Readings
Reading No. 1:
Rose, L. S., & Countryman, J. (2013). Repositioning ‘the elements’: How students talk about music. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 12(3): 45–64.
What I found interesting in this article was that the music education system uses such a cold-cut system for teaching music. In my experiences, this was not usually the case. While I do agree that the elements system is used in elementary school classrooms, I do not think it is used elsewhere. My high school music teachers always chose music that they knew the students would like and my piano teacher would let me have a say in what pieces I could play. The only part of music that uses the technical-rational system is music theory. Since it is the study of how to read and write music, I can understand why it uses the elements system.
What surprised me about this article was that some music such as jazz, rap, or fiddling is placed under the category “other,” and is not used in teaching practices. Looking back on my own experiences, I now realize that this is true. As a pianist, I was never taught how jazz music works. Even though I have played many jazzy pieces, I never truly knew how it worked nor how to produce this type of music solely out of improvisation.
I found that reading this article was very frustrating. The amount of text to read and the elaborate use of words made the article very hard to follow. I did not like the use of made up words, it is unnecessary and I think the author could have gotten their point across using real and simpler words. The length also made reading this article frustrating. I feel as though the author could have cut back the length of the article by at least a third. There was too much explaining and repetition of information/points, the information should only be pointed out once (or twice if it relates to another topic), not many different times. Also, their points were kind of all over the place and I believe that the article could have been more organized.
What I would tell the author is to cut back on over explaining to save on length and to use simpler words instead of using fancy words to make the article easier, and more bearable to read. Overall, I found this article interesting and well researched. It made me think more about how the education system works when it comes to teaching music and it made me realize that I would like to inspire creativity and individuality in students.
Questions for the author:
1. What would you do differently if you were to rewrite this article?
2. Why did you decide to write about this article?
Rose, L. S., & Countryman, J. (2013). Repositioning ‘the elements’: How students talk about music. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 12(3): 45–64.
What I found interesting in this article was that the music education system uses such a cold-cut system for teaching music. In my experiences, this was not usually the case. While I do agree that the elements system is used in elementary school classrooms, I do not think it is used elsewhere. My high school music teachers always chose music that they knew the students would like and my piano teacher would let me have a say in what pieces I could play. The only part of music that uses the technical-rational system is music theory. Since it is the study of how to read and write music, I can understand why it uses the elements system.
What surprised me about this article was that some music such as jazz, rap, or fiddling is placed under the category “other,” and is not used in teaching practices. Looking back on my own experiences, I now realize that this is true. As a pianist, I was never taught how jazz music works. Even though I have played many jazzy pieces, I never truly knew how it worked nor how to produce this type of music solely out of improvisation.
I found that reading this article was very frustrating. The amount of text to read and the elaborate use of words made the article very hard to follow. I did not like the use of made up words, it is unnecessary and I think the author could have gotten their point across using real and simpler words. The length also made reading this article frustrating. I feel as though the author could have cut back the length of the article by at least a third. There was too much explaining and repetition of information/points, the information should only be pointed out once (or twice if it relates to another topic), not many different times. Also, their points were kind of all over the place and I believe that the article could have been more organized.
What I would tell the author is to cut back on over explaining to save on length and to use simpler words instead of using fancy words to make the article easier, and more bearable to read. Overall, I found this article interesting and well researched. It made me think more about how the education system works when it comes to teaching music and it made me realize that I would like to inspire creativity and individuality in students.
Questions for the author:
1. What would you do differently if you were to rewrite this article?
2. Why did you decide to write about this article?
Reading No. 2:
Hourigan, R. M. (2009, June). The Invisible Student: Understanding Social Identity Construction Withtin
Performing Ensembles. Music Educators Journal, 34-40.
Overall, I really liked this article and I thought it gave a good perspective on the life of invisible students and how they interact with their peers. It also gave good ways to get everyone in the classroom to meet each other and to form relationships.
What interested me about this article was that any group of people can be exclusive. As a music student, I always felt like I belonged with other music students and I always felt like they were more inclusive than other groups. This article however, has taught me that even music students can be exclusive. It was interesting to read about how exactly music students are exclusive. The most interesting part about it was that the band students were only exclusive because Jason never really tried to interact with them and they never really tried to interact with Jason.
What surprised me was that Jason, when spoken to directly, was very talkative and communicated well. However, when he was put in the classroom setting with his peers, he was very shy and barely interacted with his peers. I think that if his peers put the effort in to speak with Jason, they would have been less awkward around him and vice versa.
What frustrated me about this article was the fact that students exclude others for no reason. I see this happen in real life all of the time. To be honest, exclusion is one of the worst things to happen to children. Usually it’s the shy, introverted or socially awkward people who are excluded. As someone who has been excluded before, I feel badly for those who experience the same act of unfriendliness. It makes people feel alone and like they have no one to interact with and that is not a good feeling at all.
I would like to give my thanks to this author for writing to teachers about isolated students. I feel like this article can help a lot of teachers to notice invisible students. I also think that this article can help many students to be more inclusive.
Hourigan, R. M. (2009, June). The Invisible Student: Understanding Social Identity Construction Withtin
Performing Ensembles. Music Educators Journal, 34-40.
Overall, I really liked this article and I thought it gave a good perspective on the life of invisible students and how they interact with their peers. It also gave good ways to get everyone in the classroom to meet each other and to form relationships.
What interested me about this article was that any group of people can be exclusive. As a music student, I always felt like I belonged with other music students and I always felt like they were more inclusive than other groups. This article however, has taught me that even music students can be exclusive. It was interesting to read about how exactly music students are exclusive. The most interesting part about it was that the band students were only exclusive because Jason never really tried to interact with them and they never really tried to interact with Jason.
What surprised me was that Jason, when spoken to directly, was very talkative and communicated well. However, when he was put in the classroom setting with his peers, he was very shy and barely interacted with his peers. I think that if his peers put the effort in to speak with Jason, they would have been less awkward around him and vice versa.
What frustrated me about this article was the fact that students exclude others for no reason. I see this happen in real life all of the time. To be honest, exclusion is one of the worst things to happen to children. Usually it’s the shy, introverted or socially awkward people who are excluded. As someone who has been excluded before, I feel badly for those who experience the same act of unfriendliness. It makes people feel alone and like they have no one to interact with and that is not a good feeling at all.
I would like to give my thanks to this author for writing to teachers about isolated students. I feel like this article can help a lot of teachers to notice invisible students. I also think that this article can help many students to be more inclusive.
Reading No. 3:
Serres, D. (n.d.). Think Everything’s “Normal?” Then It’s Time To Reconsider And Promote A New Narrative Of Disability.
I did not like this article. It really only suggested that people’s disabilities should be ignored. The author only focused on the bad and not the good.
What I found interesting was the fact that the author thought that people’s disabilities should be overlooked and that they should be treated as if they don’t have a disability. Personally, if I had a disability, I would want it to be recognized by the people around me. I think it is important to recognize disabilities because some people really do need special treatment.
I was surprised that the author suggested that schools treat disabled students differently. I do not believe this is accurate. At my high school, people who had physical and mental disabilities were still put in the same classes as “normal” students and were treated the same. What also surprised me was that LGBTQ and youth of colour are punished more often and more harshly. I do not believe that this is the case. In my experiences, the teachers who have taught me and my peers were always accepting to any type of person.
What frustrated me was that the author is suggesting that people with disabilities should be treated the same. I think that they should be accepted into society but they should still get the treatment they need in order to function normally. I feel like the author was trying to make it seem like the medical industry is just handing out diagnosis and medication to make money. What also frustrated me was the fact that the author made it seem like schools separated handicapped students from the others. Most handicapped students are not separated from the rest of the school unless they have severe forms of mental disabilities such as autism.
I would tell the author to realize that people with disorders need the special treatment in order to integrate properly in society.
Serres, D. (n.d.). Think Everything’s “Normal?” Then It’s Time To Reconsider And Promote A New Narrative Of Disability.
I did not like this article. It really only suggested that people’s disabilities should be ignored. The author only focused on the bad and not the good.
What I found interesting was the fact that the author thought that people’s disabilities should be overlooked and that they should be treated as if they don’t have a disability. Personally, if I had a disability, I would want it to be recognized by the people around me. I think it is important to recognize disabilities because some people really do need special treatment.
I was surprised that the author suggested that schools treat disabled students differently. I do not believe this is accurate. At my high school, people who had physical and mental disabilities were still put in the same classes as “normal” students and were treated the same. What also surprised me was that LGBTQ and youth of colour are punished more often and more harshly. I do not believe that this is the case. In my experiences, the teachers who have taught me and my peers were always accepting to any type of person.
What frustrated me was that the author is suggesting that people with disabilities should be treated the same. I think that they should be accepted into society but they should still get the treatment they need in order to function normally. I feel like the author was trying to make it seem like the medical industry is just handing out diagnosis and medication to make money. What also frustrated me was the fact that the author made it seem like schools separated handicapped students from the others. Most handicapped students are not separated from the rest of the school unless they have severe forms of mental disabilities such as autism.
I would tell the author to realize that people with disorders need the special treatment in order to integrate properly in society.
Reading No. 4:
Dawe, L. (2016). Fumbling Towards Vulnerability: Moving Out of the Familiar for Music Education’s Sake, Canadian Music Educator, (57)2, pp. 22-24
This article was very insightful about what to do about making the classroom more engaging and how to look at teaching in a different perspective.
What I found the most interesting was that the author learned how to be creating through humility. I always thought it was just something that came naturally to certain people and that being creative wasn’t something that came to everyone naturally. To me, I have always thought that creativity was something I would never achieve as I cannot improvise in any kind of music and I can’t just make up music on the spot like some people can do. I now realize that it takes experience and humility to become truly creative, which is a very interesting thought.
What I found surprising was that the author, when she was younger, thought that she had to achieve perfection and that she felt the need to practice for perfection. I both can and cannot relate to this feeling. I can relate because I always felt the need to please my teacher and do what she wanted me to do. I always followed the score that was in front of me and I never really played in a creative way. This made me a good player but I lacked emotion when playing. I also cannot relate to this feeling because I do feel like over the years of playing the piano, I have become more creative with the way I play and I have started developing my own style of playing as a result of my teachers instructing. I realized that I did not need to take everything my teacher suggested I do into consideration, which is what has made me a more creative musician.
I did not find anything frustrating about this article, I agreed with many of the points brought up in it. The only thing is that I find it frustrating that teachers still teach as though students know nothing.
What I would like to say to the author is that I can relate with a lot of the points that were brought up in the article. I would also like to thank the author for making me realize that everyone is creative.
Dawe, L. (2016). Fumbling Towards Vulnerability: Moving Out of the Familiar for Music Education’s Sake, Canadian Music Educator, (57)2, pp. 22-24
This article was very insightful about what to do about making the classroom more engaging and how to look at teaching in a different perspective.
What I found the most interesting was that the author learned how to be creating through humility. I always thought it was just something that came naturally to certain people and that being creative wasn’t something that came to everyone naturally. To me, I have always thought that creativity was something I would never achieve as I cannot improvise in any kind of music and I can’t just make up music on the spot like some people can do. I now realize that it takes experience and humility to become truly creative, which is a very interesting thought.
What I found surprising was that the author, when she was younger, thought that she had to achieve perfection and that she felt the need to practice for perfection. I both can and cannot relate to this feeling. I can relate because I always felt the need to please my teacher and do what she wanted me to do. I always followed the score that was in front of me and I never really played in a creative way. This made me a good player but I lacked emotion when playing. I also cannot relate to this feeling because I do feel like over the years of playing the piano, I have become more creative with the way I play and I have started developing my own style of playing as a result of my teachers instructing. I realized that I did not need to take everything my teacher suggested I do into consideration, which is what has made me a more creative musician.
I did not find anything frustrating about this article, I agreed with many of the points brought up in it. The only thing is that I find it frustrating that teachers still teach as though students know nothing.
What I would like to say to the author is that I can relate with a lot of the points that were brought up in the article. I would also like to thank the author for making me realize that everyone is creative.
Reading No. 5:
Bradley, D. (2006) “Music education, multiculturalism, and anti-racism: ‘Can we talk?” Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 5/2
I found the thought of multicultural human subjectivity interesting. It is the “processual, emergent category of practice characterized by acknowledged feelings of connectedness to people in other places and cultures, in open-mindedness toward previously unfamiliar cultures, and through concern for social justice.” (p. 17) I like that it gets rid of fixed categories that shape and reinforce the inequalities and subjectivities of race, ethnicity, gender, nationalism, and ableism.
What I found surprising was the fact that teachers are unable to teach certain genres of music in fear of talking about race. The fact that a teacher said they were afraid to teach the blues genre to their class but was afraid to talk about the race and social class associated with the genre was very surprising to me. I think that teachers should be able to teach any genre no matter the origins of said genre.
What frustrated me was the fact that the article was so long. I found myself unable to concentrate on the reading because it was so lengthy. I also found myself forgetting what I had just read due to the fact that there was so much to read. I could not follow the article as well as I could have if the author did not use such fancy wording and did not write so much. I also was frustrated that the expression “primal forms of artistic expression” was used to describe African Americans and their musical background. I find that to be very racist and I did not like that it was used.
I would ask the author to maybe shorten her points as they were very long and I honestly struggled to focus on the article due to the length of it and I constantly felt bored with the article due to the amount of content in it. I would also ask her to use others experiences as well as her own. The author only referenced her own experiences instead of talking about others experiences as well. Overall, I enjoyed most of the content however, it was extremely long and hard to read.
Bradley, D. (2006) “Music education, multiculturalism, and anti-racism: ‘Can we talk?” Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 5/2
I found the thought of multicultural human subjectivity interesting. It is the “processual, emergent category of practice characterized by acknowledged feelings of connectedness to people in other places and cultures, in open-mindedness toward previously unfamiliar cultures, and through concern for social justice.” (p. 17) I like that it gets rid of fixed categories that shape and reinforce the inequalities and subjectivities of race, ethnicity, gender, nationalism, and ableism.
What I found surprising was the fact that teachers are unable to teach certain genres of music in fear of talking about race. The fact that a teacher said they were afraid to teach the blues genre to their class but was afraid to talk about the race and social class associated with the genre was very surprising to me. I think that teachers should be able to teach any genre no matter the origins of said genre.
What frustrated me was the fact that the article was so long. I found myself unable to concentrate on the reading because it was so lengthy. I also found myself forgetting what I had just read due to the fact that there was so much to read. I could not follow the article as well as I could have if the author did not use such fancy wording and did not write so much. I also was frustrated that the expression “primal forms of artistic expression” was used to describe African Americans and their musical background. I find that to be very racist and I did not like that it was used.
I would ask the author to maybe shorten her points as they were very long and I honestly struggled to focus on the article due to the length of it and I constantly felt bored with the article due to the amount of content in it. I would also ask her to use others experiences as well as her own. The author only referenced her own experiences instead of talking about others experiences as well. Overall, I enjoyed most of the content however, it was extremely long and hard to read.
Reading No. 6:
Williams, D. A. (2014). Another Perspective The iPad Is a REAL Musical Instrument. Music Educators Journal, 101(1), 93-98.
What I found interesting about this article was that the author mentioned that the iPad is like any other musical instrument. It really isn’t. First of all, the iPad cannot produce the same quality of music that a real instrument can. iPads do not have the same sound quality as a real-life instrument, the best it can do is produce a sound that is similar. Also, music played on an electronic device does not have the same amount of emotion put into it compared to someone playing the piano, for example.
One thing that surprised me is that the author referred to iPads as “musical instruments.” It is surprising to me that some people think of electronic devices as musical instruments, they aren’t. While iPads can be used to make music, they certainly are not musical instruments. To me, an instrument is an object that is physically played like a guitar or a piano, not an object like an iPad. While I agree with the statement that iPads can be used to make music, I do not think that they are musical instruments.
What frustrated me about this article is that the author is saying that musical instruments can be replaced by iPads. They really can’t, iPads are not the same as a musical instrument. There is not enough emotion and the sound isn’t the same when played on an electronic device. Yes, iPads can create music but they should not be placed under the category of musical instruments. Also, I believe that anyone can play an instrument.
What I would like to say to the author is that instruments cannot be replaced by iPads, and they should not be placed in the same category. While I do agree that they can create music, they cannot produce the same sound a real instrument can produce.
Williams, D. A. (2014). Another Perspective The iPad Is a REAL Musical Instrument. Music Educators Journal, 101(1), 93-98.
What I found interesting about this article was that the author mentioned that the iPad is like any other musical instrument. It really isn’t. First of all, the iPad cannot produce the same quality of music that a real instrument can. iPads do not have the same sound quality as a real-life instrument, the best it can do is produce a sound that is similar. Also, music played on an electronic device does not have the same amount of emotion put into it compared to someone playing the piano, for example.
One thing that surprised me is that the author referred to iPads as “musical instruments.” It is surprising to me that some people think of electronic devices as musical instruments, they aren’t. While iPads can be used to make music, they certainly are not musical instruments. To me, an instrument is an object that is physically played like a guitar or a piano, not an object like an iPad. While I agree with the statement that iPads can be used to make music, I do not think that they are musical instruments.
What frustrated me about this article is that the author is saying that musical instruments can be replaced by iPads. They really can’t, iPads are not the same as a musical instrument. There is not enough emotion and the sound isn’t the same when played on an electronic device. Yes, iPads can create music but they should not be placed under the category of musical instruments. Also, I believe that anyone can play an instrument.
What I would like to say to the author is that instruments cannot be replaced by iPads, and they should not be placed in the same category. While I do agree that they can create music, they cannot produce the same sound a real instrument can produce.
Guest Lectures
Response to Dr. Sandy Stauffer’s workshop on “Listening and Creating”
The workshop was about how to listen and create music in a learning environment. We used many different songs/games to encourage creativity among the group. We learned that all people are musical and that people are creative. We also learned that musical creativity does not equal notation. Dr. Stauffer encouraged us to use our creativity while still telling us what we needed to do and we learned that people get better at creating by repetition.
In this workshop, I felt as though I was being more creative than usual. I enjoyed doing many of the activities and I really felt like I was creating. I thought that the methods Dr. Stauffer used were very interesting and they were a fun way to learn and be creative.
The workshop was interesting and I enjoyed it very much.
The workshop was about how to listen and create music in a learning environment. We used many different songs/games to encourage creativity among the group. We learned that all people are musical and that people are creative. We also learned that musical creativity does not equal notation. Dr. Stauffer encouraged us to use our creativity while still telling us what we needed to do and we learned that people get better at creating by repetition.
In this workshop, I felt as though I was being more creative than usual. I enjoyed doing many of the activities and I really felt like I was creating. I thought that the methods Dr. Stauffer used were very interesting and they were a fun way to learn and be creative.
The workshop was interesting and I enjoyed it very much.
Leslie Dawe Guest lecture Response
It was great to have Leslie Skype our classes last week. I enjoyed the opportunity to ask her questions and listen to what she had to say. Unfortunately, since there were technical difficulties with the sound, I didn't get to ask her any questions. There was only time for about two questions before we ran out of time. I was also extremely tired during the class so I wasn't paying as close attention as I usually would. However, I felt like the class as a whole could have gotten more out of her visit than we received, but that's just the way the world works.
Since I agreed with almost everything in her article, I didn't really have many questions for Leslie. I only really had one that I wanted to ask her. My question was "How can we help current educators look at teaching in a different perspective rather than thinking and teaching like students know nothing?" Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ask this question, but I have received Leslie's email address and I will ask my question to her whenever I have time.
Overall, I feel as though I could have taken more away from this lecture. If there weren't any technical difficulties and if I wasn't extremely tired, I probably would have retained more information and the class could have asked more questions.
It was great to have Leslie Skype our classes last week. I enjoyed the opportunity to ask her questions and listen to what she had to say. Unfortunately, since there were technical difficulties with the sound, I didn't get to ask her any questions. There was only time for about two questions before we ran out of time. I was also extremely tired during the class so I wasn't paying as close attention as I usually would. However, I felt like the class as a whole could have gotten more out of her visit than we received, but that's just the way the world works.
Since I agreed with almost everything in her article, I didn't really have many questions for Leslie. I only really had one that I wanted to ask her. My question was "How can we help current educators look at teaching in a different perspective rather than thinking and teaching like students know nothing?" Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ask this question, but I have received Leslie's email address and I will ask my question to her whenever I have time.
Overall, I feel as though I could have taken more away from this lecture. If there weren't any technical difficulties and if I wasn't extremely tired, I probably would have retained more information and the class could have asked more questions.
Deborah Bradley Guest Lecture Response:
I enjoyed the lecture that Deborah Bradley gave our classes. She spoke about racism and she taught us some songs form different cultures. I do not have very much to say about it but I do have some thought I will share.
I thought that what she talked about was very inclusive of everyone. I agreed with most of what she spoke about and I really liked her opinions on being inclusive of everyone and diversity. I also enjoyed the song she taught us, it was fun to sing songs from different cultures while learning about said culture.
Overall, I really connected with what she was talking about and I agreed with her opinions. It was an interesting lecture and I really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the lecture that Deborah Bradley gave our classes. She spoke about racism and she taught us some songs form different cultures. I do not have very much to say about it but I do have some thought I will share.
I thought that what she talked about was very inclusive of everyone. I agreed with most of what she spoke about and I really liked her opinions on being inclusive of everyone and diversity. I also enjoyed the song she taught us, it was fun to sing songs from different cultures while learning about said culture.
Overall, I really connected with what she was talking about and I agreed with her opinions. It was an interesting lecture and I really enjoyed it.