Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Dedication to "music illiteracy"
Hello my wonderful peers. I'm Silky Carter and I am not not a music theory geek as a matter of fact I'm not even music theory literate, at least not as I should be. So CP-1 what do we do as future educators of music when our students don't understand theory, no matter how much teaching and tutoring we give them, and no matter how much studying they do? What is the next step, what do we do now to ensure that our students understand what we want them to understand. Do we give up on them or do we dedicate our selves to breaking their "musical illiteracy"
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7 comments:
I dream that my kids will know enough to be a musician to their standard. Whether that means they learn to carry a tune or develop into a voice perf major, its up to them what they get from the education. I want the tools to be at their disposal, but not shoved down their throats. We all know the story of the kid that took flute from age 5 to 16 and just hates the instrument for what they percieve it did to their life. I know kids who could have gotten into top tier music programs, but not only opted for a different major, but chose not to bring their instrument to college. Thats a misuse, probably by the parents, but no one should walk away with that much distain.
That said, I don't want the kids that have no interest in higher aims in my top choir, but I want them to have options based on their interest. This does not include "music appreciation," thats a waste of everyones time.
A student like this knows what music sounds like, but never thought they'd have to know what it looks like. One of my friend's during highschool was the pianist in our jazz band and was absolutly amazing at what he did, he just couldn't read music, at all. Everything he learned was by ear and he got so good at it he could fill in all the right chords on the spot in any spot and improvise in the most amazing way. Our teacher knew this and showed him some basics of theory, really basic basics. But he also gave the student the encouragement to continue to practice what he knew best.
Should we hinder his natural talent by bombarding it with more stuff? Or should we strengthen the skills he already has and help to learn improved skills? My opinion is to go with what they already know best.
So don't dedicate to breaking their musical illiteracy, and don't give up on their natural talent.
It's never too late in the game to make students understand theory. If a teacher or tutor really takes tons of time to help them understand, it will happen.
in the case that the student really cannot understand and never will, they can still develop a basic appreciation for music. Perhaps they won't major in music, but they can still enjoy it like everyone else does
I agree with all of what's been said. Keep trying; baby steps are the way to go. Also, one thing that may help kids to be more enthusiastic about learning theory is if the teacher approaches it in a positive light. Instead of saying "theory geek," you might want to come up with a more constructive term so that the kids can get excited about it without having to label themselves.
mmm... Ketti you're awesome. I'm thinkin the same thing... there are ALL different levels of theory and of course, EVERYBODY"S DIFFERENT!
ok, so if you're just starting in a new school, you just start from the beginning and build up. With everybody. You have to get everyone on a solid level, and as you stay with the program and your kids grow up they'll get into the advanced classes and you'll teach them harder things. So does that mean that the sophomores, juniors, and seniors that first year are screwed? no, but really, it takes 4 years before the program can really even get started if it's a bad one. At least four years. Now, i'm not talking about all ya'll rich kids and you're big private music schools and stuff, I grew up in a lot of different places and basically all I saw were crappy music programs. different schools will require more or less dedication to this pursuit.
Dedication is key Silky. That's a good word.
Music theory is like math.
Math has been taught throughout the ages and the basics have been understood to those that have been taught. It involves the left brain: logical, rational, analytical, etc. Everyone posesses a left brain; it may be underdeveloped, but it is present and can be molded.
Similarly, music theory can be understood if taught well.
Always evaluate yourself as a teacher FIRST before you make judgments about your students.
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