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Philosophy Paper
In Boston, 1838 Lowell Mason created music education to create knowledge of music for
everyone. While Mason was starting music education different questions arrived about music:
Why do we have music education? To whom should be taught music education? What is a music
teacher going to teach? How are you going to teach music education? With what results do you
get from teaching music?
Why do we have music education in school? The reasons that there is music education in
schools is to teach children at a youth age that there is a culture difference between the United
states and other countries, and vise versa. This will help children know how music is looked
upon in other countries. Music education helps children learn coordination skills with performing
many tasks at once, and acquire hand, eye coordination. Learning music helps children develop
other skills along with music, as how to use their ears more, and to listen closely to everyday
occurrences. Another reason that there is music education in schools is that students have
different ways to express themselves than the normal ways and music can help children become
more creative. This will come in handy when a student wants to continue with music and write
their own music, they will be creative with their music.
In school children learn how to discipline themselves more when they are in music
because they learn different skills. One skill that children acquire is self discipline in practicing
and learning music on their own schedule. Another discipline that children learn is time
management. With music being one more thing that children have to do in school so the children
have to balance their school work with and playing an instrument. Music helps also with children
who are troubled and have problems. Music can sometimes be used to clam children down if they
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get too hard to control for the parents.
While children are experiencing music they can have aesthetic experiences. Aesthetic
experiences are experiences that inspire someone to do something or think of something.
Children can aesthetic experiences that can help them think better or clearer to help them with
work in any classes. Aesthetic experiences can help children concentrate on other work, the
student becomes inspired, like for most children classical music helps children concentrate, but
for other children other types of music help.
Music is history it usually shows what is going on in the environment and the time of the
creation of the music, and the origin of the country. Music is also used as a foreign language;
most music is notated in Italian, French, or German. Music is a universal language for all people
everyone reads the same notes there is no part of music that can not be transcribed into another
language.
To whom should be taught music education? I believe everyone should have the
opportunity to be taught music education. I think that at a young age everyone child should be
taught music education then after a point the continuation on music is up to the student whether
or not the student wants to continue with music education. Even mentally challenged children
should be taught music education. Sometimes mentally challenged children can understand
music more than anything else, depending on the child.
Any person at any age could be taught music and everyone should have a chance to learn
music. It is easier to teach young children new concepts than it is to teach adults new concept. So
any person at any age can learn music it is never too late to learn music. Most people think it is
easier to learn music at a young age like most children do in other countries, other countries
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children start at a young age and become better at skills faster than other children. Everyone
should be given the chance to learn music education whether each individual wants to continue
that is up to each student or how far each student wants to pursue music.
I don=t think that music education should be limited from anyone, whether the student is
a troubled student or not. I think that if the student wants to continue in music then they should
be aloud to continue. But at a young age everyone should be taught music education at least to
start the child off. Just so that everyone at least has a chance to learn music, then it is up to the
student to take music where they want music to be in their life.
What should be taught in music? A music teacher is going to teach music the history of
music and how music is started. This will help students to realize how music started and where
music comes from in the world. Also foreign languages should be taught in music so that when
reading music everyone knows the same amount about the piece. The student needs to learn not
only the history of music but different repertoire of music so that they can compare and contrast
musically works. One of the first things that a student needs to learn and a teacher should teach is
how to practice, and the correct skills of how to practice.
In the field of what to teach in a musical aspect a teacher would teach fingerings for
instruments, or in the case of singers the art of ear training so that when a student hears a pitch
and the student knows what pitch is being played. A student also needs to know the theory
behind what they are playing so that they understand better why they are playing what they are
playing. In music the student learns how to interpret a piece of music because at different times
different words had different meanings, for example, the dynamic piano will not be the same for
every piece that anyone plays.
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In music education another concept that can be taught could be how to write music and
create music individually. Once a student learns the basic concepts the concepts roll over to
future ideas so that music can become more complex. Students can learn anything from the
basics, scales and pitches, to advanced skills, such as part writing and composition. There is
some controversy of what to teach children, not as much what to teach but when is the correct
time to teach each concept, which leads to the next question.
One thing that should be taught is a physical education depending on what instrument
each student is playing. A student who has never written with their left hand could want to play
drums but the student needs to learn how to use their left hand. Anyone can sing but some people
don’t know how to sing correctly maybe the student isn’t taking in enough air or not extending
their lungs all the way but know the physical part of playing or singing is important for a teacher
to teach in music education.
How should music be taught to children? Music should be taught so that music can be
converted to fit in any situation. Music should be able to show different times during people’s
lives. This will help so that when someone is having problems in their lives the person knows
that there is music written by someone who was going through the same thing that the person is
going though. I believe that everyone needs a general knowledge of music not that everyone
needs an in depth knowledge of music but at least enough knowledge to know something about
music.
Most teachers teach according to how they were taught in school, teachers remember how
they were taught because that helps the teacher know how they want to teach or how they do not
want to teach. Each generation of teachers gets better because they know what works for teaching
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and what does not work for teaching, not just in music but in general education.
What are the results of music education? The results of music education are that the
student leaves with more knowledge than when the student entered the room. Different grade
levels have different goals as to what the teacher wants the students to leave knowing. Another
thing that changes the results is what methodology the teacher teaches with in their classroom. If
the teacher is just trying to get the students to leave the room knowing what the names of notes
are then it all depends on how the teacher teaches what the names of the notes are for music. The
final result of knowledge for a student depends on the grade level of the students. A teacher is not
going to teach a fourth grader how to spell a chord, but maybe to play a short song.
From the beginning of music education Lowell Mason wanted education for everyone and
that is how music education is today. Music should be taught is school, the history, the
development, the creativeness, and the concepts. Music should be taught to every not just the
people who want to but everyone should be taught music. Music needs to have a point to
learning, if someone is going to teach music there has to be a way to teach music and concepts
that need to be taught to everyone, so that everyone know what the results are for music
education.