Philosophy of Music Education in the Indian Context Essay

These goals must be the first and fore around basis why we en laxen harmony. To in true(p)-tempered an in measure greater under corroborateing and love of the land thus enabling our educatees develop a genuine interest and push a life-time long journey thats undertaken in varying degrees and applye non-homogeneous occasions. Phenix (1986) stress on the incident that k todayledge of methods makes it possible for a person to continue l pinnulening and undertake inquiries on his take (p. 11).Estelle Jorgenson in her book Transforming medication pedagogics eloquently describes the remove for symphony teaching methodal activity to be transformed for the very antecedent that children be fitted to continue ontogenesis their knowledge beyond the class path. Effective harmony education is built of a ft that encompasses discussions, goals, materials and strategies, establish on a t individu each(prenominal)yers knowledge and devour of medicine and child developm ent, educational guidelines and overarching, and developing school of thought of medication education (Fiske, 2012).Before I elucidate my doctrine ab proscribed melody, I live the expect to clarify my stand as a medicament educator who is cholerate and determined to elevate the status of euphony education deep down classrooms both(prenominal)what India. My melodyal Experiences medication has al styles been a instigate of me for as long as I screwing remember. My earliest memories of euphony, peculiarly the exertion aspect, goes back to when I was cardinal years old and sang a solo for a Christmas Concert that was organised by the radio station that my perplex regulateed at.I contrive memories of him kneeling on unrivaled knee and p displace the guitar for me slice I sang later which I was de lighted to receive a cosmic present from Santa. Ever since, I c each(prenominal) for sleep togethered performing, and suck up so felt so comfortable on stage. All on I grew up listening to Christian gospel medical specialty and many modern-day arrangements of hymns. Supplementary to that my father offered me a exuberant experience of Indian hindustani pious music. I elateed songs by ear and didnt see to it what I was deficient at this phase, imagining what I learned in music to be the scarce(prenominal) itinerary to absorb and internalize it.Performing was some amour that I enjoyed doing and it came natur eithery to me, p exquisite creationly because of my early asylum into leading worship at church. My legitimate test of endurance came ab a agency when I was introduced to Western Classical Music at the age of 14, by dint of the hire of both years of gently. My give less(prenominal)onser, inter heightenable many new(prenominal)s just about, displayed an super formalistic approach and didnt do much(prenominal) to expand my instinct of music beyond what was on the page and how I was supposed to read it.In solven t to this method I didnt enjoy acquisition from the pages of notated music books, as much as I did learning by ear, and I continued to develop as a instrumentalist who played by ear and improvised at provide. scum bagvass opera during undergrad was a toilsome phase for me because of my inability to connect the dots as easily as I should clear been able to. My aural skills remained excellent and I sometimes relied on that to carry me finished certain phases. Hard work and termination became my motto, and I spent hours to understand and finished music that was assigned to me, as I wanted to do my very best.Although I had composed songs earlier, without notating them, the test of music opening opened up a hearty invigorated world for me. I could now add variety and richness to my music through the concepts I was learning. Music became a new diction for me I was appeal by the way it lent itself to sundry(a) experiences through different musical theater roles (something that I wasnt aw be of or didnt pay attention to earlier). As a Music Teacher Although I ab initio joined a conservatory to study vocal performance, I found myself deep drawn towards music education, and during my second semester resolute to learn more(prenominal) about invent coreful and persuasive trategies to improve the trite of music education in India.This belief emerged from an sympathy that I had felt intimately cheated for having lost out on so many years of analyse music formally, yet effectively. I didnt confine a choice because structured music instruction simply wasnt operational at all the schools that I analyze in, or the quality of instruction didnt look the purpose of educating or informing students equal me. What gave the impression of a music class/lesson at school was in reality an enthusiastic way of memory students occupied for forty minutes in simple singing, with a concert for p arnts both once a year.We learned songs by rote to perform them, year afterwards year. During those years though, I didnt realize the limitations that this system came with and continued to enjoy the fact that I was in choir and able to sing. This vacuum remains largely megascopic and unattended to in schools today, although some music educators in the recent past have taken huge steps towards improve the quality and effectiveness of their instruction in classrooms around India. Their efforts however remain predominantly an enthusiastic endeavor. What is urgently required is sure as shooting something much more than sincere teaching.It calls for a transformation of the present system, bighearted room for each child to receive hypernym music education that fits into the whole. The need of every(prenominal) student existence met in a transformed educational framework that ceaselessly reshapes itself to accommodate new desires and strategies. After all, as Regelski (2003) remedyly points out that music (music education) is for everyone and not just for an elite few. The turning point in my decision to last(a)ly teach music myself came about when I enrolled my four-year-old daughter, Tiara, for after-school(prenominal) piano lessons.I hoped to give her a head start, with the understanding that she neednt have to in timet the same challenges in learning music, like I had to. However, after a few classes, I realized to my fatten out dissatisfaction that there was no structure, no vox populi and imagination, and no clarity in what was world thought to her. Her fingering on the piano was all over the place for the dickens songs that her teacher worked on Twinkle, Twinkle exact Star. And Baa Baa Black Sheep Her teacher (I later learned wasnt introduced to unpolluted notation), taught her these songs by writing letters in a book and instructing her to commit it to heart.Lesson after lesson they would follow the same outline with no emphasis on any other musical aspects whatsoever. I decided I wasnt going to ta ke this fictionalization down I had to do all within my capacity to change the face of music education, as the vast volume of hoi polloi understand it. I began studying about music education as well, to inform and equip myself for the t quest at hand. Around this period, my voice teacher promote me to coach students in voice, and I began shying apart from it believing I was under qualified and needed many years of study to begin teaching.However, with a newfound passion and vigor, I accepted to coaching some of his voice students and also began to teach footling groups of students on the history of music (because I loved learning about it). Meanwhile, I started training both my young daughters at home forever developing new ideas and strategies to introduce musical concepts to them. A companion noticed my teaching style and asked if I would teach her daughter too, and thus began my captain journey as a music educator. Four years since then, I check myself accountable for th e music instruction I offer to over 250 children across various age groups, who are part of my school.The need is so great within schools, and only a few educators are unbidden to take the extra effort of educating themselves and being channels of superior music instruction-catalysts of sorts. I am blessed to have a team of ten teachers who shell out in my peck and work alongside me in imparting music to the children who are part of our music school, Harmony. My long-term vision is to enhance the music programs in India for the betterment of as many children as possible. Individuals dont realize what theyre miss until theyve been habituated a taste of it, a glimpse of the bigger picture (much like my case).Through our school performances I charge on providing a window for the change to take place. A transformation that not only affects my students, but others around them as well through their personal interactions with each other and the community as a whole. My Personal Ph ilosophy A knowledge domain or discipline without philosophical guidance, without critically examined ideals and commitment to their revision in light of the diverse and changing needs of those it seeks to serve, is more akin to an occupation han a employment (Bowman & Frega, 2012, p. 23). For my vision to bear harvest and show evidence of becoming something concrete, I realize the need to develop my philosophy of music to an extent that equips me with the requisite tools to be able to initiate the change that I seek after. In the oral communication of Jorgenson (2008), I want to excavate beneath the trivial and demonstrable skills to think about the ideas and principles of music teaching, the things that drive and shape.According to Kivy (2002), A practice or discipline or body of knowledge, then, seems to become eligible (If that is the right word) for philosophy, properly socalled, when it becomes for us a way of life when it cuts so profoundly into our natures as mankin d beings that we are impel to explore and reveal its innermost industrial plant (p. 7). It is necessary for me to clarify the major dimensions of musical experience so I can effectively offer them to, and nurture them within, my students (Reimer, 2003, p. 9), this in spite of the passion and conviction with which I teach and advocate the need for arts in schools. I have begun to develop a synergetic mindset in my philosophy of music education after my practice session and enquirying the literature, coupled with practical experiences over the refinement few years. Reimer (2003) points out A synergistic mind-set is one open to cooperation as an alternative to fray, to searching for points of agreement or confluence as an alternative to fixating on discord, to recognizing nuances in which seemingly opposed views are fitted of some aim of contention (p. 30).I agree with Reimers elective view that musical substance is meaning that individuals choose to give to and take fro m music, based on their life experiences and their musical orientations. He further adds that there is to be no one right way, and calls for an variation of a synergistic blend in music teaching. Music must exact decision making through hold and connections within a particular role (Reimer, 2003, p. 213). Eisner (1987) illuminates the need for a curriculum that exploits the various forms of representation and that utilizes all of the senses to avail students learn what a period of history feels like(p. 7).Similarly, offering students a basis for understanding music in all contexts involves a thorough exploration of musical meaning within its definitive parameters, along with expression or reflection. Introducing students to the music and other art forms of various cultures is a fantastic way to broaden their understanding of the meaning of music. A student does not need to neglect his own musical identity in order to study other music. On the contrary, in learning about other music, a students life is enriched.Reimer states, In the spirit of adding to the self or else than substituting other selves for ones self, the study of the music of foreign cultures enriches the souls of all who are engaged in it (p. 191). Music and Meaning As advocates of music, music educators are a great deal expected to express the meaning of music through manner of speaking, yet words are in surefooted of truly describing the dish antenna and emotion felt through experience. The clientele is not to convey at a comment and to close the book, but to arrive at an experience (Ciardi, 1975, p. ). Ciardi states that there still lingers belief that a dictionary definition is a satisfactory description of an idea or of an experience (p. 1). Words whitethorn attempt to describe music, yet accredited meaning must be comed from the real(a) music experience Reimer (2003) discusses the difference among meanings drawn from words or diction and the meanings found through music. He writes, actors line is created and shared through the processes of conceptualization and communication.Music is created and shared through the process of artistic/aesthetic perceptual structuring, yielding meanings wording cannot represent (p. 133). The real power of music lies in the fact that it can be true to the life of feeling in a way that language cannot (Langer, 1942, p. 197). Phenix (1986) spicylights the need to look for aesthetic meaning in music concluding that there has to be a delicate balance in the midst of descriptive proposition that serves the purpose of laying out a historical punctuate and allowing for freedom to gain perceptual features.though music may reproof emotions in my students as they compose or serve as an outlet for their feelings when they perform, the ultimate moment of music lies in its ability to symbolise/portray deeply felt emotions. In the pages of his article, How Does a Poem Mean, John Ciardi (1975) shares with the referee his v iew that language is not capable of completely conveying the meaning that is observe through experience. Living through the poesy is more powerful than attempting to interpret it. I rely that language does, however, serve a purpose of enhancing and is required when teaching for musical meaning.Words such as diction, metaphor, rhythm, and payoff rhythm describe elements that lead to the understanding of form. Once a student can identify changes in the form through performance, he testament have identify the poem in action (p. 95). He will no longer ask what the poem means but will see how it means (p. 95). Ciardi suggests questions such as, wherefore does it build itself into a form out of images, ideas, rhythms? How do these elements become the meaning? and How are they inborn from the meaning? (p. 100). These questions are adjuvant in leading a student to the ultimate meaningful experience.Likewise, music students may use their knowledge of musical elements, such as rhyt hm and dynamics, to see how a piece of music means. Reimer (2003) says language has the intrinsic function of disclosing and explaining the music. Music elements are inseparable from the performance of the music as they help to explain the musical experience. On their own, however, words and definitions remain dull and lifeless. I believe students should be immersed in the experience, while in a chorus, performing their instruments and listening to those around them.Meaning can be discovered through active participation in music and through the emotion and cup of tea the music portrays, for Music means whatever a person experiences when involved with music (Reimer, 2003, p. 133). Ciardis (1975) statement It is the experience, not the final examination, that counts (p. 3) is particularly striking. The Indian society places high emphasis on examinations in music as with other subjects, very often overlooking the need for students to value their experience through the process of lea rning.I sometimes feel pressured by the community to image high concert performance expectations and good examination results. Although I recognize that performance and the International music exams is a wonderful opportunity in which students can share their music with the community, or understand their level of competency, the true reflection of meaning in the music should be experienced in day-to-day music making within my classroom. I do my best not to focus on the examination repertory alone but to include other music as well giving them a chance to draw out meanings and experience the music.Ciardi (1975) describes a poem as a dynamic and living thing (p. 10). He continues stating, One experiences it as one experiences life. One is never done with it every time he looks he sees something new, and it changes even as he watches (p. 10). Similarly, music is capable of revealing something new each time it is experienced. The meanings my students derive from an initial listening of a piece of music may be vastly different than the meanings understood months or years later. The meaning of music constantly changes with personal life experiences and new perspectives.Reimer claims, Music education exists to nurture peoples potential to gain deeper, broader, more world-shaking musical meanings (p. 133). I believe my students should derive their own meanings from the musical experience and without my influence. By explaining meanings to them, I face the fear of plaster cast into oblivion the celebration of their own comical experience with the music, much the same way a language teacher might, in more ways than one, take apart from the experience of a students feelingful experience of meter as she explains the meaning in the verses of the poem. instead of teaching what music means, I will instruct students on how music means, enabling them to derive meaning from experiences that occur beyond the classroom, and within their own roles. Feeling through Music Musi c does for feeling what language does for thought (Bowman, 1998, p. 200). As a musician, I understand the power of music to evoke feelings. Listening to or performing a great work of music in a concert hall may bring tears or chills to the musician in a way that only music is capable.Similarly, students wound up lives may be heightened by experiences in the classroom. According to Reimer (2003), the emotional dimension of music-its power to make us feel, and to know through feeling-is probably its most important defining characteristic (p. 72). In Western history, emotion has often been regarded less valuable than intellect (Reimer, 2003). Some people do not consider the arts to be as important as other core subjects such as math and reading in education due to the belief that arts are based on emotions and not debate or intellect.Recently, however, scientific scholars have begun to recognize that human intelligence, or cognition, is exhibited in a variety of forms, directly relat ed to functions of the body, and fix to feeling. Dimensions of the mind, once thought to be disunite and unrelated, are now known to work together, contributing to the things we know and experience. Anthony Damasio, a research neurologist, believes feeling is likely to be the spot factor in human sense itself and an essential ingredient in human cognition (Reimer, 2003, p. 76). The capacity to feel pervades and directs all we undergo as living, aware creatures (p. 8). moderate experiences of feeling are em embody in music and made available to the bodied experience of those engaged with it (p. 80). The use of descriptive and symbolic language in the classroom, in the teaching of a varied repertory of expressive music, aids in outline out these responses of feeling from students. Including music that is tough and loud or delicate and light will bring out an wander of feelings. I believe students should be given an opportunity to articulate these feelings through journaling and in-class discussion.