Margaret Geary Philosophy Paper Music joins people together in many different ways.

It touches them in ways that can make them smile, cry, laugh and sing along. Music, to most, is just sound made by people and, more recently, technology. But to some, music is more than that. It is an art form, it is therapy, it is mesmerizing, and it is life. Anyone can enjoy music, anyone can listen to music, and anyone can play music. "Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed. Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited". (Dr. Suzuki on his philosophy of his music education program.) In this paper, I will explain my personal philosophy of music, how to relates back to music education and examine the views of other educators and their music/music education philosophies. Why should we teach music? What will the students learn? In my PSI, I was sad that they did not have a formal music program. The elementary school only allotted an hour every Friday (which was already a shortened day) for fine arts. Not just music, fine arts. And when youre a teacher who took English or science in school, the first fine art that comes to mind is art and that is all that is really taught in that time. Maybe some youtube clips for music appreciation, and there is nothing wrong with that, but they dont get a proper foundation at that early age when they absorb information like a sponge. No matter what type of music you teach, even if it is just youtube clips, I believe that students need that. Music livens up the classroom and it gets them engaged. In the program of studies for music, we have so much freedom in what we wish to teach. We can teach music however we want and can cater the objectives to the students. But what should be taught should be whatever is important to the teacher. If the teach believes the students need more appreciation of music, listen to various music genres to get them informed

about the different types of music. If they need rhythm, teach them rhythm. If they need better intonation, teach tuning and intonation. Whatever they students need, we teach and I believe that is what should be taught in music, especially at a time when music isnt at the forefront of a principals mind. Every culture values music, so why shouldnt we? The United States has marching bands across the nation; Africa teaches drums as a major part of their heritage, Trinidad teaches steel pan, etc. Even lesser financial countries values and teaches music. Music is taught everywhere and should be taught everywhere. Music is more than a subject you take in school, it becomes your family. You learn life lessons, you make friends, and, in my opinion, you will never feel more included and welcomed in any other group. In her article My nuts and bolts, Naomi Baretta, talks about community. All through junior high and high school we (my previous schools) were more than a band or choir; we were a family. In junior high we lost our band teacher to a bout of breast cancer and in high school we lost our choir teacher in a car crash. You dont just bounce back from that; you become closer with the people around you and you are there for each other. You all have a common interest and goal, you all belong, you know who plays and does what. And in junior high and high school, having that sense of family and community means the world when you feel like youre lost in a wave of other students going from class to class. And through this family and community, this bond leads your music to places youd never think it would go. And to quote Wynton Marsalis 'If you lose the music you have lost everything. No amount of money would make up for losing something so important'. Also, in order to create this family, you need a positive learning environment. If you dont like your teacher, you wont perform to the best of your ability for them. In music, it is very hard to establish a bad learning environment. Music brings us together. But to bring the classroom from class to family is a whole different ball game.

In order to do that, you need to talk to the kids; know who is behind the stand. In high school, we used to have band geek of the week where wed take a face break and get to learn everyone, one at a time. We had band twice a week, so we got to know 2 people per week. Wed get then up on the podium, ask them basic information, then ask random questions like Pepsi or coke? or what is your favorite kitchen utensil? And this would show us the teacher cared, and we would get even closer as a family. In a CNN talk about the question of whether or not schools are stopping creativity, Sir Ken Robinson said Like all living forms, we flourish in certain conditions and shrivel in others. Great teachers, great parents and great leaders understand those conditions intuitively; poor ones don't. The answer is not to standardize education, but to personalize and customize it to the needs of each child and community. There is no alternative. There never was. This is what a band program is. Great music teachers know exactly how to foster community and a sense of family. Students are put in chairs and play in front of their family, friends, school and community. Even on tours they are placed in front of complete strangers. They gain courage and learn to take risks through music. We all experience nerves in certain concerts and gigs, but as soon as we get up there, bear our soul and play out music, we learn courage and risk taking and have so much fun doing what we love: playing music. When we rise up to this challenge, like Gustav Mahler said What's best in music is not to be found in the notes. In doing this, students are being put in charge of the things they take out of music. They get to step outside of their comfort zone, they get to show off to the world. But, they will only do this if they feel comfortable. This relates back to what I said in the first paragraph about environment and family, but it also creates a new point: getting the kids involved in their music. Like I said, students wont play well for a music teacher they dont like. David Elliot says in his book, Music Matter,

"significance of music education depends on the significance of music in human life." If the student is involved with helping decide in repertoire, being involved in fundraising and extra events, coordinating students for festivals, etc., the output in the actual music class will be so much better. As Naomi Baretta says in her article My Nuts and Bolts, a lot of students say what happens in school stays in school, and keep their private life outside of school to themselves. In music, you cant do that. Music is personal, it reaches your soul, you need to play from your heart and you need to share your personal experience with music. You cant just keep it at school. You have to share it with the world because music brings everyone together and weaves a family that you never knew existed. But, in order for the students to do this, the teacher needs to share with more than just the other teachers at the school what happens outside of the classroom. All of my ideas link back to each other, and this relates back to creating a positive learning environment and stepping across that line of classroom into family and community. As Kodaly says in his philosophy of music, Music should belong to everyone because music is the spiritual food for which there is no substitute .There is no complete spiritual life without music. There are regions of the human soul, which can be illuminated only through music. In order to dig deeper and get into that part of the human soul, you need to open yourself up and share a part of you. Music isnt just notes on a page; its sharing a part of your soul with your audience to create a very unique connection. Not many other subject areas can do this. I believe that music teaches us more than music, it teaches us about life. Dr. Suzuki, founder of the Suzuki method, in his philosophy of his program, said "Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens, noble human beings. If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth, and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and

endurance. He gets beautiful heart. This also ties into my philosophy of music. Not only do we create a family, not only do we gain courage and learn to share our talents with the world, you learn compassion and how to be a better person. Music education is not just music education. It teaches life lessons. Music teaches discipline. Music gives students a sense of belonging, music teaches healthy ways of releasing emotion, music teaches tolerance and diversity, music teaches dedication, music teaches commitment, music teaches the importance of skill development. (Baretta, My Nuts and Bolts.) When else can you feel and learn this all through one thing? A part of my philosophy that I still have trouble with is motivation and practice. Of course I will advocate practicing and do my best to motivate students to practice and share my passion with them, but what about those who just dont have the will to make music? I teach private lessons on the side, and my hardest thing to cope with is when parents get a hold of me and say Sue doesnt want to take lessons anymore because they dont practice enough and dont understand the important of practice. Then the inner conflict starts. Did I do everything I could to motivate that child? Was it my teaching style? It never gets any easier and it always gets harder letting those students go as I learn more about teaching. Perhaps its different once I get into a bigger band and have many more students to motivate and feed off their energy. Maybe there is more motivation when youre in a group and more than just the teacher is there for you. I want to find a way that I can motivate the students and make them excited to practice, or even find music that they want to play over and over again even though the part is under their fingers. I believe that this will be something I will be working on for the rest of my life. In closure, music teaches us so much more than just music. It teaches us courage, how to be good people, family and community, and essentially who we are. We grow so much during school and I believe a lot of that has to do with music. It teaches us how to get along with other

people, it teaches us important life skills beyond the classroom. It makes us step out of our safe zone and learn how to deal with what we cannot change and change the things we can. We have the power to make people laugh, cry, smile and dance. But in order for music to do that, we need to reach deep within our souls and learn how to salvage that power and use it for the good of our music. Id like to end my paper with a quote that I think envelopes all that I believe music is. No human culture in the world is without music; it is a unifying thread that reaches across all of humanity. (Bonds 2006, p. 3) (Baretta 2007)

Bibliography Barrettara, N. (2007). My nuts and bolts philosophy. The Canadian Music Educator, 48(4), 2425. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231063874?accountid=12063 Kuzik, A. (2010). Do we need music in our schools? ATA Magazine, 90(3), 18-19. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231470622?accountid=12063 Taylor, C. (2008). "Both sides, now": Balancing the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits of music in music advocacy. The Canadian Music Educator, 49(3), 36-38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231207140?accountid=12063 http://www.suzukimusic.org.au/phil.htm date accessed: January 23rd , 2013 11/3/09 CNN Opinion: How schools stifle creativity http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/03/robinson.schools.stifle.creativity/index.html Date Accessed: January 24th, 2013 http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jul/18/wynton-marsalis-interview Date Accessed: January 24th, 2013 http://www.britishkodalyacademy.org/public_downloads/The%20Kodaly%20Concept %20%20Gillian%20Earl.pdf Date Accessed: January 24th, 2013