Week 6

In this week's reading of Music Learning Today by William Bauer the topic of responding to music was discussed.  The first interesting point of the chapter that stuck with me was the opening story.  I seem to have found myself in a very similar situation.  My primary area of focus is in instrumental instruction.  When I was hired I found out that I would also be teaching a few general music class.  This was complete shock and I struggled with similar problems as "Elizabeth" did.  I love the end result.  I think it is very important to somehow relate school music with the music involved in the students daily life. 
The second point in the reading that I responded to was the difference between hearing and listening.  For all of us that teach, we know that students have an incredibly ability to hear what is being said/played but are not always listening.  In order to insure my students are building their listening skills I like to incorporate aural skills into weekly lessons, music theory classes and ensemble rehearsals.  I will be extremely happy for the day when our school has the resources to purchase technology that helps with implement this process.  Until then, I do utilize online programs such as musictheory.net, as mentioned in the chapter, to provide exercises and online instruction to build skills.
The last point that stuck with me this week was the discussion of world music and the positive effects it can have on a student.  I personally believe that exposure to other cultures and musics should be part of every persons life.  Such exposure opens up the ear and mind and broadens horizons. 
Once again the list of activities at the end of the chapter have sparked some ideas for next years lessons!
Until our last and final week
H