Well-rounded Musicians and Citizens
To me, being an educator means preparing students to enter society as
fully functioning, compassionate and thoughtful citizens. Because music is a great
way to access human emotions and understanding, students should be well
versed in the musical arts. Students need to have an understanding of music that
can come through listening to, performing, and/or enjoying music. Besides
teaching human emotions and thoughtfulness, music also teaches students a lot
about the society and culture they live in. From patriotic songs and marches to
religious ceremonies and pop radio, music is found everywhere at just about
every time. If students do not have some knowledge of music, they will not
understand critical aspects of the world that surrounds them.
Music should be taught through a well-balanced approach, which explains
each separate facet of the discipline. Not all time should be spent teaching just
musical theory, music history, performance or listening. All parts of music are
important for to grasp music at its basic level. Also because of individual learning
needs and abilities, not all students may excel in one area, and it would be wrong
to deprive them of musical learning just because they are not historically inclined,
or kinesthetically inclined. And while it is important to recognize specific student
needs and abilities, it must be said that even if students do not particularly excel
in one area of music, they should still be exposed to all those areas for wellrounded learning.
Speaking specifically about listening and performance, the two should
really be taught hand in hand. Students need to be good listeners in order to
perform on an instrument effectively, but they will also grasp listening more fully
by being given the opportunity to listen to themselves perform. Having students
perform, if for no one other than themselves, and listen to their music will help
them gain a more complete understanding of music. Neither should be given
preference over the other; especially because not all students may be good at just
listening or just performing.
Self-Awareness
A balanced musical education not only helps students become wellrounded citizens of our country, but it also helps students gain self-awareness and
global understanding.
Self-awareness is very important because if a student does not learn how to
interpret and understand his own feelings, reactions and ideas, he will not have a
solid foundation on which to build his life as an adult. Music is a great way to
engage students in this type of self-exploration and learning. One way is through
performing on an instrument. This allows students to express and explore their
inner selves in a way no other art form can; aurally or orally. It is true that poetry
is a form of aural and oral expression, but music affects the listener and
performer very differently than the speaking human voice does. In addition,
listening to music can also help accomplish this goal of self-awareness. Students
often grow up listening to certain music and as they grow, the music they listen to
changes. Just as the students grow and change, so does the music they chose to
surround themselves with. Helping students understand this and why this
happens, as well as providing them with new listening experiences will help them
learn more about themselves and how they have grown.
Global Understanding and Citizenship
Finally, music helps students become global citizens. This is extremely
important because our world is becoming smaller and smaller through
globalization. This means that regardless of where a student lives or plans on
going, interaction with those from other countries, cultures and religions is
inevitable at some point in their lives. Music is a great way to help students gain
insight into other cultures and the communities they may encounter in their
lifetimes; giving them an advantage in a globalized world. Teaching students
about other cultures through music is very simple. Every culture in the world has
different music associated with it, just like the United States has specific pop and
folk music that is strictly American. A lot can be learned about a culture just by
listening to that culture’s music; what that culture values or its history. Also, as far
as working with others, music is a wonderful way to teach cooperation and
leadership.
Most music is made through ensemble performances; whether it is a large
ensemble (like an orchestra) or just a singer and his accompanist. If the ensemble
does not have some sort of leadership, no one will know when to come in or cutoff and the performance will suffer. Also, if the ensemble members do not work
together, parts will not balance and the music will not sound like it should. This
understanding of cooperation and group effort is especially timely because of
globalization and the growing need to work as a whole world instead of individual
countries.