How in the world do we fix this issue?

As the final assignment for the Foundations of Music Education class as part of the MME program at UF, I read an article about an increasing problem within our society; the growing trend of children being born to unwed parents, and often not having a father at all as a result.  This leads to students often not receiving the guidance that they require in their formative years that would help lead them towards becoming not just good students, but productive members of society.  The point of reading this article was not to comment on the validity of this perception one way or another, but to come up with ways that both schools, or more specifically music teachers, and communities can try to rectify or at least improve this situation. 

Music teachers may be uniquely suited to help in this area, as many often spend more time with individual students over the course of years than other teachers do.  This provides many opportunities that while connecting with students can yield chances to address this issue in a comfortable, relaxed, and trusting setting.  If I were to use myself as an example, as a teacher I could easily provide anecdotes about my own life experiences regarding this situation.  After already establishing a connection with students, casually telling high school level students about a time during college that I feared that my girlfriend (now wife) might be pregnant, and the very stressful time of uncertainty until we discovered she was not, would not be completely out of the question.  It could both help to humanize me in the eyes of my students, but also drive the point home, that it could happen to anyone who is not careful.  We were lucky, but others are not.  Telling them about all the thoughts of "what ifs" and how we knew it could have impacted our future, in mostly negative ways, would give the students an opportunity to relate this problem of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy to someone they know, making it more "real" in their eyes. 

Another way any music teacher could approach this problem, and possibly help alleviate its rise through educational means, could be to design a curricular unit on the way music creates and establishes sexual stereotypes and desensitizes certain demographics towards concepts like sexual promiscuity.  It could begin more generalized, as in discussion on how music can affect people's feelings, gradually steering students towards the focus on if and how the music industry tries to capitalize on this ability, eventually leading to the concept of sexualization depicted in both lyrics and visually through music videos.  Many approaches could be taken in a unit like this from simple discussion, to papers or projects. 

As for local communities, some already try to deal with this issue, sending out local girls (possibly from a neighboring high school) who have dealt with unwanted pregnancies at young ages to speak at assemblies at schools, providing mandatory sex ed classes to educate students on the process of how pregnancies can happen (it is much easier than some students believe) to how to prevent such an occurrence safely (which fortunately also helps teach the same students about the realities of STDs and their prevention).  I remember that growing up that my community had commercials on TV that addressed this issue, though the focus of these commercials often shifts now according to the popular "problem" of the day.  The prevalence of condoms available in bathrooms (men's and women's) of local communities and sometimes even being handed out in schools by certain activist organizations is also a touchy, but viable solution.  Though some argue that this just helps tells children that it is o.k., this tactic is unlikely to want to be used unless the community (or neighboring communities that in turn spark action nearby) is already experiencing a problem.  So many people misconstrue educational awareness with moral acceptance, when they do not need to be connected in that way at all.  Trying to tackle a symptom of a problem (pregnancies to unwed individuals) in a way that is likely to attract the best positive reaction and therefore positive result does not mean society at large must believe that the issue at hand (young adults/children engaging in sex before marriage, unprotected while also lacking proper forethought of possible consequences) is not also a problem that should be addressed. 

Honestly though, how many adults could take preventative action with children engaging in questionable social engagement with each other in public?  If local communities could band together to feel comfortable "calling people out" in public on moral issues that concern them, without the fear of having a whole slew of accusations thrown at them like "You're not their parent," or "What gives you the right to judge someone else's choices?" than I believe change could and would be enacted much more quickly.  A comparison I could make to my life in the Army would be this.  I am allowed to publicly address any concern I have with any Soldier of lessor rank than myself if I believe they are in violation of a regulation, to include anything from the way they are dressed in uniform or civilian clothes, to the way they are acting towards others.  The Army even has "Courtesy Patrols" (CPs) on post positioned in high traffic areas like food courts, stores, and even just walking around family housing areas to monitor concerns like this.  The CPs or myself can question the individual, and get contact information for their superiors if they believe the issue needs to be addressed at a higher level.  What if normal community members felt they could walk up to a young adolescent couple engaging in lewd public displays of affection (heavy make-out sessions in a park) and have the right to get the phone number for their parents if they think the situation requires it based on a moral code established by a community?  I know this is opening countless legal and ethical questions, and I fully realize this is a pipe dream, but with society being so disconnected from each other that they fail to act even when they see someone being beaten, it is not surprising that in cases of much less danger and importance to their personal lives that most people look the other way when confronted by a moral issue right in front of them. 

Ultimately, this is why I think individuals, teachers, and music teachers in particular, have the ability that society does not when it comes to trying to improve this situation, because it can be done in such a way as to be acceptable, and often not even intrusive. 

As always, this was an insightful and provocative prompt to explore and finish off this class in style. 

How this course has changed me

So we are down to the last few assignments to ponder (along with an exam), and this one is to try and synthesize how learning the information presented in this class, Foundations of Music Ed as part of the UF MME program, has impacted and affected how I will teach in the future.  What a broad and loaded prompt this week to finish with!

Let's start with the initial section on philosophy.  In regards to philosophy I had never truly been exposed to the different concepts of rationalism, empiricism, pragmatism, and eclecticism.  I never knew how much I gravitated towards some of the practices of rationalism and empiricism, while holding some views of pragmatism.  Even now I have trouble pinpointing my own views but I can easily see how trying to skirt the edges of never staying fully in one philosophical camp (eclecticism) can be detrimental both to consistency of teaching techniques, but also to the students with not having clear goals to try and reach.  That whole section has prompted more personal thought, and will likely change the way I approach certain classes.  I have found that it seems that different classes require a different approach, partially in the way I am presented to students, and also in the format in which the instruction needs to be presented.  Often I need to be the "sage" full of wisdom, but their are always opportunities to step back and let students find the answers and learn with them, despite this being more difficult for me to accept.  

Probably my favorite parts of the course were on aesthetics and the role of music education.  I've always known as a musician that music was important, but in the past when trying to prove it's value I have feel significantly short.  In combination, these two sections have greatly increased both my ability to stand on firm conceptual footing in terms of the "why" that music is so important (that it teaches connection to feeling, and appreciation aesthetic value, a uniquely human trait that music is uniquely qualified to assist with) but also how not just to teach the formative qualities of how music is put together, but to teach in large part to the goal of aesthetic learning through a good combination of referentialism, expressionism, and formalism.  Though I had been unknowingly using these concepts to various degrees and success in the past, to truly understand the approaches as separate entities and relate them to music education will help focus my techniques in all the lessons I teach.  I also highly enjoyed how enjoyment of music is so subjective, based on familiarity.  This new understanding, based on research and definitive writings on the concepts, will undoubtedly change how I present music to students, and change the amount of familiar vs. unfamiliar styles of music I present to students in conjunction with well thought out explanations as to how it is important to their education.  As has been a mantra between my wife and I for quite some time, "it's all about balance." 


I am not completely convinced that I will use much of the information on sociology, for I feel many of the concepts presented I have had a firm grasp on already, such as cultural factors, biological factors, and nature vs. nurture.  Music as human behavior was new though, and I had never really thought about it as another basic function of human existence.  With this new viewpoint still percolating in my mind, it is hard to say if this will change my teaching practices.  I have always held music up on a pedestal for students as being something special, and even if I wind up believing otherwise in the future, I am not sure I would want to change my presentation to students (possibly waiting to offer this viewpoint only for older students), as it has always been a way for me to help make music seem special to them, and motivate them.  The jury is still out on this topic.

Self-image and conformity were also topics within social psychology that have been refined and clarified for me to the point that I believe my teaching focus will increase to remain mindful of helping to support self-image and promote useful conformity techniques for more efficiency in my lessons and classes.  The extensive knowledge gained from this course of adolescent conformity has greatly increased, and will undoubtedly help me bridge the gap that sometimes forms between those students and myself, despite my best efforts.  The new insight will help so that I can reach them and not come off as "that lame teacher" while realizing that some of the walls they will create will never be fully breached, simply because I exist within a different generation from them.  Once again, the balance is needed between trying to hard to relate to them and understand where they are coming from, and help them reach the next stage of their lives both personally and musically, is required. 

Finally, between the behaviorist and cognitivist camps of psychology in relation to music instruction, I think understanding both the clear line between the different approaches, but also how they inter-relate to earlier concepts discussed like educational philosophy, will help focus my educational presentations based both on individual student needs and the scenario in which I am teaching them.  One of the great things about being a guest clinician is the ability to bridge the line between laying downs tasks for students to follow, using empiricism and behaviorist approaches and technique, and switching over almost seamlessly to pragmatic and cognitive tactics to get students thinking beyond what they are used to. 

I am not going to say this class will fundamentally change anything I do, but I think it is fair to say that much of my instruction in the future will be more efficient due to having a clearer idea on how I believe I need to proceed.  An analogy to describe this change would be to say that in the past I have been trying to throw a pencil at a dartboard.  I have understood my goals, but not always have had the most refined tools and technique to get my efforts to stick.  Now I will be throwing with darts, and though I might not always hit the target I am aiming at, my efforts will be more efficient so that I might refine my techniques, as opposed to wonder why certain throws just did not stick.

4 Musical Concepts

The last assignment of this module in class this week was to explore four musical concepts I want to students to acquire more fully, and to describe what I would do as a teacher to promote the development of each of those concepts.

With this very open-ended prompt, it took a little thought as to what concepts I really would like my private (mostly high school level) clarinet students to acquire more fully.  I have taught high school band as well though, and some of those ideas began to seep in as well.  In many of these examples, the students are there by choice, so I feel it is important to take a cognitivist approach to their learning.  Though I am often present as the experienced guide, it is important to me that they find intrinsic value and understanding in what they are learning since they could stop at any time if it starts becoming less than enjoyable. 

The first musical concept that I would truly wish my students to grasp is the idea of what proper clarinet tone is, and how to produce it.  This in itself is a broad topic, and I would try to make sure my students realize that there are various options to choose from, based on musical style, personality, and musical upbringing.  Providing students many listening examples of professionals in various orchestras but also jazz groups would be integral to this development, followed by discussing what they heard and teaching the students to describe verbally, to a certain degree, the differences.  The other side of this could be to have them record themselves trying different techniques like tongue position, pressure on the reed, openness of their throat, and shape of their emboucher around the mouthpiece to see if they can begin to distinguish not only what they really sound like compared to what they want to sound like, but also what the actual physical changes they can make to effect the changes in sound to create the desired result.

Also in regards to my private clarinet students is the concept of proper finger position.  So often many of my students have issues with this, because as much as I can tell them their finger position is wrong/awkward, it is hard for them to truly understand unless they can see it, and see the difference between my hand position and theirs.  Obviously, I should try and have a mirror at every lesson and encourage the students to practice slowly in front of a mirror so they can actually see it.  Talking with parents about what is expected so they can see and correct anything other than relaxed curved finger position would also help.  I have started moving towards the use on an iPad/iPhone during lessons for this purpose as well now however, because is quick to take a video "snapshot" of what they are doing and show them immediately after, so they can see close-up some of the strange habits they have uncontrollably formed.  I also enjoy placing a pencil at a set height above their fingers for the students that have a case of the "flying fingers" for them to hit when they go too high giving them a reference they can feel if seeing it is not enough to control it.  

Another musical concept that I find important in a high school band is the importance of listening across the ensemble.  Though in a sense part of this might also be discussion of tone, like "getting into each other's sound" a larger aspect to me is synchronization of attacks and releases.  A great way to facilitate this is to step away from the ensemble while they continue to play to see how well they can stay together and discuss the results as a group, coming up with ways for improvement, and trying again.  Another technique I have used is to have students close their eyes, count off a tempo, and have them come in and hold a predetermined note/chord for an established time, like a whole note.  Closing one's eyes help to focus attention on listening, and using similar discussion as established above, having the students themselves evaluate if there were individuals coming in early or hanging over late could be very insightful for them. 

Finally, I would like my students to have a working understanding of improvisation, mainly because that is something that I myself was never truly taught and did not feel comfortable with until recently, when my work dictated that I needed to learn.  To be functional within a jazz combo, or at least be able to improvise with some basic skill, is not that difficult, but it requires training and honing, and most of all, a teacher or fellow performers who can help the student feel comfortable and safe making mistakes and providing well-intentioned supportive feedback to promote improvement.  The joy of private lessons is that no one other than the teacher will ever hear the student make any mistakes until a later time that they feel comfortable enough to try it in public.  This provides a great opportunity to experiment with "licks," delve into the finer art of chord changes that require some basic scaler and arpeggio knowledge, and listening skills.  Ultimately though it is an easy thing to bring in simple chord changes, provide simple demonstrations, and begin helping to shape my student's improvisatory skills in a safe and supportive environment, so that even when they may be "classically trained" for all other scenarios, they will not be completely caught off guard when the scenario arises that finally require them to do something that even now a majority of students get relatively little practical knowledge and skill at performing.  Part of my job would be to impart the importance of obtaining the skill, partly helping to impart the skills necessary to be successful, and mostly to create the right environment to make mistakes and improve. 

This, as many other assignments before, opened up my eyes a little to what I did not even consciously realize were some of my greatest desires for musical instruction and insight into my own personal philosophies on music instruction.  Though I have used many of these techniques in the past, I have not seen them synthesized together like this before.  What an informative personal experience this class has been!

Behavorist Objectives and Assessments in Music

Another assignment this week was to create four behavioral objectives for a music classroom, with a means of determining whether the students were successful in meeting the stated objectives.

The first objective would be students will demonstrate proper rehearsal etiquette during class.  This would need to be established through classroom rules that would be both discussed and visually posted such as: no talking or playing while the teacher is giving out instructions on the podium, use time before rehearsal to warm-up (play through scales, long-tones, work on difficult musical passages), raise hand to ask questions, listen even while teacher gives instruction to other sections, have a pencil to mark mistakes at every rehearsal, and never make disparaging remarks about someone else's playing.  Assessment in a behavioral way would be easy as they would be based on visual and auditory means.  Hearing and seeing the student talk in front of me is obvious, and I could give negative reinforcement through bad looks and step off the podium every time a student talks while I am on the podium.  Engagement during "warm-up" time with random individual student to ensure they are on task, asking questions on what they are doing (i.e. scales, long-tone, ect.) and also use it as an opportunity for quick one-on-one instruction.  For the raising of hands, visual assessment is obvious, but reinforcement could come from multiple methods like ignoring students who talk out of turn and continuing with the lesson, or stopping everything until the student has asked the right way.  Having students raise their hands holding pencils during a "pencil check" and marking all students that do not have one ready is an easy assessment.  In all of the above, if simple teacher assessment is not enough for the students to comply, simple participation grades based on the criteria already stated could be utilized, with points being deducted for consistent infractions. 

Another objective would be for students to correctly and accurately demonstrate usage of both the RL and LR fingerings for C and B on the clarinet.  The means for assessment for this could be through the playing a a simple multi-octave scale, using both visual assessment (fingers on correct keys at correct times, with no physical increased tension using one method as opposed to the other) and auditory assessment (correct notes played with no decrease in volume, no tone wavering, and no "blips" in the sound.

Yet another objective that could work for both high school and younger level students would be to:

·      Effectively demonstrate proper practicing techniques while working on new musical material.

 This is one I have spent some time developing in the past, and believe that it could be assessed by:

Their ability to take a piece of music that is new and challenging to them and within an established time limit tailored to the individual student (typically the following private lesson in either one or two weeks) show adherence to the written music through performance to include: dynamics, tempo, correct notes and fingerings, tone, and articulations, while also incorporating non-written aspects of music (conveying the unwritten mood/feeling) using the following rubric: 4 = Mastery—accurate throughout the entire performance while also including unwritten elements of expression throughout entire selection 3 = Competent—accurate for almost all of the performance while adding occasional experimental additions of unwritten expression (expected level for majority of students) 2 = Developing—accurate for part of the performance with little addition of unwritten expressive ideas

  1 = Emerging—very little accuracy and no unwritten expression 

A final objective for consideration is: students will demonstrate the ability to distinguish between simple musical forms to include: ABA, AABA, and ABCA 

Assessment for this objective would initially rely on students verbally indicating based on background and examples provided in earlier lessons the correct form based on listening examples that were reinforced by discussion, but then could end in a formal or informal quiz to assess the quality of student assimilation when they do not have others and the teacher to help guide them.

All of the above are based on a stimulus approach, where the task is defined by the instructor, and positive/negative reinforcement is given when students to when they correctly and/or incorrectly respond to given scenarios that are being learned gearing up for the various assessments.

Teaching Beethoven- Behaviorist vs Cognitivist approaches

One of our assignments this week is to take two different mental approaches to teaching the beginning of Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique, focusing on roughly the first 16 measures or so.

First, from the perspective of a Behaviorist, the instruction of this selection would be done using stimuli and reinforcement to prompt the student to perform it in a certain way.  Introducing the stimulus first, through example/demonstration (either by the instructor or through the very recording we witnessed as a part of this assignment) to prompt the student to hear what "right" is and then try to reproduce it themselves, with the teacher providing guidance to either encourage them if they were getting close to "proper" reproduction or not negative, but more critical feedback to them if they were not producing the "correct" result.  The guidance from the teacher would not be done asking the student's input, often focusing on a preconceived result that the student should learn how to obtain, from tempo, to tempo fluctuations, to the subtle difference in dynamic contrast even within the singular dynamic of piano.  The student would gradually begin to understand how the teacher wants it to be played, and alter their playing accordingly to get closer and closer toward attaining a performance close to the original stimuli.  What is interesting about this is that the original recording (or instructor's performance) would be both stimuli prompting action, but also the example to which success is based upon.  Obviously the instruction by the teacher would be further stimuli, causing the student to change and refine their playing as dictated.  Though student feedback would be used, it would be to ask questions in relation to if they believe they made enough contrast in dynamics according to both teacher instruction and the musical example, or if it was too much, and whether the tempo changes were sufficient, rather than base the student feedback on their opinion of how the music should be performed. For example, in measure 3, I would have them perform a "slight retardando" or "a little hesitation" while verbally and with gestures indicate both if they were performing it correctly, but also when exactly to move on.  I would give the students gesture cues on dynamics much the same as a conductor would with a full ensemble.  Smiles or frowns would help indicate correct performance or the lack thereof.  Strict adherence to the written page markings would be the overall goal.

Taking a Cognitivist approach, more emphasis would be placed on intrinsic factors for the student to form their own concept of how the music should be performed.  The student might be asked to perform the selection without hearing it first, and start establishing a mental construct for how they believe it should be performed through discussion, including such topics as "How does this make you feel?", and "How do you think this music should make you feel?", with related follow-up questions such as "What musical factors (dynamics, tempo, etc) should be manipulated to get the music to feel the way you think it should be, and why?", and "How would you make those changes so that they are apparent to the listener?"  This would get the student to think inwardly and form their own opinion of the musical structure and meaning based on previous schema, and thus the performance of it would be altered accordingly.  Other possibilities would be have the student relate the music to something else, like applying not just a descriptive feeling to the selection but go further toward creating a whole visual scene that is playing out, helping the student to fit the music to established parameters that they relate to already.  The overall goal would be for the teacher to understand what the student is thinking and feeling, and that will shape how the selection is taught in direct contrast to the stimulus "play it like this" approach.  Measure 3 would change from telling them how to perform it and indicating facially, verbally, and with hand gestures if it was met with satisfaction, I would ask the student what they think should be happening there, if anything.  Comparing the music to a conversation, and measure 3 as a comma, or to a physical gesture like a sigh, or hopefully having the student come up with their own interpretation so it becomes more meaningful to them would be the tactic taken here.  Dynamics and tempo would be subject to the student fitting it into their concept of what is happening in each moment of the selection, and experimentation would often take place for the student to try out multiple different possibilities. 

Music Creativity

Our second assignment in class this week was to create a reflection post describing at least five ways and situations for involving students in making creative choices in music.

Having already taken the Music Creativity class in the UF program, much of this seems like review, though for the sake of this assignment I will try to experiment with a least a few new ideas.

Obviously, creativity in music involves things like aesthetic decision-making.  In my private clarinet instructional setting, I utilize this technique quite frequently.  From approaching aesthetic decision making from the point of view of purely making the music more interesting (adding aspects to music that are unwritten), to having my students create pictures in their minds that relate to what the music is depicting, to describing music in terms of feelings that connect with them personally, there are many ways to get students to use their minds to make the music both more meaningful to themselves through creative processes, but hopefully to audiences as well through improved performance through using these processes.  Having students make decisions like adding dynamics or particular articulations to add a certain "feel" to the music they are playing is one way.  I usually offer an example, "You could play this measure like this" and have the students come up with an alternative, and have them come up with techniques to use in future measures that are not all written.   As for connecting the music with feelings, using a simple prodding question such as “how does this music make you feel” can do it or "how do you think this music is supposed to make someone feel?"  For creating a picture, I usually use cartoons like Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry as examples, where there is a lot of music accompanying the actions onscreen, but that this time they need to figure out the pictures with only the music provided. 

Creativity also implies creation, which to music means composition.  At the elementary band level, this could be accomplished in a number of ways.  Taking certain steps to provide criteria and boundaries for the students such as providing the rhythms and each student could pick a note within certain guidelines like a particular scale or arpeggio or reverse it to having the notes set and they pick the rhythms, and within given guidelines.  This could give each student a say in the creation of the project, but ensure that it does not become too overwhelming by having too many choices to pick from.  This could also be done in stages, first rhythms, then notes, then articulation, then dynamics.  Votes could be taken as opposed to each student picking as well, to approach the project from a different angle.  This would all be done with ample guidance, and maybe even some experimentation playing examples of what they had decided on to see if they wanted to change anything. 

Another possibility for getting a middle school jazz band ensemble to be creative is by introducing improvisation for everyone, which is similar to composition.  Once again, establishing guidelines to adhere to, such as only be able to use three established notes while providing a fairly static rhythmic background.  Giving students freedom with rhythm and timing with selection of notes, while not having to worry about which notes to always pick, in addition to knowing ahead of time that the notes will always sound good with the background provided will help students gain confidence both individually and in a social context. 

Being creative does not always have to be relegated to one's own performance, but it can be done from the aesthetic decision making process viewing others.  Either commenting on another individual in a high school band ensemble, or maybe more likely a scenario where the clarinet section comments on how the trumpet section is playing a particular passage, would foster similar thinking as in the first example describing aesthetic decision-making.  If student critiquing is being discouraged, having the same level students use the techniques as described above to evaluate a performance by another group entirely, either through a field trip or through audio or video examples brought in by the teacher could also provide the same results.

Another example of music composition could be to have students (general elementary) each come up with a measure (or two) ostinato.  Maybe only rhythms are picked, maybe only simple melodies, or possibly both depending on the level of students which would be dictated largely on how far into the class year the are and how much background knowledge they possess.  After each ostinato is created and performed, they can start to be combined, by simply pointing to different students to begin or drop out.  A recording could even be done by the instructor for the students to listen to when it is done, giving them time to critique the final product using aesthetic concepts describes earlier.  Without knowing who would come in when, this could then turn into a creative example using aesthetic decision-making, composition, and improvisation all in one!

In all cases, setting the right environment like by being supportive of the creative process, smiling, and enjoyment of the products created by the teacher are all essential, otherwise you risk affecting the student's self-image and possibly discouraging the student's desire to be creative in the future. 

Conformity in music education

One of this week's assignments is to post how I think I could use conformity to help in developing successful classes and ensembles.

Though our text this week described many ways of defining conformity, to me it boils down to submitting to peer pressure.  While in many cases this might be a problem, there are ways to help the educational process using conformity.

For instance, in my teaching scenario as a private clarinet instructor, I use a similar method of lesson instruction for each student.  I usually use the process of scales, etudes/solos, and duets.  While each student is a different stage in terms of skill with each of these, when they see each other (either in passing while one student leaves a lesson and another is coming in, or at school for many of my students attend the same one) they can relate to each other and feel a similar sense of "belonging" as they are each experiencing the same process.  When I add other items, like composing or improvising, I make sure each student still experiences a similar lesson based on their level. 

In both private lesson recitals and in larger ensemble concert, I think visual uniformity at performances is a key factor to making sure students do not feel out of place.  Establishing a blanket uniform like black pants and white shirts allows for a little individual expression with outfits, but not so much that some students would ever feel singled out, especially when compared to all the other students at the performance.  It helps to provide a sense of unity just in visual expression and belonging to a group.  When a student does not conform to the established parameters, they will feel singled out and feel like they are detracting from the group mentality.  Uniforms are an easy way to use conformity to benefit musical performances.

Another technique that works well, especially for younger elementary students, is a color code system.  Up on some part of a wall within the classroom, a magnetic or felt display with large block lines of blue, green, yellow, and red are displayed.  Circles with each student's name attached adhere to the colors, each representing a state of participation/behavior with blue being the top, red being the bottom.  The teacher can move up and down the circles during the lessons as deemed appropriate.  Using a box of cheap prizes, at the end of each week (or lesson if you only see the students once a week) those students who finish at blue (or had blue for each day in the week) can choose a prize.  This promotes students to all conform to good behavior and participation, especially when they can see the status of all other students in the classroom, and no student would want to be the individual that did not receive a prize. 

In the case of field trips, I've always found it useful to provide an assignment the student must complete while the filed trip is taking place.  In the example of taking the students to see a professional organization, a list of questions to answer and things to reflect on that could easily be forgotten if they do not write them down as the event is occurring is a great way to ensure the students will have notebooks with them, and be seen writing the answers to the questions as the field trip progresses.  Students will feel the need to fit in and be writing in their notebook as well, especially if some other students who are doing the work look at them questionably if they are not. 

These are just a few examples of how I (and others) could or already use conformity within the musical classroom.  Being honest, looking at this social psychology aspect of developing practices and techniques to use within the classroom is not one I have consciously considered before, and I believe that more developed ideas and techniques are bound to be used in the future as I become more experienced with looking at the topic from this perspective. 

Socioeconomic status reflection

My second reflection assignment this week is to summarize the socioeconomic status of my school and community, and explain how those factors impact music selection and how it is taught.

Though this is something I have always taken into consideration on a subconsciously level, especially due to the fact that I often need to rethink and tailor my private instruction (on clarinet and sax) based on the current location I live in (which changes every 1-3 years), it is not something I have found myself putting into words in quite some time.  

The community in which I currently give private instruction is a very eclectic one.  I live on Oahu, in Hawaii, which provides quite a varied spectrum based on the little bit of travel I do from town to town to give different lessons, but I also live on a military installation, bring an equally varied and unique set of factors.  Let's start with the local island population.  Oahu is the "big city" of the island chain, with two thirds of the entire population of the state living on this one island.  Due to the fact that it is so isolated, everything here is more expensive because it simply costs more to ship everything here.  With the prices of everything being so high, especially real estate (very high prices for very little space, land is obviously limited here) many families live generationally in one home to save costs and pool resources.  The homes often get passed down through the family as time passes.  Education often does not go past high school, and if it does community college is the popular choice.  The public school education system here is poor at best, largely based on very low state standards, so that even a really good school here would only possibly be considered average in an area like suburban Washington D.C. or other major city suburbs.  This in addition to heavy Christian influence brought by western civilization leads to low birth control usage and large families.  Oahu means "the gathering place" and as such is a melting pot of the Pacific.  Polynesian culture and descent is the local population, but they make up only 6.8% of the population, while the most dominant population is that of the Japanese at 23%. What comes in as a distant second placer in Honolulu's population is the white non-Hispanic race, which accounts for 18% of the people. Other racial groups and their percentages are as follows: multi-racial, or those resulting from marriages between two or more racial groups (14.9%), Filipino (11.6%), Chinese (10.7%), Hispanic (4.4%), other Asian groups.  The general feel here is to live with "aloha" which in this case means to take it easy, and not be in a hurry for anything. Proportionally few native islanders have ever left the island chain.  As far as music programs, they are few and far between, but the systems that have it are generally pretty good, and have very committed students and parents helping to propel the programs.  One great aspect of the island is the continued proliferation of the Royal Hawaiian Band, a professional full-time) if you can earn of spot) concert band that does two performances every week and numerous parades. 

Then there is the military side.  The military populations of families are varied, but they usually follow stereotypical trends.  For example, generally the most educated families are the officer’s families, which are a lower percentage of the base population.  Officers require more education to even be commissioned in the first place, and then they make more money allowing for greater selectivity of their children's educational experience.  Many of the enlisted family population have significantly less education, though it often is grouped by military specialty.  For instance, in the band field (to which I belong) it is quite prevalent that junior soldiers who just enlisted as musicians have Masters degrees in music, while infantry soldiers (who make of the brunt of the population on the post) often come into the service right after high school, often from rural areas attempting to improve the socioeconomic status that they were denied as children growing up.  I have been in the Army for about nine years now, and though there are plenty of exceptions to this trend, it is far too often proved true.  The families of these particular soldiers go to the cheapest option for public education, which I have already described here as being sub-par at best.  There is one on post middle school that has a band, choir, and orchestra program, which is improving in recent years due to new hires.  This post is home to the 25th Infantry Division Tropic Lightning Band, but other services are represented with a musical presence on the island to include the: Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Army National Guard.  A joint military service concert takes place once a year in the April/May time frame.

As you could imagine, this provides a strange but enlightening environment for me to work in.  From one student to the next I can never predict what their particular level will be, because the starting points for many of the students varies from elementary school to high school.  Work ethic is probably the biggest issue from student to student.  I might one day have an officer's child, a real goal-oriented driven individual with "helicopter" parenting, and the next lesson have an island child show up 15 minutes late to a half-hour lesson due to being on "aloha time."   Musical selection for these students changes fairly drastically from one student to the next, and I often do not set a regimen for them until I have had them play a few lessons for me using music from their current band classes.  For some, a very traditional approach using traditional literature (scales, etudes, duets) is the most productive, while others need more contemporary music exploration, improvisation, and laid back weekly requirements just to keep them on task and keep them in lessons.  I try to mix both regardless of the student, but parents often have an expectation as well that to a certain extent needs to be lived up to.  I almost always need to include some "island style" music to keep both students and parents happy.   With one student I might be able to use "big words" to describe my points/analogies, and with others I might need to relate a technique to surfing while saying "bra" which is the slang island term for another slang term "bro."  With some students I can rely on parental support, where with others I need to encourage more heavily intrinsic motivation, often trying to get them to come see the performances of the Army Band so that they will learn and be instilled with the qualities of professionalism and timeliness, yet still hearing highly entertaining music of widely varying styles.  Right now just being in the Army Band is enough for most band directors to promote my name as an instructor, but I have been places in the past (and will most likely in the future after moving again- most likely D.C.) where I get "vetted" by band teachers and students take one or two lessons for free before both they and the parents are convinced of my ability to help their child improve. 

As stated before, I have never really put many of these thoughts and concepts into words before, so this turned out to be a very productive and enlightening assignment for me that could prove very useful in the future.

Reflection- social music experience

One of this week's assignments is directly related to how music is tied to social function and interaction.   I am to describe a social event within the past year in which music was involved.  This will not prove to be very difficult for I am just going to describe a performance I was part of yesterday evening. 

First, here is a little background on myself.  I am a professional clarinetist with the US Army, and every one to three years or so I move to a new duty station.  I have the pleasure of currently being stationed on the island of Oahu in Hawai'i.  One of the many functions of Army bands is to play for the public, instilling both American pride through entertainment, but to also help run public relations portraying the US Army in a favorable light.  As such, we often get to perform at local community events, as was the case with this performance I shall speak about.  We performed at an event called Eat the Street in Honolulu, which is a monthly "Taste of Honolulu" type event where local food vendors and food trucks (which are extremely prevalent on the island) come out to one central location for the community to sample their items all in one place.  Every month there is a new theme; this month was garlic, yum!  Food trucks and tents were set up all around an outdoor parking lot in nice 80-degree weather, with a number of tables in the middle, and on one end was a small stage/performing area.  The music was meant purely for the entertainment of the considerable crowd of a few thousand as they ate and enjoyed the social time with friends and family.  

As performers it was our job to choose music carefully, and we brought our rock band and jazz combo, which at times even performed jointly.  The music was a mix of current pop covers, island themed "happy" music, and Mardi Gras style jazz music, all meant to be fun, upbeat, and crowd pleasing.  We performed a collective set of about two hours near the beginning of the event in the early evening (4:30-6:30 p.m.) and though certain families or groups may have stopped for awhile to listen to the "show" it was designed more to be background music and not carefully listened to.  Though for many events we wear our uniforms, as this was a social informal event, we happily wore Hawaiian shirts, shorts, and flip-flops to fit in and have the audience be more comfortable with us and help us to appear more approachable.   Other than the drummer, the bass player, keyboardist, guitar player, vocalists, trumpet, clarinet (me), and sax players all stood and used minimal stands with music.  We interacted with the audience to the extent that we could, which usually meant the front man (guitarist) talking to the crowd, trying to ask them questions and get them to raise their hands to questions or shout out some of the favorite food they had been sampling.  Other times we interacted musically, with call and response sections they were easy and ripe for audience participation, indicating their moment to sing easy phrases through both verbal cues and physical gesturing.  Amplification was used, and there were two individuals from the unit running sound for us, pumping our music through two area speakers to reach a larger portion of the parking lot above the rumble of the crowd.  The front man often acknowledged soloists during the show, and vocalists frequently danced during their tunes.  

The audience was mostly the general public of huge age differences and social and economic backgrounds, of which only a few actually stayed for any length of time during the performance.  The people who hung out to catch the majority of the show were mostly associated with the unit in some way like: family, friends, and our command team.  Of the people not associated with the band that stayed, a large portion were family units with children.  They either stayed because the children were obviously enjoying the music through excited gesturing and dancing, or because the parents seemed it important for their children to catch a glimpse of "live" music.  There were exceptions, like a few groups of adults that would stay and mouth along the words to familiar songs, but they were rare.  Applause was rare, but then again many people had their hands full with food so it was not entirely expected.  As with all Army and military performances, we already get paid with tax-payer money to do our jobs, so though they had to pay for the food they were partaking in, the entertainment was completely free, and no tickets were required to attend the event either. 

This is one of my favorite types of musical performance events.  It is casual, fun, low-pressure, and we received some free food vouchers to eat at some vendors when our show was complete (a DJ took over after we packed up).  I like it not only as a performer, but it is fun as an audience member too, because they can come and go as they please, enjoy however much of the music they like, be able to talk with the group they are with, eat drink, and move on without any prescribed formal cultural expectations.  The music did not "make" the event but it certainly "enhanced" it by accentuating the atmosphere of a fun and casual social event, with all attendees being able to soak up as much or as little of what the event had to offer as they chose.  It was almost like having a radio on or having a DJ the whole time as background music, except that it gave the opportunity for those who wanted it to experience something more, giving maximum freedom. 

This was also a very new experience for me personally, as this was my first gig with the jazz combo both in this unit, and with any jazz combo in my almost nine years in the Army.  I am a classically trained clarinetist, and have always been assigned to "classical" woodwind quintets or similar ensembles, so this was a distinct change from the usual venue of playing at schools, small formal military ceremonies, and balls/breakfasts that were social but want, desire, and require a more sophisticated style of music to be played.  I had a lot of fun (especially since this was the first time in nine years that I have played a military gig in civilian clothes) and look forward to more in the future, but this event also demonstrates how the social function of live music in society today is most accepted in this type of social scenario.  I cannot imagine many other types/styles of music being regarded better for the eclectic group of people that showed up, and in fact I could easily see how classical music would have been: not heard well enough for people to hear, gotten bad and confused looks from event attendees, and just been inappropriate for the event actually bringing the success of the total event down.  

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

This week, one of our tasks in class was to watch this video about the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra.  The girls' statements with the video, such as one girl speaking about the music giving her "butterflies in her stomach," and another girl saying, "My life without music would be worthless" speak volumes about the value of music in people's lives.  In this particular case, music has helped give them something to live for, something beyond the squalor of their lot in life, and a reason to strive for more.  It has enabled them to see the beauty in life while living in a slum built on a landfill.  It allows them to love life while living quite literally in a dump.  These girls, these children, have virtually nothing going for them, and yet music has instilled in them hope, joy, and meaning, allowing them to become something far more than just animals trying to survive day to day.  In this video music was demonstrated as the one thing, above all others, that helped them to feel this way.  Granted, with this mindset music is a choice, but it is one that will not help you only to exist, but to live.  If music can be such a profound influence in the lives of these children, how can it not be important in all of our lives?  If it can give meaning to an otherwise meaningless life, could it not also help enhance the life of someone who has been afforded more benefits to even greater heights?  The power of it is so great, that by this example, to ignore the implications of an education in and a life with knowledge of music is to let our children, our schools, and our society fall short of what it could be otherwise.  To me it is fairly obvious that music is important, as both a professional musician and music educator, but for others it is not quite so clear. 

To make this fact better known in my community and school district needs to be a multifaceted approach.  One of the suggestions for this part of the reflection assignment (think of at least three ways in which you might educate people who are not musicians about the importance of music) was to incorporate a student essay on the topic "Why music is important in my life."  Most of the students I teach are in upper middle school/high school, so an essay is an appropriate way to get them to critically think and organize their thoughts on such a topic, but though I think this approach could work, it does not have as much potential as flipping the topic into "What Would My Life Be Without Music?"  To have students truly explore the ways in which music enhances their lives and what it would be missing if they did not have it, without having to rely on non-musical reasoning to prove the value of music, would be both more introspective and revealing.  This could be given to many types of both music appreciate and performance based classes.  Quotes could be taken from these essays and included within the music classroom/school hallways, in newsletters, within course listings (especially for high school), and within programs for school concerts to demonstrate not only to students, but to parents, administrations, and the larger community how much of an impact music makes on their children's lives.  An offshoot of this project could be to have students perform at homes for the elderly or disabled, and write about how they believe the music impacted both the lives of their audiences and themselves, distributing it in the ways previously described. 


Another idea was for parents to attend a rehearsal for their children, and really learn firsthand exactly the type of information being presented to their students.  Once again, I concur that this idea would work, but with a number of additions.  Not that I go into rehearsals without a plan, but the rehearsal that parents would be viewing should be one that would emphasis the concepts of learning aesthetics and humanization that other subjects do not cover possibly more than a normal lesson, so special care would need to be taken in lesson plan construction.  Rather than just holding a rehearsal like any other school day, I think it would be most beneficial for this scenario to become more interactive, allowing parents to ask why I am doing the things I am doing, which could result in me giving them an answer to me having the students give the answer (for many times they would already know!)  Also allowing for group discussion to take place after the rehearsal among the parents, the students, and myself for the same purpose.  Though many parents would be in attendance since their child is there, some might not be, so recording the rehearsal and distributing it to those who could not be there would help produce maximum exposure in this scenario.  This direct experience has the ability to provide a much deeper connection to the concepts of music's importance being presented. 

Finally, there are so many great presenters that give sessions to schools, children, and music classrooms for free from the US military to local private instructors, theorists, and professors, in addition to the many resources of the Internet.  The more an "outside source" begins to talk about the validity of music's importance in helping to enhance and shape our lives in relation to enriching our spirit and give it meaning beyond just living, the more the masses will tend to believe.  It's one thing for me the teacher, or even the students to try and drive the point home.  It's quite another to have multiple others do it as well.  I love having presenters/performers come into my classrooms, and each time they come in, I record the session to post it on the class website later.  These videos/recordings get added to ones found on YouTube from a great variety of different sources (like the one that prompted this reflection and some others from this class so far) that are never meant to actively try and convince anyone to think as I, or these presenters do, but to show how prevalent the ideas are, in hopes that it may eventually sway some through gentle persuasion of exposure.  This website is public and made available to the school district and promoted on the music newsletter and occasionally to local publications, expanding its reach to the community.  Though I rarely get many non-music parents/individuals to visit the site, when I do the comments left by them are profound and/or moving and get shared quickly with students, parents, and administrations. 

One of the great concepts I am starting to take away from this class is how to present my arguments on the validity of music and music education to the non-musical segment of the population, which often includes the same parents, administrations, and communities of the students I teach.  Having these skills ready are going to prove very useful.

A debate with myself... why music education is important.

To discover both my own views on the benefits of music education and in an attempt to sort out and organize my own thoughts on both the non-musical benefits of music education and the respective reasons why those may reasons may not be the best course of action when attempting to advocate for the inclusion of music education programs.

 Non-musical benefits of music education are relatively easy to find and prove with impressive studies on the matter.  When sifting through these different resources, some studies seem to indicate a general trend as to certain areas in which music education can benefit education in general in ways that go beyond music.  These trends include: increased reading/language/vocabulary development, academic achievement (especially on test scores), increased success in society/life, and to a lessor degree social development.  

Take the increased reading/language/vocabulary development.  This is one of the most common citations of non-musical benefits.  Several studies from multiple sources (Abeles, Hoffer, & Klotman, 1995; Standley, 2008; Forgeard, Winner, Norton, & Schlaug, 2008; Wong, Skoe, Russo, & Kraus, 2007) all give similar testimony stating reading skills, auditory discrimination improvement in relation to language (such as sensitivity to speech sounds), and memory in context of both reading and language significantly increase when enrolled in the study of music.

Academic achievement also appears to increase when studying music.  Studies (Johnson, C., Memmott, 2007) and reports in numerous neuroscience publications, collegiate statistics, and music professors all provide the overwhelming proof that those who are in music have markedly better test scores in multiple subject areas than those that are not involved in music classes.

With society, life implications, and social skills I can attest they improve as evidenced through my own experience as music was the one realm in school that I felt most comfortable, and therefore was able to express myself to others with more confidence.  Studies and reports also show that being in music class can improve teamwork, and especially increase performance in school just by keeping students from dropping out by providing them a different activity to participate in while in school than most of the offerings provide (Abeles et al., 2008; Benefits of Music Education; Kelly, 2012).  Other studies show how many “successful” people in business and society had music as a background in school.

Unfortunately, it is not always a good idea to base all arguments to support a case for music education on reasoning that is divergent from the inherent properties that are unique to music education itself. 
First having to prove one’s point that music is viable and important in schools based on a slew of reasons that could be covered by just about any other subject or activity in school hardly seems to be a worthy rationale.  No other “legitimate” or “core” subject has to make such a claim, and for music educators to feel they must do so appears somewhat demeaning to both the educator and the subject itself if that is the sole reason for inclusion.

Secondly, Abeles states very succinctly that many of these “studies” have very little true proof to indicate that music is the cause as opposed to the result of many of these claimed improvements in student ability and success (1995, p.87).  Data is presented in very lofty fashion, but rarely are the results so startling and irrefutable that many cannot immediately poke holes in the both the reliability and validity of the research.  Part of the issue is that it is very difficult to definitively prove that just being around sounds while in a music class could magically confer all of the aforementioned improvements.  

Thirdly, music is something that everyone experiences on an almost daily basis; there is not need for multiple studies to prove this point.  If music is such a central aspect of our lives, why is it given such a low priority in many school systems?  From the time of the Greeks, it has been recognized that music is essential to our existence, and though the exact reasons for why and how it should be approached have differed and evolved over time, universally it has been accepted that the more individuals become learned in music, the better of they, and all of us will be.  

Finally, and probably most importantly, music does not need to stand on the shoulders of other subjects or benefits to be considered worthwhile.  There are enough documents (Abeles et al., 1995, Daugherty, 1996) that connect music to the human condition.  It is one of the unique ways that separate us from animals.  Unlike other arts, being trained in the study of “art” music helps teach concepts like delayed gratification and feeling/emotion (that can be individualized to each student) that are not adequately learned in any other subject area, including other arts.

I have always hated having to rely on research to prove why music is important.  I have known it for quite some time, though I lacked the skills to verbalize why.  This week’s reading and assignment have helped put these reasons into perspective, and help prove to myself what I already know.  The difference is that now I will be able to communicate my reasoning in a much more intelligent and hopefully convincing way!

References

Abeles, H., Hoffer, C., and Klotman, R.  (1995)  Foundations of Music Education (2^nd Ed.). Belmont, CA: Schirmer Cemgage Learning.

Benefits of Music Education.  Children’s Music Workshop.  Retrieved online on May 16, 2014 from:  http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/benefits.html

Daugherty, J.  (1996).  Why Music Matters: The Cognitive Personalism of Reimer and Elliot.  Australian Journal of Music Education.  1, 29-37

Forgeard, M., Winner, E., Norton, A., and Schlaug, G. (2008). Practicing a musical instrument in childhood is associated with enhanced verbal ability and nonverbal reasoning. PloS One, 3(10), e3566.

Johnson, C. M. and Memmott, J. E. (2007). Examination of relationships between participation in school music programs of differing quality and standardized test results. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54(4), 293-307.

Kelly, S. N.  (October, 2012).  Fine Arts-Related Instruction’s Influence on Academic Success.  Florida Music Director.  Retrieved from https://cfaefl.org/dnn/Portals/cfae/advocacy/2010-2011%20Cohort%20Study.pdf

Standley, J. M.  (2008).  Does music instruction help children learn to read?  Evidence of a meta-analysis.  Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 27(1), 17-32.

Wong, P. Skoe, E., Russo, N., & Kraus. N. (2007). Musical experience shapes human brainstem encoding of linguistic pitch patterns. Nature Neuroscience.  10(4), 420-422.