Reflection 8: Music

What is music and why should it be included in the elementary classroom? 


Music is a significant part of life, it is everywhere we go. Music is made up of 7 different elements:
Rhythm--movement of sounds through time
Melody--the tune
Harmony--blending of tones or sounds

Duration –length of sound

    

Form—overall structure of sound

  

Dynamics—energy of sound

         

Timbre—color of sound

Music is a wonderful teaching tool. Today in class we learned how to teach a song and came up with other ways that teaching a song could be useful, for example, spelling or vocabulary. Music promotes attention and memory, mental health, and makes us happy. So why not incorporate it in your classroom?

So what are your goals for using music with your future students, and, so what is important in teaching music to children?



As a teacher I really hope to have great management skills and feel that music is a great way to gain control of a classroom, as well as unite the students as peers. I hope also to use music to help stimulate their creative process. I will play music anytime we are doing an activity they are stretching their thinking. 


I think musical theory is very important. At some point in any ones life they are asked to know a little about music. As a teacher it is important to teach theoretical elements of music to prepare my students for future musical encounters. 

Now what do you plan to do to prepare to effectively teach and integrate music in your future classroom?


As always, our book is a great resource, as well as links on our class website. I will use my colleagues' resources to add to my files as well as continue to look for new--up to date methods of integrating music into my curriculum.