Michael Ippolito
Dr. Veblen
Introduction to Music Education
November 27, 2017
Reading Reflection: Meyers
I found this reading very interesting. Mainly because I understand how difficult it is to inspire people to want to continue with music after high school or even after elementary schools. One thing that was said in the article that stuck with me was how students are taught how to read music and play the right notes but they aren’t taught how to use those skills to create music or find music that means something to them. I’ve seen this all too much in my lifetime. I know many people who play music and still just saw it as reading the notes off a page and playing them. They didn’t see music as more than that. They never wanted to experiment with music after high school and never wanted to take their music education any farther. It really makes you think about how much talent is being wasted with these people. Many of them were pretty good at their instruments and I have no doubt that they could have taken it farther. This is something that music educators should strive to push with their students. Music is more than reading notes off a page. Music is supposed to be a way of expressing yourself. By just reading notes off a page you are just taking someone else’s musical expression and wearing it. Students need to be shown that there is more to music than just playing what someone else has written for you. Another thing that caught my attention was how it said that students and other people feel that music lacks a certain relevance in their lives and how it should be cut from schools. This is another thing I have thought about for a long time in my life. Music is something that teaches valuable life skills regardless of whether you continue in it or not. This is something we need people to understand about music. People don’t see how beneficial learning music can be. Music teaches things like patience and creativity. These are two of the many valuable life skills that music teaches people. These skills are useful to have regardless of whether or not one goes into music. I am the only one in my family who is going into music as a major. I often have relatives ask me the question of what music is good for if one doesn’t major in it. I give them that same answer every time. If I had to ask a question of the author I would ask something along the lines of how we could better help people understand what music really is about and how beneficial to people it really is.
Dr. Veblen
Introduction to Music Education
November 27, 2017
Reading Reflection: Meyers
I found this reading very interesting. Mainly because I understand how difficult it is to inspire people to want to continue with music after high school or even after elementary schools. One thing that was said in the article that stuck with me was how students are taught how to read music and play the right notes but they aren’t taught how to use those skills to create music or find music that means something to them. I’ve seen this all too much in my lifetime. I know many people who play music and still just saw it as reading the notes off a page and playing them. They didn’t see music as more than that. They never wanted to experiment with music after high school and never wanted to take their music education any farther. It really makes you think about how much talent is being wasted with these people. Many of them were pretty good at their instruments and I have no doubt that they could have taken it farther. This is something that music educators should strive to push with their students. Music is more than reading notes off a page. Music is supposed to be a way of expressing yourself. By just reading notes off a page you are just taking someone else’s musical expression and wearing it. Students need to be shown that there is more to music than just playing what someone else has written for you. Another thing that caught my attention was how it said that students and other people feel that music lacks a certain relevance in their lives and how it should be cut from schools. This is another thing I have thought about for a long time in my life. Music is something that teaches valuable life skills regardless of whether you continue in it or not. This is something we need people to understand about music. People don’t see how beneficial learning music can be. Music teaches things like patience and creativity. These are two of the many valuable life skills that music teaches people. These skills are useful to have regardless of whether or not one goes into music. I am the only one in my family who is going into music as a major. I often have relatives ask me the question of what music is good for if one doesn’t major in it. I give them that same answer every time. If I had to ask a question of the author I would ask something along the lines of how we could better help people understand what music really is about and how beneficial to people it really is.