Emma Arndt

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Music Philosophy and Advocacy

Oxford English dictionary defines music in two ways. The first definition is:

vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of

form, harmony and expression of emotion. The second definition is: the written or

printed signs representing vocal or instrumental sound. When thinking of music, and the

purpose of music, musicians know and realize that the performance and the creation of

music is an expression of beauty and emotion. Some people who may not have as strong

a connection to music may believe that music is a series of printed notes on a page the

musician is only responsible for playing or singing the notes on the page, and that makes

music. But, what is the true definition of music? This is a question that I will be

addressing throughout the entirety of this paper.

We live in a world where, at the current time, society believes that arts and music

programs are wonderful when there is room in the budget for them, but when money gets

tight, the arts and music programs are the first on the chopping block. Arts programs are

so much more than music, sculptures, dance or pictures. Arts programs foster the skills to

allow your mind to process thoughts, feelings and emotions in situations where words

often fail. The use of music as communication is present in a variety of cultures, and

been throughout our history. Before we had literacy, we had song and music. Native

American and Aboriginal people used song for various reasons. They had hunting songs,

religious songs, gathering songs, lullabies and ceremonial songs just to name a few.

More importantly, the use of song was a method of storytelling. It is how the elders

passed down their cultural history from generation to generation. Music has been a form

of storytelling and communication for a long, long time. It has allowed cultures to pass
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down their stories prior to what we now know as traditional forms of recording history.

They let the music speak for them. Daniel Levitin said, Music may be the activity that

prepared our pre-human ancestors for speech communication and for the very cognitive,

representational flexibility necessary to become humans. This not only supports the idea

that music is a vital communication tool, but also suggests that the study and practice of

music actually helped our ancestors understand what speech and communication are, and

assisted the brains cognitive function to help them to comprehend speech and to

communicate.

Dr. Ed Wasiak said, Music is central to human existence it is important!.

Throughout the years, music advocates have tried to save programs with the use of non-

curricular statements such as music makes you smarter or music is important because

its helps students with their math skills and music helps with test scores. This tactic

takes the focus off of the importance of the actual benefit of teaching and implementing a

well thought out music curriculum. Using these defence tactics also builds your music

program on the flimsy foundation of good test scores or better math marks. This defence

is not based on the merit of your music program. If a teacher creates a solid music

program that teachers, students and parents buy into, it makes it very hard to question

the value of the program. Using methods to build up the legitimacy of your program

such as appropriate planning time, proper assessment tools and appropriate, sequential

teaching from the program of studies will allow your program to stand on its own two

feet; on its merits thus allowing the music program to be free of a flimsy, non-

factually based foundation.

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Why should music be taught in the schools? As a musician and a future music

educator, I know that music education programs in schools offer a multitude of invaluable

benefits for students; including, but not limited to, collaboration and communication

skills, creativity, self-expression and enhanced leadership skills. Teaching music in

classrooms is essential if we want to truly offer a world-class and well-rounded education

to our learners. According to Plato, music and music education should be taught as a

fundamental skill. I would teach children music, physics and philosophy; but most

importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.

Skills that you learn and develop while playing music and/or singing, such as pattern

development, are skills that students can use when decoding speech and numbers in other

subjects. Though I dont want to go back on my word in the previous paragraph and

prop music up based on literacy and numeracy, practicing and performing music causes

changes and growth in the brain that will, inevitably, affect a childs success in other

aspects of learning. Neurologist Oliver Sacks said, Anatomists today would be hard put

to identify the brain of a visual artist, a writer or a mathematician - but they would

recognize the brain of a professional musician without a moment's hesitation. This is

because when a musician is playing, performing or listening to music, they are using the

front, back, left and right sides of their brain. This much mental stimulation allows the

brain to develop and grow and can even strengthen weaker parts of the brain.

The performance and creation of music uses cognitive, affective and psychomotor

skills simultaneously; this means that students are working on and developing their

intellectual, emotional and motor skills every time they sing or play an instrument. This

development and use of the three skills allows students to utilize higher-level thinking.
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According to Blooms Taxonomy, when a student is performing a piece of music, they are

collaborating, organizing, modifying and adapting. All of these action words are from the

top two columns in the hierarchy of the taxonomy and foster a higher cognitive process.

If music can foster so many important skills and allow for higher-level thinking, why do

music teachers and schools have to constantly fight to keep their programs alive? With

so much evidence supporting the practice and performance of music and the positive

effects it has on other areas of learning, one would think the necessity for a solid music

program is very apparent.

The impact that music has on the development of the brain is not the only reason

that music should be taught in schools. The power of music has the ability to unite

humans, foster relationships and create a sense of comradery. Music is a universal

language and form of communication. There are so many uses for it within the classroom.

Canada is a cultural mosaic; music class would be a marvellous opportunity for students

to use music to showcase their culture and heritage. All cultures use music and have their

own musical identity. Music can be used as a form of personal expression. An excellent

example of music uniting is when the entire school sings a school song. For a moment,

everyone is connected; the bias that people may hold against each other are put to rest.

One could argue that performing music has a positive impact on the human condition.

Every student should have the opportunity to receive a solid music education.

School boards and administrators need to close the opportunity gap by reducing

disparities in music education so that all schools, geographic regions and demographic

groups have equal access to quality music education. To do this we need to acknowledge

that music is just as important as any core subject. If we hold music education to the
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same standards as literacy and numeracy, we would have the funding to allow every

student to participate in a solid, well thought out music education. In elementary school,

especially in the earlier grades, every student believes that they have the ability to be a

singer or play an instrument, Without a good music program, learners are at risk of

developing learned helplessness and may begin to think that they cannot sing or play an

instrument. I believe that everyone is born with musicality. Our heartbeats alone are a

pure example that we are attuned to beats and rhythms. Children begin to coordinate

singing with breathing and movement, tonal and rhythm skills become accurate, and they

develop a sense of beat and tonal center. (Scott 2004) If teachers provide a good early

education music program, we can spark a passion for music in students and create

lifelong lovers and learners of music.

Zoltan Kodaly believed that the most important age for music education is in

young students and early elementary. I agree with this philosophy. If we inspire a love of

music in children when they are young, we may foster lifelong involvement in music.

Having the opportunity to work with Kathy Matkin-Clapton really reinforced this

ideology for me. By using engaging musical games in the classroom you have the

opportunity to teach basic and fundamental music skills in a simple, easy to understand

manner. This allows the children to gain knowledge and understandings of topics such as

basic rhythm, pentatonic melody and time signatures in a non-complicated way. By

creating a solid foundation, the music teacher is set up for success when he/she

introduces more complex topics such as compound time signatures and diatonic

melodies. Success in these areas can only occur when the music curriculum is taken
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seriously and yearly, unit and daily planning is effective and covers the program of

studies.

In Lethbridge, there is an amazing community of music educators who have the

ability to scaffold their programs and align their curriculum outcomes from school to

school. This means that an elementary school will give learners the tools to be successful

in band and choral programs in junior high and high school. Having such a strong

program that both the students and the teachers are invested in makes it very difficult to

cut programs and arts and music funding. Teachers are the front-line experts on the

benefits and impact of music education on students in schools. Parents are their childrens

primary caregivers and the taxpayers who support the education system and see the

impact of music education on their childrens lives. (Grunwald Associates 2015) I think

this quote is very important for music educators. Students parents have a great influence

on their childs education. If parents see their children enjoying themselves and being

successful in music programs, this is an invaluable asset for teachers trying to keep or

save their music program. This is a connection that should be established right away;

open communication between music teachers and parents is very important and can be

the secret tool that saves a program.

I believe that a students music education should never end. If music education in

early elementary is done correctly, most students should have a love for music that lasts a

lifetime even if it is just singing along with the radio or singing around a campfire.

Music is everywhere in our lives; whether you are a performer or a listener, music

impacts us all.
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I have talked a lot about the importance of a good curriculum to help establish a

good music program, but a good program also needs a good teacher to get the material to

the students. Passionate music teachers are the key. Many people say those who cant

do, teach. This is a clich that I do not take very kindly. It takes more than just talent in

your particular instrument to be a good teacher. You need to have a love of learning and

the need to pass on your love of music to your students. A master of an instrument has

many musical skills, but do they have the tools to take their skills and boil them down to

a simple concept that a child can understand? Some do, but most dont. Guest musicians

and experts may be good to show the students how they can progress and the success they

can achieve if they practice and follow their passion for music; but an experienced,

passionate music teacher is the key to a solid music program that will inspire children.

The music curriculum, though old, is very in-depth; there are so many outcomes

to teach and usually not enough time in the year to extensively touch on all of them. It is

a good thing that there are six years in elementary to weave through that program of

studies. I have compiled a few items from the curriculum that I think are very important

and should be taught. I really agree with the pedagogy techniques of Zoltan Kodaly.

Singing is the basis for music instruction. In elementary music, the use of rote singing or

call and response is the basis of teaching music concepts such as rhythm, time signatures

and melody. The use of both folk and art music is highly effective; using engaging, fun

and technically complex music allows the students to learn music outcomes without

being bored. One of the aspects that I love about the Kodaly pedagogy is that the

process of learning is highly sequential. For example, its important to overlap rhythmic

and melodic concepts in your teaching practice. While you are preparing a rhythmic
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concept, it is a good idea to be reinforcing and assessing melodic concepts. This way, the

musical elements are being internalized, and the experiences become the building blocks

for all musical learning in the future. I would love to increase the scope of all elementary

school music programs to include instrument instruction, music theory and composition.

By doing this, teachers have the opportunity to help develop the natural musician in

children,. Creating and improvising are important experiences in elementary music

education. These experiences provide children with the opportunity to experience,

firsthand, musical concepts and use what they have internalized to develop their skills

and increase their musical literacy. Creating music is also a very effective way of

measuring literacy, at every level.

There are many implications that are involved with cutting a music program. If I

did not have the opportunity to explore my musical talents, I dont know where I would

be right now. Music impacts childrens emotional, intellectual and physical development.

Music can give students the tools to deal with emotional hardships that other core

subjects cannot. Children go through many hardships and emotional struggles in life.

Music education gives them the tools to express what they may not be able to talk about.

Hans Christian Andersen said, When words fail, music speaks. When students feel like

they do not have the emotional stability to talk about their feelings or their problems, they

can express themselves through music. Taking away music programs takes away the

opportunity to equip children with these tools.

The implications of cutting the music program not only affect the students, but the

teachers as well. I interviewed a current teacher in the Calgary Catholic School District.

I asked her what the implications were on her when the music program was cut.
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We have to teach music now that there's no designated teacher for it. It's stressful
because I'm in no way competent or prepared to teach music, so naturally it falls
by the wayside with all the teachers. - Anonymous CSSD Teacher

This is very alarming to hear. The teachers are not even teaching the curriculum because

they feel like they dont know how. The music program is not optional in the program of

studies; it is required to be taught as a legitimate subject. My next question for the

teacher in the interview was if the school still participated in or put on Christmas

concerts, she responded with We still have Christmas concerts that are up to us to

organize with our kids. So we teach from YouTube. A music program being taught by

YouTube is not a valid music education. If the teachers at the school to not feel

competent enough to teach music, a specialized music teacher should be appointed. I am

sure that would be the case for math.

I am going to go back and address the original question. What is music? I think

that throughout this philosophy statement I have come to the consensus that the definition

of music is complicated and can mean something different to everybody. The fact that

music means something different to everyone is why it is so important to have a valid

music education program in schools. If teachers give children a sequential, scaffolder

music foundation, they will have the tools to discover what music means to them. That

will allow them to become lifelong lovers of music. To me, music is everything. It is one

of the most important aspects of my life. As a music teacher, I want to give students the

chance to discover what music means to them.

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Bibliography

Music Advocate Administrator [Telephone interview]. (2017, February 3).

Implications of Cutting Programs [Telephone interview]. (2017, February 4).

Griffioen, K. (Comp.). (2017). Music Education Methodologies [Summery of Teaching

Music in the Twenty-First Century, 2nd Edition Lois Choksy, Robert M. Abramson, Avon
E. Gillespie, David Woods, Frank York].

Levitin, D. J. (2006). This is your brain on music: the science of a human obsession. New
York, NY: Dutton.

Mcewen, N. (1995). Educational Accountability in Alberta. Canadian Journal of

Education / Revue canadienne de l'ducation,20(1), 27. doi:10.2307/1495050
G. (2015, April 27). New NAMM Foundation Study Shows Parents and Teachers in
Harmony About Students Learning Music. Retrieved February 03, 2017, from
https://www.nammfoundation.org/articles/striking-chord-hopes-and-beliefs-k-12-music-
education

Sacks, O. (2007). Musicophilia: tales of music and the brain. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf.

Scott, L. K. (2004). Early Childhood Brain Development and Elementary Music

Curricula: Are They in Tune? General Music Today,18(1), 20-27.
doi:10.1177/10483713040180010105

Wasiak, E. (2017, February 1). Why I hate the "F" Word. Lecture presented in Gult
Museum, Lethbridge.

Wasiak, E. B. (2013). Teaching instrumental music in Canadian schools. Don Mills, Ont.:
Oxford University Press.
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Advocacy Presentation

Advocating for my program:

Teacher Allocation
Time Free from Instruction
Various Modalities
Positive Effects for Students
Positive Effects on the Community
Implications on Teachers
Music Equality with Literacy and Numeracy

Teacher Allocation:
Does everyone here know what teacher allocation is?
Teacher allocation is decided biased on the enrolment numbers in the school.
There are x number of kids and x number of teachers and if you use one of the
teachers in a specialised situation then you take that teacher away from a full
time classroom. This is the main reason that elementary music programs are
cut. Generally music programs are not cut because the budget is taken away,
but because if they allocate a full time teacher for a specialized subject then
they are taking away a full time general education teacher, classroom space,
and if a specialized program is put in place the cost of musical instruments is
very high.
Class size Elementary Schools are not allocated specialized teachers such as
music or phys ed teachers
Number of kids in the school / 28 is class size
One specialized teacher causes the size of classes to increase
Ideally specialist teachers such as music, phys ed teachers and administration
would not be apart of classroom allocation. They should be given over and
above teacher allocation but that is
Very few administrators would want to take away a music program, however, they
get more flack from parents and teachers over class size
When teacher and parents hear that the size of classes are increasing, it
obviously does not make people happy. Does the cutting of music programs
justify a smaller classroom? How does one decide? Time free from instruction
is meaningful not only for teachers, but for students as well.

Time free from instruction:

Teachers need time free from instruction - music class is the
perfect opportunity for this.
A larger class size with better brakes will allow students to be
better learners
2-3 more students in a class wont make a big impact on
the students if their breaks from traditional classroom
learning are used effectively.
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During music students are being engaged and the teachers have
a solid time to prep for other classes

Various Modalities
Music classes offer a break from traditional learning
Not all students prosper from standard classroom instruction. Music classes
allow learning to take place outside of the parameters of the standard
classroom.
Music classes offer a different modality of learning for students.
Music classes offer a range of modalities for students it engages auditory,
visual, tactile, and kinaesthetic learners.
Fostering a very strong program will spark an interest in the students and cause
them to become more open and well rounded learners

Positive effects for students

Students who act out in class have other outlets that music provides such as
actions and different brain stimulation.
Learners that dont do well confined in a classroom tend to act out in class
because they are bored, or need to fidget. Music class allows these impulses.
Gone are the days of glassed over eyes, music classes allow movement and an
expression of pent up emotion.
Music classes activate the Cognitive, affective, and Psychomotor centers in the
brain.
This means that the brain is incredibly stimulated and engaged. They are
generally having fun or enjoying them selves when preforming or playing
musical games, they are using their cognitive skills to read and decode melodies
and rhythms and they are using their psychomotor skills to play an instrument
or body percussion.
Children begin to coordinate singing with breathing and movement, tonal and
rhythm skills become accurate, and they develop a sense of beat and tonal center.
(Scott 2004)

Positive effects on the community

Parents love to see their children succeed and Christmas concerts are a way to
show the parents how their child is improving and showcase their childs musical
ability
When I had the pleasure of assisting in the preparation of my PS1 schools
Christmas concert. The sense of community that this event created was
amazing. The music program united students, teachers, administrators, and the
parents.
Music Unites - (Wasiak 2017)
Music is a form of communication that goes beyond words. The use of national
anthems and school songs unite the school community.
Music education and instruction give opportunities to students facing economic
and social barriers
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Implications on teachers
I had the pleasure of interviewing a retired Calgary Catholic administrator and
a current Calgary Catholic elementary school teacher. Both of whom had
music programs cut at their schools.
We have to teach music now that there's no designated teacher for it. It's stressful
because I'm in no way competent or prepared to teach music, so naturally it falls
by the wayside with all the teachers. - Anonymous CSSD Teacher
If you dont have a music room and if you dont have a music specialist the
program isnt being taught. The music curriculum is not an add on. It is to be
taught and offered to students. If we have 12 teachers on the staff there is likely
not one who can teach the program effectively - CSSD Administrator
These quotes are both very powerful. Both of them talk about the horrible
ramifications of their programs being cut. In the first quote the teacher admits
that music is education is generally out to the wayside because they do not feel
competent enough to teach the curriculum. I asked this teacher if the teachers
who are now responsible for teacher music teach from the program or studies.
She responded with I don't think they do much of
anything to be honest. We still have hymn sing for
masses, and we still have Christmas concerts that
are up to us to organize with our kids. So we teach
from YouTube
Is that really where we want our education system to go? To the use of YouTube
to teach music? The students end up with little to know music education.
The quote by the retired principal states the fact the music eduation program is
not an optional curriculum, yet, the non-specialized teachers are not teaching
it.

Music equality with literacy and numeracy

Music education needs to be held to the same academic standards and numeracy
and literacy (Wasiak 2017)
Dr. Wasiak made an excellent point in his music education advocacy
presentation. He said that we need to stop defending music education
programs with statements like music makes you smarter or music is
important because its helps students with their math skills and music helps
with test scores. This tactic takes the focus off of the importance of the actually
benefit of teaching and implementing a well thought out music curriculum.
Using these defence tactics also builds your music program on the flimsy
foundation of good test scores, or math marks. The defence is not based on the
merit of your music program.
Ideally specialist teachers (music, phys ed, and admin) are not part of classroom
allocation. They should be funded over and above teacher allocation.
By removing specialized teachers from the allocated teachers it shows that
school boards will hold the music education of students up to the same
standards of numeracy and literacy and numeracy.
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Music Needs to have the same assessment techniques, planning, and rigor as a
math or language arts class
To be considered legitimate we, as music teachers need to be legitimate. By
doing things by the book, and ensure that we conduct our program in a manor
that is legitimate and relevant and we conduct fair and valid assessments and
appropriate planning.

Concluding points
Class size Elementary Schools are not allocated specialized teachers such as
music or physed teachers
A larger class size with better brakes will allow students to be better learners
Fostering a Very strong program will spark an interest in the students And cause
them to become more open and well rounded learners
Music classes activate the Cognitive, affective, and Psychomotor centers in the
brain
Music Unites - (Wasiak 2017)
Music education needs to be held to the same academic standards and numeracy
and literacy (Wasiak 2017)