MUS 393: Secondary General Music Methods

Please take a look at each group's description of Ives' variations. You can double click the images to make them larger.

• Does your group have the same number of variations?
• Is there a statement of the theme? If so, where is it?
  
• Was your group's description of the variations correct? Why? Why not?

Please add your replies to these questions as comments to this post.

Assignment 2:

Read The Composers' Workshop: An Emergent Approach to Composing in the Classroom.

This is an article that I recently wrote for the Music Educators Journal. This shares the approach to curriculum and teaching that I took in my middle school general music classroom. I'm asking you to read this so that you can get to know a bit more about what I taught and how I taught it.

I would be interested in knowing more any questions you have about this article.

Here is a copy of your answers to the questions we discussed today in class.

What questions do we need to ask or what do we need to know in order to plan a secondary general music class?

• Find out what the students already know
• Start from where the students are at
• Know where you want students to go
• Know where the students are from and where they are going
• Who are your students? (socio-economic, musical lifeworlds)
• What does the community value?

What are characteristics of a good secondary general music teacher?

• Asks questions - talks with students, not at.
• Being enthusiastic
• Open-minded - musically
• Knows students' music
• Variety of lessons & experiences - radio shows, fight songs
• Knows the structural characteristics of students' music

Welcome to MUS 393. This blog will serve as a the homepage for this course. I will post regular assignments, links, and the schedule here. Please check this site regularly both for new postings by me, and to read the comments left by your peers. Whenever I assign a reading or set of questions to respond to on the blog, you must respond BEFORE the next class. This is so that we can spend class time discussing the article, rather than reading it.

Please add a short comment to this post with a short introduction of yourself.

See you in class,

Dr. Ruthmann

Assignment 1:

Read John Finney's article From Resentment to Enchantment: What a Class of Thirteen Year Olds and Their Music Teacher Tell Us about Music Education.

• What did the teacher do to engage the students and make music class personally relevant to students?
  
• What do you think about the school having an "Expressive Arts Department," rather than the traditional separation here in the US of fine arts and performing arts?
  
• In general, what makes a "good" music classroom experience?
  

Please reply to these questions as comments to this post.