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FMEA State Convention The Multi-Cultural Benchmark in Instrumental Music

January 15, 2015

scott.courtney@yourcharlotteschools.net

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Connecting the dots!The Performance curriculum

Rehearse to perform, focus only on the goal of performanceDo we seize brief moments to make connections?Do we avoid extra assignments or topics that might be “boring”

Do we want something more from the music experience?Are we being true to the art, authentic, and real?Are we trapped in the status quo?

(or what is the status quo?)Do we fear terms like Marzano or CPalms?

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Initial thoughts?

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Are we at a tipping point? Hard facts from previous decade

Is there a decline?- California public school enrollment increased by 5.8% but students involved in music fell by 50%. Five year study by Music for All Foundation, 1999-2004.

2007 Harris Poll showed connection music versus level of schooling and income- 75% of Americans involved in music. 51% vocal and 35% instrumental. Those with only high school- 65% participated in music, versus 88% of graduate students. 83% of individuals earning over $150,000 yearly were involved with music.

One side of the NCLB truth- Abril/Gault (2008)- based on 540 schools. Schools offering music (98%), offering band (93%), chorus (88%), jazz (55%), orchestra (42%)

Abril, C. (2008). The State of Music in Secondary Schools: The Principal’s Perspective. Journal of Research in Music Education, 56:1, p.68-81.

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Table 1 from Abril/Gault- Secondary School Music 2008

1. Does your school reflect this chart?2. Are we elite? Can a student easily join

your program in the middle of high school?3. How does this data connect to the lecture?

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Philosophy changes the approach

Making the ConnectionCreate understandingCreate curious mindsCreate life-long learning

To move beyond the title, to move beyond the notesIf the music does not allow this, is there substance in our teaching

materials?It is our job to bring the culture to life! Can we do this while still in

rehearse/perform mentality?

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Initial thoughts?

Pele by Brian BalmagesFor solo horn and concert band

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What is culture?Reimer (1989)- music is considered to be

the most powerful way to explore and experience the specificity of how life and culture are felt by various groups that share communal identities.

Elliot (1995)- Culture is not what people have, rather, it is what people create.

Consider the implications for both, from perspective of director, student, and audience (which includes administration, parents, etc..)

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EthnomusicologyBy the term culture we do not mean

“the elite arts” as it is sometimes used. Rather, we use the term as anthropologists do; culture is a people’s way of life, learned and transmitted through the centuries of adapting to the natural and human world.

Ethnomusicology is the study of music in the context of human life.”

Titon, p.xxi-xxii.

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Basic Assumptions1. Music is a fundamental human experience

found among all peoples of the planet.2. Our world contains many musics.3. One music is not superior to another. Each

music is important in its own setting.4. Music is defined in the cultural context.5. In order to understand another music, one has

to study the unique ways in which its components are put together. Music elements are the same (rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics) but culture makes it different.

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So why all the preface material?

Do we present music inclusively or exclusively?Do we have a “tourist” or curricular” approachWhy the arguments with ethnomusicologists?

Bias in education frequently encounteredCultural sensititivtyAuthenticityBreadth and depthIntegration and context

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Enough talk, let’s play! Is there a multi-cultural benchmark?

The National Standards for Music Education include:6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.7. Evaluating music and music performance.8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines

outside the arts.9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.CPalms Band 1 (#1302300)

Applying listening strategiesCompare, using correct music vocabulary, the aesthetic impact …EvaluateTransfer

Or… I don’t like standards, I don’t like talk, let’s play!

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Curriculum Three strategies for introducing music

of other cultures:1. Start by teaching the multi-cultural music

that represents the background of the majority children in the community.

2. Select high quality, authentic materials.3. After students understand the concept of

culture through music, begin to introduce other cultures.

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The Tourist CurriculumDo we perform only select cultures during the

holiday season?Does our music generalize populations, such

as labeling all Africans as savages?Do we support incorrect or not appropriate

stereotypes? The educator can create a life-long impression of a culture or race. Hilo Hattie and Mickey Mouse

Stand up and rock the boat. Support composers, or write letters to your publishers.

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Gustav Holst- Suite no.2 Basic Knowledge to share

The British Military Band of 1900Uses seven Hampshire songs including Greensleeves and Swansea TownWhere is Hampshire, Swansea, and other locations pertaining to Holst?

Open ended exploration Discussion of other British composers of early 1900 Compare/contrast the folk song versus Holst’s Suite The folk song as inspiration, the folk song as an arrangement Creating a timeline for composers and major instrumental works Educatonal inspirations for Holst, geographic and sociological factors Discussion of the British Brass Band- www.bfbb.co.uk www.gustavholst.info Youtube and technology- finding quality examples

through evaluation and analysis

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Frank Ticheli- Cajun Folks Songs Basic Knowledge to share

What, where, and who are Cajun people? How many of us can honestly answer this question? How can we teach what we do not

know? Alan and John Lomax, the Archive of Folk Music, Library of Congress.

Open ended exploration Listen/discussion of original Lomax recordings

http://www.loc.gov/folklife/folkcat.html The role of Lomax as researcher/preserver- http://www.folklife.si.edu/center/legacy/lomax.aspx The role of culture in music, literature, and expression The importance of preserving culture http://www.manhattanbeachmusic.com/html/cajun_folk_songs_i.html

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Potential ProblemsProgram notes from Kamehameha by William Owens:

Relive the legend of Kamehameha, the warrior-king of Hawaii who came to power in the late-eighteenth century. A bold and powerful introduction signifies the declaration of war. Driven by percussion, the ensuing woodwind melody provides the framework for the piece. After the music slows briefly, the mighty army prepares for its next conquest, and the music comes to a rousing conclusion as the great king fearlessly leads his army to victory!

How does this music reflect the culture or accurately describe Kamehameha the Great? In 1810, he united the Hawaiian islands, established alliances with colonial powers, and established one the world’s first human rights policies. Tribal wars ensued during the unification process but does this piece support misconceptions or stereotypes?

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Marzano and evaluationProviding instruction that is transparent

physical layout (bulletin boards)classroom procedures such as listening to

relative musicStudents effectively interacting with knowledge

Identifying critical informationNew knowledge and new content (motivating

and hooking students through recordings, background information

Deepen their understandingLeading students to create their own connections