Jess Chann's Philosophy of Music Education
I am a firm believer in music education being able to enrich the emotional, mental, and cognitive development of students.
I believe that my duty as a music educator is to nurture students as individuals who contribute to society, alongside their passions for music and provide them with the guidance they need to discover for themselves what their love of music means to them. On the other hand, if students find that they do not want to continue music, I cannot force them and should accept that I can just be a general mentor available to them instead.
As a future music educator, the content I teach will be most beneficial to music students and aspiring musicians. Music education includes a vast amount of different aspects and nuances—in other words, there is more to teaching music than just teaching students how to play an instrument. There is also necessity for understanding music theory, experience with arrangement and composition, learning music history (knowing and appreciating the various cultures from which different music comes from), and expressing emotion through performance and musical ideas. Logically, individuals who actually want to learn about music will be most enthusiastic about all of the opportunities that come with becoming a musician.
German philosopher Theodor Lipps’ famed theory of Einfühlung (“feeling into,” “empathy”) essentially is the concept of projecting oneself through an art form. Lipps’ concept resonates with my philosophy that music is as necessary as any other art form through which students are able to express themselves. Some students express themselves through writing stories and poems, some through sculpting, crafting, painting, drawing, and etc. My purpose as a music educator is to provide the opportunity for students to use music as their art form of expression. I want to guide students in their personal exploration of their thoughts and emotions; I want them to learn how to articulate what different pieces and aspects of music make them feel and why—perhaps a song makes them feel at the edge of their seat, or perhaps a certain section makes them feel frustration from the difficulty and need to break it down into smaller parts for rehearsal. Perhaps, listening to and watching more experienced students will even help with individual humbleness and work ethic.
Along with helping to develop a student’s well-roundedness, music can also be very empowering as students find pride in successfully developing motor and coordination skills, muscle-memory, musical literacy, and musical knowledge. The reward and fulfillment, such as being able to perform in front of an audience, that results from practice can help to boost a student’s confidence in their ability to learn and hone any other new skill or hobby that may interest them. Participating in a music classroom such as a concert band, orchestra, or choir will also give students the chance to exercise their interpersonal skills. Music calls for teamwork, cooperation, and leadership as well as personal effort contributing to a larger collective effort—all of which are important to a student’s overall development.
Furthermore, I also believe that music opens up opportunities for students to connect with their community. School concerts, performances at local events, auditions for bigger interscholastic festivals, fundraising performances, and many others are all ways to connect with the population outside of the music classroom that are made accessible to students learning music.
Ultimately, my goal as a music educator is to combine all of both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that come with learning music to help my students develop themselves into more insightful, open-minded, and well-rounded contributors for their community.
I believe that my duty as a music educator is to nurture students as individuals who contribute to society, alongside their passions for music and provide them with the guidance they need to discover for themselves what their love of music means to them. On the other hand, if students find that they do not want to continue music, I cannot force them and should accept that I can just be a general mentor available to them instead.
As a future music educator, the content I teach will be most beneficial to music students and aspiring musicians. Music education includes a vast amount of different aspects and nuances—in other words, there is more to teaching music than just teaching students how to play an instrument. There is also necessity for understanding music theory, experience with arrangement and composition, learning music history (knowing and appreciating the various cultures from which different music comes from), and expressing emotion through performance and musical ideas. Logically, individuals who actually want to learn about music will be most enthusiastic about all of the opportunities that come with becoming a musician.
German philosopher Theodor Lipps’ famed theory of Einfühlung (“feeling into,” “empathy”) essentially is the concept of projecting oneself through an art form. Lipps’ concept resonates with my philosophy that music is as necessary as any other art form through which students are able to express themselves. Some students express themselves through writing stories and poems, some through sculpting, crafting, painting, drawing, and etc. My purpose as a music educator is to provide the opportunity for students to use music as their art form of expression. I want to guide students in their personal exploration of their thoughts and emotions; I want them to learn how to articulate what different pieces and aspects of music make them feel and why—perhaps a song makes them feel at the edge of their seat, or perhaps a certain section makes them feel frustration from the difficulty and need to break it down into smaller parts for rehearsal. Perhaps, listening to and watching more experienced students will even help with individual humbleness and work ethic.
Along with helping to develop a student’s well-roundedness, music can also be very empowering as students find pride in successfully developing motor and coordination skills, muscle-memory, musical literacy, and musical knowledge. The reward and fulfillment, such as being able to perform in front of an audience, that results from practice can help to boost a student’s confidence in their ability to learn and hone any other new skill or hobby that may interest them. Participating in a music classroom such as a concert band, orchestra, or choir will also give students the chance to exercise their interpersonal skills. Music calls for teamwork, cooperation, and leadership as well as personal effort contributing to a larger collective effort—all of which are important to a student’s overall development.
Furthermore, I also believe that music opens up opportunities for students to connect with their community. School concerts, performances at local events, auditions for bigger interscholastic festivals, fundraising performances, and many others are all ways to connect with the population outside of the music classroom that are made accessible to students learning music.
Ultimately, my goal as a music educator is to combine all of both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that come with learning music to help my students develop themselves into more insightful, open-minded, and well-rounded contributors for their community.
