Music and Teaching

I had a good time on music appreciation in the past two weeks. I listened to some informative radio talks about what makes great music great, studied the articles on the gifted listener and sonorous image of music, and also listened to award wining music pieces. All of this certainly makes me more knowledgeable about music and let me keep thinking about what is the connection between the art of music and the art of teaching. There are at least three things I like to explore in teaching.

First is the idea of hooks. In music, a hook refers to a catchy musical idea, a passage or a phrase, which often comes at the beginning of the piece of music and sometimes repeats and develops throughout the piece. While it’s difficult to say what the meaning of a piece of music is, it’s safe to assume that a hook often works to trigger a listener’s emotion. When it strikes on one’s emotional nerve, he or she is hooked and wants to resonate more with the music. I think that’s the magic power of a music hook. Could we apply the idea of hooks to our daily teaching? If the emotion is essential for a hook of music, then curiosity may be the target of a hook in teaching. For example, if we can somehow arouse a strong curiosity among students and somehow maintain that curiosity, our teaching should be magic, like a great piece of music.

Second is the gift of a listener. By Copland, music listening is a talent, varying among individuals. Two principal requirements for talented listening are the ability to open oneself up to musical experience and the ability to evaluate critically that experience. How could this idea be applicable for the art of teaching? We have to admit that students also vary in learning talent, at least at the beginning, and our job should be nurture such a talent among students. Fortunately, I have seen that such a learning talent improves, as students get more interested in a subject. Now, I also see the importance of critical thinking skills.

Third is the role of emotion. As I have seen, music is all for emotions. We listen to a piece of music largely to resonate in our emotions and obtain psychological satisfaction from such resonance. In contrast, teaching is primarily for cognition. So, the issue I may ask is, if and how can I blend some emotional elements into a cognitive quest? In other MAET courses, we have discussed the role of affects in active learning. And now, the discussion of music makes me think about this issue again. And I believe emotions play an increasingly role in the art of teaching, and I need to figure out more on how to implement this idea.

If a textbook is like a piece of music, could a teacher be a conductor and all her students be performers of an orchestra? That is, teaching could be as enjoyable as music for more students, if teachers can act as musicians. That sounds very intriguing!