I have found the process of choosing a musical topic about which to write a difficult one. My musical interests have never been concentrated in a singular area. To aid myself in this search, I will list the areas in which I hold an interest: music education, tuba performance practices, music pedagogy, tuba pedagogy, psychological development through music, and the history of music.
The field of music education is one with which I have become rapidly familiar. This statement is not to be confused with me claiming that I have an intimate knowledge of the subject matter. In my student teaching semester, I found myself immersed in a great number of ideologies toward the profession, many of which were in conflict. In regard to music education, my greatest quandary at this juncture of my career is choosing from the myriad of philosophies which relate to the field. In relation to the information I have gathered from those in the profession at the public school level, I have a disproportionately large amount of information from professionals who teach at the collegiate level and theorists who benefit music education by performing studies. If I were to perform research about the field of music education, my goal would be to gather information from these three sets of professionals which would bring my knowledge base about each to an equitable level.
In wishing to study the modern-day performance practice of the solo tuba player, I would look back to the era during which tuba players could rely only on transcribed literature. This is in stark contrast to today’s reality: a rich and ever-expanding library of resources through which the tubist may become an effective, knowledgeable, and enriched musician through the process of programmin...
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...formations of the American band movement, both inside and outside of the public school setting, and its implications on the field of education. Having now established my topic, I should ask myself the following questions: when did the idea of having a concert band in the public schools begin to take shape? What was the instrumentation of these bands? How many students were in these groups, and how did that compare with the population of the school on the whole? Was the size of these bands equivalent to those employed by institutions such as the military? What was the purpose of these bands – were they valued as a means of entertainment or were they viewed as a curricular group? Was this perspective in any way similar to how we view today’s public school concert band? These question will serve as my initial catalyst into research on this meaningful, enriching topic.
Band is family. When your student walks onto campus, he or she is instantly adopted into the strongest society on campus. They will be spending their school days among the top achievers on campus, with fellow students who look out for one another and steer each other away from trouble instead of towards it. Teachers, staff, parents, and volunteers watch over all the kids as if they were their own.
Zorn, J (1989, Nov.). The changing role of instrumental music. Music Educators Journal. 76(3), 21-24.
George Helmholtz, as the head of the music department at Lincoln High School, is very determined with his regular students and the gifted musicians of the band. Each semester and year at school he dreams of “leading as fine a band as there was on the face of the earth. And each year it came true”. His certainty that it was true was because he believed there was no greater dream than his. His students were just as confident and in response, they played their hearts out for them. Even the students with “no talent played on guts alone” for Helmholtz.
The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular protest music, which has reached out to the youthful generations everywhere demanding for a revolutionary change. The protest music took the children of the 1960’s to a completely new different level. Musicians of this generation were not going to sit and do nothing while the government lied to the people about what was going on in Vietnam. Instead, they took their guitar-strumming troubadours from the coffee houses, plugged them in, and sent the music and the message into the college dorm rooms and the homes of the youth of America. However, as decades went by, protest music does not have much of an impact as it use to because of the way things have changed over the years. Through the analysis of the music during the 1960’s, there shall be an understanding on how the different genres of protest music has affected social protesters based on how musicians have become the collective conscience of that generation through their lyrics and music and the main factors that contributed to the lack of popula...
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.
The history of the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble will be reflected through a timeline of events, including an analysis of significant events, groups, composers, and advancements. When society envisions a Wind Ensemble, talented musicians, grand music halls, and difficult arrangements typically come to mind. However, a modern-day Wind Ensemble includes a variety of musicians, each with positive and negative aspects. In society today, music is greatly appreciated and accepted. It is considered an honor and a privilege to expose our ears to the music.
Music’s role on society has changed drastically through the course of its history as it has become ever so increasingly expansive. Many of the previous musical movements were only for the wealthy as entertainment
In closing, the undoubtable influence of music, more specifically of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society is responsible for a number of changes to the status quo. These range from sexual liberation and racial desegregation all culminating with other influences to create an intergenerational identity. Despite the desperate attempts of older generations to smother these influences, these changes ultimately shaped the years that followed, molding the country into what it is today. Along the way these changes as well as individual involvement in them has also eased the lives of many through empowerment and a feeling of community and purpose. Despite a lull and renewal Rock ‘n’ Roll continues to serve as an agent of influence and change in today’s youth culture and continues to burn in the heart of past generations of loyal fans.
It is evident that a college marching band, as a group, has a set of common goals that they want to reach. As a team, they want to provide entertainment for those going to the games by playing their music. Their aim is to set an encouraging tone throughout the duration of the game. The group has a way of communicating to each other and participatory mechanisms that truly make them active members. Even more specific to their team, they have their specific lexis, or vocabulary, and genre that they possess a level of understanding far above that of an outsider.As for differences in ranks of members, there are many for this specific discourse community. The team contains members of all different diversities in majors, race, age, and experience. The highest rank can be seen with their director, professor, and head coach, Professor Reese. From there we have the assistant athletic director, the TA’s, the section and student leaders, the band members themselves, as well as the Hurricanettes and the Color
In conclusion this report has helped us understand the significance of Music in America. Also, the impact it has on music we listen too. Music is very much like a big chain reaction. Rock ‘N’ Roll, much like music today, stood out and was in a way rebellious. Parents now hate Rap and we love it. People in the 70’s loved Rock ‘N’ Roll and parents hated it. This shows that maybe no matter how much older people deny it, the time gap and generation gap is not too far apart. Without Rock ‘N’ Roll the World would without a doubt be changed. Any guess to that of which way would be a good one.
Smith, Jane Stuart and Betty Carlson. “The Gift of Music: Great Composures and Their Influence.” Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books Publishing. 1987. Print.
Steven, Kelly, N. (2002). A Sociological Basis For Music Education. International Journal of Music Education. 43. Pp. 40-49
middle of paper ... ... Music was not taught in the high school I was in. To satisfy my interest in learning about music and how to play musical instruments, I had to find a source of education other than school; a great depiction in agreement with Graff’s claim that students are being limited by not considering their interests when creating curricula (Graff 197). In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explaining how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students.
Wharram, Barbara. Elementary Rudiments of Music. Ed. Kathleen Wood. 2nd ed. Mississauga, Ont.: Frederick Harris Music, 2010. Print.
Smith, Jane Stuart and Betty Carlson. “The Gift of Music: Great Composures and Their Influence.” Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books Publishing. 1987. Print. April 2014.