Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

When a Christian music teacher instructs in the general music classroom, he or she must remember that this education is preparation for adulthood.

 

 

Keeping Christian Music Education Academic part 3

Keeping Christian Music Education Academic part 3

Each grade level must be taught musical principles, as Isaiah states, “precept upon precept and “line upon line”.  In modern times this educational method is of course known as “curriculum spiral sequence”.  Philosophically what this connotes is that in elementary music education the instructor teaches the same musical concepts from the “national standards” each year but at a more advanced level.  As you know this not a “how to” book but rather a discussion of some of the philosophy that should enshroud the whole of music education. So, I will not discuss how the Christian music educator should approach the process of curriculum spiral sequence.

Furthermore, I do not want to imply that the use of Orff instruments is not an excellent resource for the elementary classroom.  I would like to point out that “Orff-Schulwerk” was first developed in the 1920’s in Bavaria Germany to be used with adult music and dance students.  Philosophically, as far as the record shows, Carl Orff never intended for the use of these instruments to become a complete music education system.  What I am saying is that using these quality instruments should not circumvent the process of teaching mid and upper elementary students how to utilize conventional methods of counting rhythms.   Again, I want to stress that there are a host of musical concepts that can be effectively taught through the use of Orff instruments. However, somewhere in the spiraling music education process the transition to conventional rhythmic and tonal reading must take place.

At the kindergarten and lower elementary grades counting with little nonsense syllables used in the Kodaly system is an intellectually honest way to teach rhythm.  However, when sixth graders are still utilizing only these syllables and do not know how to systematically count and subdivide beats, I believe that the music instructor has a faulty education philosophy and praxis.  When students enter beginning band and cannot utilize conventional methods of reading notes and counting rhythms, including some subdivision of beats, something is philosophically wrong with what has been taught in the elementary general music classroom.  Perhaps elementary general music instructors should consider themselves to be in charge of a “preparatory department” for musicing in adulthood.

 

 

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

“We might ask, as a criterion for any subject taught in primary school, whether, when fully developed, it is worth an adult’s knowing, and whether having known it as a child makes a person a better adult. If the answer to both questions is negative or ambiguous, then the material is cluttering the curriculum.” The Process of Education, by Jerome Bruner p. 52

 

Keeping Christian Music Education Academic part 2

Keeping Christian Music Education Academic part 2

Jerome Bruner believed that readiness theory was faulty.  He stated, “We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development.”  The Process of Education, by Jerome Bruner, p.33   So, the question is not when a student is ready to be taught music reading, writing and performing, but rather how to teach these concepts in an intellectually honest fashion that is compatible with the child’s understanding. 

 Isaiah 28:10 states, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Elementary music education should start teaching kindergarteners and first graders the nuts and bolts of the formal properties of music.  However, the elements of music reading, writing and performing music must be approached at their level of intellectual development.  Philosophically and practically, a music educator should not try to teach the nuts and bolts of music to kindergarten and lower elementary students at the same level as upper elementary, junior high and high school students. 

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

"Teach music and singing at school in such a way that it is not a torture but a joy for the pupil; instill a thirst for finer music in him, a thirst which will last for a lifetime."  Zoltan Kodaly

Keeping Christian Music Education Academic part 1

Keeping Christian Music Education Academic part 1

As has been mentioned earlier, if Christian music educators wish for music to be considered with the same respect as other classes in the curriculum, it must actually be academic.  If students who graduate from Christian schools are going to actually be educated musically then they must be musically literate.  Music literacy requires that each student must be able to read, write and perform music (see voluntary national standards mentioned earlier).

Sometime during the second half of the twentieth century many music educators accepted the lackluster theory that playing music which has been learned by rote on: Orff instruments, recorders, rhythm band instruments, or learning and singing choral music without being able to utilize conventional counting or note reading was evidence that an elementary student was musically educated.  I want to make it very clear that I am not speaking of children who are in kindergarten or the lower elementary grades. 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

When a musician performs a recital, that performance is a platform for personal preference.  When a musician leads musical worship, that performance is not about the performer’s personal preference.

Worship Music is Not a Platform for Personal Preference.

Worship Music is Not a Platform for Personal Preference.

Public music worship should not be a platform for the pastor’s or the minister of music’s personal tastes in music.  The assembly of believers does not gather to receive a music lesson on J. S. Bach or a cappella choral techniques or to revisit the oratorios of Handel, Mendelssohn and Gounod.  Neither is the purpose of congregational singing to keep the hymns of Watts, Wesley and Fanny Crosby alive. Special singing is not an opportunity to fan the minister of music’s latent desire to sing bass in a famous southern gospel quartet or a country gospel band.  Richard S. Taylor sums up the matter quite well,

The fact that some people may like this or that is not sufficient reason for the church to use it.  The church should lead the way in such standards, not objectly follow every fad and custom which happens to be “in” at the moment.  The Church has no business adopting the philosophy, “If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em.”  We should be governed by basic and eternal principles.  There are music forms, whether secular or sacred, which create moods of pensiveness, or idealism, or awareness of beauty, of aspiration, and of holy joyousness.  There are forms of music which create moods of recklessness and sensual excitement.  Surely it doesn’t take much judgment to know which forms are most appropriate for religious function.  A Return to Christian Culture,  by Richard S. Taylor, p, 87

          So, church music selections should line up to Bible principles of music in worship.  Choices should not be made solely on personal preference but rather what this style of music will do to the whole life of the individuals who worship with it.  From the time of Plato and Aristotle philosophers have believed, more or less, that good music would cause one to tend toward the moral virtues and that bad music would cause one to tend toward moral decadence.  The real belief being expressed by these philosophers was that the formal properties of the music, when formed into a congruent whole which we call a musical composition, would have a profound effect on the hearer,

 

 Prayer for this blog in July

Lord, as I have asked you so many times, please allow this Music philosophy blog to be a blessing during the month of July. It is also my sincere and earnest prayer let this blog go around the world to places where I cannot go.  Lord, thank you that you are answering my prayer by guiding people from eighty countries find and read my blog posts. Help me as I prepare a post for each day to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.  Only you know Lord who is out there ministering musically that needs a fresh anointing for musical ministry.  Help me to know which philosophical and devotional topics are important and will be a blessing.  I am asking You Lord to give special help as we include more posts on Christian music education. Lord, you know that at times I am not sure what topics to write about concerning music. Please anoint the blog and the blogger.  These things I ask in your great and wise name.  Amen.

 

Thank you for a Great Month of June

Thank you for a Great Month of June 

         Last month was the eighteenth month of my blog which contains devotional and philosophical thoughts for Christian musicians.  It is my sincere prayer that my posts in 2014 will stimulate your thinking and that they will brought honor to our heavenly Father.  My posts in the month of June were devotional and philosophical in nature.  Notable in this month were some posts about the philosophy of music education.

       Since we began on January 2 of 2013 we have received a total of over 27,000 page views with about 1,400 views in June of 2014. Since I started this blog the page views have come from 80 different countries.  These views have come from Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands,  China, Congo [DRC],Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland (Republic of),  Iran, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia,  Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Porto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, and the USA.

 I would like to welcome the Countries of Bangladesh, Egypt, Guatemala, and Venezuela which were added to our blog family during June.   The ten countries with the most page views in June were: USA, Ukraine, Russia, France, Poland, Philippines, Germany, United Kingdom, China and Turkey.   If you are from a country that has been omitted please email me your country’s name.  Please pray with me that God will allow this Music Philosophy Blog to continue to go places where I will never have the opportunity to minister musically in person. Please pray for me, I am in the process of writing a general music philosophy book and a devotional book for musicians.

       Again I want to thank all you busy pastors, parents, and musicians who have taken the time to view my music philosophy blog during the month of June.  Please continue to pray that God will guide each post and allow it to reach those who need encouragement to keep ministering for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

       The main reason that I started this Music Philosophy blog is that although there is much music philosophy information on the net, not very much of it is from a biblical perspective.  Please share the blog address with your friends.   If you have an area of music or fine arts philosophy that troubles you, please feel free to let me know and I will include it in our discussions.  My email address is Garenlwolf@gmail.com.