Winston Churchill once said, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
Churchill’s statement is relevant in my pursuit of a second Master of Music degree in flute performance. Although I have planned a transition into music performance for several years, the role of music in my life has evolved significantly due to extensive academic study and teaching. As an undergraduate, I concentrated on obtaining a solid background in K-12 music education. After graduation, I migrated to Australia and completed a Master of Music degree in flute performance that was primarily research-based. This strategy has been incredibly valuable to me in determining my career plans. Expertise, experience and preparation are key components to the success of an musician. As a music educator, I have taught classroom music, instrumental music and flute in many schools with varying curricula in the United States and Australia. These teaching experiences have been crucial for my overall development as a musician as they have enabled me to dissect, analyze and
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Although my Masters studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music provided me with excellent opportunities to further develop the fundamental research and performance skills, it was more research-oriented, designed for a performer that wanted an introduction to postgraduate research. A second Master's degree will enable me to further synthesize the varied components of my musical training and will create the performance opportunities necessary to take my career to the next level. I would like to expand my knowledge of traditional flute repertoire and to focus on the collaborative process of orchestral, opera excerpts and chamber music performance was not a substantial component in my undergraduate and postgraduate
Objectives for Elementary level Piano Instruction: A Survey and comparison of the Objectives of Piano/ piano Pedagogy Teachers. EdD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Richard Colwell, Carol Richardson. The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning: A Project of the Music Educators National Conference. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Lehman, Paul R. et all. The School Music Program: A New Vision. (1994). Reston, VA. Music Educators National Conference.
Rafe approaches teaching music differently than a typical music class. He allows kids to practice during recess so that it is open to kids who actually want to participate and will not be a disruption. He gives guitar lessons as well as singing lessons, which is done with burnt CDs which the kids listen to them until they get better at hearing the notes. Rafe even learns with the kids because he knows that he has to be a role model. He also knows that students who take the initiative to learn how to play an instrument are also learning about “...discipline, responsibility, teamwork, sacrifice, practice, correcting mistakes, listening, and time management” (Esquith, 2007, p. 107).
Whether the student is a beginner, or someone who has studied music for a number of years, the way in which one views oneself as a musician can be an important factor in the kinds of experiences one has with music. A quality music education is one that challenges students to set clear and achievable goals, think musically and critically, and apply what one has learned in a meaningful way. If a musician harbors a negative view of his or her musical abilities, the lasting effects of this view on his or her musical experiences and achievement could be challenging to overcome.
After announcing my decision to a number of friends and acquaintances, I began to encounter not a few misconceptions about the study of music. Many people readily expressed their uninformed opinion that music (particularly vocal performance) was an easy college major for anyone with a modicum of talent: “Just open your mouth and let the music pour out.” Some showed their ignorance by commenting that music majors had both light and easy course loads. There are even some people who refuse to acknowledge that music is a serious academic discipline. They believe music is a refuge for slackers who do not want to tackle the really difficult courses. Others have insinuated
The once formerly instructional and practice time for music performance of 30 minutes per day has been shortened in schools or completely eliminated. The amount of time in which music instructors are present to a class immensely shortens their effectiveness capability to teach music material. Nevertheless, the reductions in their profession to teach, elementary school music instructors are still expected to yield similar results within students and their achievements. The main argument behind budget cuts for fine arts departments in elementary schools has been caused by an ever growing focus on higher test results in core curriculum subjects, such as language arts, social studies, science, and math. This logic is highly mistaken; the correlation between early childhood exposure to music and scholastic excellence have been proved and has been acceptable for a vast amount time. “Music competencies achieved from birth to age five assist students in later school experience ” (Colwell 1721), concluded a research conducted by the Perry Early Childhood Education Program. Amy Graziano has proven music education to enhance intellectual ability in abstract fields such as math when entering into early elementary years. Therefore, ongoing budget cuts and layoffs within the fine arts departments of public school systems is inexcusable and absurd. Hypothetically speaking, if school systems proceeded to hire more
Curriculum reform requires that all teachers become teacher leaders. "This involves a commitment on the part of all to lead as experts in their subject area, their classrooms, and in the vision and mission of the school/district" (Hill, 2006, p. 178). Each teacher, especially the music educator, has to be an advocate for their subject within the curriculum. As the music curriculum is currently changing, the music educator should be aware of the issues that are being revised.
I’m a student at Tompkins Cortland Community College this is my first semester as a college student. I plan to go to college for four years and only be at TC3 for this one semester, then transfer to a four year school. College has grown around the world more than ever and more people are attending college more than ever. I have chosen to go to college because of the rewards after graduation. Yes it is another four years of school but by getting more education and an extended degree gives me more opportunities for better jobs and more money. The career I have chosen to study is business administration. I am hoping that it takes me to a great job managing a company or possibly being an accountant.
Challenges comes in many different shapes and forms. Arising on the dependence of the environment. These past few weeks, I have not only had the privilege to observe music education being taught in high school, but elementary as well. Being able to witness a different learning environment opened my eyes to new future challenges that may arise in the future. As a music teacher, I may have the responsibility to not only teach high school students, but elementary and middle school students as well. These levels each hold their own challenges, and teaching approaches may vary slightly depending on the grades. I have addressed the challenges when it concerns high school students in my last reflection, in this paper, I will discuss the challenges that arise in primary and middle school, in which also includes junior high.
I began taking piano lesson when I was in grade one, but when I moved to Canada, I was not able to take piano lessons. I was not given the opportunity to re-start piano lessons until grade eleven. In high school, I joined choir for four years as well as Jazz Band, and concert and got an award for music in grade twelve. I peer tutored the grades six, seven and eight band. When I was in jazz band, I learned how to play the alto saxophone and tenor saxophone. When I was in concert band I played flute. I was also given the chance to play for my church’s worship team for five years. In my first year of University I joined the University Choir. When I was enrolled Summit Bible College, I was in the acapella group called “Tapestry” which was generally performed on special events in churches, in our school and on Sunday services for a year. I have finished grade ten playing and theory exam for piano and currently, getting ready for my ARCT: performance, history and harmony exams. Since last semester, I started teaching piano in the School (Performing Arts School associated with Providence Un...
My long term career goal is to found my own financial company that specializes in applying advanced analytics tools to solve complex financial problems. Having worked as a financial analytics analyst for more than 6 months at Enova Financial, a Chicago-based consumer online financing company, my passion towards financial analytics is reinforced. Ranging from basic data query and reporting to predictive modeling and optimization, data analytics has assumed a more important role in today’s financial services industry. Mastering data analytics could help financial institutions acquire the relevant information in the shortest amount of time and make the informed decisions thereafter. Since personal loan industry is only the niche of financial services, I would like to broaden my horizon of the financial knowledge by gaining a deeper understanding of its principle and its application in order to achieve my loan term goal. Entering a full-time master in finance program, as such, becomes the best option for me.
In performance-based courses such as band or choir, the key to teacher musicality is the synthesis and delivery of those elements into an expressive, meaningful, and worthwhile performance outcome. Good lesson planning and preparation should already account for musical readiness in relation to teaching the instructional unit. Simply knowing information about history or harmony does not necessarily equate to successful teaching. Delivery and structure will have a significant impact on student retention, motivation, and cooperation. Assuming that planning and preparation are secure, music teachers should share their lesson plans at the beginning of each class (in Merrion, 1991 and Jones & Jones, 1995).
Overall, my experience with the Iowa State University Music Education Programs has been and incredibly effective and worthwhile experience. While there are always areas that can be improved upon, especially in the ever changing world of education, I believe that ISU’s program is set up in such a way that adequately prepares students for what the real world of music education looks like. In order to properly frame my reflections on the Music Education Program, I will be using the Iowa State University Teaching Standards that were in place during my time at the university.
“Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him,”- President Dwight D. Eisenhower.