comprehensive musicianship through performance Continued from page 59
Any great piece of music – not just one with text or an obvious story – is a treasure trove of larger affective ideas to explore. A piece in ABA form not only can help us notice it in architecture and the natural world, but ponder our deep human love for symmetry. Studying how small motifs are developed into larger forms invites us to consider our fascination with organi- cism, the way small parts grow to larger organisms (or works of art). Music from other peoples and countries is a chance to intentionally teach students that there is an advantage to reserving judgment and be- ing open-minded, and that our own tastes are products of our unique experiences.
Of course students may absorb some of these affective lessons just by being around music, whether the teacher is intentional or not. Even in just learning a piece that is unfamiliar a student can sense their tastes and preferences changing and expanding. But for those who are not naturally self-reflective, it is even more powerful when this lesson is intentional and well-planned. And for students who are already reflective and ponder these things naturally, the music class might be a place (and maybe the only place) where this kind of soul-knowing is recognized and validated.
Math teachers can easily make a case for their subject area: students need math skills whether for simple tasks like count- ing change or more complicated tasks that demand logic and reasoning strategies. A gym teacher can clearly articulate the value of healthy activity for physical longevity. As music teachers, what is our unique claim?
It is the affective domain, which is ours to master and teach like no other subject can. We need to own “soul knowing” and be able to articulate why it is critical in a culture that keeps forgetting ways of knowing besides the mind and body. We need to remind ourselves and our com- munities of our own humanity – our need to make purposeful connections, interpret
60 September 2013
and find meaning and show how music provides the most natural window into this understanding.
Choosing an affective outcome (and ac- tually designing strategies to achieve it) ensures that all students – even those who will not make a career as a musician – see music as not merely something pleasant to listen to or something that the specially talented people can enjoy, but a way of understanding the world.
Last spring a visiting choir sang “Barb’ry Allen” at our elementary school. The students understood just enough of the text to know that it was sad and to be curious. They asked me in our next class to explain the song to them. There is no way to tell the story of “Barb’ry Allen” without uncovering some despair and heartbreak. So after I told the story I asked the students, “Why do you think someone would even write a song that was this sad and hopeless?”
A third grader raised her hand and said confidently, “Two reasons. First, life isn’t always happy and neither is art. And num- ber two: if someone does mess up really badly, in a way that can’t really be fixed, it is comforting to just realize that you aren’t the first person in history to ever make a big mistake like that. A hopeless song can kind of give you hope because you know that you aren’t a weirdo for feeling that way.”
Soul knowing or affective outcomes may not generate the best multiple choice questions, but when we value what we find beyond the notes, we discover many things, including: a reminder that we are not alone.
Margaret Jenks is the current chair of the Wis- consin CMP Project. She teaches K-5 music at Van Hise Elementary School in Madison and conducts the Madison Boychoir. Email:
mjenks@tds.net.
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