Music

I was excited for this week’s workshop as I knew we were focusing on music, which is something I am very passionate about. Within the workshop, I continued creating my art piece by relating it to music as this is significant to me. I printed off many different sheets of old antique music and used this as the theme throughout my work.

I really enjoyed completing this throughout class as it was important to me because my papa taught me how to play piano and when he passed away my gran gave me his piano and so  music is a real passion of mine . Today brought back several happy memories but also sad ones at the same time.

Music has a significant role in the expressive arts within the curriculum. In Hallam’s paper in the International Journal of Music Education (2010) she states that music is a powerful subject as it can impact literacy, numeracy, creativity, and social and personal development. It also includes perceptual and language skills, physical development and health and well being all play a part of music within the curriculum. In particular music can develop literacy skills as Hallam (2010) found that when a child learns a musical instrument or takes on musical training, their phonological awareness is developed  and so early reading skills are improved. Therefore when music is taught to children in the primary school from an early age their phonological abilities should be higher and they should be able to pick up these skills quickly.

One reason in particular that I love music be it playing the piano or listening to music is because it brings me a feeling of happiness , joy and relaxation. Music can be specific to cultures and brings communities together.

“Music has a universal and timeless potential to influence how we feel, yet, only recently, have our researchers begun to explore and understand the positive effects that music can have on our wellbeing.” McDonald et al, (2012). Health and wellbeing of the child is of the utmost importance in education today and therefore music should have a major role within the curriculum to help develop it .

Music is extremely emotive. Music brings out our feelings and if you listen to heavy rock music it will make you feel differently than if you listen to a classical piano piece. Therefore we listen to music depending on our mood and emotional state. “People use music to change emotions, to realise emotions, to match their current emotion, to enjoy or comfort themselves, and to relieve stress.” Justin et al, (2008). Within the primary school we want to have emotionally healthy learners and as the University of Texas (1998) discovered that musicians who were of college age were emotionally healthier than students who were non musicians.

Music can help children socialise together. On my placements I have come across several children who struggle to socialise with others however learning an instrument can give confidence and self esteem and allows the children to connect with people that they would not normally connect with. There can be a sense of community through music which would benefit the children with socialisation problems. ” Playing music made me more social. Through music, children can enjoy a sense of community, that can carry on through life!” Music for Young Minds  (2004). Furthermore within music there are many opportunities where collaboration is key. Children have to listen to each other, come up with the right instruments for the sounds and play at the appropriate time. Consequently, children bounce ideas off of each other, solve problems together, use their imagination and are innovative. Thus hopefully developing socialisation skills.

In conclusion,  music is essential to a child’s development, both intellectually , socially and emotionally. As a teacher I will ensure that music will be a regular part of the class curriculum.

References

Hallam, S (2010) International Journal of Music Education The power of music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people [Online] Available http://ijm.sagepub.com/content/28/3/269 [Accessed 14 March 2018] Sage

MacDonald, R., Kreutz, G. and Mitchell, L. (eds.) (2012) Music, health and wellbeing. Oxford University Press (OUP).

Justin, P.N. and Västfjäll, D. (2008). Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 31, 559-621

Music for Young Minds (2004) Available at: http://www.musicforyoungminds.com/benefits.php [Assessed: 13th February 2018]