Philosophies of Music Education PDF

EDU 563 Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades Good day, everyone! Welcome to our second session in EDU 563, Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades class. Lesson: Philosophies of Music Education Objective: At the end of the lesson, you should be able to construct your own Philosophy in Teaching M...

EDU 563 Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades Good day, everyone! Welcome to our second session in EDU 563, Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades class. Lesson: Philosophies of Music Education Objective: At the end of the lesson, you should be able to construct your own Philosophy in Teaching Music. What is a Teaching Philosophy? It is an opportunity to truly and personally state what you believe are the most important aspects of teaching, learning, building trust, and relationships and more. It is a way to connect on a personal level to your students by stating who you are as a teacher, how you do what you do, and how that positively impacts the study of music. PHILOSOPHIES OF MUSIC EDUCATION A. The UTILITARIAN Philosophy of Music Education This philosophy of music education is centered on the idea that music education is practical. In 1838, for the purposes of improving singing in Christian church congregations, music was added to the public school system in Boston. Further, the school board agreed that adding music in schools would promote Christian morals, improve physical health, and increase students’ intellectual capabilities. In other words, music was included in schools to achieve a very practical purpose. This is the practical music philosophy we refer to as “Utilitarian.” KEY IDEAS: a. Music serves a function. It is a tool we can use to achieve a purpose. For instance, teachers may advocate that strong music programs are related to strong academic performance, such as increased academic scores. Teachers may argue that music serves to build “character education,” patriotism, and school values. This may show how music improves the brain and helps language development b. Music serves a non-musical outcome. The utilitarian music philosophy promotes music for the purpose of achieving an outcome outside the musical realm. For instance, educators who use this philosophy do not state that students who study music will improve their rhythmic and melodic skills. Instead, they might focus on improved science and math scores. As music teachers, the message we are trying to convey is that music education is important because it has a positive impact on many other subject domains or content areas. If you view yourself as a teacher aligned with the utilitarian philosophy, you might highlight how students are working through mathematical, linguistic, or scientific concepts through your music lessons. B. The AESTHETIC Philosophy of Music Education This philosophy of music education is centered on the idea that music expresses emotion. Followers of this philosophy would explain that music is an essential part of a child’s education because emotional and aesthetic education are essential to the human experience. When studying music, we form self-knowledge and gain deeper access to our emotional lives. This kind of education that promotes an understanding of beauty, emotion, and expression is only possible Prepared by: Ms. Terry Ann R. Gaso, LPT, MAEd EDU 563 Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades through music. If you value the aesthetic education, students get through music education, your data may include qualitative evidence (like written student responses) of how students connected to beauty during distance learning. KEY IDEAS: a. Music for music’s sake. When studying music, students should engage in developing musical skills and understandings In other words, when studying music, students should learn music. Instead of learning music so we can be competent in other areas, we should learn music so we get better at music itself. The aesthetic philosophy is not primarily concerned with what functional value music offers. Instead, it views music itself as the value. b. Feelings-based experiences. In the Aesthetic philosophy, when we hear music, we are engaging in a feelings-based experience. Our feelings are subjective, but they can be traced back to specific structures or expressive elements in a musical work. When we study music, we are studying expressive sonic properties that convey an emotional message. c. High-quality musical products. Music is something that expresses emotion. It is a thing, it is an output. A musical product is the vehicle we use to have these feelings-based experiences. Therefore, only the highest quality music should be included in a music curriculum. C. The PRAXIAL Philosophy of Music Education This philosophy of music education is centered on the idea that music both artistic and social. The praxial philosophy is still quite new. In the 1990s, David Elliot (a former student of the key aesthetic advocate, Bennett Reimer) proposed that music is a human activity, not a purely aesthetic product. Elliot’s position was that the aesthetic philosophy is limiting, since music education at the time focused primarily on Western art music, and excluded global or popular music traditions. He also advocated for a music philosophy that included more participation rather than observation. In addition to Elliot, music thinkers like Philip Alperson, Christopher Small, and Thomas Regelski have also impacted this approach to music education. If your philosophy is praxial, you could collect artifacts (like videos or compositions) that highlight the process of learning music holistically. KEY IDEAS: a. Music is the actualization (praxis) of a person’s belief systems and motivations. The practice - improvise, listen, perform, compose, arrange, or conduct - of music is where the value of music education lies. At their core, these are human activities. Human lives, thoughts, and actions are inherently valuable. Therefore, music is inherently valuable because it is the result of humans’ actionable beliefs. Music is multi-dimensional. It uses the cultural background of the piece, the musical traditions of a people, and the student’s own performance or listening interpretation. b. Music is both a process and a product. “Music” is the thing we output as a complete work (product). Think about our description of “a piece of” music. It is also something we do, a process we experience, whether listening, performing, composing, arranging, or conducting. For example, in the case of musical performance, music happens both before a note is produced, as the producer imagines the sound. It happens in the moment the sound is made. It happens after the sound is produced as the producer critically reflects on the music. When music is process-oriented, students think, plan, make, and reflect on music holistically. Prepared by: Ms. Terry Ann R. Gaso, LPT, MAEd EDU 563 Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades c. Music lives in a cultural and social context. Across cultural and historical contexts, music has meaning. This meaning is valuable in and of itself without superimposing standards of Western European art music. When we examine music from a wide range of cultural, social, and historical contexts, we are better positioned to recognize the value and meaning music brings. Reference: Boler, V. (2020, July 13). Three philosophies of music education. Victoria Boler. https://victoriaboler.com/blog/three-philosophies-of-music-education Prepared by: Ms. Terry Ann R. Gaso, LPT, MAEd