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
Vocal Music
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
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
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
Rhythmic Structure of Music: It’s More Than Syllable and Counting Systems
I have observed among students and colleagues alike that there is a good deal of confusion when it comes to rhythm in music. Students are frequently confused about what rhythm is, and teachers are often confused about how to teach it. From the teacher's point of view, much of the confusion seems to come from … Continue reading Rhythmic Structure of Music: It’s More Than Syllable and Counting Systems
Developing Goals and Objectives for the Music Curriculum
With this post, I continue my series in music curriculum writing. From the title, you may notice the phrase "goals and objectives" indicating that there is a difference between the two. Goals are open-ended, long-range general statements that provide direction for the entire music education program, PK-12. Goals indicate the broad areas of learning the students … Continue reading Developing Goals and Objectives for the Music Curriculum
Developing A Philosophy Statement for the Music Curriculum Guide
In my post on the steps of developing a curriculum guide, I explained that the second step, after evaluating the current program, is to develop a philosophy statement. This statement includes why music education is important and how music education fits into the overall educational plan. In that post, I promised to explain in more … Continue reading Developing A Philosophy Statement for the Music Curriculum Guide
A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Connecting
In the conceptual framework for the national core arts standards, the artistic process of connecting is defined as "relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context." This definition delineates the process of connecting to do entities: one's personal life, and the lives of others. The others may be contemporaries or historical, a … Continue reading A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Connecting
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