BAYSIDE INN
Readings
Reading #1
I must say, this article was quite fascinating. I found myself being intrigued by a lot of the points Rose and Countryman make on the barriers affecting change to the pedagogy of music education. I was especially interested in the points Rose and Countryman made on the elements of music. I recall the elements playing a fairly big role in my elementary and even high school music education, so i found myself very sympathetic to their frustration about how relying on the elements of music in the school music curricula can be stifling on certain creative ways of thinking that are necessary for all musicians. (Rose and Countryman, 2013) I also found it quite frustrating when Rose and Countryman brought up the point how the pedagogy for teaching non-performance related topics in music has become (quite frankly) a bit pedantic. (2013) This obsession with teaching every subject with written and strict guidelines seems very counterproductive when constructing the curricula for music classes. Music is all about creative thinking, and basing how to think on very limited criteria such as the elements of music can be so limiting on the way musicians understand and interpret their craft.
I would love to discuss the Author’s points on the elements of music being a framework for dominance. I had never thought of the elements as “a dominant cultural framework, an unquestioned, Eurocentric way of thinking about music”(Rose and Countryman, 2013). However once the point was expressed to me, i couldn’t help but agree. I noticed that although the elements of music can be applied to music around the world and throughout history, it best applies to Western music as we know it today; This puts westernized music on a sort of metaphorical pedestal. For example Cambodian music do not have the same rhythmic and melodic aspects that western music has, and therefore the elements of music cannot fully define what sounds are being communicated. I would love to discuss not only how the elements of music are a domineering practice, but the reasons why they think western music has taken such a dominance over other forms of music (reasons other than domineering practices such as the elements of music). Overall i would love to sit down with the Authors and discuss the entirety of their research because it’s psychological and sociological effects are fascinating to me.
References
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.
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Reading #2
Drew Serres makes some very powerful points in his article Think Everything’s “Normal”. Serres makes some important arguments regarding a very pro-normalcy agenda, and how the societal institutions in place right now are all promoting conformity and sticking to the status quo.
Furthermore the article explains how some of our normal mannerisms regarding language and how society “puts emphasis on people to “overcome a disability” rather than seeking societal changes” (Serres). Serres continuously makes arguments like this explaining how society has created this attitude of “ableism” (Serres) and how “anyone who is disabled lives “less of a life” than those who are nondisabled” (Serres).
The arguments in this article really highlight how our society puts a spotlight on being normal and really puts anybody who is disabled in any form at a real disadvantage. Serres expresses a certain frustration that exclusivity is so embedded into the mindset of so many people and how big institutions like schools will attempt to encourage conformity.
Serres also makes the point of how the media encourages stereotypical thinking about people with disabilities, the same way it portrays other minorities. The article highlights how people with disabilities are either portrayed as the “tragic villain whose disability represents their evil” or “a hero who overcomes their disability” (Serres). These points can be surprising, as they are so integrated into regular media programing. It’s not something many people think about until a third party points it out, which is why Serres is emphasizing its importance. It is fathomable that Serres would love to discuss further options and solutions when dealing with such sensitive yet crucial issues, and that seems like a riveting conversation.
Finally, Serres closes his article with some very informed and extremely helpful solution suggestions. All of which fall under a blanket theme of “stop promoting the “normal” able-bodied life as the only “full” way to live” (Serres). This statement might seem obvious, but the opposite way of thinking has been embedded into the minds of almost every single person. Serres does a beautiful job in his article of bringing these issues to the forefront and offering some solutions as to how educators as well as people in their everyday lives can start changing the way the world views living with a disability.
References
Serres, Drew. “Think Everything’s “Normal?” Then it’s Time to Reconsider and Promote A New Narrative of Disability.” Organizing Change. https://organizingchange.org/think-everythings-normal-then-its-time-to-reconsider-and-promote-a-new-narrative-of-disability/
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Reading #3
In Ryan Hourigan’s The Invisible Student, the importance of highlighting issues of the social nature are brought to the fore front. Hourigan highlights the importance of inclusivity and “fitting into the social mold” (Hourigan 2009) associated with participating in ensembles.
Interestingly enough, Hourigan outlines the responsibility of music educators to “foster an inclusive social atmosphere” (Hourigan 2009). The article outlines “creating a positive atmosphere” (Hourigan) and paying close attention to “social identity” (Hourigan) as strategies for encouraging all students to create meaningful and lasting relationships.
Hourigan encourages Teachers to include activities on the first day of school that will help students “break down social barriers”(Hourigan 2009). From a student perspective, it’s interesting to learn that the ice-breakers that are seemingly a waste of time, are actually a crucial part of developing relationships and good social habits in the classroom.
Furthermore, Hourigan’s constant reference to Jason not only makes reader’s very wary and sympathetic to the points he is trying to make, but also allows the readers to feel more connected to the issues the article is addressing. Naturally if there is a first-account story about the issues presented, it makes the readers feel more connected to the text, as if it was them or someone they know who is struggling. It was a bold, but very smart move for Hourigan to refer to Jason throughout the entire article, and it could very well have helped him get his point across to more readers.
Although Hourigan offers many suggestions to teachers and peers of people struggling socially, it would be a fascinating conversation about how we could incorporate more of these solutions into the everyday pedagogy in schools. It’s options like “peers as allies” (Hourigan 2009) and even just acknowledging the everyday adversity kids like Jason face in the classroom, that will begin to help break social anxiety and help all students create more lasting relationships.
References
Hourigan, Ryan M. “The Invisible Student: Understanding Social Identity Construction within Performing Ensembles.” Music Educators Journal, Reston 95.4, 2009, pp. 34-38. https://search.proquest.com/docview/456459?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=15115
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Reading #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
Dawe’s article does a fantastic job at outlining some of the major issues regarding the pedagogy conducted in music classes. Her own experiences made it very easy to identify with the young, vulnerable mindset of an aspiring musician. What’s so fascinating about this article is how Dawe can have the readers really sympathize with her young self while analyzing and commentating on said experiences through the lens of a music educator. It was great to see some of the issues of insecurity and vulnerability that were touched on in the other articles, hopefully this indicates enough trouble to really start evoking change. It was surprising how much Dawe’s experiences reminded me of my own since starting university. I never took private music lessons as vigilantly and intensely as Dawe did, and that’s probably why have some insecurities in some of my classes here at Western. It’s not that i’m questioning my abilities but it’s apparent that the “norm” here has been that many people received regimented and structured music instruction from a young age and that was just not the case for me. So i find myself feeling nervous or even intimidated by some of my peers, even though I know all of them are supportive and open minded to all kinds of music education. Surprisingly enough I sympathize with the issues in Dawe’s article for the opposite reasons she experienced them.
Music wasn’t a part of my life the same way as others through the younger years of my life. I always loved music, I’ve been surrounded by it my entire life. However, when i was younger i couldn’t seem to grasp enough self discipline to “master” an instrument. It wasn’t until my art’s class in either grade ten or eleven that I realized my the strength of my ear and my knack for improvisation. I then realized that being a musician isn’t defined by how long you’ve played your instrument or how many hours a day you practice, but more so that it’s about the love for creating the art no matter how you go about doing that.
I would love to discuss my interpretation of the article with Dawe. It would be interesting to discuss the reasons why we both felt the way we did, despite an obvious difference in musical background. It would be fascinating to know whether Dawe believes the issues lie in the pedagogy of teaching music and if the way we’ve been learning music has given all musicians an expectation to what constitutes a “perfect musician”.
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Reading #5
Bradley, D. (2006) “Music education, multiculturalism, and anti-racism: ‘Can we talk?” Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 5/2: http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Bradley5_2.pdf
Bradley's article is fascinating for starting up a conversation on how education’s language can put Western culture on a pedestal. Bradley goes onto explain how “a great deal of thought in music education also remains under the influence of lingering colonialism” (Bradley 2006). Interestingly enough this is very similar to many of the reading we’ve done before, where we’ve talked about underlying oppressive language when dealing with minorities. The fact multiple authors have discussed these language issues is interesting, as maybe this will actually start to promote a change in pedagogy within the teaching community.
The only real frustrating part about this article is the language used to convey the point, however I realize I’m talking from the perspective of a young student and not an exercised scholar. The language used is appropriate for the audience of the piece. However i found myself sympathizing with Bradley frustration when it came to the fact that “in avoiding direct language when talking about race we also severely weaken the possibilities for achieving racial equality through multiculturalism”. I agree with Bradley in the fact that in order to completely discuss issues of race we can’t be afraid of the terms that come with it, and the fact that many people want to censor the issues aggravates me. Overall it would just be fascinating to sit down with Bradley and discuss further options to move the change in equal pedagogy even further.
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Reading #6
Williams, D. A. (2014). Another Perspective The iPad Is a REAL Musical Instrument. Music Educators Journal, 101(1), 93-98.
Finally, an article that outlines the benefits of bringing technology in the classroom. Being a millennial I have always been pro technology and its potential to push for further learning among student, so to read an article that outlines all different kind of uses of technology in all kinds of different classrooms was fascinating. The idea to use ipads for disabled students is a phenomenal idea when dealing with the topics of oppression we’ve talked about in previous articles. Furthermore I loved how this article outlines that “The most important aspect of human music making is not the instrument- it is the human!” (Williams 94). I think this an important statement to address the fact many people think “technological” music is not music. But that is not the case. That’s what frustrated me through reading the article, the fact that people can be so ignorant to using technology for making music. However this articles opposes just that beautifully. I completely agree with Williams when he states that the “mistake in traditional music education is that we elevate the importance and worthiness of certain instruments.” and as much as I absolutely adore classical instruments (don’t get me started on the French Horn) i think it’s important in this technological age to adapt and evolve ways of incorporating technology in the creation and performance of music. I would absolutely love to talk with Williams about more ideas of incorporating technology in music classrooms as well as I would adore to jam out with the Ipadists.