Expectations. Expectations are one of the driving factors behind effective music educators. Educators have a certain level of expectations from their music ensemble. But there also in lies a certain set of expectations for the music educators themselves. It is expected that the music educators maintain a high level musicianship. In order for the educator to teach music to the class, the educator must be proficient at musicianship himself.
Early in the semester for MUSE 150, I read an article discussing effective teaching. One of the categories discussed is the use of demonstration in instruction. Demonstration is an integral part of music education. Through demonstration, the teacher is able to model exactly how he wants a certain section to look and/or sound. These demonstrations prove quite helpful to the students because it describes the wishes of the teacher clearer—at times—than words alone. However, demonstrations can prove daunting and disastrous if the music educator has not maintained a high level of practical musicianship. This is a flaw I know all too well.
When I arrived at Ball State University in order to study Music Education, I did not anticipate the heavy emphasis on singing. I will admit, it was quite daunting in the beginning. Throughout the course of MUSE 100, I continued to struggle with singing. The thought of singing in front of the class terrified me and I was not at all prepared for it. For this particular course, all of the peer teaching episodes are songs to be sung and taught to the class. As I said earlier: demonstrations can prove daunting and disastrous if the music educator has not maintained a high level of practical musicianship. This proved all too true for me during my first two episodes of peer teaching in MUSE 100. I did not maintain a high level of musicianship with my singing. Frankly, in the beginning I despised singing and did not understand it’s practicality. This viewpoint reflected in my peer teaching when my singing demonstrations were lacking.
Throughout my teachings it is often easier to demonstrate what I want, rather than try to explain it. Therefore, I would sing a certain section of my song and have the class echo me. However, the class often echoed too well. They would repeat back to me all the wrong pitches and rhythms that I had originally sung to them. This back and forth repetition of incorrect rhythms often lead me to frustration. I knew exactly how I wished the piece to sound; however, I could not translate my wishes to the students. In my growing frustration, I realized that the problem does not lie with my students, but with myself. Because I did not maintain a high level of musicianship with my singing, I could not effectively demonstrate to my students. This in turn lead to confusion and frustration and the inability to teach my lesson correctly.
I realized a I needed to change. In order to effectively teach in the future, I need to improve my singing. Therefore, over the course of the following semester I continued to practice and improve my pitch accuracy as well as confidence in singing. Now, when I began to teaching my peers in MUSE 150, I was more effective and improved my teaching drastically. This time, my use of demonstration and modeling proved accurate and effective. By maintaining a higher leveler of musicianship with my singing than I had in the past, I had a more accurate basis to listen for when teaching my song to the class. When I sang, I made sure that each pitch and rhythm was clear and correct. As a result, when my students echoed back to me, they were also more accurate. This also allowed me to identify and isolate any incorrect pitches or rhythms. I knew and could model, correctly, the intervals and pitches and have my students match me. Not only was the students’ singing more accurate, they also learned the song quicker. By improving my confidence in singing, I was able to model the song, have the students echo, identify and fix pitch or interval issues in a much faster and smooth pace than I had previously.
Through my own experience I believe it is imperative that music educators maintain a high level of musicianship with either their singing, instrument, or both. We, as educators, are to help guide and lead our students through musical learning. That road becomes increasingly more difficult if we cannot properly demonstrate the very musical aspects that we are trying to teach. Therefore, the better we maintain our musicianship, the better music educator we will become.