Paige Nicole Koomler
November 5, 2007
Essential Skills of Music
Professor Gindin
Music Education Paper
Annotated Bibliography…
Brinckmeyer, Lynn. "Shape and Share." Teaching Music 14 Issue 4. ((Feb. 2007)): 5-6.
This article, entitled “Shape and Share”, highlights the importance of sharing,
stating that teachers “shape lives” by sharing moments. It mentions that life is full of both
shaping and sharing, from a very young age to adulthood. Students share their time and
effort, through their musical talents and attempts, as their teachers shape their lives through
teaching techniques and skills. The author mentions how important it is for teachers,
music, general, or any specialty, to share anything they possibly can to enhance the lives of
their students, in turn shaping humanity. A very inspiring quote to close the article,
“Because of our students, we see possibility and potential in others” (6)
Carolin, Michael. "An Instrumental Approach to Culture Study in General Music." 92
Issue 5. (May 2006): 38-41.
The main goal of this article is to inform readers the importance of instrumental
knowledge in understanding culture in music. The article suggests that organology, the
study of musical instruments, is one great way to bring both rural and urban students
together in cultural understanding. Multicultural education, mentioned by the author, can
be enhanced and bettered by an inclusion of instrumental learning and cultural music into
general curriculum. Knowing what a ukulele is, and that it originates in Hawaii, helps all
students better understand that culture, as well as how to have fun with the instrument. The
article also mentions the importance of determining what music and instruments will
concern or interest students from different cultural backgrounds or lifestyles.
Case, Maria, and Andrew Hisey. "Developing Creativity." 57 Issue 2 (Oct. 2007): 33.
This article, concerning a topic that interests me very much, reviews a presentation
on how to develop creativity in your students, through simple music lessons. The main goal
of this article from a scholarly magazine is to help educators understand ways to develop
creativity and imagination into their lesson plans and musical learning. The presenters
suggest a few ways to integrate creativity into lesson plans, such as expanding the range of
accompaniment patterns, encouraging transposition, using a variety of melodies and keys,
and to consider different harmonies with the same melody. The article also encourages
teachers to first understand their student’s musical skill level and plan accordingly to
implement creativity.
Conclusion…
I believe, as a future educator of young children aged six to seven years old, that
music integration into learning is very essential, helping students to bring information to
their internal memory, and not just the short term. I think that creativity is an extremely
indispensable part of a young child’s education and by using various musical instruments
and singing, a child’s creativity is utilized in everyday lessons. Variety is another part of
the classroom learning that must exist for success. Music brings variety, and can also be
used to help students remember several important educational tools, such as poetry,
mathematical facts, pronunciation of words, and many more. The use of music also
increases the excitement and interest of the information being presented. It brings all the
students into the lesson, and gives them an additional form of learning that differs from
simply reading from a text, and is just as effective.
Teaching first graders, singing and playing instruments to learn a topic may be the
most efficient at this age than any other age or developmental level. These young students
have most likely the highest interest level of all ages, and tend to really enjoy fun activities
such as singing along and playing new fun instruments to learn topics and skills. I plan to
implement musical material into everyday basic education curriculum by setting poetry to
music, teaching math addition and subtraction with a beat to help memory recall, and also
teach writing by playing background music to learn new skills. Many believe that students
receive enough music-based education in their music class, taught by a designated,
musically-trained teacher, and that music education in the general classroom is overkill. I
used to feel this same way, before taking this class. I now realize that music is a great tool
in education, which many teachers overlook. Music can enhance the education that a child
is already receiving, and brings another facet of learning to the lesson. I look forward to
using what I’ve learned throughout this course to provide my future students with musical
skills that help them to learn basic material and information.