I was in a choir here at
IU last year that dealt with this very issue. The entire point of the choir was to teach different ways of learning music - for music education majors, it's actually a requirement to be in the choir for at least a semester for this very reason. Music is a very cultural thing, and though most cultures use music for the same purpose (celebration, religion, etc.), different cultures teach music differently. For example, in some cultures, sheet music isn't used at all. It's all learned by ear. In others, such as ours, sheet music is almost always used, and we look at sheet music before even hearing the piece (sight-reading). Also, the way music is performed varies. In our culture, especially in the Jacobs School of Music, performances are very proper, with everyone dressing the same, in a nice concert hall, with no movement, standing up straight, and always looking at the conductor. Other cultures perform differently - some just dance around and are very informal, some have performances just anywhere rather than in a nice building, some feature mostly improvisation, and so on! This choir, that I think many students in this class have either been in or are currently in, really taught all of us the value of different culture's styles of teaching music. For a lot of students, learning music in this different way can make them uncomfortable. I know when I was in this choir, I felt very weird just moving around and improvising. However, it's a good experience to create.
The culture I will create in my classroom will most definitely be a culture of acceptance. Something that I think is wonderful about music, and frankly, I don't think is stressed enough, is the fact that everyone has an opinion on it. Everyone hears music and can have different emotions, everyone can sing a song and have a different interpretation of it, and everyone has a favorite style of music. Therefore, I would want to create a culture of acceptance - accepting people's musical tastes, accepting their musical styles, accepting their emotions. Sometimes, students view other students as better singers than others. I really disagree with this mentality. Sure, some students may be farther advanced, but everyone's voice is unique - therefore, everyone's voice is beautiful! I would stress this in my classroom.
Also, I would want to emphasize different musical styles in my classroom. I don't want students to only learn the Western way of doing things. Rather, as I mentioned up above, I'd want students to get to experience all different kinds of music. I'd want to create a culture in my classroom of being open to new experiences, whether musical or not.
I am actually in this choir this semester and it was, and still is, very awkward and uncomfortable for me to get used to the approach that they are trying to teach us. Not learning music from sheet music is something that our culture does not stress at all because, like you said, we're taught that musical performance should be very prim and proper. I do appreciate what we are being taught, and what a lot of teachers are teaching about cultures and education. It is necessary for students to recognize that the way we learn and discuss concepts in class is very much different from other cultures. We need to be much less ignorant to cultural differences and rather embrace the differences and learn from them!
ReplyDeleteThe culture you want to foster sounds wonderful. Make sure to think of specific ways to communicate these rules and values to students. I think when you're teaching, you have one or more 'end goals' for students, or some 'most valued' singing qualities that you are trying to push them towards. So, there's always a tension between valuing EVERYTHING, and pushing students to improve toward SOMETHING. There's definitely a nice balance that I think you can find.
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