You know I like a bit of controversy, right? It’s time to either get uncomfortable, or pull out your pom poms! In this episode, I’ll be discussing some unpopular opinions in music education with my good friend, Steve Giddings.
Steve started rocking the proverbial music education boat a few years ago when he published his first book, Rock Coach, to help traditional band directors start modern music ensembles in their school, regardless of their training to do so. In his second book, Creative Musicking, Steve talks about how to help our students open up to making music regardless of their ability to read music notation.
In this interview, we address some of the most overlooked questions in music education like why are we insisting on continuing to teach one type of musical notation, when there are many other types available for students to use? Why are we teaching the great composers when they weren’t even the popular musicians of their time, rather the music of the socially elite? Why have we so often said that sight reading is the truest test of musical skill and downplayed the ability of students to play by ear? Which is truly the test of musicianship?
This episode will either get you excited about rethinking the way we teach music in the classroom, or get you riled up because you’re not ready to consider these paradigm shifts (and that’s okay, too). Either way, I’m glad you’re here.
This episode is available on:
Additional resources:
- Steve Gidding’s Website
- Follow Steve on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Patreon
- Do it! Play in Band
- Victor Wooten TED Talk
- Mark Ronson Music Sampling TED Talk
- Blog: Should We Learn by Ear Instead?
- Blog: 13 Things You Were Led to Believe Are True in Music School That Are Actually False
- Blog: Was Classical Music the Popular Music of Its Time?
Liked this podcast? Check out more Music Ed Mentor Podcasts.