The document discusses the philosophy that music education should be accessible to all students. It argues that music is a fundamental part of human experience and culture, and has been for thousands of years across all civilizations. However, there is a misconception that music education is only for the gifted, but all students can participate and benefit from music. The document advocates for music ensembles and the teaching of a variety of musical genres, including global music. It also stresses the importance of defending music education.

1. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
Philosophy
of
Music
Education
Shelby
Love
Dr.
John
Lychner
July
31,
2014

2. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
2
Abstract
Music
is
an
action.
People
in
all
civilizations
throughout
the
centuries
have
participated
in
making
music.
Music
education
is
something
that
is
accessible
and
should
be
utilized
by
everyone.
In
the
past,
there
has
been
a
misconception
that
music
education
is
only
for
the
gifted
or
talented.
This
is
not
the
case,
and
all
students
have
the
ability
to
participate
in
music
and
to
perform
music.
Students
should
participate
in
music
ensembles
because
everyone
wants
to
participate
in
something
bigger
than
themself,
everyone
deserves
a
chance
to
experience
flow,
and
everyone
deserves
a
chance
to
discover
what
are
their
strongest
musical
intelligences.
A
plethora
of
musical
genres
should
be
taught
and
explored,
but
global
music
should
definitely
be
included.
Music
is
for
all
and
music
educators
and
others
who
believe
in
music
education
need
to
defend
it
during
this
perilous
time
in
the
history
of
music
education.

3. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
3
Music
is
something
that
makes
humans,
humans.
According
to
Elliott,
“Life
without
musicing
and
music
listening
would
not
be
human
as
we
know
it.
Homo
sapiens
is
the
species
that
‘musics’”.1
Sloboda
would
agree
and
said,
“It
seems
unlikely
that
music
could
have
penetrated
to
the
core
of
so
many
different
cultures
unless
there
were
some
fundamental
human
attraction
to
organized
sound
which
transcended
cultural
boundaries”.
2
“No
known
human
culture
now
or
any
time
in
the
recorded
past
lacked
music.
Some
of
the
oldest
physical
artifacts
found
in
human
and
protohuman
excavation
sites
are
musical
instruments:
bone
flutes
and
animal
skins
stretched
over
three
stumps
to
make
drums.”
3
Whenever
humans
assemble
for
any
reason,
music
is
there:
weddings,
funerals,
graduations,
school
sporting
events,
worship
services,
restaurants,
and
students
studying
with
music
on
in
the
background.
Throughout
the
majority
of
the
world
and
for
thousands
of
years,
music
making
has
been
an
experience
that
everyone
has
participated
in
and
enjoyed
doing.
Why
do
so
many
cultures
have
such
a
strong
attraction
to
music?
What
is
it
about
music
that
is
so
inviting
and
electric?
In
the
spring
I
always
have
my
6th
grade
choir
do
the
“What
Life
Would
Be
Like
Without
Music
Project”.
My
6th
graders
have
to
write
five
sentences
on
this
topic.
The
first
sentence
has
to
start,”
Life
without
music…”
and
then
they
answer
the
question
from
there.
Some
responses
I
have
had
1
David
James
Elliott,
Music
Matters:
A
New
Philosophy
of
Music
Education
(New
York:
Oxford
University
Press,
1995),
109.
2
John
A.
Sloboda,
The
Musical
Mind:
The
Cognitive
Psychology
of
Music
(Oxford:
Clarendon
Press,
1985),
1.
3
Daniel
J.
Levitin,
This
is
Your
Brain
on
Music:
the
Science
of
a
Human
Obsession
(New
York:
Plume,
2007),
5-­‐6.

4. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
4
in
the
past
include:
Life
without
music
would
be
boring,
Life
without
music
would
mean
no
radio,
Happy
Birthday,
or
anything
to
listen
to
in
elevators,
and
Life
without
music
would
mean
I
have
no
where
to
go
when
I
need
to
escape
from
the
world
and
find
a
safe
place.
Music
is
powerful
and
all
students
should
have
the
ability
to
learn
more
about
music
and
how
to
appreciate
music
in
school.
We
know
music
is
important
in
the
daily
lives
of
our
students
and
people
in
general,
but
what
is
music?
The
dictionary.com
definition
of
music
is
“an
art
of
sound
in
time
that
expresses
ideas
and
emotions
in
significant
form
through
the
elements
of
rhythm,
melody,
harmony,
and
color”
and
“the
tones
or
sounds
employed,
occurring
in
single
line
(melody)
or
multiple
lines
(harmony),
and
sounded
or
to
be
sounded
by
one
or
more
voices
or
instruments,
or
both”. 4
This
is
a
thorough
definition,
but
it
is
not
one
that
students
will
easily
be
able
to
latch
onto,
understand,
or
explain
to
others.
Students
need
to
be
able
to
give
their
own
definition
for
music.
Part
of
this
definition
that
students
create
will
undoubtedly
include
how
music
has
affected
their
lives
and
not
just
the
technical
aspects
of
music.
Another
point
to
make
about
music,
however,
is
that
music
equals
doing.
Doreen
Rao
said,
”The
essence
of
music
resides
in
action.”5
Music
is
not
just
markings
on
a
page.
Music
is
what
you
do
with
those
markings
on
the
page.
Music
is
composing,
conducting,
performing,
improvising,
or
learning.
Music
does
not
exist
without
an
action.
Elliott
would
agree,
“Music
is
a
tetrad
of
complimentary
dimensions
4
Dictionary.com
|
Find
the
Meanings
and
Definitions
of
Words
at
Dictionary.com.
5
Doreen
Rao
and
David
Elliott,
"Symposium
of
K-­‐12
Music
Education:
Music
Performance
&
Music
Education."
Design
for
Arts
in
Education
May/June
1990
(1990):
29.

5. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
5
involving
(1)
a
doer,
(2)
some
kind
of
doing,
(3)
something
done,
and
(4)
the
complete
context
in
which
doers
do
what
they
do”.6
Contrary
to
popular
belief,
music
education
is
not
solely
about
performing,
however.
As
Bennett
Reimer
put
it,
We
have
so
emphasized
the
role
of
the
performer
as,
mistakenly,
the
sole
way
to
experience
music
genuinely,
or
equally
mistakenly,
as
the
core
way
on
which
all
other
musical
involvements
depend,
as
to
have
seriously
depleted
the
opportunities
for
musical
intelligences
to
be
developed
in
the
variety
of
other
ways
our
culture
affords.7
Reimer
believes
there
are
seven
musical
roles
as
intelligences.
Those
intelligences
are:
composing,
performing,
improvising,
listening,
music
theory,
musicology
and
music
teaching.8
I
know
that
I,
along
with
many
other
music
educators,
am
guilty
of
focusing
too
much
on
the
performance
aspect
of
music
education,
to
the
detriment
of
many
other
musical
intelligences.
I
plan
to
remedy
this
deficit
in
my
classes
this
year
and
in
the
years
to
come.
In
order
to
have
“well-­‐rounded”
musicians,
our
students
need
to
have
a
general
understanding
of
all
of
the
above
musical
intelligences.
All
students
will
have
varying
levels
of
understanding
and
competence
for
each
of
these
intelligences,
but
all
students
should
be
given
the
opportunity
to
discover
which
musical
intelligences
are
his/her
strongest
and
which
have
potential
as
well.
A
student
will
never
know
if
she
is
a
good
composer
and
understands
chord
structure
easily
if
she
is
never
given
6
Elliott,
Music
Matters,
40.
7
Bennett
Reimer,
A
Philosophy
of
Music
Education:
Advancing
the
Vision
(3rd
ed.
Upper
Saddle
River,
NJ:
Prentice
Hall,
2003),
220.
8
Bennett
Reimer,
A
Philosophy
of
Music
Education,
221.

6. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
6
the
opportunity
to
try.
Also,
a
student
will
not
know
how
capable
of
improvising
he
is
without
being
given
the
opportunity
to
explore
that
intelligence.
Music
educators
obviously
believe
that
music
should
be
in
the
schools,
but
not
all
constituents
in
a
community
have
the
same
beliefs.
Charles
Leonhard
said,”
While
musicians
and
music
teachers
usually
have
firm
convictions
about
the
value
of
music
in
the
schools,
they
are
faced
with
the
problem
of
justifying
to
administrators,
boards
of
education
and
parents
the
inclusion
of
music
in
the
curriculum”.9
Why
is
music
education
so
important
then?
Why
should
people
be
advocates
of
having
music
education
courses
in
their
school?
Music
education
has
been
“mislabeled”
in
the
past.
People
need
to
realize
that
music
is
not
simply
for
the
musical
prodigies
of
the
world,
but
rather
that
everyone
can
and
should
participate
in
music.
Elliott
put
it
very
well
when
he
said:
Although
musicianship
is
a
form
of
knowledge
that
is
applicable
to
and
achievable
by
the
majority
of
children,
some
teachers
and
administrators
base
their
decisions
about
music
curricula
on
the
false
assumption
that
music
making
is
possible
and
appropriate
only
for
special
students;
namely,
the
so-­‐called
talented.
Perpetuating
the
myth
of
music-­‐as-­‐talent
is
an
effective
way
to
marginalize
music
and
music
education
in
the
school
curriculum
and,
therefore,
in
the
lives
of
most
children.
To
call
something
a
talent
is
to
put
it
beyond
the
reach
of
most
mortals.
The
unexamined
association
between
music
and
talent
causes
parents,
administrators,
and
the
general
public
to
assume,
wrongly,
that
music
is
inaccessible,
unachievable,
and
therefore,
an
inappropriate
or
unnecessary
subject
for
the
majority
of
school
children.10
It
is
also
important
to
remember
that
no
one
is
“born”
musical.
People
are
born
with
the
ability
to
learn
about
music,
to
learn
to
appreciate
music,
and
to
learn
to
make
music.
In
Elliott’s
words:
9
Charles
Leonhard,
“Philosophy
of
Music
Education,”
Music
Educators
Journal,
Vol.
52,
No.
1,
(Sep.-­‐Oct.
1965),
59.
10
Elliott,
Music
Matters,
235.

7. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
7
Musicianship
is
achieved
through
music
teaching
and
learning;
it
is
neither
a
gift
nor
a
talent.
True,
some
people
seem
to
have
high
levels
of
musical
intelligence
and
high
levels
of
interest
in
learning
to
make
and
listen
for
music
well.
Theses
factors
may
enable
such
people
to
develop
musicianship
and
musical
creativity
more
deeply
and
broadly
than
others.
Nevertheless,
the
vast
majority
of
people
have
sufficient
music
intelligence
to
achieve
at
least
a
competent
level
of
musicianship
through
systematic
programs
of
music
education.11
In
order
to
accept
the
fact
that
it
is
possible
for
everyone
to
participate
in
music,
it
is
necessary
for
some
people
to
adjust
their
thinking
about
music
education.
Keith
Swanwick
stated
that,
“
Music
is
a
way
of
knowing
and
a
complex
system
that
can
only
be
fully
understood
through
the
educational
experiences
offered
in
schools”.12
Teachers
have
the
incredible
responsibility
to
allow
students
the
opportunity
to
learn
about
music
and
to
experience
the
wonder
of
music.
One
reason
why
music
education
is
important
according
to
J.
Steven
Moore
is,
“People
feel
a
need
to
belong
to
something
bigger
than
themselves”.13
Although
this
can
be
accomplished
in
more
than
one
way
(sports
teams,
extra-­‐curricular
activities,
and
music
ensembles
are
all
options),
music
ensembles
are
a
unique
entity.
Sports
teams
are
much
smaller
and
make
cuts,
whereas
most
music
groups
do
not.
In
music
ensembles,
there
are
no
benchwarmers;
everyone
is
a
starter
and
plays/sings
the
entire
performance.
Each
and
every
person
is
vital
to
the
success
of
the
group.
Music
groups
“don’t
pull
a
person
out
for
missing
a
note
and
send
in
a
substitute”.
The
11
Elliott,
Music
Matters,
236.
12
Patricia
Shehan
Campbell.
Musician
&
Teacher:
An
Orientation
to
Music
Education
(New
York:
W.W.
Norton
and
Company,
2008.)
,
34.
13
J.
Steven
Moore,
Play
it
From
the
Heart:
What
You
Learn
From
Music
About
Success
in
Life
(New
York:
Rowman
&
Littlefield
Publishers,
INC,
2011),
5.

8. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
8
purpose
of
a
sports
team
is
to
win
and
the
purpose
of
a
music
ensemble
is
to
“make
music
and
uplift
the
human
spirit”.14
Music
ensembles
are
about
individual
achievements
in
a
group
setting.
You
cannot
succeed
by
yourself;
everyone
needs
to
participate
in
order
to
be
successful.
J.
Steven
Moore
also
believes
that,
“There
is
no
greater
lesson
than
to
learn
to
be
responsible
in
a
group,
to
voluntarily
give
up
your
individual
needs
for
the
good
of
the
group,
and
to
share
in
the
exhilaration
of
group
accomplishment.
It
is
invigorating
to
be
part
of
something
that
is
bigger
than
yourself
and
to
know
that
it
couldn’t
have
been
done
without
you”.15
Participating
in
a
music
ensemble
also
allows
us
to
experience
the
emotional
and
aesthetic
feelings
associated
with
music.
Speaking
about
emotion
in
music,
Sloboda
said,
The
reason
that
most
of
us
take
part
in
musical
activity,
be
it
composing,
performing,
or
listening,
is
that
music
is
capable
of
arousing
in
us
deep
and
significant
emotions.
These
emotions
can
range
from
the
‘pure’
aesthetic
delight
in
a
sound
construction,
through
emotions
like
joy
or
sorrow
which
music
sometimes
evokes
or
enhances,
to
the
simple
relief
from
monotony,
boredom,
or
depression
which
everyday
musical
experiences
can
provide.16
Music
allows
humans
the
ability
to
express
what
cannot
otherwise
be
put
into
words
as
well.
Reimer
said,
If
the
only
means
available
to
humans
to
help
them
explore
their
subjective
nature
were
ordinary
language,
a
major
part
of
human
reality
would
be
forever
closed
off
to
our
conscious
development.
The
subjective
part
of
reality-­‐the
way
life
feels
as
it
is
lived-­‐
cannot
be
fully
clarified
or
refined
in
our
experience
solely
through
the
use
of
ordinary
language.
This
is
not
because
no
one
has
taken
the
14
Moore,
Play
it
From
the
Heart,
6.
15
Moore,
Play
it
From
the
Heart,
6.
16
Sloboda,.
The
Musical
Mind,
1.

9. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
9
time
to
think
up
enough
words
to
name
all
possible
ways
of
feeling;
it
is
because
the
nature
of
feeling
is
ineffable
in
essence.17
Participating
in
a
music
ensemble
allows
students
to
have
this
experience
of
expressing
emotions
that
cannot
be
put
into
words.
The
term
aesthetic
in
the
arts
(music
included)
helps
people
to
better
understand
the
beauty
involved
and
to
perceive
what
the
composer
originally
intended
for
a
piece
of
music.
Marie
McCarthy’s
definition
of
aesthetics
in
her
article
Music
Education
Philosophy:
Changing
Times
is,
The
branch
of
philosophy
that
deals
with
art
(especially
fine
art),
its
sources,
forms,
and
effects.
Aesthetic
philosophies
of
music
education
focus
on
preparing
students
to
perceive
and
respond
appropriately
to
musical
works
as
forms
of
art
(especially
great
works
or
“masterpieces”)
in
order
to
“educate
their
feelings”
and
to
evoke
in
them
“aesthetic
experience”
(i.e.,
a
unique,
highly
pleasurable
state
of
mind).18
Reimer
is
also
a
proponent
of
aesthetic
education.
He
said,
Aesthetic
education
in
music
attempts
to
enhance
learnings
related
to
the
following
propositions:
1)
musical
sounds
(as
various
cultures
construe
what
these
are)
create
and
share
meanings
available
only
from
such
sounds.
2)
Creating
musical
meanings,
and
partaking
of
them,
require
an
amalgam
of
mind,
body,
and
feeling.
3)
Musical
meanings
incorporate
within
them
a
great
variety
of
universal/cultural/
individual
meanings
(ideas,
beliefs,
values,
associations,
etc.)
transformed
by
musical
sounds.
4)
Gaining
its
special
meanings
requires
direct
experience
with
musical
sounds,
deepened
and
expanded
by
skills,
knowledge,
understandings,
attitudes,
and
sensitivities
education
can
cultivate.19
Because
music
is
such
a
fundamental
activity
to
humans
and
to
life
as
we
know
it,
Clive
Bell
said,
“To
appreciate
a
work
of
art
we
need
to
bring
with
us
nothing
from
life,
no
knowledge
of
its
ideas
and
affairs,
no
familiarity
with
its
emotions.
Art
transports
us
from
the
world
of
man's
activity
to
a
world
to
aesthetic
exaltation.
For
17
Reimer,
A
Philosophy
of
Music
Education,
85.
18
Marie
McCarthy
and
J.
Scott
Noble.
“Music
Education
Philosophy:
Changing
Times,”
Music
Educators
Journal,
Vol.
89,
No.
1
(Sep.
2002),
2.
19
Reimer,
A
Philosophy
of
Music
Education,
11.

10. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
0
a
moment,
we
are
shut
off
from
human
interests;
our
anticipations
and
memories
are
arrested;
we
are
lifted
above
the
stream
of
life.”20
If
we
can
agree
that
music
education
is
important
for
students,
why
should
we
have
music
performance
classes?
According
to
Leonhard
there
are
two
main
reasons
for
including
musical
performance
in
general
education,
“1)
training
in
performance
helps
the
student
see
what
is
involved
in
music
making;
and
2)
it
helps
him
hear
music
in
its
full
reality”.21
Rao
and
Elliott
would
agree,
“Our
intentional
action
[in
performing]
result
in
changes
and,
therefore
produce
achievements
that
would
not
have
existed
without
our
efforts.
In
each
instance
of
performing
done
well,
we
invest
our
whole
being
in
the
pursuit
of
molding
a
medium
that
has
the
possibility
to
model
the
whole
range
of
ways
that
we
think
and
experience
reality”.22
Motivation
is
another
important
aspect
of
participating
in
a
music
ensemble.
Especially
in
instrumental
programs
where
daily
practicing
and
filling
out
practice
logs
are
required,
students
need
to
be
motivated
in
order
to
grow
as
musicians.
There
are
two
types
of
motivation
to
engage
with
music
that
exist.
“One
motivation
is
what
one
might
call
‘intrinsic’.
It
develops
from
intense
pleasurable
experiences
with
music
(of
a
sensual,
aesthetic,
or
emotional
kind),
which
lead
to
a
deep
personal
commitment
to
music.
The
other
motivation
is
what
one
might
call
‘extrinsic’,
and
is
concerned
with
achievement.”23
In
extrinsic
motivation,
someone
20
Clive
Bell,
Art.
(New
York:
Putnams’s,
1914),
25.
21
Leonhard,
Charles.
“Philosophy
of
Music
Education,”
61.
22
Rao
and
Elliott,"Symposium
of
K-­‐12
Music
Education,
29.
23
John
Sloboda,
Exploring
the
Musical
Mind:
Cognition,
Emotion,
Ability,
Function.
(Oxford:
Oxford
University
Press,
2005),
307-­‐308.

11. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
1
is
more
concerned
with
receiving
a
tangible
reward,
praise
from
a
director
or
parents,
or
in
being
better
than
someone
else.
All
musicians
should
have
a
combination
of
both
of
these
types
of
motivation.
Having
intrinsic
and
extrinsic
motivation
will
help
considerably
in
propelling
a
student
forward
in
his/her
musical
studies.
Listening
is
another
important
aspect
of
performing
because
the
more
active
of
a
listener
a
musician
is,
the
better
a
performer
that
person
will
be
as
well.
According
to
Elliott,
“Learning
to
listen
deeply
and
intelligently
for
the
music
of
a
particular
practice
requires
that
students
learn
music
from
inside
musical
practices,
from
the
perspective
of
reflective
musical
practitioners.”24
In
a
music
classroom
(whether
it
is
a
performing
class
or
a
music
appreciation
class)
it
is
important
to
train
students
how
to
listen
well.
This
can
be
done
by
listening
to
recordings
but
participating
in
a
performing
group
is
by
far
the
best
method
because
students
daily
are
learning
to
blend,
listen
for
other
instruments
or
parts,
and
to
listen
for
how
all
of
the
parts
are
fitting
together.
Another
reason
why
performance
ensembles
are
important
is
because
they
give
students
the
opportunity
to
achieve
flow.
Flow
is
the
feeling
of
“time
flying”
that
is
achieved
when
the
challenge
at
hand
is
equal
to
the
level
of
know-­‐how/
capability
to
meet
that
challenge.
People
who
frequently
achieve
self-­‐growth
and
flow
often
have
higher
overall
levels
of
self-­‐esteem
than
those
who
do
not
achieve
flow
as
often.
According
to
Csikszentmihalyi,
Teenagers
who
report
more
flow
tend
to
be
happier,
and
they
develop
academic
talents
further
than
teens
who
are
in
flow
less
often.
Adults
who
spend
more
24
Elliott,
Music
Matters,
101.

12. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
2
time
in
flow
work
longer,
yet
are
less
prone
to
stress-­‐related
illness.
Individuals
who
cannot
experience
flow,
or
who
enjoy
only
passive
and
simple
activities,
end
up
developing
selves
that
are
often
in
turmoil,
riven
by
frustration
and
disappointment.25
Elliott
expands
on
that
by
saying,”
Humans
engage
in
actions
and
pursuits
that
strengthen
and
order
the
self.
We
experience
these
pursuits
as
more
satisfying,
enjoyable,
and
absorbing
than
everyday
activities
because
they
are
more
demanding
and
more
congruent
with
the
goals
of
the
self.
And
because
we
enjoy
these
endeavors,
we
continue
to
pursue
them.”26
Everyone
should
have
the
opportunity
to
achieve
flow
in
his/her
life.
Everyone
should
have
the
opportunity
to
experience
flow
by
participating
in
a
music
ensemble.
Most
people
have
achieved
flow
in
conversations
with
a
close
friend,
in
reading
a
good
book,
or
in
participating
in
a
sport
he/she
really
enjoys,
but
the
feeling
of
experiencing
flow
in
a
group
setting
with
other
musicians
who
are
totally
into
the
music
is
a
feeling
that
is
unparalleled.
One
way
of
experiencing
flow
in
an
ensemble
lies
in
the
music
selections
and
whether
or
not
those
pieces
are
challenging
enough
for
the
ensemble
while
knowing
that
the
students
have
the
technical
and
musical
know
how
in
order
to
be
successful.
Everyone
has
different
tastes
in
music,
as
well,
and
allowing
for
a
variety
of
different
musics
in
our
ensembles
is
a
great
way
to
allow
different
students
to
achieve
flow.
According
to
Alperson,
“Even
the
least
musical
among
us
can
recognize
pieces
of
music
when
we
hear
them
and
name
a
few
canonical
examples.
We
know
there
are
25
Mihalyi.
Czikszentmihalyi,
The
Evolving
Self:
A
Psychology
for
the
Third
Millennium.
(New
York:
Harper-­‐Collins,
1993),
26
Elliott,
Music
Matters,
114.

13. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
3
different
kinds
of
music
and,
even
if
our
knowledge
of
music
is
restricted,
we
know
which
kinds
of
music
we
like
and
which
kinds
we
do
not.”27
It
is
therefore
imperative
that
we
as
educators
introduce
our
students
to
a
plethora
of
different
music
genres
and
artists.
Because
students
know
what
they
do
and
do
not
like
already,
we
must
latch
onto
what
students
already
know
about
music
and
music
artists
and
expand
upon
that
knowledge
base.
Students
should
learn
about
“the
classics”,
modern
songs,
folk
songs,
global
music,
and
jazz
music,
just
to
name
a
few.
We
cannot
judge
different
types
of
music
and
say
that
one
is
superior
to
another,
we
can
only
say
the
characteristics
of
each
and
allow
our
students
to
make
decisions
for
themselves.
Reimer
said,
There
are
no
universal
musical
characteristics
or
values
applicable
to
all
the
diverse
musics
in
the
world
and
in
history,
so
there
is
no
way
to
compare
or
judge
the
value
of
any
one
music
against
any
others;
all
are
incomparably
valuable.
The
experience
of
music
from
a
different
culture
radically
confronts
one’s
own
musical
value
system
with
an
equally
valid
alternative,
thereby
contradicting
any
belief
that
one’s
own
culture
is
in
any
way
musically
privileged.28
Culture
plays
a
role
in
defining
what
music
is
and
what
music
is
not
and
as
a
result,
we
need
to
teach
our
students
about
global
music.
According
to
Reimer,
“Sounds,
in
all
cultures,
are
put
together,
or
given
structure,
or
fashioned,
in
ways
each
culture
has
imagined
as
appropriate
for
music”.
29
Each
culture
is
able
to
decide
what
music
is
for
them.
In
the
Western
world,
when
we
hear
the
pentatonic
scale
or
microtones,
or
a
didgeridoo,
we
quite
often
refer
to
that
music
as
“strange,
unusual,
or
weird”
and
it
may
not
be
pleasing
to
our
ears.
It
is
important
to
remember,
27
Philip
Alperson,
ed.,
What
is
Music?
An
Introduction
to
the
Philosophy
of
Music
(University
Park,
Pennsylvania:
The
Pennsylvania
State
University
Press,
1987),1.
28
Reimer,
A
Philosophy
of
Music
Education,
11.
29
Reimer,
A
Philosophy
of
Music
Education,
151.

14. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
4
however,
that
our
music
with
only
twelve
tones,
a
set
arrangement
of
instruments,
and
predictable
cadential
structures
could
be
considered
“strange,
unusual,
weird
or
unpleasing
to
the
ear”
to
people
unfamiliar
with
our
music
or
who
have
a
very
specific,
well-­‐defined
musical
tradition.
It
is
therefore
important
to
teach
our
students
about
music
from
around
the
world
and
to
culture
them
and
accustom
their
ears
to
different
tonalities,
instruments,
and
ways
of
making
music
so
that
they
can
know
more
about
cultures
and
traditions
around
the
globe
and
be
intelligent
participants
in
this
world
in
which
we
live.
In
society
today,
where
the
focus
is
on
assessment
and
“performing
well”
on
state-­‐mandated
tests
and
at
festival
and
other
concerts,
music
educators
can
get
stuck
in
the
rut
of
focusing
on
the
product
in
all
of
these
situations
and
neglect
the
process
of
getting
there.
Yes
it
is
important
to
have
successful
performances,
but
the
steps
it
took
to
get
there
are
equally
important,
in
my
opinion.
Students
will
not
sing/
play
to
the
best
of
their
ability
if
they
do
not
have
the
tools
necessary
in
order
to
do
that.
Students
need
to
learn
how
to
sight
read,
do
music
theory,
compose
rhythmically
and
melodically,
listen
well,
improvise,
know
the
history
and
significance
behind
a
certain
work,
and
be
able
to
connect
what
they
are
learning
across
other
subjects.
All
of
these
“additional”
music
abilities
will
help
our
students
to
be
well
rounded
and
to
appreciate
music
in
the
present
and
in
the
years
to
come.
All
of
the
above
“additional”
musical
abilities
line
up
with
the
current
National
Standards
for
Music
Education.
According
to
the
National
Association
for
Music
Education
(NAfME)
the
national
standards
are:
1.
Singing,
alone
and
with
others,
a
varied
repertoire
of
music.

15. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
5
2.
Performing
on
instruments,
alone
and
with
others,
a
varied
repertoire
of
music.
3.
Improvising
melodies,
variations,
and
accompaniments.
4.
Composing
and
arranging
music
within
specified
guidelines.
5.
Reading
and
notating
music.
6.
Listening
to,
analyzing,
and
describing
music.
7.
Evaluating
music
and
music
performances.
8.
Understanding
relationships
between
music,
the
other
arts,
and
disciplines
outside
the
arts.
9.
Understanding
music
in
relation
to
history
and
culture.30
It
is
my
goal
to
do
a
better
job
of
incorporating
all
of
these
standards
into
my
classes/
lesson
plans
on
a
more
regular
basis.
Performing
is
not
the
end
all
be
all
of
music
education
courses
and
having
this
list
of
National
Standards
in
some
prominent
locations
in
my
classroom
will
help
to
hold
me
accountable
when
I
am
tempted
to
focus
on
the
performance
and
not
the
process
it
takes
to
get
there.
All
of
these
standards
are
important
and
I
am
excited
to
see
how
my
students
grow
as
musicians
with
these
changes
to
the
curriculum.
Music
education
is
a
field
that
is
in
a
precarious
place
in
our
society.
Teachers
in
general
are
not
esteemed
like
they
once
were
and
because
music
is
seen
as
an
elective
or
“special
class”
as
opposed
to
the
“core
subjects”,
we,
as
music
educators,
are
facing
an
even
more
difficult
uphill
battle.
It
is
important
to
not
only
defend
our
programs,
but
to
educate
our
administrators,
parents,
AND
students
on
why
music
30
“National
Standards
for
Music
Education,”
last
modified
January
2014,
http://musiced.nafme.org/resources/national-­‐standards-­‐for-­‐music-­‐education/

16. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
6
education
is
important,
why
all
students
can
and
should
participate
in
a
music
ensemble,
and
how
their
lives
will
be
affected
as
a
result
of
the
experience.

17. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
7
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What
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18. LOVE-­‐PHILOSOPHY
OF
MUSIC
EDUCATION
1
8
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