Music is everywhere. It's in the mall corridors, mall shopping stores, grocery stores, elevators, spas, vehicles, parks, movies, video games, tv...everywhere. Even in the middle of the woods, one can hear the birds chirping, woodpecker pecking, deer, scraping, and wind whistling. Music is such a natural part of our worlds. It makes sense why most of us only hear it. We are so used to it being around. But imagine, if we could turn every instance into listening to music. Perhaps we would recognize the pop hit in the corridor, the electronic bass loop in the video game, or the original melody of the bird. Perhaps, listening would open our brains to different thought processes or creativity.
Listening and responding to music is such a vital part of music education. Yet, it seems to also be kind of forgotten. When I've asked students to share their favorite (school-appropriate) songs in a playlist format, they also need to explain what they like about it. I give them examples of things they may like: Lyrics, beat, melody, emotion, evokes a memory, etc. Most, however, still cannot describe exactly what it is they "like" about a particular song. Most say, "it just makes me feel good". This is such a normal reply, especially from kids. As a music teacher, them saying anything at times can be a small victory. But how can I teach them to really listen?
Bauer states that students distinguish music in school as different than music out of school. Students prefer to listen to music in private, at home, in the genre they want. They use music to regulate emotions. It's a part of hanging out with friends. It's less structured and familiar to them. Therefore, more enjoyable than "school music" (Bauer, 2014, p. 107). One way to teach music listening is to create a safe and comfortable classroom environment that promotes listening, perhaps as if students are at home. Get them out of their normal seats, let them pick a new spot, grab a bean bag chair, etc. Another way to get students listening as opposed to hearing is to start with music that is familiar to them. Once they can identify certain aspects from their own music, they can use that vocabulary when describing new or foreign music. If allowed, let students bring in their own devices to listen and share music on. Have students start a blog to share their musical tastes, interests, and analysis' (Bauer, 2014). From there, many other technologies can aid in helping students learn to listen.
Perhaps one day, a student will come to class and say, "Hey, Miss S, I was in the mall and they were playing the most random song..."
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York: Oxford University Press.
I wish I had more time to listen to the music around me, like I did in my undergrad days. That is one thing I hope to instill in my students: a want to really listen to the music around them or at least to be more engaged with the music around them. Hopefully we all succeed in influencing our students really listen to the music around them rather than just hearing it as background sound.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with this with my students, too. They prefer the music they listen to at home versus the music that is selected for repertoire or class curriculum. I believe that we need to help students appreciate music of all kinds. I try to include pop music in my classroom, having students compare and contrast the music that they listen to and the music we are performing. Often there are more similarities than they even realize. Bauer suggests in the text having students using their own devices to listen to music. Perhaps students could share playlists from their devices and music teacher could learn what music their students are truly interested in.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI posted once already but it didn't appear to show. I am hoping this one works!
First, what a wonderful post! I thought the connections you made to the natural world and your own teaching assignments were very thoughtful. I think we viewed Bauer's reading in much of the same ways. However, I don't view the journey from hearing to listening as a struggle. I view it as just that, a journey. Part of this journey is picking music that students like or motivating students to find the beauty in music. My students often tire of the monotonous sounds of pop music and are looking for something deeper. However, I do have many students who enjoy contemporary music. So what does all of this even mean?
What I am trying to say is that hearing versus listening is all about perspective. I try not to think so hard about what music they are engaged in and focus more on how they are engaged. With pop music we can teach advanced syncopated rhythms, with classical music we can teach phrasing etc. I think when we begin to show students how to listen the barrier between school and home music will start to come down! This is what I have seen with my students!
Great post. Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Emilio