Traditional Notation: Friend or Foe?
My colleague is currently studying at Teachers College Columbia University, and in his class they have been exploring the use of non-traditional notation (a la John Cage) in the music classroom. Is this the wave of the future in music education: having students read notation that they may not be able to interpret in the way the composer intended, and/or creating notation that others may not be able to interpret? (Is the point that we shouldn't be bound by what the composer intended?) Is this type of openness better than learning traditional notation? Would we be doing a disservice to students by not engaging with and learning traditional notation in our music classes? I think it would be ideal to incorporate all kinds of notation in music class, but with time constraints, is that possible?
posted by jodi m @ 9:16 PM
1 Comments:
The question about using traditional notation must be answered through each music teacher’s individual opinion of the goal of a music program. If the goal of a music program is vocational, then traditional notation is extremely important. Without teaching traditional notation, the students will be unable to succeed in upper level education and careers in music. However, if we believe that the goal of the music program is to educate all students, traditional notation may not be necessary. I think we need to realize that there are many different aspects to a music program. I do not believe that traditional notation should be the focus of a general music class. Students will learn traditional notation in band and chorus. Traditional notation is essential for those two subjects. However, teaching untraditional notation and allowing students to develop their own notation in general music class may be extremely helpful to students. I believe that we should leave traditional notation for the ensembles and focus on other areas in the general music class.
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