What style of music should pupils be taught in private lessons and at school? I think it’s the aim of any teacher who enjoys classical music to foster an appreciation of it. But I also think a child (or adult) who likes and wants to be able to play pop music, for example, should be encouraged in their endeavour.Learning to play pop music may be an end in itself or it may be the impetus towards enjoying, playing, and learning about, the music of Bach, Mozart, Brahms, etc. The point of music is to enjoy it. Any music which is stimulating to a pupil can be used to foster a rigorous attitude towards achieving a high standard of performance or to awaken an interest in the means by which music is constructed. Studying the way a pop song is constructed is interesting in itself but it can also be the first steps towards learning more sophisticated harmony and composition.
3 thoughts on “What style of music?”
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Isn’t encouraging young people to play or analyse pop music the equivalent of giving them a copy of The Beano to study in literature rather than introducing them to Shakepeare? Isn’t education all about EDUCATING people?
Yes, I understand what you’re saying, but I think music is there to be enjoyed. So even if a pupil never moves on from playing Coldplay on the piano then at least they have the pleasure of playing that. (Actually I heard an orchestrated version of a Coldplay song on Classic FM the other day and it sounded pretty impressive.) A further point is that if people want to learn composition or song-writing then there’s no harm done in finding out what makes a good pop song work. And I think there’s a valuable lesson in learning how powerful music can be built with only tonic, subdominant and dominant harmonies. Anyway… what’s wrong with The Beano? I’m sure most of us wouldn’t be able to produce a comic ourselves.
É um prazer muito grande estar aqui neste website. Eu admiro muito otrabalho desta artista. E penso que sua música consegue nos fazer levitar,eu me sinto como se estivesse nor céu. Não conheço muita coisa sobre música,mas com o pensamento desta artista, eu consegui sentir, que música é algopara elevar a alma. Música de bom gosto. E para ensinar música, é precisodeixar o aluno livre, para que ele possa crescer através do seu gostomusical, ou seja, é necessário que ele aprenda atráves de música que elegoste. Acredito que o emocional e o congnitivo caminhando juntos. Eu sei queminha opinião é um pouco romantizada, mas realmente acredito nisto.Obrigada.