Megan Pendleton

Professor McBride
Critical Pedagogy I
1 May 2014
Progress through Process
Some students enroll in music classes because theyre good at an instrument. Other
students choose band as their elective because they think its an easy A. Some pick choir because
they have a free period to fill. But the biggest flaw in our education system is the fact that music
education is a choice. A choice that is often swayed by those who feel the need to bulk up their
college applications with intense academic portion. A choice that is overlooked in fear of lack of
talent or experience. But people dont realize that music education is a necessary component in
child development. Study after study has proved that music students score higher in reading tests,
math tests, and are less likely to get arrested and drop out of school. Music students benefit from
creative expression and corresponding health benefits. They benefit from developed critical
thinking skills and team-building and are stronger leaders. And not just the students who are
destined to attend Julliard; all students, no matter their experience or background, can benefit
from a music education. Every student can make music and every student can learn how to take
that music and make it special to themselves. Every student can learn how to take their own
emotions and thoughts and create something to share with the world. General music education
must be accessible to all students in order to foster intellectual and psychological development to
promote the full, well-rounded self.
Accessible music education is necessary because it stimulates intellectual growth which
develops skills which benefit students in academics and in their future professional lives. When a

student walks into a music classroom, they add a number of tools to their intellectual toolbox.
Whether through choral singing or instrumental lessons, students develop critical thinking,
reading skills, and a strong work ethic which help spur their learning in other fields of study. In
the general music classroom, even the most basic skills can benefit the students academic habits.
Then, with practice and application, these habits can help them later in their professional life.
When author Joann Lipman surveyed a number of business leaders and executives, she found
that a majority of those in leadership positions had musical backgrounds. Whether they received
their undergraduate degrees in music or took clarinet lessons in middle school, they all agreed on
one thing: they found success by applying the work ethic they gained from practicing music. She
says to consider the main things these high achievers say music has sharpened: collaboration,
creativity, discipline and the capacity to reconcile conflicting ideas. Collaboration in the
classroom teaches students to become team players and bring several different voices together
into one unified group. When the student is placed in a classroom with their peers and a bunch of
instruments, they learn that everyone must play an individual role, with different harmonies and
melodies all working together to form one piece of music, whether they intend on being a
professional musician or not. And when a student is working in an ensemble, as the solo vocalist
or the third chair trombone, they learn that if they do not do their part, the entire group must
suffer the consequences. Even in the casual setting where a group of students are performing for
fun, they understand that every person has their own role in the music of the moment. The
students learn how to practice and repeat sections and pieces and parts so that they are able to
carry their weight in the balance of the ensemble. This puts pressure on the student to work hard,
which, over a time, becomes a habit that can be applied to other areas of study. Take, for
instance, language arts: when a student is learning how to read, they must discern sounds from

letters and words. In a study of musics effect on literacy, Ron Butzlaff writes that Experience in
listening to music trains a general kind of auditory sensitivity that is as useful in listening to
music as it is in perceiving phonological distinctions. He goes on to say that even the simplest
similarities, such as reading from left to right and phonological distinctions, can enhance and
accelerate students skills. Add the developing work ethic, and students learn how to read and
speak much more efficiently and thoroughly than a student without a music education. And, in
time, advanced reading skills lead to significant advantages when applied to reading
comprehension, social studies, and verbal communication. Studies have determined that music
majors have higher reading scores when compared to English, biology, chemistry, and math
students. Finally, music education develops critical thinking in a different way than general
education courses. Music education adds a layer of education that enhances other subjects by
providing the students with another venue to challenge their curiosity and interest. In addition to
mathematical proofs and literary analysis, music students learn how to analyze written music,
sounds, and emotional responses to fully analyze and perform works of music in a way that
differs from other educational instruction. Almost like learning a whole other language, they
learn how their outside studies connect to the things they do in the music classroom through a
critical lens. They use critical thinking and analysis to figure out how to take a black-and-white
sheet of music and turn it into something visceral and emotional. These analytical advantages
help students to always seek a different approach to situations and provide them with a different
way of tackling problems. They learn that repetition and hard work brings results, and they learn
how to break down something thats in front of them into something thats personal and
accessible. And with these skills, students can apply their knowledge to other subjects so that
they may succeed in every aspect of their lives.

In addition to intellectual development, music education is necessary for all students to

promote and provide psychological health and well-being. When students are happy and stable,
they perform better academically, socially, and physically. They are more likely to succeed, more
likely to have comfortable social lives, and more likely to enjoy the things they do. And theres
no denying that emotion is directly tied to music the sole purpose of performing is evoking an
emotional response from the audience. And the emotion isnt one sided; the audience only
responds emotionally when the performer has effectively portrayed the feeling of the piece. For
many people, the most effective way to relieve emotional tension and stress is through creativity,
and the most accessible form of creative expression is music. Everyone can make music. Not
everyone can paint a masterpiece worthy of the Louvre or write a best-selling novel, but
everyone can clap their hands and stomp their feet or sing a hymn and play piano. And in the
classroom where every student has an equal opportunity to explore and perform music, the
psychological benefits are endless. According to E. Thayer Gaston, The common creative urge,
desire for diversion, and search for satisfactory expression exists in all peoples. Everyone needs
a way to dispel excess emotion, negative or positive, and according to Gaston, only music
education can be truly democratic and reach all children.thereby enabling them ever
afterward to look to music for catharsis of undue tension and relief from worry, for inspiration,
good fellowship, creativity, happiness and good health. If, from a young age, students are
learning how to make music and learning what styles of music make them happy, they can use
that knowledge as a coping mechanism later in the future. When students immerse themselves in
the creative process in the music classroom, they create things that are personal that they can be
proud of and share to others as something that they have accomplished. And that
accomplishment is tantamount to an A on a project or a successful final test. According to June

Boyce-Tillman, The music curriculum needs to contain activities where the stress is on process
rather than product and where improvisation is included as well as formalized notated traditions
of the classical canon. When the emphasis is on process, the focus shifts from the teacher to the
student; the end product and final expectations are not as important as the journey to the finish.
And when students create their own music as fits their own emotions and feelings, this creative
process can also help ease the symptoms of psychological disorders such as anxiety and
depression. Dr. Fredrick Tims, Professor of music therapy, wrote that During moments of
musical euphoria, blood travels through the brain to areas where other stimuli can produce
feelings of contentment and joy-and travels away from brain cell areas associated with
depression and fear. Not only can music give students a sense of purpose and accomplishment,
but those students who suffer from depression can benefit from music-making in a natural, nonincriminating way. And in a study on well-being as achieved through music, June BoyceTillman noted that Musical ability nurtured represents not only musical empowerment but also a
personal empowerment in other areas. In a project in which children with chronic anxiety were
given creative music lessons, their symptoms decreased. If the music classroom focuses on the
creative process and how the students feel in regards to their music making, it has the potential to
become a haven for those students who are under a lot of stress.
I believe in my philosophy of music education because I have lived it. I have lived the
benefits of focused music instruction from a young age and I have experienced the psychological
benefits of musical training. My creative process in music is my way of coping with life and it is
my goal to help at least one student find their own creative process so that they too may find
ways of coping. Music calms my anxiety, it helps me solve problems, and it gives me something

to pride myself in, even when I cant see the light at the end of the tunnel. And music education,
when given to all students, is the best way to help develop well-being and intelligence there is.