Intro:
Imagine public school students are expected to speak English well but not write, analyze, or comprehend the language! Students and teachers were assessed only on pronunciation; not grammar, syntax, writing style, or comprehension. Seems pretty weird, right!? Why teach students how to speak English but not to write or comprehend it? What’s the main point? Unfortunately, a similar scenario plays out in public school music courses across the United States. Students are expected to perform but not necessarily read, compose, or analyze music. Music literacy refers to the ability to read and write musical notation and to read notation at sight without the aid of an instrument. Additionally it may refer to a person's knowledge of and appreciation for a wide range of musical examples and styles. Some teachers’ casual attitudes toward teaching music literacy in the classroom, by focusing only on performance-based instruction, may be hampering our future composers, sound engineers, music historians, and arrangers. Why should we care? Rather than pointing out the many ways that teaching music helps students perform better in math, or other fields, it is important we begin to understand the importance of music for its own sake. Why? There is no substitute for music-making as it relates to the positive growth and development of the human mind, body, and spirit. Music is non-exclusive! The mission of public school music education is to teach the mastery of musical skills so students can make, read, and write quality music and experience the joy of an ever-evolving sense of aesthetic expression. The benefits of reading, writing, and making music are immeasurable. Experiencing music, whether as a listener, composer, or performer, is a part of the daily human experience and should be addressed as part of a holistic education. So where do we start?
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6/28/2017 04:48:43 pm
Colby
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AuthorColby enjoys racquetball, playing the piano, and hanging with his beautiful wife, Madilyn. Archives
June 2017
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