Alex Douglas Hutcheon

Philosophy of Music Education

The Oxford dictionary defines music as vocal or instrumental sounds (or
both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and
expression of emotion. In my opinion, this definition is far too bland and does not
fully explain what music is. After exploring many different philosophic views with
extremely diverse definitions of music, I have come to the conclusion that every
single person has their own interpretation of music. This interpretation is
influenced by many factors such as nationality, exposure to music, and even what
state of mind a person is in. Victor Hugo states music expresses that which cannot
be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. If music expresses what we
cannot say, how can we have one definition for music. Thus I firmly believe that
ones definition of music changes over the course of their lives.
At this given point in time, my definition of music is purposely created,
organized sounds that communicate and evoke emotion. But who is to say that my
definition of music will not change from an aesthetic to a paraxial view in a month
or weeks time. The emotional context of this definition derives from Bennett
Reimers A Philosophy of Music Education when he states, Music, then, is essentially
a giving vent to emotions through sound. (Reimer, 1989) Much like Reimer I
believe that music involves a subjective experience of feelings where we receive an
experience of feelings rather than information about feelings. (Reimer, 1989)
Music is then a unique type of human cognitive activity that uses domains and
processes of the brain that are specific to music.
Music education should not only be taught through private lessons in a
conservatory, but should be accessible to all students in both public and private
systems. Daniel Levitin argues that Music is not simply a distraction or a pastime,
but a core element of our identity as a species, an activity that paved the way for
more complex behaviors such as language, large-scale cooperative undertakings,
and the passing down of important information from one generation to the next
(Levitin) If music is such a core element of our identity as humans, then why should
we deprive anyone of a musical education.
Everyone deserves a music education, regardless of socioeconomic class,
age, and learning ability. Music education obviously teaches students essential
musicianship skills, but it also has immense positive cognitive effects. Music is the
only subject taught in school that activates the entire brain; front to back, both
hemispheres, and the limbic system. Not only does music enhance our cognitive
system, but also enhances our perceptual-motor, emotional, stress response, and
memory systems. It is evident that music education has numerous positive benefits
for leaners and if this were a court case, the ruling would be that music is valuable
beyond reasonable doubt. (Jensen, 2001)
Unfortunately, even with all the hard scientific evidence about the positive
effects of music, educators around the province still have to advocate the legitimacy
of their programs. The inconvenient truth is that the education system is still
running under the old factory model. This is astonishing considering that an
educators job is to teach the 21
st
century learning in a dated model of education.
The biggest flaw of the old factory model of education is that administrators and
policy makers only care about the cost per student per year against the resulting
test scores. (Jensen, 2001) Unfortunately for music education, there are no
provincial exams to collect test scores, thus the province does not consider music
education a core subject. I believe that in order for a 21
st
century learner to thrive
we must teach beyond the standard school curriculum (core classes) and that
starts with putting a stronger emphasis on music education.
A music educator should have some formal musical background in order to
possess the knowledge to properly guide an ensemble. If a music teacher does not
possess basic musical knowledge such as theory, harmony, history, technique, ect.,
then the students will not respect the teacher. Tom Staples once told me that before
you can successfully gain the respect of your students, you must first possess
knowledge. I believe that a music educator must develop positive relationships with
their students in order for them to fully express themselves through music. This
relationship begins with mutual respect, and if the music teacher does not possess
musical knowledge then this mutual respect is unattainable.
I also believe that a music educator should foster a lifelong appreciation for
and involvement in music rather than preparing for the next concert or festival.
Preparing for concerts and festivals are important for developing discipline,
dedication, and teamwork within an ensemble but it is not the end goal of music
education. The goal for any educator is to promote lifelong learning. This is no
different for music education, where promoting lifelong involvement in and
appreciation for music is the end goal. I believe that in order for a music teacher to
successfully promote lifelong learning they have to create a classroom environment
that promotes positive, successful, and structure learning opportunities in order for
the students to feel comfortable and confident enough to expressive themselves
musically.
The music curriculum should contain a large variety of musical styles and
genres. The greater the variety of repertoire a student is exposed to, the more likely
that student will connect to the music. If the students experience numerous styles
and genres of music while still learning basic musicianship skills presented in the
program of studies, I firmly believe that they will be more likely to develop a passion
for music. Most music programs do not venture very far from concert bands and
choirs. I believe that it is essential that schools expand their music programs further
than this, such as percussion ensembles, jazz bands, and string ensembles. By having
a variety of musical styles and genres in the curriculum I believe the students will
have a greater appreciation for music and develop a burning passion for music.
Music should not only be present within the designated music classes but it
should also be incorporated into every class. We can use music to aid in the
transmission and imbedding of knowledge. Music can uniquely encapsulate and
code important information. (Levitin) Creating specific melodies, rhythms, accent
structures and rhymes that accompany specific information can make it easier to
remember that information. I witnessed this memorization of information during
my math lessons in PS I. In this particular lesson, the students memorized times
tables by associating the numbers with simple nursery rhyme melodies. It was
incredible how fast these students could flawlessly recite there times tables without
and mistakes. The students were very excited because they felt a sense of
accomplishment and they also were having a lot of fun complete a task that is
traditionally unpleasant. Incorporating music into other classroom settings can be a
great way to integrate variety within lessons and can also be a useful cognitive tool.
I believe music should be taught using an absolute expressionist approach.
Music should be valued for its ability to express or provoke emotion, while still
emphasizing the formal elements of a work. Every single individual experiences
different emotions when playing or listening to music; making it subjective.
Likewise, a piece of music has different meanings for every person and is typically
linked to his or her personal experiences. Music education should not just simply
focus on the expressive qualities of the music but also the formal qualities. I believe
that by teaching in an absolute expressionist style I can foster an appreciation for
every compositional expressive element of a piece.
Zoltan Kolday believed that music education should start before birth
(Neumann, 2006). Although Koldays dream may be a little unrealistic, it has great
intensions. I believe that a music education should begin during early childhood. Dr.
Suzuki has a very optimistic outlook about musical development that I completely
agree with when he stated, Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability
which can be developed. Any child who is properly trained can develop musical
ability just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The
potential of every child is unlimited (Suzuki) Teaching students at a young age can
be made possible through the Orff and Kolday methods. The Kolday method
involves the concept sound before sight, which means that students should first
memorize the songs before they become musically literate. I completely agree with
this concept because it actively involves the students in music making and the
musical quality is not jeopardized due to notated music. The Orff method also gets
the students actively involved using scaffolding techniques through singing, dancing,
and other kinesthetic learning strategies. Using these musical education strategies
at a young age sets the foundation for a students lifelong appreciation for and
involvement in music.
Music education is so much more than just learning how to play notes and
read music. It is about being able to appreciate the formal aspects of a composition
while exploring the emotional context of the artwork. Music is the only subject
where students can enhance their cognitive, perceptual-motor, emotional, stress
response, and memory systems. A music educators goal is to promote a lifelong
passion for music within every individual student. A teacher that is knowledgeable,
respectful, enthusiastic, and also has an obvious passion for music can make this
goal possible. Plato summarizes the importance of music with when he stated,
music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and
life to everything.





Work Cited

Elliot, D.J. (1995). Music matters: A new philosophy of music education. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Jensen, E. (2001). Art with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Levitin, D.: Music and the Brain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsJl6Pys880
Music. (n.d.). In Oxford Dictionaries online. Retrieved from
http://portfoliobooth.weebly.com/music-philosophy--advocacy.html
Neumann, C. (2006). The Kodaly Method and Learning Theories. The
Canadian Music Educator, 4(47), 48-49. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from the CBCA
Complete database.
Peters, S. (1993). Orff Schulwerk, music for children: Origins and Insights.
The Recorder, 1(36), 28-30. Retrieved January 28, 2014, from the CBCA Complete
database.
Reimer, B. (1989). A philosophy of music education. (2nd ed.). Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Suzuki Music: Learning with Love (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2014 from
http://www.suzukimusic.org.au/phil.htm