|
WHY MUSIC EDUCATION? A Rationale for Music Education “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything.
It is the essence of order and lends to all that is good and just and
beautiful”. Plato It is not difficult to concur with
Plato that music immeasurably enriches our lives, exalts our spirits and
enlightens our minds. Music indeed is everywhere and in everything, we were
all born with it in our first heart beat. Moreover, music is a universal
language that all people speak and that cuts across racial, cultural and
social barriers. According to Howard Gardner’s
innovative Theory of Multiple Intelligences, music is one of the seven forms
of intelligence (linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, kinaesthetic,
interpersonal and intrapersonal) that ultimately provide each person with a
unique cognitive profile. Furthermore, latest brain research has confirmed
that we all learn in different ways; therefore teaching strategies and tools
have to be constantly updated and developed in order to help students learn
in ways that work best for them. I strongly believe that music is a basic,
wonderful tool in adding creative ways to teach. “Why music education is so
important?” is a question I was asked by my students and parents many times
in throughout teaching career. “How would you advocate music in my school?”
was a question I was asked when I applied for the music teacher position with
the school I presently work. The list proposed below attempts to provide a
few answers to the above questions. ·
Music is an
inexhaustible source of joy and achievement. ·
Music is
important to students’ intellectual, physical, emotional, social and
aesthetic growth. ·
Music
builds/shapes character and personality; it fosters creativity and develops
imagination, intuition and sensitivity. ·
Music is a way
to understand our cultural heritage and other past and present cultures. ·
Music leads to
“deep understanding” through the connection it realises between motivation,
instruction, assessment and practical application. ·
Music improves
academic achievement; learning to read music enhances students’ ability to
perform the skills necessary for reading, listening, anticipating,
forecasting, memory training, recall skills, concentration technique and
speed reading. Also musical involvement improves students’ ability to perform
some spatial-temporal reasoning tasks/skills necessary to learn math and
science. ·
Instrumental
practice promotes motor development and improves dexterity, enhances
coordination and improves eye-sight and hearing. ·
Involvement in
group music helps students learn to co-operate and bond together for group
goals. It also fosters discipline and commitment; it builds self-confidence
and a sense of accomplishment. ·
Creative
participation in music improves self-esteem and installs positive self-image,
self-awareness and positive attitude, which is a motivation for academic
learning. ·
Music delivers
success in school and predicts success in life. ·
…….and the
list remains open. Einstein once said: “The intuitive
mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have
created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift”. Our
role as music teachers is to advocate the “forgotten gift”, by using a
variety of means in order to make sure that our students and parents
understand the importance of the musical education and the lifetime knowledge
and skills students are gaining through it. What should we teach? In my opinion, the fundamental 5 Ws -
Why? What? When? Where? Who? – raise a challenge to any teacher. A reflective
teacher should always consider and review these questions very critically and
constructively, in order to see how he/she can improve the teaching –learning
process. But the hardest question to answer seems to be the “What should we
teach?” one because of the numerous variables and aspects that have to be
taken into consideration. Definitely, before everything else, teachers must
share their love of music with students. Factors such as teaching at the
elementary, middle or secondary school level or traditions and expectation of
a particular district school board/school will ultimately determine the
teacher’s approach to his/her class activity. One might teach any or even
some/more of the following: music appreciation, general music, music theory, music
history, choir, band, orchestra, guitar, keyboards, jazz, popular music or
electronic and multi-media. What
should we teach? ·
Singing and
vocal technique. ·
How to
use/play and care for musical instruments properly (posture, tone quality,
intonation). ·
Stylistic
accuracy (articulation, phrasing, dynamics). ·
Individual
instrumental practice techniques. ·
Ensemble
discipline and musicianship. ·
How to listen
to music with understanding/discernment using critical analysis. ·
To explore/perform
repertoire from a variety of cultures. ·
Read/understand
standard music notation and define elements of music. ·
To “speak”,
understand and use the language of music (terminology and history). ·
To improvise,
interpret and compose/arrange music. ·
To identify
the importance of music education as a lifelong and unique acquisition. What else is there to be taught? Definitely more.
The list does not pretend to exhaust all resources/possibilities. September
20, 2004 |