Christmas. Time for sweets

eh, but listening in "concert" mode is a very difficult thing to teach... today teaching methods try to prevent children from getting bored and avoid offering them experiences that are too advanced for their age. After all, the goal shouldn't be to make them listen to something they probably won't understand (and they won't understand it, at 13 years old you can't understand those things), it should be to introduce them to something they will understand much later. The problem is that after that introduction, the entire path that should lead them to understanding is missing, the high school path...

When I was in middle school, pieces like Smetana's Moldau or Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre were listened to..., but music history wasn't studied, and let alone that, no instrument was played.

Today, it is exactly the opposite.

Certainly, playing an entire symphony or works that are long and complex would make no sense with 11/13-year-olds and, probably, would be counterproductive to fostering an affection for a certain type of music. However, I remain convinced that including musical listening sessions of 5/10 minutes of very catchy pieces—and even better, pieces that can stimulate the typical fantasy of that age—remains a positive thing. The goal is not to stage a year-end essay—obviously—but to encourage curiosity in their minds.

I also think that studying music history without at least having a minimal idea of what that music sounded like makes little sense and runs the risk of making kids parrot concepts they don't understand at all. When they study art history, they have paintings by Giotto, Raphael, Caravaggio... in front of them, and so they know what is being talked about, regardless of their actual interest; but when they study medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, and post-Romantic music history, they don't even know how these sound! And therefore, it would be important that they did!

LucaCavaliere wrote:

But when are pieces ever proposed to students just because they are beautiful,

The problem with this logic is: What is beautiful? And for whom? In fact, all art music is beautiful, so the problem lies in placing one piece under the category of Art rather than another.

Gerardo wrote:

The problem with this logic is: What is beautiful? And for whom? In fact, all art music is beautiful, so the problem lies in placing one piece under the category of Art rather than another.

the problem also presents itself to compilers of literature anthologies of this or that language.

What is beautiful?... I don't know. But I know for certain that I will never find an anthology (middle or high school) in which A Zacinto is missing.

Then, it is the teacher's freedom to avoid presenting this poem to their students.

But there are no Italians who have not encountered it during their course of study.

Is it possible to think of a - minimal - but certain anthology for a basic musical culture?

For me, yes. Whatever it may be, whatever historical aesthetic logic may underlie it, it would be better if it existed.

thallo wrote:

eh, but listening in "concert" mode is a very difficult thing to teach... today teaching methods try to prevent children from getting bored and avoid offering them experiences that are too advanced for their age.

And who said it's easy ... On the contrary: it is a great challenge. THE challenge, for an educator.

certamente: one must not bore/exhaust beginners (not just children-teenagers). But there are adequate and beautiful pieces.

I flip the "problem" again regarding education in one's own mother tongue: the History of Italian literature begins with the Sicilian School, Stilnovo, etc.

Education in the Italian language, on the other hand, begins with Gianni Rodari, Tognolini, Salgari, etc.

In middle school, it is called Music Education, right?...

Why, instead of listening first to the good Danza macabra, my daughter listened to Parce mihi domine in first year of middle school?

(curious that both are appropriate for the same period! All Saints-Halloween )

Then, for heaven's sake, I completely agree with what you say about introduction (middle school) and comprehension (high school). It would be beautiful. But since that is not the case ....

I say that, in my opinion, the "thorns in the side" that damage this beautiful subject (music ed. - by belittling it and misleading its users) are CLICHÉS. I say this with firsthand knowledge because being a music ed. professor is my profession. I love it, I invest so much of myself because I like it, because I believe in it, and because I see the (positive) effects.

I start from a simple premise that lies at the base of every didactic choice I make: in music education, MUSIC IS NOT the final goal; music DOES NOT MAKE TEXT; rather, music is a PRETEXT.

Therefore, the way I see it (and the way many others DO NOT see it), music education DOES NOT TRAIN MUSICIANs.

The CLICHÉS to which I refer stem from the legacy of the past, when it was conservatory professors who established the ministerial programs for music ed. back in the distant '30s. Times have changed, society has changed, thoughts evolve.

And, as an aside, I am one of those who strongly contests the use of the recorder! With so many beautiful things that could be done at zero cost!

And also listening and music history... culture, high culture, whatever you want. But kids, at 11, 12, and 13 years old, are hyper-bombarded with notions. I gladly leave music theory and history to aspiring musicians. By this, I do not mean that I skip or neglect them; it's just that I do not consider them of primary importance.

Dear Scala,

I know you are a professional, that you are unconventional, and - reading your old posts - that you relate to the reality of the kids you have in front of you.

I really cared about your opinion on the matter (as well as those of other teachers present in the forum, whom I do not know as such, however). Thank you

More than a year ago, I wrote a short reflection on the subject. I had titled it Musical education or music notions?

I poured out my skepticism regarding the current "music hour" centered on:

notions of acoustics (sound and its parameters),

notions of luthiery (instruments, classification, construction, timbres),

notions of music history (biographical sketches and cute anecdotes)

musical practice with the recorder.

And I went all in with my fanaticism for listening: listening to age-appropriate pieces as a healthy path for musical growth (a path that today is reduced almost to zero) by comparing, in every respect, the assimilation of what is musical to the growth in practicing one's mother tongue. Setting aside LISTENING, I too, like you, when faced with the things I listed above, think: notions, notions, notions...

Regarding the recorder, I once believed very much in its validity, but now instead I have this perplexity:

why, for an instrument in which the correctness of emission is largely dependent on the correct closing of the holes, a double-hole model is purchased without much thought, when then, after three years, I haven't seen a single C# or D# pass through in the melodies my daughter has studied!?... Just like that!.. Just so you know.

I completely agree with you: musical education DOES NOT FORM MUSICIANS.

But I would never have arrived at writing, as clearly as you did, your simple premise: music is not the final goal. It's not the point. It is a pretext.

This struck me. Positively.

The same spirit that lies at the base of this premise of yours, I also sense in the story of the flautist Linda Zanetti, which Ludovica (a member of our forum) pointed out to us the day before yesterday.

http://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/4286-musicista-meglio-in-germania-in-italia-ti-rispettano-davvero-solo-se-suoni-alla-scala-altrimenti-sei-un-fannullone/

Where Linda Zanetti recounts "with me Barenboim was always very professional and kind. When I finished my contract, at the beginning of October, I met him to thank him, and the first question he asked me was: were you happy here? It surprised me that at his age, with his fame and career, money and honors, the first thing he thought about was whether I had been happy"

Perhaps for Barenboim too, music is a pretext?... I dare to think so.

... and therefore, what would be good and right to do during the two hours of music education?

Regardless of the pieces, I would certainly not neglect mindful listening. For the rest, I am not far from what Scala maintains: the goal is to pique curiosity, to stimulate the imagination; when there is engagement, it is the kids themselves who want to be protagonists. Creative workshops are very useful, nowadays with very little it is possible to build instruments, create small artisanal "ensembles"... and since we are (also) in the era of new luthiery, do you realize how many sounds can be created with a bow and a scrap violin? In short, in my opinion, one must have fun with music... everything that comes after is a bonus.

Clearly I am referring not to kids who want or must become musicians, but to kids who must follow music education lessons...

While I was writing "education" I wondered why this word; then curiosity pushed me to read a few definitions here and there of "music education," it's nice to read that it is: "Music education is a discipline that aims at the teaching of art..."

Taught art ... what do you think?

The educational paths that one can undertake, if one wishes, can be infinite. One just needs to want it.

Very briefly, I can tell you what I propose to my students, obviously by organizing myself and planning the activities in advance.

1) INSTRUMENTAL activities:

RECORDER (for those who have no particular ambitions and/or if they find one at home and/or have economic problems and/or have an initial motivation towards musical education equal to zero)

GUITAR

PIANO/KEYBOARDS

PERCUSSION and/or SOUND OBJECTS (and relative rhythmic theatricalization - see "STOMP")

2) VOCAL activities:

Vocal singing preparatory work

SOLO singing

CHORAL singing

3) MANUAL activities:

brief notes, but truly brief, on acoustic physics (e.g., sound production, the soundboard, etc.)

collection of recycled materials for the construction of musical instruments

class orchestra with built musical instruments or hybrid (ordinary and non-ordinary instruments)

instrumental exploration/improvisation/composition of simple (or less simple) orchestral pieces

school musical shows

if time and economic possibilities allow, a stay at a recording studio (for theater performance and making a record)

4) THEORETICAL activities:

brief notes, but even briefer than the previous ones, on music theory

musical genres (some dealt with by the teacher, others dealt with by the students themselves)

music videos/films of various musical genres

I don't want to give the impression of a megalomaniac, an aspect that absolutely does not belong to me; but I really do these things.

You just need to organize yourself a little. Of course, as I specified in a previous post, I put in a lot of effort, but I do it because I like it,

because I have fun, because the kids have fun too, and learning while having fun, AND OF THIS I AM STARKLY CONVINCED, is better

than learning by "struggling". If I didn't propose these things, quite simply, I would get bored! And the more I manage to motivate and excite

the students, the more my own enthusiasm increases... and from one idea, a thousand others are born. Guys, I am not a genius, let it be clear; many

ideas I found online, naturally then I personalized and enriched them with my abilities and skills (but this is something

that anyone can do). Everything can be done, you just have to want it.

Musical shows are an optional, the prerequisites (social, family, economic, blah blah blah, etc.) are not always there to be able to do them;

but when it is possible, it is obvious to plan extra extracurricular afternoon hours.

In essence, I am fulfilling a dream: I propose to my students all the things that I would have liked had been proposed to me, in my day.

My eldest daughter missed out on a ScalaQuaranta. A real shame. She is already in third year [of middle school], those middle school years won't come back.

The little one in first year of middle school has had it much better...

What would be the right thing to do in those two hours?... I think I have already answered in previous posts. But I am happy to answer again.

For an entire year, I wouldn't show the kids a single staff, nor a single note, and I wouldn't make them play anything. I would carry out (out of duty) the music history program, supporting it with brief, ad hoc demonstrative listenings.

To pique curiosity, yes. But above all within the scope of conscious listening. I would try to arouse a seduction for the sound object. And I would go begging at the press offices of the concert societies in my city for reasonable prices to propose at the parent meeting at the beginning of the year for a minimum of two and a maximum of three concerts during the year. This is what I would do in practice.

Returning instead to the reflection, I say that I am one of those who believe music is a form of expression, and not just pleasant entertainment. However, like every expressive form, it requires a period of assimilation – and, why not? even a period of misunderstanding – so that it can truly come to communicate something. I am convinced that the ways in which musical sensitivity is born and develops in a person are similar – in everything – to the ways in which we come into the light and grow in our mother tongue. This comparison with language learning, which grows in us with the slowness of a tree, is illuminating.

We are born and understand nothing of it. They are just voices, sounds, suggestions. It takes more than a year to learn "mamma," and another five to acquire many other words and express ourselves acceptably. In kindergarten and nursery school, great importance is given to listening to nursery rhymes, small poems, short stories, simple (but beautiful) ones. There is an increasingly widespread sensitivity toward the quality of children's texts that parents read to their children. Later, in elementary and middle school, this type of attention continues: the texts and authors proposed are age-appropriate for the kids and stimulating for the development of vocabulary and content. In elementary school, one begins to ask to move from the passivity of listening to that non-passive listening which is the capacity for reading. Then come the first attempts at production: writing small thoughts, and gradually an ever richer and more versatile writing.

But it is from the day of birth (even before, it seems) that we were immersed in our mother tongue; it is from that day that, even if we didn't understand it, it "coddled" us.

Because, in what should – ought to – be music education, why is there, in practice, no awareness of this gradualness?

It is obvious that (since there is unfortunately no music ed. in previous schools) in three years of middle school it would be absurd to take a perspective like the one I have just written literally. But from that extremism to the extremism of listening to practically nothing, there would be a healthy middle ground!!!

Education: In Latin etymology, e-ducere suggests drawing out, making emerge. What? In my view, in our case, sensitivity, even when it seems absent.

'Education' speaks of the charm of an inner growth, of discovering areas of beauty, areas of sensitivity.

It seems like reinventing the wheel to affirm that there can be no expression that is not preceded by impression. But perhaps common sense, hot water, sometimes gets lost and must be rediscovered. So, music education for new generations, besides not being a heap of notions, is not even, in itself, that heritage of beauty, of great musical works to which we are tied and which we would want to continue living in the young, but – above all – the education of a sensitive soul.

Bravo, bravo, bravo! What more can I say? I truly liked all three of you.

Compliments to Prof. Marco de Prezzo - if I'm not mistaken? - I would so love for music teachers - and not just music teachers - in middle schools to be all like this - or roughly like this -