America has a great history from the beginning. It began with the migration of people from Europe. They colonized the states and began life there. They eventually fought for their freedom and now are the United States of America. Within this history is another profound history, which is the history of music education in America. Music education has changed and grown dramatically from century to century from the 18th century to present times. Each century show a great moment and growth in the history of music education. This paper will show how music education has grown from the 18th century.
18th century
The 18th century can be considered the beginning of centered music education. The reason for this is because of the great decline of the singing conditions of singing in the churches. This led to the foundations of singing schools. The rationale behind the creation of these schools was to improve the singing quality of students for church purposes. In this time the church was held in very high regard. This is because the people in some places of the, who were not Native Americans, came from Europe for religious freedoms. For some of these people the church was the main concern of their lives. So improve their quality of life they made these schools. People wanted to make things better in church, and this help those beginning schools flourish. Coincidently, it was inevitable that people would use this, not only for church, to improve or enrich their daily lives.
The first American school dedicated to singing was in the year 1717 in Boston, Massachusetts. This school was made mainly to teach skills in reading music and singing in religious celebrations. This school would serve as the foundation of schools to be made for music...
... middle of paper ...
...ion.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion music education has a very vibrant history in the United States. From the 18th century till now it has shown great progress. From century to century it has shown great strides from each other. It started from singing schools in Boston, Massachusetts. These schools started to help teach people how to read music and sing. This led to the making of the first American textbook that surrounds music. The next century starts the first schools surrounding general music. These schools promoted the teaching of music theory. Then in the 20th century began the growth of four year degree programs in music education. This led to the growth of music in high schools. Now music is still growing and even has a field of music composition using technology. This shows the growth and progress of music education as time progresses and it hasn’t stopped yet.
In the text book America’s Musical Landscape by Jean Ferris, the book takes us through the history of the evolution of American music. The book delves into the different time periods of America’s music beginning with early North American music all the way to today’s modern music. Additionally, the book also explains how music, theater and film intertwine to provide some spectacular art. Jean Ferris finishes the book by exploring America’s concert music. Let us now take a closer look into the different time periods brought out in the book.
At the onset of the twentieth century singing was still the fundamental activity in schools, and sc...
Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.
Music has evolved too many different forms that we recognize today. We trace this development throughout time. Beginning in the middle ages, we have seen advancement from the Gregorian chant all the way to the Jazz of the 20th century. The current events, politics, religion, technology and composers can shape musical eras during time. Here I will look at the middle ages, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and twentieth century periods. I hope that a better understanding can be reached to why, when, where and who are the reasons for musical evolution.
Sheftel, B. (2002). Music Education Curriculum in Public Schools. PageWise, Inc, Retrieved August 6, 2003
Lebuta, Joseph A. & Smith, Deborah A. Music Education: Historical Contexts and Perspectives. (1997) Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall.
Brown, L. L. (2012, May 25). The Benefits of Music Education. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
Steven, Kelly, N. (2002). A Sociological Basis For Music Education. International Journal of Music Education. 43. Pp. 40-49
middle of paper ... ... Music was not taught in the high school I was in. To satisfy my interest in learning about music and how to play musical instruments, I had to find a source of education other than school; a great depiction in agreement with Graff’s claim that students are being limited by not considering their interests when creating curricula (Graff 197). In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explaining how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students.
Music is a basic part of everyday life. What makes music unique is its ability to create an emotional response in a person. A music education program should develop the aesthetic experience of every student to its highest potential. Aesthetics is the study of the relationship of art to the human senses. Intelligence exists in several areas, which includes music. The concept of aesthetics allows us to see into ourselves, which in turn helps the development of the intelligences. Not only are these intelligences brought up greatly in music education, but they can be transferred to other areas as well, allowing students to grow more through their other subjects.
Music education plays an enormous role in student’s overall well being, outweighing the costs of it. In 1994, Congress passed the Improving America’s Schools Act, concluding that “...the arts are forms of understanding and ways of knowing that are fundamentally important to education” (Ford, AdamMcMahon, Maureen). Congress recognized the importance of music education. Now the effort must be made to make a difference. If people really do want the best for the future, music education is key. Ramon Cortines, former chancellor of the New York City public schools stated, “We engage in the arts, we ought to teach the arts, because this is part of what it means to be human” (“Arts Education”). When people eventually realize this, the benefits will be vast.
In contemporary society, musical instruments are perceived by most of people as an instrument which play graceful music or something can help us relax. As a result, there is a trend is appearing during the whole world especially in China which is there are more and more children want to learn musical instrument. According to the survey which held by Sina news in China “Nowadays, there are approximately 50 million children are learning musical instrument in China.” (Han Hongsheng)(citation 1) The number have raised dramatically since 2 years ago. The news also mentioned that “The number of the children who are learning musical instrument become almost twice times larger than one and half years ago.” (Han Hongsheng) (The news was reported in Chinese and I transferred it to English.) (citation 1)We can learn the thing from the news which is children in China are more willing to learn musical instrument in recent years. I think the three main reasons are the awareness of importance of music, the better education system all over the world and more children get interested in learning musical instrument.
Even when children learn music they able to listen, sing, dance, create movement. Listening to music draw out emotions, and playing music can be just like communicating emotions. Some people find this a very powerful experience. “ Music enriches the lives of students and should be considered a necessary part of education.”
Children love music and recognize it very early in life. Mothers singing lullabies to her newborn baby, toddlers banging on a pot in the kitchen, preschoolers singing their favorite nursery rhyme, music is an important part of a child’s life. Music does many things, it can bring back a memory or a feeling, it can sooth and relax, and it teaches. Music also teaches children; Language, listening skills, and communication to name a few of the concepts children learn through music. "Scientists are confirming what teachers have long suspected: Music not only touches people's souls, it also shapes growing minds. When children sing or play music they become better readers, thinkers and learners. The more we discover about how the brain works, the more we recognize how crucial music is to children's learning." Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer, Ph.D., a psychoanalyst at the University of California, Berkeley.
Music is one of the specials in school that can be implemented in the classroom. In kindergarten through fifth grade, music can be used in the classroom to teach students the daily classroom curriculum. There are several ways that a teacher can implement music into their classroom lessons. Some of those ways are creating songs, or finding creative songs on YouTube or other music websites. As a future educator it is my job to use a variety of teaching methods, and one of those methods should be applying music in my lessons.