10/12

Liperote, K. A. "Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists: Listen, Speak, Read, Write." Music Educators Journal 93.1 (2006): 46-52. Web.

This article discusses the importance of learning by ear versus by rote. Liperote recognizes the importance of both but states that the order in which we teach these skills is incorrect. Similar to learning a language as a child, students should first listen to play their instrument by ear. Teaching students to rely on what they hear from themselves and others instead of from the notation is a valuable skill that is significantly more difficult to teach later in life.

I absolutely agree with Liperote on the importance of audiation and its place within the music classroom. I particularly enjoyed the connections that were made to elementary music methodologies such as Kodaly, Dalcroze, and Orff. Those connections helped relate the article to my personal experience in elementary methods. I wish I were able to see more evidence of this approach occurring in schools in my area.

1. Is it difficult to explain to an administrator that reading music is not of the utmost importance?
2. Is there a successful (yet likely hypothetical) curriculum that exists that does not involve reading music notation?
3. What potential problems stem from students not learning how to read music notation early on?



Johnson, E. "Practical Tools to Foster Harmonic Understanding." Music Educators Journal 99.3 (2013): 63-68. Web.

This article describes several tactics for teaching an elevated knowledge about harmony in primarily secondary level students. These strategies include arpeggiated singing, chunking, and students singing together. The article also includes additional applications of harmonic understanding that were not discussed within the sections describing each strategy, such as a way to address standards and increase students' understanding in other areas of music.

I believe all of the methods discussed by Dr. Johnson have the potential to be extremely effective and beneficial to the students. They are quantifiable ways to see impressive results and that seems to be a rare thing in music. The examples that were included throughout the article were very helpful in my understanding of each concept, because simply reading about a topic can make it difficult to receive all the necessary information. The synthesis of information that occurred with those examples and also with the mention of the Zone of Proximal Development really helped tie all the information together.

1. Can other learning methods like ZPD be applied to any of the other concepts?
2. Why is it easier for beginning singers using solfege to start on la for minor melodies?
3. Chunking seems like it could play a huge role in a secondary music program. In what ways could this concept be included besides as homework?


The Transformative Power of Classical Music. Perf. Benjamin Zander. Ted.com. Ted Talks, Feb. 2008. Web.

Benjamin Zander tells stories and shows his audience that classical music is not just enjoyed by 3% of the population as some figure suggests. Classical music has an application to everybody's life. He begins his talk by talking about the progression of a child's musical knowledge as they age and how it simply comes down to phrasing and understanding where music is going. He then displays this with a Chopin prelude, explains how the piece is "sad" from a compositional standpoint, and invites the audience to connect the piece with someone that they admire that is no longer with them.

Benjamin Zander's ability to engage an audience is incredible. There is something about him that is so approach, relatable, and enjoyable. I have loved this video for years and I get something new from it every time I revisit it. He makes classical music seem less like a heavy topic and more relatable to the "average" person. His enthusiasm makes everybody in the audience want to participate in his talk and that is something that I greatly admire.

1. Can a demonstration like this take place in a classroom?
2. If so, does it happen like it did in this video or does it take place over time? Like throughout an entire curriculum?
3. Even with such an amazing talk, I'm not convinced that the entire audience will take what they learned with them throughout their lives, and Zander is extremely engaging. If I am not as engaging as him, how can I expect my students to carry that enthusiasm with them?