PK-12 General Music RI Newsletter
Rhode Island Music Education Association
Teaching Middle Schoolers to Listen By André Marcelin
In the middle school world, I find myself divided as a teacher. In the eyes of my students, my class is meant to be a break from the many classes that require their full attention. In addition, considering that middle school students are trying to find their own genuine interests in life, most of them are not necessarily interested in a full deep dive into the music world. The question I constantly ask myself is “How do I keep the students’ interests, while still teaching them musical ideas AND making it relevant to their own lives?” The answer that I have found is, I listen to music.
I know this answer sounds very basic, but the more I do it, the more it makes sense. I got into music because I listened to a lot of different kinds of music as a child, and I wanted to be able to understand and explain the differences between them all. The more I learned, the more I felt the need to share this with others. Music listening is a skill that every person has and uses. Furthermore, for my students, music is one of the first ways that they can truly express themselves and make connections with each other. Therefore, I began teaching “Music Appreciation”.
Relevance to the student
Music appreciation is a broad topic and there are so many ways that it can be taught. For me, music appreciation is our ability to hear music and understand it so that we may make a stronger connection to it. That’s all music really is: a connection. When we listen to music, it affects us in a way that makes us feel connected to it. If that feeling is strong enough, then we share that music with other people in hopes that they can make the same connection that we did. My students do this on a daily basis and every person in my classes can relate to listening to music. This helps me grab their attention. There is a catch, though.
When I see my students discussing music during the day, I see a recurring action that plays out a little like this…
- A student is shown music.
- After 15-20 seconds the immediate response is, “This music sucks.”
- The friend asks why.
- The response is, “It’s just bad.”
- “What was bad about it?”
- “I just don’t like it.”
Sometimes the situation can go a little further, but this is usually the song and dance of it all. Having seen this interaction hundreds of times per school year, I have come to two conclusions. First, my students are very quick to embed their opinions into the conversation. Second, my students do not know how to describe the specific things that are happening in the music.
When I start teaching music appreciation, we listen to music. I specifically choose music that my students may not listen to on a regular basis. I put my students out of their comfort zone as far as what they are listening to so that they hear the music with fresh ears. As they listen, I ask them to write down the basic ideas of what they hear. This could be instruments that they hear (or think they hear), the genre of music, or even what it is they think about when they hear this music. Once the music is completed I ask the students to share what they could hear. This is the point where students show me what they already know. I’ll be happy with anything and I make that very apparent. After discussion I like to ask the question “How many people wanted to write more, but did not know how to say it?” Hands raise every time.
At this point, even on the first day of this unit, I make three things very clear.
Everybody listens to music and has an opinion about it.
It is important to know how to describe music without imbuing an opinion.
You do not have to like any music, but if you can understand why somebody else would then you have truly appreciated music.
For my students, this has officially struck the balance between having a class that feels relaxed while also offering the opportunity to learn some rather complex musical ideas. Music appreciation offers my students the ability to truly understand what they are listening to and have open discussions with their peers about music in ways they have never been able to before.
Learning to Understand Music
From that point on the pattern is rather basic. The class will listen to a piece of music and we will use it as a means of learning something new and reviewing topics that were discussed previously. I don’t like to give specific listening examples because almost any music can be used to fulfill a certain need. I’ve found that there are times where students could use some familiarity, but there are also times when listening to a piece of music that they’ve never heard might help them hear something different. These are all topics that have been discussed in the early stages of my class.
Instrument identification
Form
Dynamics
Tempo
Lyrics- and what they could mean
Context- Where, When, Why the music was written
As the list indicates, the topics start with understanding and being able to describe what we are listening to. I tell every class that they must first be able to describe music without their opinion, so that when an opinion is included we can use hard evidence from the music to support it. We spend A LOT of time practicing this skill, but over time the students get better and better.
The early lessons in music appreciation are also the best time to apply music terminology. As we hear things in music I bring them up. For example, I might say something like “What happened in the music just then?” The student response could be “The music got louder”, which is a good thing to hear. My next question would be “Do we know a word that represents music getting louder?” Sometimes students know the answer, but I can guarantee that the whole class does not. This then leads to a conversation about crescendos and decrescendos. From that point on I expect my students to be able to use these words when necessary.
This pattern will continue for a time. We listen to music and practice listening for the concrete details. This portion of the unit can vary in time based on the class, but typically after 2-3 weeks of working on this the students will be ready for the second half of the unit.
Having and Expressing Our Opinions
My favorite part is when we can actually start speaking our opinions. I will now ask the students questions and expect them to express their opinion. These are some examples of topics that I have used with my classes.
Cultural context and meaning
What is better, the original or a cover?
Creative property and the question of plagiarism
Is sampling stealing?
Can the same song be used for different purposes?
At this point, every class can go in a very different direction. I’ll play the music and help the students find factual information, but once I ask the question, their minds guide the rest of the class. Sometimes the students are all in agreement about the answer. Other times they are not, but through discussion can find even ground. Even other times, the students stand rather divided but still understand each other. THIS is the goal of each class. To see students sharing ideas and opinions in a safe and respectful manner, and to have that opinion be respected among their peers is what I aim to teach them. All we had to do was listen to music.
It is nice to see these classes going well, but the true test is to see if students are using this outside of my classroom. I get a lot of satisfaction from hearing some of the student conversations in the hallway. I’ve heard students arguing over what instrument they think they heard in a tune. Other times there have been students coming directly to me to try to be a third opinion about music. Heaven forbid a student actually uses the terms crescendo when describing the music to a friend, and it was used correctly. It goes back to what was said earlier. Everybody has an opinion about music. Now the students are sharing that opinion in a way that is intellectual and backed with evidence taken directly from the music.
Interdisciplinary Learning in Music Appreciation
As a final “Teacher Moment”, I’ll also say that these lessons lend themselves fabulously to writing practice, especially early on in the unit. When exploring music appreciation, the students are constantly writing. At first they are writing what they hear in the music. Over time I will ask them to take a stance on a question. The students feel safer at first when they simply have to write their opinion instead of share it out loud. Once they’ve written enough, they can read their opinions out loud. Shortly after, discussions in class can start happening.
I also give the students a final project in the form of writing. This project is very simple. Pick a piece of music and convince me (in the form of writing) to listen to it. This is where each student gets to show me individually how much they have learned. Can they describe the music and show me the qualities that make it worth listening to? If the answer is yes once I finish reading the assignment, then I will listen to the piece of music they picked. That last element really helps to motivate the students. They now have the ability to show me instead of me showing them, and I always enjoy understanding what my students are listening to.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, middle school students are learning how to organize and convey their own opinions. I teach music appreciation to my students because it helps them learn these skills in a way that can be viewed as fun, but also relevant to their needs in a music class. The ability to listen to music and understand it is a skill that helps my students make connections with each other, rather than drawing a line between them, and it also serves as a means of practising their writing skills. There is so much that simply listening to music can do for all of us. Teaching this to my students is not only helping them express themselves, but it is also teaching them a willingness to understand and tolerate. I always look forward to teaching this unit, and I learn how to tweak it and elaborate on it more and more as the years go on.
Author André Marcelin teaches at Goff Middle School in Pawtucket.
Culturally Responsive Teaching: Beyond Repertoire with Loneka Battiste
This workshop will equip teachers to begin or further their journey of culturally responsive teaching. We will begin the workshop with a look at the foundations of culturally responsive pedagogy and its importance. Teachers will reflect on their music classrooms in relation to principles of CRP. In the second part of this workshop, we will explore intersectionality and positionality related to music teaching and learning. Finally, the presenter will share real life examples of culturally responsive teaching in action. Join us for this workshop hosted in collaboration with the Boston Area Kodály Educators (BAKE).
Saturday, Sep 18, 2021, 09:00 AM
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Local Professional Development
See the Boston Area Kodály Educators' website for their full 2021-22 professional development schedule. https://www.bostonareakodaly.org/
See the Connecticut Orff-Schulwerk Association website for their full 2021-22 professional development schedule. https://www.ctaosa.org/workshops
Educator Spotlight: Christy Reynolds, North Kingstown High School
After getting my BA in Music Ed in ‘95, I taught private piano lessons for 26 years. I also taught elementary and secondary handbells choirs, church musicianship, choirs, advanced vocal ensembles, and general music classes in a small private music school for homeschooled students for 10 of those years. I completed my master’s degree in Music Ed and post-baccalaureate teaching license in 2020. Now in addition to teaching my private piano students, I teach piano keyboarding and adaptive music at North Kingstown High School and beginning strings, band, and general music at various North Kingstown elementary schools. I’ve also been a church pianist for 28 years. I love teaching music, and it has been great to be a part of RIMEA where I can connect with all of you who share my passion!
RIMEA YouTube Playlist--communal resource
Greetings Music Lovers,
The General Music Council has been attempting to curate playlists of YouTube videos that pertain to general music topics at all levels. The playlists can be found with this convenient to remember link:
tinyurl.com/generalmusicplaylists
There are a variety of categories such as "ukulele resources," "rhythm play alongs" and "listening."
At the moment, these playlists are in a beginning stage of development. It is our hope that they can be expanded with your input.
Are there any videos you found exceptionally useful? We would love to add them to the playlists. From the link above, click on "view full playlist" for any category. In the description, there is a link to a google form (also provided below):
Copy the link to your video and it will be added into the appropriate category.
We hope these playlists will be helpful. Thank you in advance for your input!
Sincerely,
Steve Johnson
NFHS and NAFME Return to Music: Phase III Guidance and Resources
See https://www.rimea.org/guidance for the latest RI state guidance.
General Music Council
Email: cputka@rimea.org
Website: rimea.org
Location: 667 Waterman Avenue, East Providence, RI, USA
Phone: 401-248-7080
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Twitter: @RIMEAorg