Class Reflection My experience of 'Intro into Music Education' has been very interesting. When I had first walked into class on the very first day, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from the class or what to expect from the professor. Due to these things, I was not overly sure how to feel about the entire class after the first lecture. As the classes, have come and gone my opinion has changed drastically. Originally, I had though of the class to be very odd but now I do not think this. I would have to say that the main thing that has changed about my opinion would have to be the way that I perceive things/ the way that I think through things. What I had originally though as a well-rounded music education turns out to be a very oppressed music education instead. The class opened my eyes to a new way of teaching music and I believe a better way of teaching. I guess because of this eye awakening experience it has made me really pay more attention to the pedagogical choices that I have made. Before coming to Western University, during my high school career I had tutored student in middle school who were just beginning on the Alto Saxophone. Now that I think about it, I had taught these students the way that I had been taught. The way my own music teacher had been taught but I now know because of 'Intro into Music Education' class that the way that I had been teaching was not the better way of teaching.
Another thing that I have learned from 'Intro into Music Education' class would be how to express myself with starting my statements with I agree or disagree with something. I have found this, at first to be very restricting because I did not know how to word what I wanted to say but now that I have some practice with this (conversation about other peoples ‘who am I’ videos) I believe now that this will be a skill that will help me a great deal down the road. As well as I think this type of language is something that is very good to have especially when we enter adulthood and start to look for a job.
Overall, I would have to say that this class ‘Intro into Music Education’ has been a very interesting so far and I am very excited to find out what the rest of the class will show.
Guest Lecture Reflection – Lesley Dawe Lesley Dawe had spoken with both the Intro to Music Education classes via Skype to talk to us about her article that we had read over the past week. The talk had consisted of us asking her question regarding how she had implemented a more creative way of teaching music to her students. Lesley explained that by having the general music program at her school, she has been able to give her student more of a choice in what they are learning about music which gives the students a more creative understanding of music. With in the program student are learning different instruments but they are not learning these interments through the traditional pedagogy way. They learn by taking pop songs and trying to recreate them. They are learning chords of these songs but they are taking what they learn and adding a more creative aspect to them. Once they have learned a chord they create and manipulate them, which is helping to show these students the creative aspect of music. This is much different way of teaching then the traditional pedagogy way.
From what Lesley, had explained to us, this way of teaching has allowed her students to be more engaged in the classroom. As well it is still teaching the element to her students but they are being taught in a way where they are not structured in a linear format and I thank her for this. I know what it is like to have learned the elements in a linear format and I remember how hard it was to change my way of thinking. I.e. Quarter note = one beat, but now I know that is not always true. I also want to thank Lesley for taking the initiative in teaching this way, it must have been very hard for her to change the way music got taught because music has been taught a certain way for so long, so thank you.
Guest Lecture Reflection - Mark Hopkins Mark Hopkin’s lecture explains to us how the elements of music are the basis of teaching music to new student but the way they are being taught needs to be worked on. Most teachers will teach their students in a linear mathematic way, i.e. method books and following them to the letter, page by page. By teachers doing this they are allowing someone else to decide the content and sequence of their own classroom. As well teaching this way in a method book, only gives students a few opportunities for personal growth and expression as a musician/ communicator. Doctor Hopkin’s explanation of methods book was not all that bad, they can be a good resource for new student to learn from. They can help to set standards for what is to be played, they can make it easier for the band to be played together. Doctor Hopkins lecture also explained how music is kind of like Language because it behaves like a language. The lecture that was given to us was very informative about how teaching a certain way can have a large affect on the way student develops their passion for music.
The lecture that Doctor Hopkins had given to us had really made me think about the way that I had been taught in middle school when I had first started to play the saxophone. We had used a method book called “The Standard of Excellent”. We had gone through it page by page, melody by melody. I understand that this type of teaching is not good for the new and developing musician. What I do not understand is why do teachers not see what this format of teaching is doing to their student? I understand that a teacher’s job is hard and long but why can’t they come up with a better way of using the method books? For example, grouping certain things together like staccato melody’s together and spend some time teaching what that is, etc. I have learned a lot from Mark Hopkins lecture about how to teach new students can be a difficult path with regards to figuring out what way is the best way in teaching those new students but now I think I have a better understanding of how to teach when it becomes my turn down the road.
Guest Workshop Reflection – Dr. Allsup
This past Saturday morning (February 11th 2017), I had attuned a three-hour workshop that was run by Dr. Allsup. He is a professor from New York city that had wished to share with people from Western University a couple different ways of teaching to music to different age groups. Overall, I had found the workshop to be very interesting to attend because of the way that Dr. Allsup had explained/ taught the two different strategies that had to do with teaching music o different age groups. The two strategies were explained to us through many different hands on activities based around creativity. To me this is a great way of teaching because it allows the student to be engaged in the activity as well as moving around, which I believe helps to keep people on track.
In total, there was three different activities through the three-hour workshop. The first activity was the entire group listened to a piece of percussion music and then we were asked what we had heard and to explain what we have heard. The second activity was to pick and interments and create an ostinato using three different textures. Once we had time to do this we were asked to perform our ostinato. It was very interesting to see what people could come up with. One lady had used her tea cup, another person had used beat boxing. Once people performed Dr. Allsup had asked for two people to come and play their ostinato’s together to see what they would sound like together. After a while he had added two more people to the group and asked them to do solos. This lead into the second haft of the activity, which was everyone in groups creating a piece of music just using ostinatos and solos. I had really enjoyed this activity particularly because it had allowed me to be creative and play an instrument that I do not get to very often. For the last activity, we had take a Mongolian melody and created many different parts. In total, there were seven different groups. Two of the groups created two different ostinatos for them. Another group created lyrics for the melody, another group finished the ending. As well a group created a soundscape and another group created a dance. Once everyone had time in their groups to create what they were supposed to it had gotten all put together and the final product was amazing. Overall this is an amazing workshop to attend and I hope I will be able to use some of the things that I learned about teaching. So thank you.
Guest Lecture Reflection – Kelly Bylica
On March 15, 2017, we had welcomed a PhD student in Music Education (from Western University) into our Intro into Music Education class. During this class, Kelly had talked to us about her experiences in teaching elementary and middle school music students in the United States. What I had found to be very interesting from this experience was, the fact that we had gotten to see what kids think of music in a classroom setting and what they perceive to be music. In the beginning of the class, Kelly had us read three letter from three different students that each had talked about who they were and what they had wanted to get out of music. The thing was that each of the three students had said that they “did not want to do music” or that “teachers do not like me so you won’t like me.” For me on a personal level, it really hurts to see or hear children think of themselves in this manner or even a subject in this manner because even though their pass experience may not have been good does not mean that their future experience will turn out the same. What was more interesting was how they had described what they had thought a music in a classroom setting was. “Music without a story” as they had put it. This is how Kelly had transitioned our class into talking about ways authors right children stories about music.
The idea of taking a piece of music and making into a children’s book is something that really baffles me. It was not until Kelly had put our class into 4 different groups and gave each of the groups a different story that was written about music. The point of the activity with the children’s book, when she does it with a class of grade 7’s or 8’s is for the to analyse the book and take what they have learned and turn it into their own composition in just a few weeks. For us we had looked through the book by just looking at the pictures and we asked if we could make a composition what do we think it would sound like?
Overall, this was a great experience and I hope I can take what I have learned and put it into my own teaching style.
Guest Lecture Reflection – Dr. Ruth Wright
On March 6th 2017, my Intro into Music Education class had welcomed Dr. Ruth Wright to talk to us about Musical Features. Musical Features is a program that is run in grades 7 and 8 to teach kids how to play music by ear. The interesting part of this program is that it is in a rock band formation instead of the normal choral/ instrumental band formation. Basically, music student will spend weeks learning how to play the guitar, bass guitar, drums, singing all by ear instead of from sheet music and taking what they have learning and creating a band with other student and learning songs that they want to learn. Personally, I know that skill of learning by ear is very hard but is very useful to have especially if you want to be a teacher when it is mastered. When Dr. Ruth Wright was in my intro to music education class, she had taught us all about the history of musical features and where it had come from. As well as how it had come to Canada and what is happening with the program now.
Another large aspect of what happen during this lecture was my class getting to have a taste of what it is like to go through musical features program. Basically, we were put into small groups and told to pick an instrument (that we had in our classroom) that we do not know very well or not know at all. I found it very interesting to learn that a lot of people we not overly familiar with some of the instruments. Once every had an instrument our group picked a song and had 40 minutes to practise it before we had gotten the opportunity to perform it in front of the entire class. I had found it very exciting to have gotten the chance to play the drums for this as it is an set of instruments that I am not familiar with. As my groups was practising it was really cool to see how some people had been able to pick up the instrument that they were playing at the speed that they were.
As an overall experience, I would have to say that the Musical Features program is a very interesting and well round type program and it is a program that I would really like to incorporate into my own teaching when I become a teacher.
Guest Lecture Reflection – Dr. Kevin Watson
On Monday March 20th 2017, my Intro into Music Education Class had welcomed Dr. Kevin Watson into our class to give us a lecture on improvisation. Overall, the lecture was enjoyable and I had been able to learn a lot from him. In the beginning of the lecture, we had started off listening to three different piece of music all of them being based around the 12-bar blues. Dr. Watson, had gotten us to listen and the describe what we had heard from each of the three piece as well as made us think about what was improvised and what was not. As we had continued with this lesson, he had asked us to bring out our instruments (vocal or instrumental it did not matter). From there he had brought out his own instrument (Tenor Saxophone) and had gotten us to do this call and response activity with a not each every so often just to make sure that we were on the right track. As he was doing this activity with us, he was teaching a basic 12-bar blues melody which was taught in several steps. As well he had gotten each of us to do an individual improvisation after in had given a call to us. Once we had learned the melody he had taught us the notes (chords) to a 12-bar blues. Once everyone had learned that we were able to put it together with some people playing the melody and others playing the harmony underneath. For the last activity, Dr. Watson, had asked us what the three pieces of music all had in common with one another. This is when we had learned about the 12-bar blues.
As an overall experience, I had really enjoyed the lecture that Dr. Kevin Watson done with us especially since jazz music is by far one of my more favourite genres to play. It was also really amazing to get to work on stuff such as improvisation, from a saxophone professor. Even though the lecture was on the shorter side, I believe that I had learned more in this one lecture then I normally do. So, thank you.