This morning, I played William Walton's "Crown Imperial March" for my seventh graders. I asked them to listen to the music and then tell me what they thought was being expressed through the music. As often happens, several students gave answers that were responses to the music, but were not answers to the question I … Continue reading Two Kinds of Learning for Going Deeper With Music
Instrumental Music
There’s Always So Much Going On Inside Music
Until I got to college and began working on my music degree, I thought music was a pretty simple thing. There were people like me who sat in a band with a clarinet, and people like the conductor who told me and all of the other players what to play, and how to play it. … Continue reading There’s Always So Much Going On Inside Music
Artistic Literacy and Why It Matters
The authors of the national arts standards defined artistic literacy as "the knowledge and understanding required to participate authentically in the arts." It is first and foremost important to realize that when it comes to music, knowing about music, and reading and writing about music is not enough to qualify a person as musically literate. Musically literate people … Continue reading Artistic Literacy and Why It Matters
The Things Students Do To Show Us They Have Met An Objective
Assessing students is only possible if they have been working toward a clearly stated objective; one that both the teacher and student fully understand, with all of its requirements and implications. A good objective includes a statement of what the student will have gained once the objective is met, and how the student will prove … Continue reading The Things Students Do To Show Us They Have Met An Objective
A Narrative for “The Valley of Clocks”: Sharing A Musical Experience With Others
There are many ways one could write about a musical work. There is analysis, evaluation, criticism, and narrative to name only a few. Each of these ways provides opportunities for different kinds of learning about and experiencing of music, and so each has value as a learning activity. I think that the narrative is in … Continue reading A Narrative for “The Valley of Clocks”: Sharing A Musical Experience With Others
Writing Objectives for Music Students
Objectives are essential to good teaching and effective learning. They articulate what students are expected to do and provide the framework for assessing student work. Both teacher and student can easily lose their way if they are not guided by well formed learning objectives. Though it is true that objectives are required for lesson plans … Continue reading Writing Objectives for Music Students
My Lifelong Love of Music: I Wonder Where It Started
Amid the frequent pronouncements of doom over classical music, and the unenthusiastic attitude of many of my general music students toward it, I sometimes ask myself what drew me to classical music. I never became a great musician, yet my love for music has always been great. That's important because when a child is raised … Continue reading My Lifelong Love of Music: I Wonder Where It Started
Types of Assessment and Their Uses in Music Education
We music educators sometimes have difficulty assessing our students. There are several reasons for this, including large student loads and limited instructional time, but perhaps one of the most important reasons is that assessment is something we don't fully understand. What purpose should be achieved by using assessment? What kinds of assessments are there, and which … Continue reading Types of Assessment and Their Uses in Music Education
How Can Video Be Used To Develop A Young Classical Music Audience?
While there are any number of what I would call novelty classical music videos on the internet, these can only peek an interest in classical music. They do nothing to bring a person to a live orchestral concert or even to introduce the novice to a symphony orchestra. The forest xylophone played by a rolling … Continue reading How Can Video Be Used To Develop A Young Classical Music Audience?
Hierarchy in Rhythmic Structure: Meter, Beat and Duration
For many years, I have been bothered by the usual definition of a time signature. In common time, it is often taught that the top number refers to the number of beats in each measure, and the bottom number refers to the kind of note that gets one beat. So a time signature of four-four … Continue reading Hierarchy in Rhythmic Structure: Meter, Beat and Duration
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