My philosophy of music education is a guide on music and the value it has on life and education. Using music and its power to provide a phenomenon, we can take a look at its value to enhance our perception of beauty, our need for in-the-moment, lived bodily experiences the role it plays in social interactions, and our need for a higher quality of life. As we journey through my discovery of music philosophy, we will look at music as being something outside of itself as well as the symbolism certain works portray. On the contrary, we are to find our music with ourselves as we reach a commonality to combine social interaction and musical preference. Music’s role in education comes from a holistic program that begins in elementary to professional with the aim of finding a true aesthetic of music. The true aesthetic of music can only be found and advanced through research with goals of developing new philosophies, better musicianship, and preserving our culture in its most natural form.
My philosophy of music education starts with the belief that every student in education should be afforded the opportunity of music education. Band, choir, orchestra, musical theater, music appreciation, and music production are gateways to enhance students' lives internally as well as externally in a way that other subjects lack. Music programs are designed to encourage critical thinking for students to incorporate hand-eye coordination as well as decipher what is considered beautiful music. Through my research on the concept of beauty in music, What is considered beautiful music? I found that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone can listen to music and make a judgment on whether they like it or not. Jean- Jacques Nattiez said that the border between music and noise is always culturally defined which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus. (Hodges, 2016, p.172) People have different experiences in life that adds value to certain sounds and music. A person that listens to music with certain properties during a time of grief will likely consider that a sad song. A person experiencing upbeat music at a party will consider this as music that brings happiness. Beauty, within music, comes from the perception of a culture in a period of time and gives different properties to the aesthetic of beauty. People who set those properties are the ones who invest time and research into what is considered beautiful or bad music. Those people will not exist without the study of music in schools. From performances to adjudications, students experience culturally acceptable music from a young age. Throughout music education, students are exposed to different cultures and periods which makes them more qualified to assign properties to music to consider it beautiful.
Absolutism, finding meaning and value of music in itself, and absolute expressionism, meaning found in the music and is primarily emotional, is my stance on what is truly considered music. I insist that the meaning and the value of music come from within. Listening to music provoke moods, feelings, and emotions that come unwillingly. One might say, perhaps, that a musical figure besides referring to a feeling as a word does, also serves as an auditory semblance of it, and in this way reveals what it is like.(Langer, 1969, p.174) I have listened to music that has put me in an incredible mood. Pharrell’s Happy is a great example. Happy is an uptempo tune that is set in a major mode from beginning to end. It was featured in the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack to demonstrate the protagonist's emotion as happy as he has found love.
Music is an inherently social phenomenon: the patterns and regularities that exist in physical sounds only take on musical meaning when they are interpreted as such by groups of people. (Corwell, 2002, p.604) Music education gives students the ability to participate, internalize, and create music as a collective. Band, choir, and other musical ensembles are able to incorporate a large number of student and community member involvement to create a positive culture for the school and its stakeholders. Jose Abreu stated that involvement becomes a weapon against poverty and inequality, violence, and drug abuse. Music, in its physical form, is able to influence social behavior as well as create a built comradery among the student body. Students that are involved in other activities have a limited amount of people allowed to play at once. Music ensembles are an all-inclusive activity that can involve all students enrolled. This includes special needs, at-risk, gifted, and the average student. The commitment and practices bring students together which makes the music ensemble a member of their family. Relating to music and the annual seasons, the music would act as the seasons of the year in which songs will change. Those songs will speak to the students' lives, adding more positive qualities to life.
The phenomenon of experiencing music is a valuable piece of the arts. In music, there are multiple roles/professions in music a person can experience: composer, performer, conductor, listener, and music educator. The ability to create music is a skill that can be fostered and nurtured in an advanced career. In order for society to enjoy the pleasures of music, someone music creates it. Music education gives students the foundation to be able to create and add to their school, community, and culture music that is acceptable today or push the limits to something new. I believe students should be able to learn, discover, create, and innovate what is acceptable in music. Music education will give a foundation of the possibilities through theory, history, and performance. Music appreciation is designed to spark an interest in students through lessons on music history, exploring, and basic theory. This course is beneficial in growing a music program in school. The general population of school needs and deserve to learn about music. Music is one of the most consumed items through purchases and engagement. A deeper relationship between music and consumers is vital in preserving the arts. Performers are the people who share the music with one another. During this process, the performer/conductor is directly involved in the phenomenon of music. In actually creating the sound, performers are engaged in a metacognitive state where he is using physical means to create sounds, keeping time, and adjusting to ensemble restrictions to perform at an acceptable goal of art. In music education, the students’ performances would take place in different ensembles and activities. A student preparing and performing at a talent show can be just as important as a concert band and choir performance in the spring. One is singular while the other is a group presentation, both performing acts are creating music, as performers, to entertain or give an audience a deeper experience in music. Listening to music puts a person in the in-the-moment experience that adds to memories in time that can be called upon with a song. Enjoying music at the moment is a mental phenomenon of thinking about something that is not tangible. The subject of intangible things such as emotions, ideas, and music, builds upon the advancement of knowledge and mental capacity. The music educator's role in the phenomenon of music is to guide, expose, and develop students' experiences in music so that they can become high-level independent thinkers in music and as citizens.
People's perception of beauty comes from their exposure and culture. Growing up in a lower socioeconomic community, my exposure to the arts came from school music. Being a product of a Birmingham City School, we were never able to travel, go see the symphony, or attend a live show to experience different things. If music did not come on the radio or was popular within my culture, it was considered unattainable or rejected. School music was the opportunity to listen, study, and perform music outside of my isolated culture. Being educated in my music gave me a higher awareness of what is considered beauty and exposed me to what is considered beauty in other cultures. There, I was able to truly develop a strong preference for what I like and dislike about music. Exploring music in school introduced me to music that provoke emotions from me that my culture's preferred genres had yet to bring out of me. Middle-class students benefit in the same way. Being exposed to music and other cultures is great for questioning more. My aim is to expose and begin research on music on its components to develop students' knowledge of music and be able to articulate why they prefer one style over another. Having a holistic program, marching band, jazz band, concert band, small ensemble, solo ensemble, music appreciation, and music technology, is essential to the complete development of the students before potentially continuing their education to college.
References
Hodges, D. A. (2017). A concise survey of music philosophy. New York, NY: Routledge.
Hospers, J. (1969). Introductory readings in aesthetics. New York: Free Press.
Colwell, R., & Richardson, C. (2012). The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning: A project of the Music Educators National Conference. Oxford: Oxford University Press.