Mary Higgins

Standard 3: The teacher of PK-12 music has skills in reading and writing music.

Just like teachers of any other subject, teachers of music cannot teach effectively unless they
are literate in their field. My experiences in large and small ensembles throughout my life have
proven to me how important reading music is in order to make progress within the ensemble at
a quick pace. Reading music is a stepping stone to understanding the meaning of music and
being able to dig into smaller ideas within pieces such as expression, melodic line, and musical
meaning. In college, I have also had experience composing pieces for different classes such as
music theory and percussion techniques. I have been able to dig into these smaller ideas as I
write the music and have witnessed what it is that I want others to see on the paper to ensure
the music is performed as closely to my idea of the piece. For example, I wrote a piece called
“The Crucifixion” for my Music Theory 2 class that had a lot of dissonance. There were no lyrics,
so the students had to learn how to perform it with emotion just by looking at the music itself.
Beyond having these skills, it is the ability to utilize these skills that will separate the student
from the educator. The teacher of music should be musically literate and model their skills to
the students so that they may witness what knowledge of musical literacy can do to affect their
performance.

My experience in aural skills, choirs, bands, and instrumental techniques classes have ensured
that I have both the skills to perform musical notation vocally and instrumentally. When it
comes to learning new music, I as an educator want to show my students how to learn a
melody, either with the help of a piano or by helping them learn vocally and aurally. This will
help the students solidify their musicality and their own literacy.The world has blessed us by
giving musicians technology to use for composition and creation of music. Integration of
technology is a skill that students can utilize for their musical development and literacy.
Presenting them with the right skills and tools will prepare the students for their own reading
and writing of music. The skills and tools they acquire while still in school will no doubt follow
them through the rest of their musical careers. Since there are so many ways students learn,
presenting them with both visual and aural representations of music will benefit them greatly.
It is important to present students with different strategies of learning music so that they may
be both skilled independent musicians as well as skilled group musicians. If a student can come
to into an ensemble setting and feel confident in their music ability and skill in reading and
notating music, they will be more likely to develop a sense of self-efficacy, which helps them
convey personal opinions on the music and make musical decisions on whatever piece they’re
learning.

I have used solfege in the classroom as a tool to teach the reading of music and have witnessed
its effectiveness. Solfege, simply put, is the alphabet of music and can help students navigate
through a piece better than an instrument such as a piano can, since instruments aren’t always
available. Through solfege, students can learn complete pieces of music without having to have
their notes played for them. This aural skill will help develop their independence in music and
better their overall musicianship. Musical literacy is a skill that is important for all, from student
to teacher to professional musician. It is the diving board used to leap into great musicianship
 Mary Higgins

and a skill that will benefit performance and creation of music. I will use this skill to continue to
grow for both myself and my students as it will advance both of our musical journeys.