Module 8 Reflection Post: Course Applications to Your Teaching

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

I think that this course had really opened my eyes into child development. I never really considered aspects such as conformity being such a big deal for children, but after reading about it in the text I've started to become more aware. For the future, I'm planning on making some of my listening activities more centered on individual opinions, where I ask students to write or draw rather than verbally share aloud. I've noticed that once I ask students to share if one student says something and I comment on it then I suddenly have 15 more students with a similar reaction.

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

It's so interesting to find out how cultures can really affect a student. I'm glad this course came up this year for me because my district has been providing my school with training on ESL students. What we often forget is that when we ask students to do something, it might actually be disrespectful or not customary in certain cultures. For example, I always offer solo opportunities (through singing and playing) to all of my students. But I've noticed that my students from latino cultures often refuse. After going through the training and doing some of the readings in the book, I've concluded that this might be something that is culturally frowned upon. Instead, I plan to work harder to making all students feel comfortable and not singled out. 

• 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.

As if you couldn't tell from my previous answers, my biggest take away comes from module 6 "The Social Psychological Foundations." I find the impact of society and culture on our students fascinating. I'm slowly becoming more aware of students' cultures and how exposed they are to different things based on their taste in music. A common trend in students who come from lower SES families is that they have rarely heard art music before. I'm working on expanding students musical knowledge and using the variety of cultures in my district to expose students to different types of world music. 

Module 8 Reflection Post: A Hong Kong Odyssey

When I first read this brief article my first thought was, "Wow! What a waste of money!" Obviously I don't think the Hong Kong trip was a good idea. I feel the band director could have done so much more for the band students and kept things closer to home that would have had a more positive impact on the students and the community.

When I was a student I know I went on a few school trips through the music department. None of them were as extensive as going out of the Country, but I still felt that I learned a lot on these trips. I think one of the things that this band director could have done was to take the band on trip that was within driving distance. I know a lot of band programs that go on a Disney World trip once every four years. One of my experiences was going to New York City - we were able to participate in various musical opportunities, sight-see, and see a Broadway musical.

The fact that the director was so dead-set on taking the band to Hong Kong is just frustrating. After reading that the band didn't raise enough money. I think the director should have made an executive decision to either refund the money OR to use it for something else - either a cheaper trip or an investment in new materials/technology.

Another option that would been better would be to take the band to see a professional performance. Many educators can receive discounts on tickets to professional orchestras or wind ensembles. In fact, if it weren't for those opportunities to see these professional musicians I don't think many students would ever go. To benefit the entire school community - I think the band director could also pursue inviting a professional music group to perform for the entire school. If he couldn't get a professional group I think a college group would have also been a nice treat for the school. It might also inspire students who aren't involved in music to join the band.

Module 7 Reflection Post: Teaching Beethoven Two Ways

I'd like to preface this by saying that my instrument is voice, so teaching this would not be a reality for me. However, here are my thoughts on teaching Beethoven via the two methods described in the text:

Behaviorist Approach:

I would begin by playing a recording of the piece for my student. I wouldn't give them the piano score, I would ask the student to just listen. Next I would discuss with my student the emotion in the piece. I would then give them the score back and have them follow along and ask them to mark any place where a certain emotion seems to strike them. Obviously the end goal is to be able to play this piece with the emotion that Beethoven intended. We would work together slowly. Each week/lesson I would hope that the student would begin to use more emotion. To encourage this, I would give the student a compliment any time they played expressively. Hopefully, the student would associate emotive playing with praise and compliments. 

Cognitivist Approach:

Many times when learning a new piece it would seem easier to break it apart by playing each hand separately. Unfortunately I don't think that would work in this piece. Instead, I would break the song apart phrase by phrase. I would work with my student to play phrase one with both hands SLOWLY. Then to go back and do it again. I would ask the student to look through the score and see if there are any other times where that phrase repeats. Throughout each lesson I would ask the student to focus on one phrase at a time. It would be up to the student to work at home and work on discovering similarities and differences between the phrases - then bring that knowledge back to the lesson. 

Module 7 Reflection Post: Developing Musical Concepts

1. Second Grade. Musical Concept: AB form
In second grade I use the song "Shoo Fly" to teach AB form. Prior to this, we've discussed form in terms of "same and different." So now we are beginning to label the concept. I would begin the lesson by just playing the song and allowing the student to follow along in their music. I would then ask the students to listen again, but to raise their hand when they hear the music changes. I would then talk about how instead of saying same and different we are now going to label these sections as either A or B. To further the reinforcement of this concept I would ask students to do one movement for the A section and something different for the B section.

2. Third Grade. Musical Concept: Harmony (rounds)
While we may have discussed the concept of harmony prior to 3rd grade, I don't actually begin to teach them ways to create harmony until 3rd grade. To help students understand what rounds are I show them this video:

I tell them to "ignore" the two women at the bottom of the screen because that isn't something we are working on. After watching the video I ask students what they noticed and probe them into discussing how everyone was singing the same song, only starting at different times. I then use "Make New Friends" to teach rounds because I believe it is easy enough to understand. Once the students have mastered the song, I begin by being the "part 2" and echoing the students. Then I divide the class in half and have them try to create a round. If they're feeling confident enough I'll record them and show them their performance at the end of class.

3. Fourth grade. Line and Space Notes (on Treble Clef)

I struggle greatly with getting my students to apply the concept of musical notation with their recorder. We start the school year by learning and practicing the line and space notes on the treble clef. However, once we start recorders it seems that the students have forgotten everything. Here is a list of things that I do to foster their knowledge of line and space notes:

• Ticket "In" the door - before entering each student is shown a line or space note on a flashcard that they must name
• When learning a new song the first thing I ask students to do is say the letters of the notes
• Making the connection of note reading and playing by having students sing the letters in a song or exercise while simultaneously using the correct fingering pattern
• Play games at the end of class that reinforce note reading (ex. relay games, team games, iPad games)
• Compose a song for recorder using notes that they have learned to play and to write it on manuscript paper

4. Fifth grade. Singing with appropriate tone

Usually by 5th grade, students stop singing in their head voice. My personal guess is because the music that they are listening to and imitating is not in their vocal range, but in an adult's range. To help with this, I look for arrangements of popular songs either from movies or on the radio and use those to encourage proper singing. Furthermore,  I show videos of various performances (I especially like PS22 choir because they do popular songs, but some of their performances have the students singing in a low range too so I have to be careful). Here's one of the PS22 chorus with special guest Christina Perri - I point out to students that the students are singing a higher harmony during the chorus:

Module 7 Reflection Post: Behavioral Objectives and Assessments

1. Kindergarten, general music. Behavioral objective: pitch matching (sol-mi) in a game setting
Students will be taught a song that uses sol-mi by rote. The teacher will give the directions of the game - one student will be "Curly Joe" with their eyes closed in the middle of a circle. Another student will be the solo singer. They will sing "Hel-lo, who am I?" On sol-mi-sol-sol-mi. The object of the game is for the "Curly Joe" to guess who the solo singer is just by listening.
The assessment (for the solo singer) will be as follows:
4 - sings pitches correctly
3 - Uses a singing voice, but may be slightly sharp or flat
2 - Uses as singing voice, but is not close to matching pitch
1 - Does not use a singing voice OR does not participate

2. Second Grade, general music. Behavioral objective: Rhythm reading
Students will be given a random 4-beat rhythmic pattern made up of quarter notes and barred eighth notes. The student will clap their rhythm and say the rhythmic solfedge (ta's and ti-tis)when it is their turn. The assessment will be as follows:
4 - Claps rhythm perfectly and uses the correct solfedge
3 - Is able to say the rhythm correctly with solfedge, but struggles with clapping
2 - Is able to say the correct rhythmic solfedge, but is inconsistent with tempo
1 - Cannot say the correct rhythmic solfedge and is inconsistent with tempo

3. Third Grade, general music. Behavioral objective: Instrument identification
Students will be given a worksheet, labeled 1 - 10. Each number will have 3 different instrument options. The instructor will play a video clip of someone playing an instrument. The student will use their knowledge of instruments to circle the correct instrument being played for each number. The assessment will be as follows:
4 - Student answered all 10 correctly
3 - Student answered 8 - 9 correctly
2 - Student answered  4 - 7
1 - Student answered less than 3 correctly

4. Fourth Grade, general music. Behavioral objective: Recorder fingering
Students will be given a sheet with several blank recorder fingering charts. Next to each chart will be a note on the treble clef that students have learned to play on their recorder. The student will color the holes that are to be covered for each note. Example - for "B" the student should color in the thumb hole and the first hole. The assessment is determined on how many notes the students have learned on the recorder.

*Please note: the 4 - 1 grading scale is in accordance with my district's grading scale. 4 - proficient or above, 3 - close to proficient, 2 - not close to proficient, but likely to become so without an intervention, 1 - not close to proficient and NOT likely to become so without an intervention.

Module 6 Reflection Post: Using Conformity

The best way that I can think of how I use conformity in my classroom is through listening. In chapter 6, it was discussed that the way we react to music is learned from others. As a music educator, it's important to discuss appropriate (and inappropriate) ways to react to music. Below is a picture of a chart hanging up in my classroom:

This is something I refer to at all grade levels whenever we are doing a listening activity. One of the biggest issues I've seen is that when a new style of music is played, students have a tendency to laugh because they don't know how to react. In class, we discuss why laughing in innapropriate.

When listening to more popular genres, like rock or pop, I like to discuss how listeners often sing or clap along with the music. I even poll my students to find out how many of them have been to a popular concert and then ask what they saw the audience doing. I think it's important for young students to understand that you would not behave the same way in a classical concert as you would in a rock concert.

At around 3rd grade I begin to notice a shift in conformity. Students, at this age, begin to mimic and conform to what their peers are doing and favoring. For that reason, I hand out SQUILT (Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time) worksheets where students can express their attitudes toward a listening excerpt without feeling the pressure to answer the same as their peers. I collect the sheets and read over them. During the next class period, I might point out some interesting things I had read (while still leaving the students anonymous).

Module 6 Reflection Post: Creative Activities in Music

1. Setting: Elementary general music class, 2nd grade. Focus: improvisation
The activity begins with the teacher discussing what improvisation is. Most of the students are familiar with echoing, but may be confused with the improvisation activity. Explain to the students that the teacher will play an 8-beat pattern on a non-pitched percussion instrument and an individual student will improvise a different 8-beat rhythmic pattern in response to the teacher. Each student will have the opportunity to create their own rhythmic pattern. To avoid replications of previous students' responses, the teacher will vary the "call" pattern for each student.



2. Setting: Elementary general music class, 5th grade. Focus: Pentatonic Boomwhacker composition
Students will be divided into groups of 5 and each student will be assigned a boomwhacker within a pentatonic scale. The first step in this project is to create the rhythmic pattern for the composition. Students will be instructed to create a 16 bar rhythmic pattern in common time using quarter notes, barred eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and quarter rests. The second step of this project is to work together to assign different boomwhacker pitches to the composition. The composition must end on "do." Once all groups have completed their composition they will come up with a title and will perform for their peers.

3. Setting: High school: History of Rock/Pop Music elective course, 9th - 12th grade students. Focus: Jazz Presentation


During the jazz unit, students will have the opportunity to research and present information on a jazz musician of their choosing. Students will be given a list of information to research (including family and musical history) and are asked to include a musical excerpt for their presentation. Students may also choose how to present their findings - some suggestions: powerpoint presentation, mock-interview (where one student acts as the musician and another acts as an interviewer), posterboard, or anything else they can think of.



4. Setting: Elementary general music class, 4th and 5th grade. Focus: Concert Repertoire
Since my instruction is not performance based, I spend most of the year teaching songs that adhere to our curriculum standards. Our one performance comes at the end of the year. In order to keep students engaged and give them a voice I look through my repertoire and find 4-5 popular songs that the students might enjoy singing. We spend an entire class period listening to the different songs while following along in the music. Then, the students take a vote on their favorite. The song with the most votes gets performed at the end of the year concert and is also song where students have the most input. For example if a student suggests a certain movement and the other students like it, we incorporate it into our performance.


5. Elementary general music class, 4th grade. Focus: Recorder composition
Similar to the boomwhacker composition, I construct a composition that involves the recorder. However, this is an individual assignment. The composition will be 8 measures in common time. The first step is always to create a rhythm, however to keep kids from getting discouraged on what to write I give each student a dice and they roll their rhythm. Each number is associated with a rhythmic value; 1 = quarter note, 2 = half note, 3 = whole note, 4 = barred eighth notes, 5 = quarter rest, 6 = students choice! If a student rolls a 3 and they already have a half note in the current measure then they will roll again. After the rhythm has been composed, students will assign either B, A, or G to the notes. Some students may be shy about performing, so performances only occur if a student wants to perform.

Module 5 Reflection Post: Social Aspects of a Music Performance

In homage of the upcoming Super Bowl, I decided to re-watch opera singer Renee Fleming's performance of the National Anthem. My experiences with sporting events are limited to my time as the designated National Anthem singer in middle school/high school and the occasional sporting event I can attend as an adult. I have to say that my least favorite part of a sporting event is having to sit through a (usually) botched version of the National Anthem. 

I still remember how shocking it was to hear the announcement that an opera singer would be singing the National Anthem instead of the latest pop-star. For this assignment, I decided to watch other National Anthem performances from Super Bowls in order to compare how Fleming's performance differed. 

Thinking about the type of people who attend the Super Bowl, we have to admit that it's generally men. These men must have some wealth because the cost of these tickets, in my opinion, are outrageous. Even though most of the people at the actual sporting event are made up of predominately upper class males, the event is televised all over! Meaning, people of all races, SES, and cultures are watching. 

The first thing I noticed in the video was how noisy the audience was at the beginning. You can hear shouts and yells even as the color guard is performing. The noises become louder whenever the camera pans over to a football player. I was quite surprised to hear the audience members "hoot and holler" when the announcer introduced Fleming. During the performance, the camera panned across various football players. Some were closing their eyes, perhaps in meditation, or praying aloud. Some others were singing along. Most players were respectively standing at attention. I have to say, I was surprised to see one football player (at 1:46) talking! Most people know how disrespectful that is! 

Again, more "hoots and hollers" during the word "free" and at the end when Fleming added her own coda. In comparison to other videos I have seen, this audience sounded the most tame. I personally think it was because Fleming didn't add a lot of vocal melismas, she sang it straight. I've heard some people just go crazy whenever the singer does vocal trills and embellishments throughout the Anthem. 

I'm guessing that this is probably the only time the audience listens to "classical music." Perhaps they realized that this was not the type of performance for constant cheering - they could save it for the game-play. Or maybe they just weren't sure how to react. Either way, I think the audience members were very respectful... if only some of the players were a little more focused on the beauty of the music. 

Module 5 Reflection Post: School Socioeconomic Status Review

After doing a bit of research on the socioeconomic status of Waterford, Michigan. I was surprised to see that 90% of the population is white/caucasian. I believe that my surprise comes from noticing an increasing hispanic population in some of the elementary schools. Part of the reason, in my opinion, is that our district is considered school of choice in kindergarten. One of our neighboring communities has a growing hispanic community as well as a high African American community. 

Both Waterford and Pontiac indicate that the average age of people in the respective cities is in the early to mid 30s. During a district-wide meeting, we were told about the steadily declining enrollment in our district. A big reason is that adults just aren't have as many children and when they do have children it is usually later in life. 

In terms of the economy, the majority of Waterford has a salary between $50,000 and $75,000. Most people also fall into the category of "management, professional, and related occupations." Only 7% of the population with families is falling below the poverty level. 

Understanding these facts, I believe, can help teachers better serve their students. As mentioned in the readings from this week, the SES can have an affect on musical preferences. Thinking about one of my personal experiences, I remember walking the students out to their cars for dismissal when I heard latino music blaring from one of the vehicles. Bear in mind that this is winter and all the doors and windows are closed. The music was so loud that I could actually hear the lyrics and different instruments being played. The student who got into the car was a young hispanic student. Knowing that this is they style and type of music that a particular student is exposed to most of the time lets me know that they need to be introduced to a variety of other styles. It can also be beneficial when learning about music of different cultures to discuss with the student what specific songs they know and can share with the class. 

Module 4 Reflection Post: Informing People about Music Education

Music education, in my opinion, is often overlooked at the elementary level. While I am a strong advocate for music education (obviously), most parents don't even know I exist. Through the discussion this week, I've had a chance to really think about ways to inform people about the importance of music education.

• One of the first things I had in mind would include setting up various stations in my classroom during meet and greet. At each station, students would work with their families in a variety of ways. One way could be instrument exploration with a "name-that-tune" game, another could be an "Are you my family?" scavenger hunt - where students and parents have to use the resources in the classroom to figure out which family certain instruments belong in, and another station could be a creative station using the app "Tune Train." While these are all simple, it would get the families into the classroom and I could give families a ticket out the door with curriculum information and a link to my website. 

• This is my first year at the high school since student teaching. While I'm only there for one class, I'm amazed to see that EVERY student has a smartphone. I'm assuming that if the students are constantly connected than the parents are as well. I've started using Twitter to give my high school students important information, but I've also started using it to document some of the things we are working on in the elementary classroom. My hope is that parents will being "following" me and have an easy way to see what their students are learning about in music. Here's an example of one of my tweets:

• Finally, I love the idea of inviting families and administrators/teachers into the music classroom for a student-led lesson. I'd work with the students and together we would decide what they want to teach their families about. On the day of the lesson, I'd ask the students to explain what the guests would be learning and then have them divide into small groups to being working. 

Module 4 Reflection Post: The Landfill Orchestra

The first time I saw this video, was probably 4 years ago when it was sent to me by another musician. I remember sharing the video with one of my 5th grade classes and although the subtitles went by very quickly, the students' response to what they saw was amazement. They couldn't believe that children that were probably around the same age as them were playing instruments made out of recycled trash.

When one of the musicians in the video talks about getting butterflies in her stomach every time she hears a violin, it reminds me of the readings from module 3. Music is an aesthetic experience. From my point of view, life in that little village in Paraguay is probably more challenging than I could imagine. Those people are living a life where they are trying to make money from re-selling other peoples' garbage. As a child, there probably isn't a lot of joy being experienced. However, having a recycled violin (which isn't even a real instrument in most Westerners' minds) can bring so much joy. Music give this girl, and others in the orchestra, a way of self-expression.

The other view expressed by another musician, "without music, life would be worthless," really stresses the importance of music and music education for all. These children are learning so many things - how to read music, express themselves, learn discipline through practice - are giving these children something positive in their lives.

This video shows us the power of music education. It can be the bright light in a world of darkness. It can provide the happiness that so many people long for. Music education is something that should be available to all children.

Module 3 Reflection Post: How Would you Teach Tchaikovsky?

If I were to teach this excerpt to a 5th or 6th grade general music class, the first thing I would do is provide them with a listening map for the first 0:02:40. It would look something like this:

1. :00 - :51 Oboe & Strings
2. :51 - 1:37 Cellos, Basses, Flute
3. 1:37 - 2:40 Full Orchestra

I would ask the students to just listen to the music the first time and I would call out the numbers when the instrumentation changed. 

I personally feel that students connect with music better when they are given creative freedom. I would ask students to prepare to hear the excerpt again. This time, they would be told to focus on how the music makes them feel or what it makes them think of. To help them keep track of their ideas I would encourage them to write the emotions they feel or to draw what the music is making them think of. 

I think it's important for the students to have two separate listening experiences. The first time we focus on the instrumentation and the second time the students mentally engage with the music to determine how it makes them feel. I've done an activity like this with a younger grade, but I used a song that some of them had heard before. In an attempt to introduce students to a variety of genres and styles I played "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles. I was surprised to hear students connect the song to a sad event (ex. a grandmother's funeral). 

Module 3 Reflection Post: Making a Case for Music Education

Part 1:

1. Students who studied music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT than students with no arts participation. (Source: The College Entrance Examination Board)
2. Students who report consistent, high-level involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.(Source: Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning)
3. Playing an instrument helps youngsters better process speech in noisy classrooms and more accurately interpret the nuances of language that are conveyed by subtle changes in the human voice. (Source: Physiology and Communication Sciences at Northwestern University)
4. A correlation exists between the amount of music training and the amount of improvement inreading fluency in children. (Source: Learning, Arts and the Brain)

Part 2:

1. Music is more than just improving learning in other subjects. Art music can provoke an emotional response (Source: Foundations of Music Education)
2. Many curricular and extracurricular activities can provide the same thing. An example is that music can improve teamwork, but so can team sports (like basketball). (Source: Foundations of Music Education)
3. The research evidence that supports most of these claims are lacking (Source: Foundations of Music Education)
4. It's not enough to just attend a music class. You need to be mentally engaged in what is happening. (Source: Foundations of Music Education).

Module 3 Reflection Post: Aesthetic Experience

I feel that everyone who listens to music will, at some point, have an aesthetic experience. As one who listens to music, for the sake of listening to music, I can say that I've had these experiences many times in my lifetime so far. One experience takes me back to my freshman year of college.

I'll admit that as a vocal major, my listening habits centered around vocal music. Yes, I'd heard instrumental and classical music before, but it wasn't my first choice when looking for something to listen to. I remember walking into the concert hall without any expectations. The lights dimmed and I listened to the various works, but nothing really hit a chord until the final piece.

The music began and I literally felt like I was being transported. When the cello came in, I was in awe. I honestly don't know what it was about the piece, but it was beyond beautiful. Like the text states, it's something that can't be described. I just know that for the first time I was brought to tears by the sheer beauty of an instrumental work.

If I thought the first movement was stunning, the second was even better. Listening to it again, I'm filled with a mix of emotions. At times the yearning and cry of the viola fills me with a great sense of loss. At others, I feel as if I'm weightless - floating over the world.

I'm so happy that this assignment allowed me to experience a similar emotional connection when searching (and finding) the composition I was looking for. It was actually a world premiere by one of the professors at the University. (Concerto for Viola and Cello by David Gillingham)

Module 2 Assignment: Sage vs. Guide

Grade/Subject: 3rd Grade - General Music
Lesson objectives: Singing as an ensemble; playing a rhythmic ostinato independently of the singers.

Sage/Guide Checklist:
Sage: 19 tallies
Guide: 30 tallies
Undetermined: 9 tallies

Sage/Guide Percentage Breakdown:
Sage: 33%
Guide: 51%
Undetermined: 16%

Did the results surprise you? Why or why not?
I recorded myself on a Friday with one of my "rowdier" classes. I decided to record myself for this lesson because the students were somewhat comfortable with ostinatos and it would give a better indication of my teaching compared with a lesson that involves a brand new topic.

I wasn't too surprised to see that most of my teaching fell in the guide column. I believe this is mainly due to the fact that students have had previous experience working with rhythmic ostinatos in class. However, this ostinato and song were more challenging than previous lessons. Most of my "guide" tallies came from the assessment portion of the lesson, where I was encouraging students and making corrections when needed.

I found that most of my "sage" instruction occurred at the beginning of the lesson when I was describing the lesson objective and what I was looking for. I also gave myself marks in the "sage" section when I was redirecting the class/specific students.

I was undetermined during the questioning portion of my lesson. I like to use questioning to engage students and help them connect ideas on their own, but I'm not sure if that was "sage" or "guide." Part of me thinks that by asking the questions and giving the prompts results in the "sage" role, but then I also feel that by having students come up with the answers makes my role a "guide." I also question whether call-and-response (when learning the song) would be considered "sage" or "guide."

If you were to teach the same class or rehearsal again, what improvements would you consider making regarding the sage/guide dichotomy?
I think I would try to spend less time talking at the beginning of class. Instead, I would give the overview of the objective and begin making music almost immediately. I think it's important for an elementary music teacher to be seen more as a "guide" rather than a "sage." It's our job to foster the creativity and love of music in our students. 

Which philosophical position is best represented by the sage?
I think the "sage" is most like the philosophy of rationalism. I believe this because the text references preferred methods of learning/instruction include lecture - which is what I was doing at the beginning of class. The text also explains that rationalists want students to understand the "big picture" and favor discipline in the classroom.

Which philosophical position is best represented by the guide?
The "guide" is a pragmatist. They are more interested in evaluation (in comparison to the other two philosophies). The main difference between pragmatists and the other two philosophies is that pragmatists are interested in helping students learn how to learn. They want to make sure the students have the tools to figure out the problems in a new setting. They also do not have a set way of teaching; in this lesson, I noticed that I had to use a variety of methods when assisting students in the ostinato.  

Module 1 Assignment: Book Comparison

As an elementary music teacher I am well aware of the Silver, Burdett, and Ginn series. In all honesty, it is what helped to get me through in my first year. Looking through the various textbook editions, it's interesting the progression of songs and curriculum maps based on newfound knowledge on the development of children's voices.

Comparing all textbooks curricular plans, I personally think the 1995 edition of The Music Connection is the best. In the 1920 text, the curricular plans were based off of the tonic chord and diverged from there. In the 1903 version, the songs are arranged by key. To me, this is just ridiculous. Then the 1995 edition started to sort out songs based off of units of study or lesson objectives (Ex. melody, form, harmony). Unfortunately, in the 2000 text, I didn't understand how the music was arranged. I think the first unit is supposed to get the student accustomed to singing again and singing with other children and the second unit is focused on rhythm.

I was very surprised to see how wide the ranges were in the early texts. In the song "Little Miss Tulip" the range was over an octave. I can't believe that this was intended for 2nd/3rd. My students really struggle with singing above a D5, so I try to choose songs that don't go any higher. I also noticed that this song had a lot of skips (and some of them were big skips). Usually songs that I choose are skipping within the chord (do-mi-so). I suppose there wasn't really an attempt to connect this song with another aspect of the curriculum, other than singing a song for spring.

In "A Lesson for Giving" I was surprised to see the song written in 3-part. Thinking back to when I was teaching middle school choir, we were only just beginning to introduce 3-part in the 8th grade choir. 7th grade was still singing 2-part. Looking at the music, I wonder what part the boys would sing because this is usually when the changing voice begins. For middle school. I didn't find the range for the soprano or alto I part to be too challenging. However, I felt the alto II part was way too low. I also thought that there were too many non-chord-tones.

"Don Gato" is still a 3rd grade favorite! I honestly don't know who likes the song more, the students or myself. Comparing this song to "Little Miss Tulip" you can see that the range has changed dramatically. The song is less than an octave and I believe the tessitura lies mainly between D - A. The song could easily be connected to units on world music, specifically Mexico, and perhaps a verse could be sung in Spanish.

"Free at Last" has appeared in several texts that I've seen. I noticed that of all the songs, this one has the smallest range (when looking at the group singing part only). The song would be a great connection to how slaves used to teach each other songs (call and response) and the connection to American history. The solo singer has one line where they have to sing up to a D5, but it isn't anything that is unattainable. I think, the reason for the small range and tessitura, is meant for the male changing voices.

I think that the books have come a long way since 1903. Most of the books have improved with a better organization of songs and songs that are vocally appropriate for children. It's interesting to also see that the newer textbooks include chord symbols in the vocal score. Perhaps this is for people like me, who would rather play melody in the right hand and chords in the left.

Module 1 Reflection Post: Music and Morality

Reflecting on my childhood, I think my parents did an above-average job of exposing me to various music genres. Of course, their musical tastes were played a majority of the time. However, I can distinctly remember various occasions where our old conversion van was playing Broadway showtunes one day and jazz the next. Now, as I'm an adult that spends 5 days a week with children, I'm surprised and slightly appalled at what students are (or are not) listening to.

I'll say that my parents only played lyrically-appropriate music for me when I was a child. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be taken into consideration anymore. When I read the article, " Is Mainstream Music culture Affecting Our Morality System?" I found myself shaking my head in agreement. The article gives examples on how many times we just subconsciously sing along to songs without really thinking about how degrading the lyrics are. The example given was referencing using a date-rape drug on a woman and taking advantage of her. We try to justify these lyrics by telling ourselves, "oh it's just a song." But then we, as a society, are surprised when this happens in real life.

In this week's reading, Plato gives a direct correlation with the music you listen to and your morality compass. Essentially, if you listen to good music you are a good person; if you listen to bad music then you don't have very good morals. In regards to this first article, I think Plato hit the nail on the head. If you are constantly listening to music with lyrics that objectifies women, degrades another race or religion, or talks about immoral things (ex. adultery, murder, theft, etc.) sooner or later you will be influenced by those things.

Prior to doing some article searching for this week, I had no idea how the idea of warning labels on records came about. When I read about Tipper Gore's experience on buying her child music and being appalled at the sexually explicit lyrics that Prince is now known for, I was surprised that it had taken that long for someone to raise awareness on music. The NPR article goes on with an excerpt from a book, insisting that the sexually explicit and violent lyrics need to stop. I definitely think that Plato is turning over in his grave if he's hearing some of the music being released today.

While I know I can't control what my students listen to outside of school, I think it's my job to at least expose kids to as much "good" music as possible. Who knows, perhaps my influence will inspire one of my students to stop listening to gangsta rap.

References 
"Is Mainstream Music Culture Affecting Our Morality System" by Zelena Williams at uptownmagazine.com
"Tipper Gore and Family Values" by Robert Siegel on npr.org