James Coleman
Standard 5
The teacher of PK-12 music has skills in selecting, analyzing, interpreting, presenting, and evaluating music and music performance within the context of music education.
While fulfilling a role as a music educator, selecting, analyzing, interpreting, presenting, and evaluating music/musical performances are all skills that have a recurring usefulness on the day-by-day basis. In order for students to have a completely immersive and satisfactory experience while making music, their teacher must begin by providing a solid groundwork through the use of these skills. Before the students even start playing, the teacher selects music, analyzes it, and takes their own musical interpretation into play. This gives a solid starting point for students to base their own thoughts off of. Presenting and evaluating music helps to not only teach new concepts, but refine the talents of the budding musicians in the classroom. Through a teacher’s ability to learn about music and evaluate it, along with cooperation from the students in the creative/interpretive process, the students are given the most in-depth and appropriate music making experience possible.
In order to achieve one’s goals in music, the music must be within a reasonable reach of the performer. As I have performed throughout my own playing career, I have been tasked with picking music both for my own solo literature and some for a latin band that I played in. Both of these experiences start with me assessing my own skill levels and that of my band mates in order to provide challenging music that will be achievable with hard work. In the same light, a director should take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own ensemble when selecting music. The selection of music also can be influenced by themes for a concert, “validity” of the music with regards to possible contests, general musical ideas being taught in class, etc. After selecting music, the musician must analyze their piece(s) in order to gain better musical understanding, as well as interpret to the best of their ability the emotion and phrasing desired both the composer and the performer. By studying a piece of music, it can give direction in terms of how to play it more accurately as well as more musically. This is 98% of what individual practice is. Through lessons on my own applied instrument, I have gained the ability to work through the different parts of a piece of music for the sake of comprehension. Also, in order to improve one’s individual playing, they must be able to self-assess, and make improvements based upon that assessment. In the same light, analyzing a piece of music, interpreting the nuances, presenting the musicality, and evaluating performance and improvements to be made are crucial to the teacher of an ensemble. Musical pedagogical knowledge and self-assessment and revision tactics are combined with individual instrument knowledges (gained through techniques classes for all individual instruments and voice) to make a cohesive learning experience for the students. With a deeper understanding being portrayed to the students, they will be encouraged to dive deeper in their own ventures, and develop a curiosity to explore all the music they come in contact with.
While teaching, I always strive to continuously select good music so that my students may have the chance for musical excitement as well as growth. I analyze music and give my interpretations to help provoke thought among the students so that they may develop a sense of self-efficacy in regards to their own music making. Finally, I present and evaluate music in a way that is aimed at growing the student as a knowledgeable musician. If students can understand the deeper concepts connected to the music, the surface level issues can be resolved much more quickly and with ease. This deeper understanding on behalf of the student helps the student grow exponentially because their zone of proximal development is raised just a bit. It is the overall goal of the teacher that the students will learn to a point where they are completely self-sufficient. During that process, it is the job of the teacher to guide a student not just to the right answers, but also the why’s and how’s along the way. Allowing students to be involved with the music selection, analysis, and interpretation will help them discover new ways to connect with the music. When a student learns and performs music that they are passionate about, their growth will be much more than that of a lackluster, forced “masterwork”. Then by expanding the realm of music that students appreciate by growing from what they already enjoy, students will be more receptive to “curricular” music, or pieces that would otherwise be not-so-enjoyable for the student. By getting students motivated through collaboration, discussion, and reflection upon their music, they will learn to understand using a higher cognitive process. Enabling them to learn from each other, and learn from themselves can have a strong impact on how we approach music and the performance thereof. These strategies of selection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and evaluation are a vehicle that can transport students to that level of deeper meaning and comprehension.
All of the aforementioned skills are important for both the teacher and the students. The students should be equally involved in the process of music making, and the teacher should be well-read and open to the ideas that students bring to the table. Through a collaboration of the teacher and the student, a music learning process that aids students in development and growth will most definitely occur.
In order to achieve one’s goals in music, the music must be within a reasonable reach of the performer. As I have performed throughout my own playing career, I have been tasked with picking music both for my own solo literature and some for a latin band that I played in. Both of these experiences start with me assessing my own skill levels and that of my band mates in order to provide challenging music that will be achievable with hard work. In the same light, a director should take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own ensemble when selecting music. The selection of music also can be influenced by themes for a concert, “validity” of the music with regards to possible contests, general musical ideas being taught in class, etc. After selecting music, the musician must analyze their piece(s) in order to gain better musical understanding, as well as interpret to the best of their ability the emotion and phrasing desired both the composer and the performer. By studying a piece of music, it can give direction in terms of how to play it more accurately as well as more musically. This is 98% of what individual practice is. Through lessons on my own applied instrument, I have gained the ability to work through the different parts of a piece of music for the sake of comprehension. Also, in order to improve one’s individual playing, they must be able to self-assess, and make improvements based upon that assessment. In the same light, analyzing a piece of music, interpreting the nuances, presenting the musicality, and evaluating performance and improvements to be made are crucial to the teacher of an ensemble. Musical pedagogical knowledge and self-assessment and revision tactics are combined with individual instrument knowledges (gained through techniques classes for all individual instruments and voice) to make a cohesive learning experience for the students. With a deeper understanding being portrayed to the students, they will be encouraged to dive deeper in their own ventures, and develop a curiosity to explore all the music they come in contact with.
While teaching, I always strive to continuously select good music so that my students may have the chance for musical excitement as well as growth. I analyze music and give my interpretations to help provoke thought among the students so that they may develop a sense of self-efficacy in regards to their own music making. Finally, I present and evaluate music in a way that is aimed at growing the student as a knowledgeable musician. If students can understand the deeper concepts connected to the music, the surface level issues can be resolved much more quickly and with ease. This deeper understanding on behalf of the student helps the student grow exponentially because their zone of proximal development is raised just a bit. It is the overall goal of the teacher that the students will learn to a point where they are completely self-sufficient. During that process, it is the job of the teacher to guide a student not just to the right answers, but also the why’s and how’s along the way. Allowing students to be involved with the music selection, analysis, and interpretation will help them discover new ways to connect with the music. When a student learns and performs music that they are passionate about, their growth will be much more than that of a lackluster, forced “masterwork”. Then by expanding the realm of music that students appreciate by growing from what they already enjoy, students will be more receptive to “curricular” music, or pieces that would otherwise be not-so-enjoyable for the student. By getting students motivated through collaboration, discussion, and reflection upon their music, they will learn to understand using a higher cognitive process. Enabling them to learn from each other, and learn from themselves can have a strong impact on how we approach music and the performance thereof. These strategies of selection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and evaluation are a vehicle that can transport students to that level of deeper meaning and comprehension.
All of the aforementioned skills are important for both the teacher and the students. The students should be equally involved in the process of music making, and the teacher should be well-read and open to the ideas that students bring to the table. Through a collaboration of the teacher and the student, a music learning process that aids students in development and growth will most definitely occur.
Artifact #1
concert_literature_review.docx | |
File Size: | 65 kb |
File Type: | docx |
This is a concert literature review that I completed during my advanced conducting class. This document has brief explanations as for why each piece was chosen, pieces grouped into concert blocks, and reasoning for concert order and programming choices. This shows an example of my ability to analyze music and program it for performance of my ensemble, as well as rationalize those choices as to why they are important music teaching tools for my students.
Artifact #2
kansas_state_university.m4a | |
File Size: | 5533 kb |
File Type: | m4a |
The above recording is a clip of myself performing a section of the third movement of Ewazen's trumpet sonata, and receiving master class feedback afterwards. This clip exemplifies all of the work that I have completed while studying music in that I can accept feedback, as well as generate feedback of my own, and implement it into my playing for the sake of making improvements. This process of analysis and giving feed back as well as critically listening for musical inaccuracies and the why behind them has guided me to have a skill set that will prove useful to my future students. I can select quality literature, and use my critical listening skills to help the ensemble rehearse and perform the music I select.