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Philosophy of Music Education

By

Julianne Fournier

Westminster Choir College

Princeton, New Jersey

October, 2017
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Introduction

In the past year and a half, I have learned a lot at Westminster Choir College. This

includes discovering who I am as a musician, a person, and I have started to figure out what kind

of music educator I want to be one day. As we continue on making different advancements in our

education system, in the United States, music educators need to take a look back and remember

first; why we do what we do and two; how we can continue to make a difference in peoples lives

through spreading our love of music to others in schools and throughout the community.

Throughout high school I was heavily involved in the marching band. Marching band

taught me how to express myself, through movement in music. I was in the color guard. It taught

me how to feel the music. Music is something that helps people express how they feel without

having to speak. I know, I often have a hard time expressing how I feel. Often, I pretend I am

happy and bubbly, when in reality, I am not always like that. I express my REAL emotions

through music. Marching band has taught me to learn to express my emotions and over time, I

have gradually started to express my emotions using my words.

My marching band director was focused on student leadership and how to use that to help

each student. My senior year, I was fortunate to be the color guard captain. I was able to use this

leadership position, to learn skills that will help me for the rest of my life. My director was

focused on each student and making sure we enjoyed what we were doing. He wanted us to feel

something; not just do something. He always asked us for input on the marching band shows.
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Theoretical Framework

As I have gone through my first year and a half at Westminster Choir College, I have

started to reflect on my own views about music education and what I think it takes to be a great

music educator. While reflecting on my marching band experience, I realized what kind of music

educator I wanted to be. I want to be an educator that draws up some of the ideas of Carl Orffs

approach to music education.

Carl Orff's approach to music education explains the basics of what I want to base my

music teaching on. This approach is heavily focused on Releasing creativity that extends far

beyond the music classroom, Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman conceived an approach to building

musicianship in every learner through the integration of music, movement, speech, and

drama (AOSA). The Orff approach is a great way to focus on many different aspects of the

music classroom and make music enjoyable for every learner. Through Orff, you can teach each

student in a way that will help the students understand the basics of music. According to Estrella,

the Orff approach to music education is known as music for children. It is focused on the

student and how they learn best.

The basics of the Orff approach to music education, is rhythm and movement. Orff argues

that "Elemental music is never just music. It's bound up with movement, dance and speech, and

so it is a form of music in which one must participate, in which one is involved not as a listener,

but as a co-performer (Orff). The students learn this concept through speaking, chanting,

singing, dancing, moving, acting and playing different instruments. Folk music and music

composed by the children are the most used music in an Orff classroom. In the classroom,
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students use instruments such as xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, castanets, bells,

maracas, triangles, cymbals, tambourines, timpani, gongs, bongos, etc. These instruments help

the students express their creativity. Orff argues that "Since the beginning of time, children have

not liked to study. They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you will

let them learn while they play; they will find that what they have mastered is child's play (Orff).

I want to take all of these concepts and bring them into my music classroom.

My Philosophy

My classroom will be a place for students to come and learn about how music effects

their daily lives. The children will learn how to express themselves through music and

movement. I will help them explore the emotions that different songs or types of music brings

them. I will attempt to foster "engagement with" a variety of musical genres and will teach them

about many different topics that range from music theory to music history. They will be educated

about other cultures so that they learn to see the world in another light. My ultimate goal as a

music educator is to help my students form a lifelong love of music.

Application of Philosophy

In my future music classroom, I want it to be a safe space for my students to express who

and what they are, just like I do through music. I want my students to feel safe and protected. I

want them to feel eager to learn and become better musicians and share their musicianship with

other people in their homes, community, and the world as best they can. I want them most

importantly, not be afraid to express who they are through music.

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In my music classroom I want my students to receive a comprehensive and diverse

musical background. We need to figure out different ways to do this, so they are not bored.

Forming after school ensembles or trying to use technology is a great way to expose students to

diverse material and different ways of learning. Letting students use music technology is a great

way to expose your students to different things other than singing or handheld instruments.

Exposing students to different competitions, bringing them places to sing for people, and lastly

letting them individually audition for different festivals are some more ways to give your

students opportunities. Every opportunity a student is given helps form the type of musician they

will be.

When I think about what kind of topics I want to teach my students, I am still not one

hundred percent sure. Over my four years here at Westminster Choir College I will start to get a

better idea. As of right now, I know that I want to focus a lot on the recorder, and using dancing

in the classroom. Dr. Morrow has inspired me to use dancing, not just to let children burn energy,

but to learn about different cultures and ways of making things musical. In my classroom I really

want to focus on incorporating different cultures into my curriculum as I feel diversity is

important. Ren Boyer-White (1988) argues that, Prospective music teachers need to introduce

and use cultural diversity as a means of developing their students' music appreciation and

aesthetic sensitivity. America is a land of great cultural variety, and the composition of many of

our classrooms, especially those in urban public school systems, reflects this wide diversity. I

want to do this by using different songs from all over the world, using the students voices and

playing instruments to express different cultures.

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When choosing different music, I will look for music that is appropriate for each age. I

will attempt to foster engagement with a variety of musical genres. A teacher in a music

classroom should look into all genres of music; not just classical. The teacher should focus on

the emotional, artistic, and historical significance of each of the different genres. The students

will be exposed to music such as classical, popular, choral, pop, orchestra, and band music. You

want the student to be engaged and well rounded. As the teacher I hope I want the students to be

able to feel the music and understand the music well enough that they can form their own

opinions on how they feel about it. If the student learns to feel the music, rather than going

through the motions of making music, the students will be more driven to work harder, to create

music and share it with people.

In my own K- 12 elementary, middle, and high school classes I have learned a lot about

the kind of teacher I want to be. I want to know my students and be able to connect with them.

All students should feel like they have a positive person in their life that they can look up to; and

that maybe you. The students will be given opportunities similar to the ones I was fortunate

enough to receive. The students will be given opportunities to go audition for districts, and all-

states festivals. I will take the students to competitions (if possible) such as MICA or six flags. I

dont want my students to keep their music to themselves. I want them to be able to share it with

their community. When I was in secondary and high school, we would go to local retirement

homes, or hospitals and sing, or play instruments for people. This is a great way to get the entire

community involved and feel the love of music.

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Conclusion

Over the past year and a half at Westminster Choir College, I have learned a lot about

what it will take for me to become the best music educator I can be. I want to be able to go out

into the world after I graduate from Westminster Choir College and have a big impact on the

students I will be teaching. Plato once said, I would teach children music, physics, and

philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to

learning. Through my experiences with marching band, it has helped me form a basic idea of

how I want to base my music class. I will encourage student leadership, and help each individual

student in a way that works best for them. My students will have some say into the curriculum

they will be learning and most importantly I want that learn to connect to music and how to take

that into their daily lives.

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References

Estrella, E. (n.d.). What is The Orff Approach for Children's Music Education? Retrieved
October 24, 2017, from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-orff-approach-2456422

Orff. What is Orff Schulwerk? Retrieved from http://aosa.org/about/what-is-orff-schulwerk/

R. McCready (2015, January 23). What You Need To Be A Great Music Teacher. Retrieved April
26, 2017, from http://mustech.net/2012/06/what-you-need/

White , R. B. (1988). Reflecting Cultural Diversity in the Music Classroom. Reflecting Cultural
Diversity in the Music Classroom, 75(4), 50-54. Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://
www.jstor.org/stable/3398111