Kaylee Harris

6/30/14

Music for Elementary 405

Journal #2

When reading the given articles, I thought the most interesting was the
Multiculturalism in music article. There were many valid points that I had never
thought of before when dealing with multiculturalism and music put together. The
first point that I found interesting was that the article said that multiculturalism in
music is studied in exclusion. I thought this was a true statement when I thought
deeper about it because when we learn music, we learn a lot about what the
different music styles and types are from other countries. The negative aspect of this
is that it turns into comments such as This is an example of our music and their
music. In my opinion, it reinforces the idea that we are not all equal or we are not all
important. We are all different in our own ways but that doesnt mean we are not
inclusive with each other.
Another idea that I got from the article was that multiculturalism is about
diversity and different ethnics and races, which are talked about frequently in music
education. However, multiculturalism is also gender, social class, and disability,
which are examples of concepts that are overlooked in music education and just
education in general. These concepts sometimes can come out in music or the social
class that could be created because of the music but it is never talked about directly
in the music. If music is going to be apart of multiculturalism than it needs to cover
all concepts that comes along with multiculturalism.
The three issues that are the most popular when dealing with
multiculturalism in music are 1) the hierarchy of western music being before all
others, 2) the idea that there is their music and our music, and 3) the belief in the
myth that music is the universal language. The western music is often considered to
be the most popular or seen as the most important which is not true. No music is the
most important or the best. It is all about how you interpret the music you hear.
The second issue is that when we teach music we think of it as being their or our
music. This puts the invisible line in between people and makes a stereotype that
one culture; ethnicity or race has one type of music that is theirs. In the article, it
says how all music is different but all equally valid. Finally, there is the myth that
music is the universal language. This doesnt make any sense to me because every
piece of music still has a specific meaning and that meaning might not be the same
for everyone that listens to it. People interpret different songs in different ways and
that is one of the great parts about music.
Another point that the article made was the observation that when music
education is taught, whose music is not being heard? How are we as educators
supposed to pick whos music we listen to and learn about and whos music are we
leaving out? There is no way that in one school year a class can learn about every
type of music that is out there. So how do you choose?
I think one way of going toward a more efficient way of teaching
multiculturalism in music is the common elements approach. This approach is more
about ways of understanding the music from all around the world. Being able to see
how they look at in from their eyes and opening our minds to different perspectives
of listening to music. This approach got started from a music symposium called
Tanglewood and it has helped get rid of the hierarchy of high art music. That way
every type of music is different but equally valid. This is the way that students
need to be taught music and multiculturalism together. If they learn and understand
that concept in music than they will understand that as people, we are all also
different but equally valid as humans.
After Tanglewood and the common elements approach way of teaching
started forming, music educators starting getting an idea of a whole new educator
program. This program will give regular classroom teachers the confidence to be
able to teach music in the classroom whether they are musically inclined or not. I
think that too often the music teachers are looked at as the specialist but in reality,
they are just supposed to be the support for general education teachers to help them
in using music in their classroom. It is assumed way too often that if you are not
musically talented you cant teach music to your students but that is not the case. All
teachers should have the confidence to teach music and not be afraid to incorporate
it into the classroom and into other subjects.
In the article, it also talks about wanting a whole new curriculum in the
music class. They want this new curriculum to be diverse, inclusive, and respectful
which is how it should be in every curriculum. I think it is a great time in society
right now to make these changes in music because multiculturalism is moving and
changing fast. Our generation is one step closer to equality of all aspects in
multiculturalism and I think music education can and should evolve with it. People
are starting to look at things and people in different ways and adding the
understanding of music all around the world will just be a great asset in learning
about all these different people and appreciating the differences in everyone.
The other article written by Wade explains the actual meaning of topics in
music and what it actually means to be music or what it actually means to listen to
music. In my opinion, it was a little drier of a reading but it gave well-written
definitions of music topics and gives a deeper meaning into what they are. This is
the kind of information that general classroom teachers should know to have a
foundation to tell your students. You do not have to be an expert but knowing as
much as you can will benefit you in the long run and make you more comfortable
and confident about being able to teach music in your general education classroom
and not depend on the music teacher all the time.