Music in Our Schools

CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES - This site has seven categories that are termed as areas for developing critical thinking in regard to reading. What I propose is to transfer the word meanings in regard to, reading to mean instead, music. For instance:

1. Previewing: Learning about a text before really reading it. Previewing enables readers to get a sense of what the text is about and how it is organized before reading it closely.
   Couldn't we apply this to the listening that takes place when we present a new song or a new piece of music? Having the students get a sense of the organized melodies and rhythms is necessary before they are to begin their analysis, their interpretation and the memorization of the music.

2. Contextualizing: Placing a text in its historical, biographical, and cultural contexts. When you read a text, you read it through the lens of your own experience. Your understanding of the words on the page and their significance is informed by what you have come to know and value from living in a particular time and place.
   This is a common practice among music educators, when we begin our discussion on word meanings and song interpretation.

3. Questioning to understand and remember: Asking questions about the content. These questions are designed to help you understand a reading and respond to it more fully, and often this technique works.
   Music teachers accomplish this by focusing on a main musical idea, theme or hookline, and not just on illustrations or by focusing on specific musical details, and guiding the students to express these ideas in your their own words. This is an element of interpretation

4. Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values: Examining your personal responses. The reading that you do for this class might challenge your attitudes, your unconsciously held beliefs, or your positions on current issues.
   We have the students recognize patterns that are repeated or different. We get feedback on what other words could be used to rhyme and create new lyrics. We add instruments or vocals using ostinati. We share our intrepretations and justify whether or not we agree with the finished product. How can we make this better? These are the types of questions we ask when we are allowing the students to develop critical thinking.

5. Outlining and summarizing: Identifying the main ideas and restating them in your own words. Outlining and summarizing are especially helpful strategies for understanding the content and structure of
   The copyright of the article Music in Our Schools in Music Education is owned by Deborah Jeter. Permission to republish Music in Our Schools in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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