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Education is one of the most important formative experiences of a person’s life. It is through the methodical investigation of the world around us that we gain the ability to connect ideas; it is the ability to connect ideas which eventually brings us to methodical investigation of ourselves.
The end goal of education is not the ability to pass a test or create a product—though those are important landmarks along the path—rather is the
ability to mindfully change ourselves, for our own benefit.
The path of education must be laid from where the learner is to where the learner wants to be. As educators, we can only take the students as they are; we must set the students’ own self-actualization as the goal. The learner’s journey belongs to the learner. As educators, one of our most important tasks is to help students deeply believe in their ownership of their learning.
Learners construct new understanding on top of their previous understandings. Because music is inherently experiential, required prior building blocks often look like informal interaction with music, for example tapping the beat with the car stereo. Learners must “experience before analyzing”. Music is not a product to be purchased in an online store; music is a social activity shared together by community members in joyous celebrations of living human connection.
In the music classroom, listening and watching must precede singing and playing, which must precede definitions and explanations. Thus, it is critical that school music programs emphasize authentic, experiential musical activity over text-based activities typical of other subjects. Making music is the daily activity. We don’t teach students “about music”, we teach them to make, do and be music.
Fingerings will be missed and rhythms will be dropped. Effective music leaders provide beginning musicians with a safe environment for working through their first thousand mistakes. Interpersonal connections with respected adult mentors carry learners through this stage. As musicians progress from beginners to proficient performers, the challenge migrates from “try to play the correct notes” to “as you play all your correct notes, try to achieve this phrasing and expression”, from technical proficiency to personal artistic expression. While concerts should and will be a polished presentation of the peak product, the key enduring understanding is that a musician’s daily work is a repetition of try, fail, ideate, try again, measure improvement, set goals, try again. Music educators must build a safe and inclusive culture of musically joyful struggle. Concepts such as Design Cycle and Perfect Practice can help young musicians maintain focus on the enduring understanding and authentic daily activity. The process is more important than the product; and also, it is the process of making a product. Rigorous concert performances are important landmarks of the journey; producing lifelong, autonomous music learners is the destination.
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