KatieKnopf

EDN353
3/13/2014
MusicMethodsPhilosophyPaper
Overthecourseofthepasttenweeks,Ihavebeenchallengedtoconsciouslythinkabout
andprocesswhatitmeanstometobeamusiceducator.Ithinkthatoftentimesindividualsin
thecreativeartsfeelthattheyhaveasolidfoundationforwhatknowingwhywedowhatwedo,
howeverwhenwearechallengedtoputtheseideasintoaconcreteformitcanbedifficultforus
toarticulate.Readingandreflectingonvariousphilosophiesthroughoutthetermhashelpedme
beabletodevelopandarticulatemyownspecificmusicalmissionstatement,whichisthat
Musicprovidesawayforindividualstoprocesstheiremotionalneeds,andmyroleasan
educatoristohelpstudentslearnhowtousemusictoprocesstheirownemotionalneeds,
andhowtobeunderstandingoftheemotionalneedsofothers.Inmymusicclassroom,my
goalistoteachmystudentshowmusicplaysasignificantroleinthedevelopmentof
humankindandhowmusiccanbeatooltofacilitategoodcitizenship.
ThephilosopherFriedrichNietzschefamouslystatedWithoutmusic,lifewouldbea
mistake.Almosteveryonecanagreethatmusichasasignificantroleinourworldandour
livelihoods,butfewpeopleunderstandspecificallywhymusicevokessuchadeepemotional
connectionwithhumankind.InBennettReimers
WhydoHumansValueMusic?
Reimer
discussesfiveDimensionsofMusicalValue,oneofthosebeing
Musicencompassesmind,
body,andfeeling
.WithinthisdimensionReimerdescribeshowthethinkingofphilosopher
DescartesimpactedthedevelopmentofWesternculturewithThebeliefthattheintellect,or
intelligence,isseparatefromandofhighervaluethanthebodyorthefeelings.(Reimer5)
Becausethisdetrimentalbeliefhasbeenimprintedonoursociety,ithastakentimeand
developmentofotherphilosophicalideastoslowlyshiftthethinkingofourculturetoseethat
thehumancapacitytoknow,think,feelandactrequirestheinteractionsofthedimensions
previouslybelievedtohavelittletodowithoneanother.(Reimer6)Thankfullyphilosophers
suchasAntonioR.Damasiohavestartedtocreatethechangeinmodernthinkinganddevelop
theideathatintelligenceispervadedwithfeeling.Damasioarguesthatcontraryto


KatieKnopf
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traditionalscientificopinion,feelingsarejustascognitiveasotherperceptsFeelingsformthe
basisforwhathumanshavedescribedformillenniaasthehumansoulorspirit.(Reimer7)
ThisideacanbepairedwiththeprincipleElliotEisnerdiscussesinhisbook
TheArtsandthe
CreationofMind
wherehestatesthatthecognitivefunctionoftheartsistoofferameansto
exploreourowninteriorlandscape(Eisner11).
Byunderstandingthathumanemotionsarean
essentialparttothecognitivedevelopmentoftheindividualandthattheartsofferameansto
exploreonesemotions,onecanconcludethattheartsareanessentialelementinprocessingan
individual'semotionalneeds.
Whilethisideamayseemtohavealessermeritsinceitonly
focusesontheemotionalsideofcognition,theuseoftheseaestheticexperienceswithinthearts
involvebothintellectandemotion(Hoffer25).Atthispointintimewithinoursociety,itisno
longerappropriatetodiscreditanddismisstheimpactandinfluencethatanindividual's
emotionalcognitionhasonwhotheyareasapersonandhowtheiremotionalthoughtprocessis
interrelatedwiththeirintellectualcognition.Reimersumsupthisideabystating:
Asaprimarywayinwhichthemind,body,andfeelingsareunifiedinactsofmeaning
making,musicalendeavorsrepresentapinnacleofwhatthehumancondition
exemplifiesSuchinvolvements,inturn,inevitablyhavemanypositiveaffectsonthe
qualityoftheinterrelatedmental,physical,andemotionaldimensionsofhumanlife.
(Reimer7)
Theemotionalcognitionofhumankindisdirectlyrelatedtotheimportanceoftherole
thatmusichasinoursociety.PhilosopherJohnDeweyviewsartasamodeofhuman
experiencethatinprinciplecanbesecuredwheneveranindividualinteractswithanyaspectof
theworld.Thiscognitiveprocessisessentialtowhatmakesmusiciansinfluentialwithinour
rolesinoursociety,becauseweareabletomoreeasilyinteractandshareideaswiththosethat
haveadifferentbackgroundoroutlookthanwedo.Bysimplybeingmusiciansandallowing
ourselvestoexperiencethecreativeartisticprocess,weareenablingourselvestobeopento
experiencingnewwaysandformsofthinkingthatultimatelyenablesourselfgrowthandability


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tobegoodglobalcitizens.Eisnerdiscussesthisprocessbyexploringhowtheartsworkin
transformingourhumanconsciousness:
(Thearts)providemodelsthroughwhichwecanexperiencetheworldinnewwaysand
theyprovidethematerialsandoccasionsforlearningtograpplewithproblemsthat
dependonartsrelatedformsofthinking.(EisnerChapter6)
Inthemusicclassroom,itisessentialtoconsciouslyexposestudentstothevaluesthatonlythe
artscanprovideindevelopingthestudentsminds.Asafuturemusiceducator,IbelievethatI
havetheresponsibilitytousemusictoteachmystudentshowtheycandeveloptheirthinking
skillsandhowtobecomeawareofbeingconsciousofhowtheirinteractionsimpactthosearound
them.Eisnerdiscussesthisideawithhis
TenLessonstheArtsTeach
:
8)Theartshelpchildrenlearntosaywhatcannotbesaid.Whenchildrenareinvitedto
disclosewhataworkofarthelpsthemfeel,theymustreachintotheirpoeticcapacitiesto
findthewordsthatwilldothejob.
9)Theartsenableustohaveexperiencewecanhavefromnoothersourceandthrough
suchexperiencetodiscovertherangeandvarietyofwhatwearecapableoffeeling.
Musichasanimpactfarbeyondlearningthenotesonthepage.Musichelpsustolearnhowto
experiencelifeonanelevatedlevelandappreciatethesignificanceofoureverydaylives.While
mostmusicteachersfindthemselveseasilyconsumedwithlearningrepertoireandmeeting
curriculumrequirements,Apflestadtremindsusofhowofhowimportantitisforusto
consciouslyworkwithinourmusictodevelopourstudentsthinkingabilities:
Ifourgoalsexpandbeyondmerelyhavingstudentslearnrepertoiretoincludehelping
studentsdevelopthinkingskills,wemaynotinitiallycoverasmuchrepertoireasquickly.
Intheshortterm,aproblemsolvingapproachmayseemlessefficientbecauseitismore
timeconsuming.Ontheotherhand,ifwearetrulyteachingourstudentshowtolearn,
theywillbeabletousemoreefficientstrategiesthenexttimetheyarefacedwitha
musicalproblem.(Apflestadt76)


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Byusingmusictodevelopourstudentscriticalthinkingskills,asmusiceducatorsweareplaying
acriticalroleinsocietybyteachingourstudentsthevalueofmusicandhelpingthemtorealize
howmusicalcreativethinkinghelpspositivelyinfluenceoursociety.
Ibelievethatitismyroleasamusiceducatortoensurethatmystudents,myschooland
mycommunityknowandareawareofthevaluethatmusiceducationholdswithinthelearning
anddevelopmentofthestudents.Eisnerstatesthisideabestwhenheexplainshowthe
curriculumthatwecreateforourstudentsisthecentralkeytotheirunderstandingofmusic:
Howcurriculumisdesigned,themodesofcognitionthatareevoked,theformsof
representationthatarepresentedorwhichstudentsaregivenpermissiontouseallaffect
whatstudentsarelikelytothinkabout.(EisnerChapter6)
InDr.RamonaWissbook
TheConductorasLeader
,Wisdiscussestheimportanceof
developinganallencompassingcurriculumthatallowsthestudenttofullydeveloptheirmusical
understandingandwaysofthinking.
Wepavethewayforlongtermunderstandingaswellasshorttermresultsbyteaching
skillsandknowledgeinawidercontext,bymakingconnectionstoconceptsand
experiencesthathelpmusicianslearnandthentransferringthatlearninginameaningful
way.(Wis96)
Developingathoroughmusiccurriculumisessentialtodevelopingstudentsmusicalthinking
abilitiesandskillsets.Byhavinganacademicallyandprocessedbasedcurriculum,wecanteach
ourstudentstheimportanceandvalueofmusicbyhelpingthemdeveloptheircriticalthinking
skillssothattheycanlearnhowtolistenandanalyze,evaluateandunderstandrelationshipsnot
onlywithinmusic,butwithintheotheraspectsoftheirlifeaswell(NationalStandards6,7&8).
Ibelieveitisessentialtohaveacollaborativeclassroomenvironment.Byhavingstudentsfocus
ontheirmusicmakingabilitiesandenlighteningthemtothefactthattheyhavetheabilityto
createmusicwithinthemselves,thestudentsarebuildingtheirselfefficacyanddevelopinga
personalresponsibilitytowardstheirownmusiclearning.Byemphasizingtheselfefficacyof


KatieKnopf
EDN353
3/13/2014
thestudents,theteacheractsmoreasafacilitatorofthecurriculumandisabletohelpmoldand
guidethestudentscriticalthinkingskillsandprocessingoftheiremotionalneeds,sothatall
studentshaveanequalopportunitytogrowintheirmusicallearning.Thiscorrelatesto
Freibergsprincipleofdevelopingthepersoncenteredclassroomwheretheteacherandstudents
shareleadershipresponsibility.Inmyclassroom,itistheteachersresponsibilitytoexposethe
studentstothemusiccurriculumandfacilitatevariousactivitiestodeveloptheirmusical
understanding.Wisdescribesthisprincipleandhowitrelatestofosteringourstudentsmusical
growthanddevelopment:
Asconductorswehavetheopportunitytocreaterichfuturesforsomany,toteachothers
sotheirunderstandingandartistrygrows,tofosterrelationshipsthatmakepossiblethe
processofcollaborativecreating,toinspireothersandtobecomeafullyfunctioning
individualwhosecharacterdrivesallourleadershipactions.Conductorsaddvaluestothe
livesofothers(Wis170).
Becauseweaddvaluestothelivesofothersasconductorleaders,itisimportantthatwealways
striveforourownpersonalexcellenceandnotallowourensemblestosettleforalevelof
mediocrity.Whenweareabletousethisideaandapplyittoourservantleadershipmodel,we
areabletoachieveahigherlevelofsuccessbecausewearefocusedonworkingtowardsthe
goodoftheensembleasacommunityofmusicians.
Ibelievethatdevelopingandfosteringthestudentsthinkingabilitiestocontributetotheir
musicalunderstandingisthekeytobuildingasuccessfulmusiceducationprogramwithinyour
schoolandfordevelopingstudentsabilitiestousetheiremotionalcognitiontocontributetotheir
understandingofmusicandhowtobeeffectiveglobalcitizens.