

I give my last breath.

This experience was very meaningful.  My personal experience connected with the aesthetics of the music and step by step the points of aesthetic experiences began to take form, tears began to roll, and my perspective on performance and the impact that it can have on the performer was forever changed. 

Module 3-2

One of the ways that music educators can utilize the aesthetic experience is by creating moments for their students to have these type of experiences.  These experiences can in turn introduce them to various styles of music and serve as a launching pad for further musical studies. The caution, however,  for the music educator is to not treat aesthetic experiences as moments for teaching music history and/or music theory.  The moment should be used exclusively to invoke feelings and connectivity to the piece. 

In a lesson for middle school music appreciation students, the following lesson could be used.

Objective: Students will understand how specific types of music can invoke feelings. Students will understand how music can be used to create ideas and pictures in a listener’s mind. 

Materials:  Computer; recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, 2nd movement; class PA system; class set of pencils; class set of blank paper.

Lesson Steps: 

1. As an introduction, Beethoven's Symphony No.6 will be played for students.
2. Students will discuss their feeling associated with the piece.  The teacher will have them imagine what may have been going on in the piece.
3. The teacher will distribute one paper and one pencil to each student.
4. The teacher will have the students write their names in a specific corner of the paper. The students will fold their paper vertically and then horizontally, dividing it into four quarters. The students will number the quarters one to four in the upper right corner of each square.
5. The teacher will play another piece for them called, Symphony No. 4, second movement by Tchaikovsky. Students will draw four accompanying pictures in each of the corners of their papers. They will go through three steps:
a) first, they should listen to the music for at least one minute.
b) second, get an idea of how the music makes them feel and what they think of. e.g. nature, people playing, scary monsters…
c) students will draw what the music makes them think of. There are no rules telling them what they have to draw as long as they can say the drawing came from what they heard.
6. Once the students have filled their page with four drawings, the floor will be open for sharing. Stress will be put on the fact that in this activity there are NO wrong ideas.

*All the steps may not be able to happen in the same period.  If so, the best place to separate the steps would be at the end of step 6.  During the next class period, students can resume step 6 and conclude with step 8.*

7. Next, the students will be divided into groups (four students) where they will put all of their drawings together into a kind of comic book story. 

8. Lastly, for a final presentation, they will tell the story to the rest of the class while the original corresponding music is playing.

Module 3-3

For quite sometime educators and legislators a like have debated the case for musical and non-musical benefits of music education.  There are valid reasons for each as well as valid concerns for each. The following is an exploration of both.

In a time of budget cuts and program cuts those in leadership positions are constantly having to examine and evaluate the usefulness of existing programs.  At the same time they have to find ways to conserve finances. Because of this, it becomes increasingly important for music advocates to show the non-musical benefits of music education. Secondly, as a result of our evolving society the job market has placed an emphasis on areas such as technology, business, and medicine.  There is hardly any knowledge of the viable career options in music.  For this reason, music education has to show the ways that it can assist in building skills that can transfer into other subject areas. Another challenge that exists is the student participation in music programs. Showing the fringe benefits of music education could encourage more students to participate in these programs. Lastly, showing the extra benefits of music education may encourage more sponsors to offer financial support to various music programs in their community.  For example, if the correlation between higher academic scores and participation in music programs were highly publicized, non-profit organizations whose focus is to encourage after-school activities that promote academic welfare might be more apt to contribute financially to music programs. There are many resources that offer researched information on these benefits.  One such resource can be found by clicking here.

In contrast, music advocates who truly have a passion to see the arts thrive know and understand that there is more to music education than these non-musical benefits.  There are many worthy components of music that deserve educational exploration.  In fact, there are national educational organizations who believe the same. One such organization called MENC came up with nine widely accepted standards for music education.Though there have been several revisions,  the latest revision which occured in the early1990's is the one still used today.  They are as follows:

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.

4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.

5. Reading and notating music.

6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

7. Evaluating music and music performances.

8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Secondly, there is always the risk that the opposite of the desired effect would happen in legislation.  Who is to say that lawmakers could not simply extract those components of music education that is "proven" to show correlation with these non-musical benefits and only place emphasis on them.  The results would severely affect the arts and it's holistic appeal. Next, the aesthetic experience is what most people look forward to with music. In fact, it is usually the educated musician or educator who can discern more than the aesthetics of music.  Because of this, there should not be items in place to distract from those experiences. Lastly, only focusing on the non-musical aspects of music would severely impact our future.  How would our nation's future composers be impacted? How would our music educators be impacted?  What about the impact of our future society as whole?  The question should be considered: do we really want to live in a society where music is taught like math or science?  I should think not and in order to prevent this, we have to carefully consider the messages we present to those in legislative and administrative positions. Resources have been compiled on these types of view points and one such resource can be viewed by clicking here.

Resources

Brown, L. (2014). The Benefits of Music Education. PBS Parents. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/.

VH1 Save the Music Foundation. (2013). The Importance of Music Education. VH1 Save the Music. retrieved from http://www.vh1savethemusic.org/why-music/benefits-to-the-brain.

Module 1

"The view that music is linked to morality is surprisingly robust. Thinkers as different from each other as Confucius, Socrates, St. Augustine and al’Ghazzali have cautioned against the effects of music on the soul. Now researchers in Israel have found evidence that these moralists may have been on to something." (Bicknell,1) Bicknell's comments directly correlate with Hoffer who states, "He (Aristotle)  said that music directly imitates the passions of the soul-gentleness, anger, courage, temperance, and their opposites and other qualities; hence, when one listens to music that imitates a certain passion, he becomes imbued with the same passion; and if over a long time he habitually listens to the kind of music that arouses ignoble passions his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form. (Grout, 1973, p. 7)  Bickell continues to describe an experiment conducted which examined the effect of music on pursuasion, specifcally in advertisements.  In this experiement, they explored the effects on subjects with music that was up-beat, music that seemed sad, and music that had a danceable groove.  The results were that the music did effect the perspective of the subjects. The perspectives depended heavily on the music.

In a second article, Music: Its Expressive Power and Moral Significance, Whitfield begins with an in-depth overview of ancient philosophers of contrasting opinion who all agreed that music is on of the most powerful art forms. She journeys through several explanations ranging from theories to mathematics, but the results are that music plays an important role in affecting human emotion.  Those emotions, she writes, goes on to effect the complete human being. Whitfield concludes, "The creation and practice of music is tightly wound with human emotion, character, and the overall tapestry of human experience. Music arouses sentiment, whether it evokes the intended sentiment or not. Thus, music cannot be underestimated as a powerful shaper of human virtue, character, and emotion." (Whitfield, 18)

Bicknell, J. Music and Moral Judgement: Can music promote unethical behavior?Why Music Moves Us. December 6, 2012.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/why-music-moves-us/201212/music-and-moral-judgement

Whitfield, S., Music: Its Expressive Power and Moral Significance. Musical Offerings, Article 1, Spring 2010. http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=musicalofferings&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dmusic%2520and%2520morality%252C%2520edu%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D3%26ved%3D0CDgQFjAC%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcommons.cedarville.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1012%2526context%253Dmusicalofferings%26ei%3D-KJlU9qNKOL4yQHI-IGgBg%26usg%3DAFQjCNF8oaQ-KQfZMeI5IUgld9wIielckg%26sig2%3DVtDdKhhJIOxQ6yWAK8klqw%26bvm%3Dbv.65788261%2Cd.aWw#search=%22music%20morality%2C%20edu%22.