Music Teachers National Association

Music Pedagogy
Author(s): Sang-Hie Lee
Source: American Music Teacher, Vol. 36, No. 5 (APRIL-MAY 1987), p. 37, 41
Published by: Music Teachers National Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43516655
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 Music Pedagogy
by Sang-Hie Lee

Dr. Lee is assistant professor of music third is devoted to music history, theory,it in the surrounding communities. At
and director of Studies in Piano Peda- and performance, and the final third to first, there were nine piano students. In
gogy at the University of Alabama. The electives and a recital or a final paperthe second session, however, there
following article is an excerpt from her or project. Besides practical teaching were twenty-seven piano students and
presentation at the 1986 Spring Festival techniques, a good pedagogy program ten pedagogy students. By summer of
at Howard University. develops an understanding of the psy- the same year, we were anticipating
chological, theoretical, historical, andsome seventy students, many of therti
practical aspects of teaching. Pedagogypotential teachers. The pedagogy class
probably existed as long as majors develop a philosophy of teach-met once a week for four hours straight,
MUSIC probably music
music teaching has-has-
existed as as
is longlong
not as new. asas
long Itthere
there has as ing, rather than a collection of specific and the students were the most appreci-
have been talented and skilled musi- but unrelated teaching techniques. ative I have ever had. This is an exam-
cians wiljing to pass their techniquesWhat on role does a music teacher play in ple of how enthusiasm, community
to apprentices. For the most part, how- the student's development as a human interest, and positions for teachers can
ever, music teaching has been ad hoc being? What aptitudes and attitudes are be created by a small initiative. The
and unsystematic, a different experi- necessary for a good teacher? What experience also taught me that there
ence for each teacher and student, continuing education is required for a are people everywhere of all ages who
rather than an organized discipline. creative teacher? These are some of the are eager to learn to play the piano if
Music pedagogy is an attempt to questions all teachers should ask them-they are given an opportunity and some
organize the tradition of music teaching selves. But pedagogy teachers may encouragement.
-to make it more scientific, efficient, answer these questions differently be-
and effective. As a discipline of study, cause they ask them, not just in the con-
music pedagogy requires a curriculum text of traditional performance practice, mer of 1984, when I was awarded a
that systematically addresses teaching mini-grant
but in the context of learning theories, I mini-grant bywhenthe
mer had a of similar 1984, by experience National
the I National was in awarded the PianoPiano
sum- a
as an art that is both technical and intui- child development theories, group dy- Foundation to teach class piano in an
tive. In Germany, a German colleague namics, socio-economic problems, edu- Elder Hostel Program. The class lasted
once told me, pedagogy is not a new cational philosophy, and research only a week, and was offered through
concept; in fact, "Pedagoge" in German methodology. the College of Continuing Education at
means education. But in the U.S., the In the case of piano pedagogy, the The University of Alabama. Continuing
term means something different from curriculum should also include the study Education provided bus transportation
"music education," which is a more of the mechanics of the instrument, the for the senior citizens who had to cross
general term, implying music teaching historical development of the piano, and campus to reach the music building. A
as part of a more general education. the historical development of piano few of these students had had some
Music pedagogy is the systematic analy- technique and piano literature parallel piano lessions, but most were absolute
sis of techniques for teaching perfor- to the development of the instrument. beginners. The class had an exciting
mance skills. And finally, even though university edu- group dynamic which constantly shifted
A strong pedagogy program, in mycation is not necessarily career oriented, and shaped the atmosphere. But the
opinion (and according to a general con- the practical and business aspects of students were diligent, despite arthritis
sensus among pedagogy specialists) music pedagogy cannot be ignored. and other problems of age. The hour of
does not neglect the study of traditionalStudents need to learn where the jobs instruction went by rapidly each day,
literature and traditional performanceare, how to find them, even how to cre- and several of the students would return
skills. In fact, The National Associationate them. They need to learn how to run to the lab for practice. There was one
of Schools of Music (NASM) requiresa private studio and how to advertise. near disaster, though: we had only six-
that fully twenty to thirty percent of the In the spring of 1983 I was invited by teen pianos and nearly thirty elder-
bachelor's curriculum in pedagogy be a former colleague to promote the piano hostelers that summer- some of whom
devoted to applied music, and only fif- and pedagogy programs at a junior col- were less willing to share than others.
teen to twenty percent to pedagogy. lege in a small rural community outside But by the end of the week, almost
Even at the master's level, only a thirdAtlanta, where the market for these pro- everyone had learned to play, and many
of the program is devoted to music ingrams was not at all apparent. We made told me they were going home to look
a specific performance area. Another an inexpensive brochure and circulated Continued on page 41

APRIL/MAY 1987 37

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 Music Pedagogy ture," the methodologies of Orff, Kodaly, real teaching exercises with discussion
From page 37 and critique to emphasize the connec-
Dalcroze, and Suzuki, and other books
tion between theory and practice. As a
and articles. I soon discovered that
result, the pedagogy students are hap-
these materials seemed abstract and
for a good teacher to give them more pier with the course content and are
irrelevant to my pedagogy students.
lessons. gaining
They were expecting tips on how to the confidence they need as
Currently, at The University of Ala- teach, proven methods, little gimmicksfuture teachers. And those who go on
bama, I have reorganized the Prepara- to graduate work are more capable of
for dealing with certain difficult musical
tory Division of the School of Music, and items, a list of method books, and adealing
lot with scholarly work in pedagogy
supervise the half-time director. We have because they have learned to see it in
of supervised teaching. Finally it occur-
about 123 students each semester, red to me that I was making a mistake the context of application. Pedagogy
about half of whom enroll in the ten-week analogous to the one inexperienced majors need to learn not only to be good
summer session. The prep division not teachers, but also leaders in the musical
teachers make when they give their first
only provides music lessons, but alsomusic lessons to pre-school beginners. community and creators of new and
promotes, motivates, and awakens the I was, in effect, trying to make them more progressive methods.
community's interest and understand- learn scales and notation first- the cog-At the doctoral level, the field has
ing in the value of music study. These nitive skills- instead of giving much
them potential for growth. Such pion-
are the sorts of activities we teach ped- something they could perform immedi- eers as Raymond Burrows, Robert Pace,
agogy majors. Instead of waiting quietly Guy Duckwörth, and Frances Clark,
ately and allowing them to see the rele-
in their studios for students to come to among others, have made important
vance of theory in what they had learned
them, they learn how to go out into the to perform. College-level pedagogy contributions
stu- to group teaching methods
world and beat the bushes, so to speak, dents are much like the pre-school and teacher training. Researchers are
to stir up musical interest that lies dor- beginner in this respect. They were investigating techniques for teaching
mant in the community. interested in playing the Pathetique music reading. The taboo subjects of
But even with high ideals and a rich Sonata, and I was teaching them Mur- "performance anxiety" and "stage
academic and musical background, sell's theory of musical growth. They fright" are being studied systematically.
pedagogy teachers can make mistakes. were wondering how to work with the Even computers have been enlisted in
When I first began teaching pedagogy, John Thompson series, and I was teach- the cause of art, providing researchers
I would begin the course with lectures ing them Orff's rhythm exercises and with precise information about the bio-
on the philosophies and theories that how to sing with a movable "do." Once mechanics and physiology òf perform-
had influenced me: Jerome Brunner's I discovered the analogy with beginning ance.
"Toward a Theory of Instruction," piano students, I was able to design my Music pedagogy is just starting to b
James Mursell's "Musical Growth," courses more effectively. Now I never taken seriously in academia as a di
Piaget's "The Growth of Logical Think- teach theoretical, philosophical, method- cipline with its own methods and its ow
ing," Ortmann's "The Physiological ological, conceptual, or psychological object of investigation. Now it is ou
Mechanism of Piano Playing," Erwin materials without demonstrating their responsibility to build on the work of th
Stein's "Form and Performance," Alan application to a concrete teaching situ- pioneers and exploit scholarly possibi
Walker's "Chopin and Musical Struc- ation, I also follow micro-teaching and ities that have recently emerged. 44

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APRIL/MAY 1987 41

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