Taylor, R. (2015, September). Rethinking music education in the 21st century. Segue, 28-30.
Rod Taylor’s article, Rethinking Music Education in the 21st Century (September, 2015), asserts that music education should take into interest the needs and experience of each individual student.
- Teachers do not always know what is best and can use bad teaching methods, so think for yourself.
- There are no beginners in music.
- Students should participate in their own instruction.
- Music education should include playing with practice.
- Students should learn how to listen.
- Music is emotion.
- Be a leader in education.
“As multiple neurological studies have shown, most people begin their appreciation of music while still in the womb. After we are born, our lives are filled with the sounds of music in numerous environments, from home to school to work. Thanks to technological advances over the years, music is a ubiquitous part of our culture. When people decide to pursue music education, though, as teachers we often tend to think of them as “beginners,” and we do worse when we treat them as such. Rather, we should point out that they are quite experienced in music; they’re just beginning to express it in a way or on a particular instrument that may be new to them.” Pg. 29
“The ability to listen to others is perhaps the most defining characteristic among successful musicians. As such, it should be both modeled and privileged in teaching by instructors of music. We often teach ear training to our students, which focuses on their ability to hear a certain pitch and understand its relationship to another pitch, but what about teaching students how to listen well to what others in the band are playing?” Pg. 30
Michelle Einert 