As of right now, I am waiting on several of my collaborators to return e-mails. I am very excited to receive new e-mails from them, however, I realize that they have been exceptionally busy as well! As for the composition project, I was able to, on the last e-mail, receive a Chinese Folksong in traditional notation. My plans are to work with Joanna to realize this song in Western notation and then complete an SATB harmonization of this folk song. I feel that this will be an interesting project and am curious how the melody will sound once Western chords are applied to it. I am also thinking of harmonizing the melody with pentatonic-sounding chords (perhaps as a B section) to show the differences/similarities between Western sounds and non-Western sounds. Not being exceptionally versed in non-Western music theory, though, I am anticipating several delays in the B section.
As for the lessons in the schools, one of the main elements that I would like to share would be the actual instruments themselves. From what I have learned so far, there is a rich instrumental history in China and several of their instruments are very different (both in appearance and timbre) from anything that Western cultures use on a regular basis. I feel that a "show-and-tell" type lesson (probably better suited for the 2nd graders) that incorporates both pictures and sounds of the instruments, would be very engaging and informative for these students. Also, depending on the physical layout of the room, a motion activity (possibly a beginning dance step) would also be a good lesson to share with the children. I look forward to further discussion of this and also the chance to construct the lesson plan.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Update for 3/31
This is a relatively brief update as I have had no contact with my collaborators since they initially returned my greeting e-mail. I have gotten the chance to know many of the collaborators through the initial e-mail and I am very much looking forward to the continuation of this project as, it seems, they are too. They were all exceptionally friendly and forthcoming with information about their fields of interest, their homes, and their extra-curricular activities. I have since e-mailed each of them a list of questions about Chinese Popular Music in order to complete my listening lesson, however, I have not yet received a response. I look forward to hearing back from them so that I can continue to know them and develop this next part of the project.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Collaboration Update 1
As to this point, I have nothing to report. I have sent my collaborators in China a greeting e-mail (sent on 3/17) as well as a reminder e-mail (sent on 3/21). I am very much looking forward to hearing back from them, though. Hopefully within the next few days I will receive a response.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Lau Readings
I would have to say that my favorite part of the Lau reading was the 5th chapter in which he spoke about the ties that Chinese music has to Chinese Ideology. As social/religious ideologies are very important in my life, as well as the way music relates to them, I found this look at another culture's music's tie to ideology fascinating. I feel, too, that it was an interesting chapter due to the fact that I am very interested on the purpose of music in addition to its theoretical construction.
Of course the first aspect of this chapter that I found interesting was the discussion that Lau presents on the effect that Confucianism had on the development of Chinese music. I thought it was very interesting how closely this paralleled the development of early music in the Christian Church. Both philosophies agreed that music was for the betterment of the person and introspection. Just as the fathers of the early Christian church asked composers such as Palestrina to focus on simple harmonies so as to allow church-goers to focus on worship rather than music, so too did Confucius ask the Chinese people to do the same. What I did find different between the two, though, was exactly how ordered and formal Chinese music, or Yayue, became. While the Christian music reformation stressed only simplicity, the Chinese music reformation seemed to stress many formal rules based on social status.
The next interesting parallel that I found was the use of Chinese music to convey political messages. While this is not a surprising concept to me, as I am accustomed to listening to the politically-charged American music of the 1960's and 1970's, I found the level to which music was controlled as a propaganda device shocking. While there is the parallel of both country's musics being used as propaganda and political tools, their is a sharp contrast as to who was controlling the music. I also found it fascinating how methodical and well-thought-out the construction of the Chinese propaganda music was. Many psychological factors were considered, seemingly more so than with the propaganda music in the United States.
Again, I think the most striking aspect to this chapter was the overarching theme of parallelism between the Chinese music tradition and the Western music tradition, especially considering the vast distance that separated the countries during these periods. This, I feel, is further proof of the point that music is the universal language--there are stark similarities in its uses and development from isolated (at that time) corners of the globe. I found the information in this chapter the most enjoyable in the Lau book, too, considering my own personal interest in the way that music reflects the culture that originates from.
Of course the first aspect of this chapter that I found interesting was the discussion that Lau presents on the effect that Confucianism had on the development of Chinese music. I thought it was very interesting how closely this paralleled the development of early music in the Christian Church. Both philosophies agreed that music was for the betterment of the person and introspection. Just as the fathers of the early Christian church asked composers such as Palestrina to focus on simple harmonies so as to allow church-goers to focus on worship rather than music, so too did Confucius ask the Chinese people to do the same. What I did find different between the two, though, was exactly how ordered and formal Chinese music, or Yayue, became. While the Christian music reformation stressed only simplicity, the Chinese music reformation seemed to stress many formal rules based on social status.
The next interesting parallel that I found was the use of Chinese music to convey political messages. While this is not a surprising concept to me, as I am accustomed to listening to the politically-charged American music of the 1960's and 1970's, I found the level to which music was controlled as a propaganda device shocking. While there is the parallel of both country's musics being used as propaganda and political tools, their is a sharp contrast as to who was controlling the music. I also found it fascinating how methodical and well-thought-out the construction of the Chinese propaganda music was. Many psychological factors were considered, seemingly more so than with the propaganda music in the United States.
Again, I think the most striking aspect to this chapter was the overarching theme of parallelism between the Chinese music tradition and the Western music tradition, especially considering the vast distance that separated the countries during these periods. This, I feel, is further proof of the point that music is the universal language--there are stark similarities in its uses and development from isolated (at that time) corners of the globe. I found the information in this chapter the most enjoyable in the Lau book, too, considering my own personal interest in the way that music reflects the culture that originates from.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
ePortfolio Updates
While more teaching artifacts are always a welcome addition to an ePortfolio and the ePortfolio should always be a work in progress, I feel that there are a few areas in which I would like to specifically focus during the remainder of this semester and leading up to my student teaching. These additional artifacts will allow me to further demonstrate my competency in these areas. I feel that this course will afford me the opportunity to develop several very unique and powerful artifacts, not only for the diversity of learners outcome, but for my entire ePortfolio.
The first area that I would like to add additional artifacts to would be the subject matter knowledge. Throughout my coursework at CWRU, but more specifically this semester, I have begun to understand how world music is inherently linked to music, in general. I feel that a stronger basis of understanding in world music will allow for unique opportunities in the classroom in the future and also will help deepen my understanding of western music. For this section, I would hope to add several lesson plans on world music, perhaps even a video of myself teaching a short lesson on world music. I feel that the cultural context guide would be, specifically, a very good fit for this outcome.
The next area that I would like to focus on would be what I consider to be my weakest outcome, the diversity of learners outcome. Due to the nature of this outcome, accurate learning experiences are almost impossible to have in the controlled classroom environment. I feel that I am quite lucky to have this course to aid in my development in this area. I would, again, like to add several papers and lesson plans to this outcome. Of all the artifacts that we will generate in this course, I feel that the best ones for this outcome will be the interview of our collaborator, the listening lesson, and the arrangement. Finally, the last artifact that would do very will in this category would be a video of our curricular units being taught in the schools.
The final area that I would like to focus on updating this semester would be my planning instruction outcome. As I have stated before, my personal philosophy on music education now reflects the increased respect and inherent educational value that I understand world music has. While I have already designed several units and attached them to this outcome, I feel that a world music unit which echoes my educational philosophy would be a great addition. I very much hope to use the unit that we design in this course to fulfill that requirement.
Overall, I feel that my ePortfolio will significantly benefit from the artifacts that we will generate in this course. Many of these artifacts are going to be unique and very powerful and deserve inclusion into our ePortfolios.
The first area that I would like to add additional artifacts to would be the subject matter knowledge. Throughout my coursework at CWRU, but more specifically this semester, I have begun to understand how world music is inherently linked to music, in general. I feel that a stronger basis of understanding in world music will allow for unique opportunities in the classroom in the future and also will help deepen my understanding of western music. For this section, I would hope to add several lesson plans on world music, perhaps even a video of myself teaching a short lesson on world music. I feel that the cultural context guide would be, specifically, a very good fit for this outcome.
The next area that I would like to focus on would be what I consider to be my weakest outcome, the diversity of learners outcome. Due to the nature of this outcome, accurate learning experiences are almost impossible to have in the controlled classroom environment. I feel that I am quite lucky to have this course to aid in my development in this area. I would, again, like to add several papers and lesson plans to this outcome. Of all the artifacts that we will generate in this course, I feel that the best ones for this outcome will be the interview of our collaborator, the listening lesson, and the arrangement. Finally, the last artifact that would do very will in this category would be a video of our curricular units being taught in the schools.
The final area that I would like to focus on updating this semester would be my planning instruction outcome. As I have stated before, my personal philosophy on music education now reflects the increased respect and inherent educational value that I understand world music has. While I have already designed several units and attached them to this outcome, I feel that a world music unit which echoes my educational philosophy would be a great addition. I very much hope to use the unit that we design in this course to fulfill that requirement.
Overall, I feel that my ePortfolio will significantly benefit from the artifacts that we will generate in this course. Many of these artifacts are going to be unique and very powerful and deserve inclusion into our ePortfolios.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Gu Zheng Lesson
This past week, I was fortunate enough to have a lesson on a traditional Chinese instrument, the Gu Zheng. I very much enjoyed the lesson, especially considering that there were many unique aspects to this instrument. The first of these was the style of the instrument. This instrument technically belongs to the zither family. I thought that it was an interesting experience to take a lesson on an instrument of this family as I have never had any experience with this. I am not sure whether or not the timbre of the instrument is characteristic of this family, but I very much enjoyed that. I found it odd, though, that rather than marking the "do" of each octave, the instrument marked the "re". That was slightly confusing to me as a beginner and I am curious, still, as to the reasoning for that.
I found that the way that the Gu Zheng was played (plucked by three to eight fingers with picks) was very difficult for me as a beginner to navigate. While I began with only three fingers, my instructor has developed to the point where she was able to use eight. I imagine that working to this level of proficiency would be difficult and would take a child many years of study, simply to develop the motor skills required.
Another unique aspect of this lesson was the fact that the Gu Zheng music was in a Chinese notation. I found this particularly fascinating as I have always enjoyed studying alternative notation systems, such as mapping, neumes, etc. I found that the notion was very conducive to a young child to learn as the music was not on a staff, but was noted by degrees. Due to the way the Gu Zheng is constructed, it is very easy to find specific degrees on the instrument. That, I feel, would significantly decrease the learning time required for a young student. Another unique concept of this music is the way in which rests are treated. Rather than being an empty space in the music, the rest is considered a "0". This is almost like measured silence and I think that would significantly help a child to understand the concept of a rest as being the presence of no sound rather than the absence of sound.
In all, I very much enjoyed the lesson. While the instrument was quite difficult to play to begin with, I feel that once a certain proficiency and comfort with the instrument is reached, progress will increase rapidly. This was a very unique experience and I look forward to the possibility of having additional similar experiences on other world instruments.
I found that the way that the Gu Zheng was played (plucked by three to eight fingers with picks) was very difficult for me as a beginner to navigate. While I began with only three fingers, my instructor has developed to the point where she was able to use eight. I imagine that working to this level of proficiency would be difficult and would take a child many years of study, simply to develop the motor skills required.
Another unique aspect of this lesson was the fact that the Gu Zheng music was in a Chinese notation. I found this particularly fascinating as I have always enjoyed studying alternative notation systems, such as mapping, neumes, etc. I found that the notion was very conducive to a young child to learn as the music was not on a staff, but was noted by degrees. Due to the way the Gu Zheng is constructed, it is very easy to find specific degrees on the instrument. That, I feel, would significantly decrease the learning time required for a young student. Another unique concept of this music is the way in which rests are treated. Rather than being an empty space in the music, the rest is considered a "0". This is almost like measured silence and I think that would significantly help a child to understand the concept of a rest as being the presence of no sound rather than the absence of sound.
In all, I very much enjoyed the lesson. While the instrument was quite difficult to play to begin with, I feel that once a certain proficiency and comfort with the instrument is reached, progress will increase rapidly. This was a very unique experience and I look forward to the possibility of having additional similar experiences on other world instruments.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Authenticity
I feel that one of the caveats of including "world music" into your classroom is finding a way to incorporate good and authentic world music into your classroom. While there is a great deal of world music material available to educators, there is a great deal of this music that is not as authentic as it could be. As I have seen in my study of world music, there are certain stereotypes that are associated with it (the augmented second being prominent in Egyptian music, for example) that are not always accurate, but are perpetuated in lower quality, less authentic world music. It is my philosophy that when world music is to be incorporated into the classroom, it should be as authentic as possible. It is through the exposure to truly authentic music that students will gain the most information and insight from a musical experience.
There are many ways that authenticity can be incorporated into the classroom. As I alluded to above, the main way in which I intend on including authenticity into my classroom is to choose well-created materials, preferably from a culture-bearer, that are not "stereotypical" of the culture, but are actually from the culture. While this will be more difficult and require more organizational time on my part, I feel that the benefits for my students far outweigh this. I would chose, for example, an arrangement of an actual cultural folk tune as opposed to an "idiomatic" tune that is not actually from the culture's history. I feel that choosing the "authentic" piece will allow for a more deeply enriched lesson as connections to the history and the culture are direct and not muddled through an outsider's interpretation of what the actual, authentic music, was supposed to sound like. This concept can also, and should also, be applied to any element of culture that you attempt to bring into the classroom in addition to music, such as dance or drama.
Additionally, I would also like to apply authenticity to the materials used to create instruments. I also philosophically don't believe in using "substitute" instruments if at all possible. For example, if a composer or melody calls for an oboe or another ethnic instrument, I feel that substituting an alto saxophone would do a disservice to the music and to those studying it. I realize that this is not always possible, either there is no money to purchase an instrument or no student who is trained to play the instrument, but I intend to strive towards playing the music as close to what is indicated, or as authentically, as possible.
In conclusion, I feel that authenticity is a vital part of any study of world music or cultures. Without authenticity, connections to the actual artifacts are not as direct as possible and the student, I feel, will not learn or experience the lesson as deeply as possible through the use of the genuine article. As I said, though, I realize that there are real-world constraints placed upon teachers attempting to bring authenticity into their classrooms, however, I feel that I will strive to incorporate materials as authentic as possible into my classroom for the benefit of my students.
There are many ways that authenticity can be incorporated into the classroom. As I alluded to above, the main way in which I intend on including authenticity into my classroom is to choose well-created materials, preferably from a culture-bearer, that are not "stereotypical" of the culture, but are actually from the culture. While this will be more difficult and require more organizational time on my part, I feel that the benefits for my students far outweigh this. I would chose, for example, an arrangement of an actual cultural folk tune as opposed to an "idiomatic" tune that is not actually from the culture's history. I feel that choosing the "authentic" piece will allow for a more deeply enriched lesson as connections to the history and the culture are direct and not muddled through an outsider's interpretation of what the actual, authentic music, was supposed to sound like. This concept can also, and should also, be applied to any element of culture that you attempt to bring into the classroom in addition to music, such as dance or drama.
Additionally, I would also like to apply authenticity to the materials used to create instruments. I also philosophically don't believe in using "substitute" instruments if at all possible. For example, if a composer or melody calls for an oboe or another ethnic instrument, I feel that substituting an alto saxophone would do a disservice to the music and to those studying it. I realize that this is not always possible, either there is no money to purchase an instrument or no student who is trained to play the instrument, but I intend to strive towards playing the music as close to what is indicated, or as authentically, as possible.
In conclusion, I feel that authenticity is a vital part of any study of world music or cultures. Without authenticity, connections to the actual artifacts are not as direct as possible and the student, I feel, will not learn or experience the lesson as deeply as possible through the use of the genuine article. As I said, though, I realize that there are real-world constraints placed upon teachers attempting to bring authenticity into their classrooms, however, I feel that I will strive to incorporate materials as authentic as possible into my classroom for the benefit of my students.
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