How can we use music education to teach
students’ creativity?
Music is an auditory art, and it is different
from language arts or visual arts. We can see pictures, read books and watch
movies, but we can only listen to and imagine the contents of music. Having an
appreciation for music, then, fosters imagination, and imagination is the
source of creativity. For example, when we appreciate Mozart's symphonies, we
can imagine beautiful scenery,
happiness, and love. Furthermore, when children learn to play instruments, they
have a special way to express their feelings. Moreover, they can play instruments to calm themselves down, and get into the habit of
discovering the beauty of their world. Therefore, music education is needed
because it cultivates students’ creativity.
To discuss creativity, we must first define it,
according to Wikipedia, “Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is
created (such as an idea, a joke, a literary work, a painting or musical
composition, a solution, an invention etc.). Creativity can also be defined ‘as
the process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile’ or ‘characterized by originality and
expressiveness and imaginative’.”
Many
people believe that
learning music can cultivate the abilities to think critically and positively. Indeed, many famous people learned music when they were children. For example, Albert Einstein, a
famous scientist who received the Nobel Prize in
physics, was also a musician. When he was six years old, his
father taught him the violin. Then, he became an
excellent violinist and always performed on the stage. He preferred to play
Mozart’s music, some pieces which gave him positive
energy, helping him analyze the life differently. When the scientist faced problems
of research, he played music to relieve his pressure and changed his mind to
think about the experiment in other ways. While music is an abstract art, science consists of statistic, facts and research, which focus
on the certain issue. Scientists may try to remove several barriers. If they
are in dilemma for a while, it will probably cause emotional instability which
is disadvantageous to the experiment. The abilities to appreciate or play music
can provide scientists positive energy and let them have enough space to imagine
the different methods to achieve their goals.
In another example, Charles Robert Darwin, a geologist and
scientist who gave us more information about evolution theory. He learned flute
when he was a child. Benjamin Franklin was a famous politician in America; he also learned music when he was young. Instruments can imitate
natural sounds and inner voice. Learners create music related to whatever they
think. Although people may be tired and nervous, their souls sway in the wind
with the beautiful notes when they are immersed in the music universe. Moreover,
people analyzed something significant in new ways and have more positive
attitude if they have abilities to appreciate or play music.
And main music creative activities include performance,
improvisation and composition. Music teachers
play the important role in music
education.To begin with, teachers must
provide an appropriate environment for students to play music. The environment
should be quiet and comfortable. Then, students can pay attention to the class
without any interruption. In addition, before the class, teachers must design
the special warm-up to wear off the strangeness between teacher and students,
and then, students will have enthusiasm to work together without bashfulness.
For instance, mirroring is an excellent game for teachers to become friends with
students. Teachers can use body language to describe his or her name, and all the
students imitate the action of teacher. And then, one student uses his/her
special body language to explain his/her name and other people imitate him/her.
After a while, the classroom will fill with giggles and laughter. During the
process of playing games with students, teachers can gain much information
about every student and use specific methods to motivate their creativity, because
their body language can reflect their character.Then, teachers can move on to the class. Improvisation is a significant musical creative activity. Students can be divided into small groups and use everything in the
classroom to create sounds and present stories by themselves, and others
can appreciate their performance. For example, we can move chairs and tables to create some sounds to perfrom somebody are angry with
others. Moreover, we can clink the forks together to show our happiness. Students should use something to create
different sounds to illustrate their thoughts
without practicing before. Participants should imagine the sound before they
move tables or clink forks. If students have chances to join these kinds of activities,
they may have a habit of imagining and creating.
In addition, students can bring their own instruments to the class
and play them together. One student, for instance, can sing a song and the other students can accompany on their instruments or
divide them into several groups, and each group improvise together. Because
students’ improvisation without any preparation, they must discover and imagine
the music which can related to their ideas. The
process of discovering and imagining is helpful to let them get accustomed to
creating new materials.
In conclusion, Music education is needed because
it can make contributions to improving
students’ creativity and giving them relaxation and happiness.
Work
Cited
“Creativity.” Wikipedia,
n.p. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Zbainos Dimitrios, Anastasopoulou Ariadni.
“Creativity in Greek Music Curricula and Pedagogy: an Investigation of Greek
Music Teachers’ Perceptions.” Creative Education 3.1(2012):55-60.Print.
Crow, Bill. “Changing of
educational creativity: a study of student teachers’ experience of musical
creativity.” Music Education Research 10.3(2008):373-388.
Print.
