Beginning Instrumentalists

Although technique and natural talent are big factors in music performing, it is suggested that a major skill needed for a developing music performer is the ability to sight-read (Paul), which is an important factor in acquiring and expanding music literacy (Gromko). However, music literacy is a compositional ability that requires many different abilities (Gromko, Lehmann and Ericson).

In pages 55-60 of Green’s book, On Teaching Band: Notes from Eddie Green, the author discusses the successful introduction of playing instruments to students at the approximate age of 11-13 years. He offers techniques to maintain student engagement when beginning to teach instrument-playing. Green states that he prefers to keep a neat classroom to encourage students to be equally organized. He also determines the physical needs of the classroom, including wire stands and playable instruments for each student, stating that he prefers the students receive their instruments at school.

In Mrs. Pollard’s room I witnessed several lessons that made me pay attention to the way they were addressing basic music competencies. For instance, there was one activity where Mrs. Pollard pretended to have a ‘mute button’ that she could press while the students were singing a song, at which point the kids would mouth

The 1950’s was a very important decade in the development of music as it saw the birth of rock n’ roll. Artists such as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry took the style of playing already established in genres such as blues and country music and completely renovated it. They took the idea of a 12 bar blues pattern and sped it up and added rhythmic, catchy hooks to make the music easy to dance to. The lyrics of songs about the genre itself as well as teenage love and sex, although the latter was only referred to through slang terminology, appealed greatly to teenagers of the time due to their rebellious nature.

Author Courtney Crappell writes the article, “Making Music Lessons Attractive Again”. She begins by asking her readers if they are interested in discovering ways to make music a better-known aspect of people’s everyday lives. She then moves on to explain what it is music teachers do. Music teachers are people who give individuals who seek musical knowledge, the tools to experience the world of music. At some point in his or her lives, Crappell states every person desires to learn how to play an instrument.

At high school my approach (cultural based institutional approach) totally based on reading/writing. Aural methods of learning start fading at junior high, and

In the course ECE 212 Art & Music for the young child we created an individual lesson plan about music. This lesson plan was about providing a variety of materials to create and instrument. This helped the children thing critically as well as using their small motor skills. Afterward the children will be able to play their instruments that they have just

The provided themes act as prompts to assist them with improvising the composition. The themes, or samples available on Soundation, are inclusive of various genres explorable by students. In my classes, I plan to use this software in continuation of my unit on music notation. Last month, I introduced the circle of fourths and fifths, which students did not accomplish successfully. Last week, we began working on noteflight. Students immediately identified the different keys. My next plan will include soundation, however students will be assigned to stick to one key. This assignment will help them listen closer to the keys and understand the purpose of flats and sharps in varying keys. I anticipate students doing exceptionally well, possibly discovering hidden shortcuts. During this lesson, students will discover how music fits together like a puzzle. They will also be able to compare MIDI, digital audio, and

Most importantly you must know that I am not a music guru and never was. There was a time in the third grade when my parents took me to piano lessons. I never caught onto what I was being taught and never understood the notes, they were a foreign language to me. Not only that but I was never fond of my prior classmates that were band students. I found myself often frustrated in my trigonometry class when I could not concentrate with the percussionist constantly tapping his foot in the seat directly behind me and sometimes on the really bad days he would tap his foot and click his pen at the same time. Now that you have theses side notes to keep in mind you can understand why my experience was shocking

Music strengthens a student’s memorization and comprehension skills as much, if not more, than any core subject they participles in at school. Playing an instrument is cognitively taxing. Notes and fret patterns not only requires memorization to be played in a song, but also promote hand eye coordination. Math is analogous to music. In math class a student learns how to problem solve by memorizing a sequential order. Musicians use the same method for learning a new song. According to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music “Children exposed to a multi-year program of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers.” As this research indicates student’s cognitive abilities are positively impacted by their participation in music training.

In 2014, Marion Long conducted a study on the effects of rhythm-based music training on children’s reading ability. It was found as a result of the study that music had a profoundly positive impact on children’s ability to read. Of the students tested, after the music intervention, reading levels improved to correlate with his/her chronological age or exceeded their age

Being an Auditory learner, you learn by listening and hearing. These learners understand and remember things they have heard. The information is stored by the way it sounds, spoken instructions are understood better than written ones. Sometimes reading out loud helps you learn because you have to hear it

Conducting is bringing out the beautiful sounds of a composition that are heard through the performance of a piece of music. Music brings a beautiful sound to our ears and this is made possible through the collaboration of a conductor and a group of musicians. Music has become an important and influential part of today’s society. This directly connected to spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of all human beings. People analyze and respond to music in different ways. An individual who conducts must possess the skills of being talented, charismatic, and have the knowledge of analyzing distinctive characteristics of a composition. During a performance, the conductor is the most important variable that determines the success of a band, church choir, opera, school band, or orchestra performance. The primary function of a conductor is to portray the music through a series of gestures. The conductor must evoke emotion from the performers in a way that it brings the music to life. In order to do this correctly, the conductor must have a basic understanding and clear concept of musical styles. The musical style consists of characteristics that make a particular piece of music sound unique to the audience. Conductors must be responsible for leading other musicians, utilizing his or her conducting abilities to inspire and challenge musicians to perform to the best of their ability.

For every instrument with exception of my earlier years on the piano I am self taught. A young me was always intrigued by the process of how music was made and how different instruments made their own distinct sounds. The first thing that I did to start my adventure in the world of musicality was to learn about music theory. What music theory is to be put shortly is the study of theoretical parts of music. This mainly includes things like melody, tempo, harmony, notation, etc. Luckily for me I learned all the basics at a young age from my piano lessons so it’s practically like a second language to me.

The stigma associated with pursuing an education in the musical arts affects the decision of many musicians nationwide. The appeal of guaranteed financial and career stability of STEM and other paths of high demand jobs is very difficult to pass up, even by the most dedicated musicians. Then, the input and advice of outsiders come into play. These onlookers not only encourage study of the hard sciences and a foolproof path to success via university, but they also totally and blatantly discourage and belittle the intelligence, rationality and integrity of not just the paths of musicians, but all liberal artists. Don’t you want to make money? What do you mean you won’t have internships, don’t you want a job? How are you going to survive? This blitzkrieg of questioning and doubt, though theoretically peripheral to the bigger picture, is reasonably common, however, severely unjustified. Pursuing a formal college education in music is easily one of the best things you could do for yourself, regardless of whether or not this is the career path of your choosing. As a student of formal music education, you are actually being trained in more real world skills than most other majors, which will prepare you for many careers, making you stand-out amongst the masses. Being a music major, you learn more than just music, you learn problem-solving skills, how to communicate and collaborate, and how to overcome failure, which are all essential skills to have as a professional in today’s day