Music And Literacy Education At Colby College Essay

The history of our schools is told beginning with the founding of our nation, moving through the common school movement, the arguments of the progressive era, and leading up to all of the modern acts made in the 21st century. Music education is a factor in the public schools, and it is rarely discussed as part of the history of our schools. Music education has been a part of our schools since the beginning and continues to better our students to this day.

In Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences there are eight main intelligences of varying degrees in every person. In schools today linguistic and logical intelligences are most strongly stressed leaving the other intelligences to be used outside the classroom. Sometimes even scheduled time for the usage of other intelligences is ignored: “Often teachers even let pupils do their homework in the periods that are assigned to class music while they occupy themselves with other activities such as completing the attendance register,” (Van der Lind 610). Music is one of these six intelligences, left to being used outside the classroom, and forgotten within, with the ability to connect students to

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).

Many schools around the country are cutting their music program because of budget cuts in their counties. The arts for some reason are always the first to be cut; apparently the school doesn’t think they are essential to their students learning. Schools try to focus on the more important academic classes because of the high testing standards they must now meet. (Nesoff 2003) This is not just happening in poor school districts it is happening in large districts across the country including magnet schools for the arts: “When Albert Margolis and his wife attended the final music program for their son's kindergarten class in May, they were shocked when a teacher stood up after the performance and

This essay is concerned with an interpretation of the sacred music of two Native American tribes: the Yurok and the Yaqui. My thesis is that sacred music is a vehicle for human transformation and we see this displayed in Native American ritual performance. Yurok and Yaqui music have similarities in that they focus on transforming the listeners and the performers. The way music is performed, the motivation behind the performance, and the way the music is understood is different for the Yurok and the Yaqui due to discreet differences in their worldviews.

It’s a boost to my confidence that I’m often the featured solo singer at festivals. I was awarded a Gold Coin Award for my performance, as well as placed consistently as a finalist in Charlotte Indian Idol. A fusion of traditional and contemporary modalities is my unique and recognized style in Carnatic music. I also am encouraged to sing when gathering with friends and family. Family gatherings often include singing together. In my formative years, these get-togethers provided many opportunities for me learn and sing new songs. Learning languages came easily to me. In fact, I am fluent in three languages (Hindi, Sanskrit and Telugu) largely by singing these traditional Indian songs. I love seeing little kids dance and sing along and how my grandparents are visibly moved by these songs, since they bring back fond memories of earlier years. Music and lyrics play a profound role no matter one’s age. Children listen to their mothers singling lullabies to fall asleep and the elderly rely on songs to bring back the past. Singing together unites us all and fosters strong connections including

Due to the declining economy, school boards around the country have decided to cut funding to the music education programs. It is necessary to keep music education in the American school system because it enhances the development of skills that children will use for the rest of their lives.

I have had the pleasure of teaching in the public school systems in Michigan for 8 years. As a middle school band director, I am handed a new group of beginner instrumentalists each year with the goal of (hopefully) continuing their music education in a slightly more specialized classroom. When I start working with these children, they are in 5th grade. Most of them have come up through the grade levels of my school having had the same music teacher for 5-6 years (depending on whether or not they were enrolled in developmental kindergarten). They have had a very complete curriculum of music in these early years, spending most of their class time singing, playing various instruments, dancing, and being creative the entire hour.

Few would argue against the idea that we educate ourselves and our society so that we have adequate means with which to understand and interact with elements of the world around us. Subjects such as mathematics, language, history, and the hard sciences are granted immediate and unquestioned legitimacy in our schools, and with good reason. We encounter each of these elements of our lives on a daily basis. We need to have an understanding of these disciplines in order to interact with them, otherwise they are meaningless to us. I submit that the same can be said for the fundamental concepts of music. Music is something that we encounter in our society every day. It surrounds us. Indeed

For years, I have studied music. I cannot picture my life without it. In my schooling, I participated in various orchestras and choirs, learning eight different instruments along the way. It was my high school music program that instilled a passion for music inside me. Not only did I enjoy attending my music classes in high school, but I enjoyed all my classes, a fact that many of my peers cannot claim. Learning how to think as a musician has also taught me how to think as a mathematician, a writer, a scholar, and as a future educator.

Since I listened to songs from different languages, I started forming habits of listening to Hindi film music, often called as Bollywood, which is quite pervasive in Indian society. Being a girl, I was drawn to the glamour and rhythm of the Bollywood songs. Here I am speaking of my own interest-based, gender-based, and age-based cultural cohorts that I formed with other girls. We made it a habit to collect different catchy numbers from different movies, practiced the bollywood dance to develop our skills, as stated by Turino, "For interest-based cohorts, conscious choice is involved in skill development and joining up with others who similarly value or take part in the activity" (115). This cultural cohort also defined my identity in terms

Although there are a great amount of studies and articles that support that music education is essential in public schools, there are still some studies that have found that there is no benefit other than improving your musical knowledge when taking a music education class in Elementary and High School. These articles have debunked tests on different studies that have been proven to be true for the promotion of music education. In saying this, these articles are not saying that music education is bad or unneeded, they are just saying that there is no real benefit that music education has in helping students improve the development of their language, improve their math scores, and enhance their spatial and cognitive skills. Music education is

As you can see, music and dance are very influential in the culture of Brazil. Therefore, music education is also important in the lives of the Brazilian people. Children are exposed to music from an early age through family and community. Unfortunately, music education is not highly regarded in the school system. The amount of music education differs greatly by school and teachers. Most public schools do not have a special music teacher or department. In order to be well educated in music a student would need to attend a private school or a conservatory. As we transition into talking about education, we see that there are many different positives and negatives to school in southern Brazil.

Within the cultural diversity of the Republic of Indonesia there are numerous artistic art forms that have surfaced throughout this country. These genres give outsiders a glimpse into the cultural and social context in which this society functions. Internationally this country is most recognized for its traditional music ensemble known as gamelan. This art form serves as a significant part of the artistic culture. It is used to accompany dances, puppet performances, rituals, and various ceremonies. Furthermore, gamelan has always been an important part of the social construct within the different provinces of Indonesia as it holds great recognition within its community. The different forms of gamelan throughout the country in many ways have served as its own version of the Gesamtkunstwerk within the culture of Indonesia and through provinces such as Bali we see how one of their own genres of gamelan became the genesis for Balinese artistic culture.

Mr Tan (pseudonym) is a Singaporean, 24 years old this year and currently studying in the National University of Singapore. He majors in Political Science and is in his fourth year now, working on his Honours thesis. Mr Tan has a very strong passion for music. He has always wanted to learn how to play the piano since he was in primary school and recently, his mother bought him a piano. He was in the Choir in his Junior College years and in his university hall, he joins an interest group called “Jam City”, where they form a band and jam together. He was also the Vocal Coach for the first musical organised by his university hall. All these pursuits were not easy for him. In the rest of this essay, I will use the cross-cultural theory of ikigai