McLagan 1

Music Education: Connecting Mind, Body, and Soul

Music has a power of forming the character
and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young.
- Aristotle
Music education is a vital part of quality character building. Students
imaginations are nourished, skills are developed, insight into the human condition is
expressed, and aesthetic judgments are formulated through individual and collaborative
experiences in a well-rounded education system (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010,
p.3).Educatorsdiagnosethelearningneedsofeachstudentinordertodifferentiatethe
teachingstrategiesandlearningtasksfortheclass.Inclusionmakestheclassrooman
effectivelearningcommunityinwhicheverymembercanparticipateandcontribute.The
arts develop a sense of cultural identity for individuals within the region of the learning
community and can extend beyond the region to the nation and into the global spectrum.
Musical arts require the attainment of specific techniques for composition and
performance that can be considered left-brain activities but musical arts require creativity
and emotional expression from the right-brain. The application of the duality of the
calculated and imaginative mind builds self-confidence and communications skills for
each learner. Music education develops many other life skills and celebrates
accomplishments of individual and group achievements. Music has healing powers of
positive emotions and behaviors that provide beneficial effects on the psychological and
physiological health of individuals. Music therapy incorporates all patients by creating a
community among individuals and forms a new means of communication through
expression while developing skills for life.

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Each learner is an integral part of the education system. Music education that is
available to all members of society creates a positive learning experience. Awareness of
musical expression should be integrated into the public and separate school systems at all
grades and levels. Students who have the aptitude and learning strategy preference of
musical cognition can achieve their potentials and students with other aptitudes and
learning strategies preferences have the opportunity to diversify. Development of diverse
learning strategies increases the students abilities to be successful in a variety of
educational tasks.
The use of multiple forms of representation in the curriculum helps students have
access to ideas through forms that some find easier to grasp (Eisner, 1998, p.30). Students
that are less musically advanced and more musically advanced will be given activities
specific to their needs and abilities. Young minds need to expand with a diversity of
thought patterns and systems to aid memory so that maximum brainpower can be utilized.
Humans do not enter the world with minds, but with brains (Eisner, 1998, p.23). Learning
music, or learning with musical aids, exercises both sides of the brain and promotes the
formation of connections for logical and analogical thinking.
Music can increase enjoyment during learning and help organize information into
patterns for recall. The counts and measures of musical composition and performance
develop the left side of the brain and the aesthetic interpretation and emotional expression
develops the right side of the brain. In music therapy sessions, patients can learn how to
share personal ideas and make connections with other people through music making. The
celebration of thinking suggests honor and joy in a process considered central to
education but it is a rarity in many of todays education systems (Eisner, 1998 p.21).

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Eisner (1998) states that the curriculum is a way of changing minds and teachers
are those who help define the direction of the change and meditate and monitor its
processes (p. 23). The students opinions are important. Classroom and therapy sessions
are effective learning communities with respect, open communication, and trust. Truth is
best pursued in the spirit of friendship. Openly willing collaboration should be as much a
goal of public education as it should an education for elites (Woodford, 2007, p.16).
Music education should not exclude those who do not possess the birthright of talent or
withhold a student from the learning task. It is important in music therapy to be accepting
of differences and specific needs as, Patients don't have to have some particular music
ability to benefit from music therapy. All styles of music can be useful in effecting
change in a patient's life (Degmecic, 2005, p.298).Diversityintheartsisconsideredto
beastrength.
The arts are important to the development of cultural identity within a society and
the expansion of cultural knowledge beyond that society into the global spectrum. Music,
the arts, and humanities can educate about globalization and offer a sense of belonging
provided that cultural education is coupled with lessons in civility and civic responsibility
(p. 16). Character development includes learning opportunities in musical ensembles such
as choirs, bands, and drumming circles for co-operation and communications. The belief
that each individual is needed, can contribute, and is responsible for the success of the
ensemble builds confidence. When people lack attachments, when there is no possibility
of coming together in a plurality or community the learning process is hindered
(Jorgensen, 1995, p.78). If the learners first gain the confidence from within an ensemble,
they may then gain the ambition to solo for individual progression.

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The independent thought process allows for the art of originality and imagination
so that they may think of breaking free, but they will be unlikely to think of breaking
through the structures of the world and creating something new without a viable arts
education (Jorgensen, 1995, p.78). After graduation from schools and therapy workshops,
some students may consider themselves to be musicians capable of performance and
composition and most will enter society prepared to contribute well-educated opinions
and critical analysis of aesthetic experiences.
Musicians communicate through the science of the technique with the art of
expression. Listening activities and interpretation sessions are conducted through the
process of critical analysis. Listeners discuss the elements of each composition,
application of pre-existing theory, and invention of new musical ideas. Opinions are
formed and interpretations are shared before the merits of each composition are
celebrated in performance. Learning methods and practicing repertoire will have purpose
if the students understand the intent of the composer and the direction that the conductor
wants to take the compositions.
Music is artistic communication using the sense of sound to convey ideas often
tied with a strong emotion and mood. In most humans, music can strongly affect
emotion and mood, and such effects are among the main reasons to produce, and listen to,
music giving the aesthetic experience the potential to be a life-changing experience
(Koelsch p.307).Students listen, interpret, and perform so that the music becomes their
own body, mind, and heart. The internalization of the creative process unites the educator
and students in a common experience. Music engulfs us and, at the same time,
spontaneously brings to our minds meaningful memories, mental pictures and

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experiences from our past, with-out pain and anxiety so that the raw emotions resurface
safely (Degmecic, 2005, p.289).Theexpressivequalitiesofmusicallowustorelivepast
eventsthroughassociationwithoutreallybeingthere.The subject who is creating,
performing or receiving music can thus use meaningful musical structures to build his or
her own world into a meaningful and harmonious entirety for self-growth and healing
(Degmecic, 2005, p.288). The use of musical communication allows for the development
of imagination and the ability to convey emotion without the use of words.
Eisner believes that humans are the makers of meaning and that literacy is not just
the concrete definition of reading and writing but also that of understanding and
comprehension. He wants to develop multiple forms of literacy as expressed in the
words, I am concerned with developing the intellectual skills necessary to know how to
read a wide variety of forms through which meaning is conveyed (19). Music creates a
universal communication in which individuals can express emotions that can affect the
rest of the population. Music conveys emotion in a way nothing else can (Reimer,
1970, p. 40).Classroomsandtherapygroupsmayhavemulticulturalandmixedability
individualmakinglinguisticcommunicationdifficult.Theuniversalityofnotes,rhythms,
forms,andtempostoconveyconceptsandrelatedemotions,reachesoverthelinguistic
communicationbarrier.
Music has the ability to do what expression of emotion cannot (Reimer, 1970,
p.34). The nature of the human condition is very focused on feeling, which can be
referred to as subjective reality(Reimer, 1970, p.35). Large areas of feeling are
sometimes related to one another or share a particular response. Each word describing a
feeling provides many different possibilities and can overlap in similar human reactions

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(Reimer, 1970, p.35). For example, the concept of love categorizes an infinite number of
possibilities of how to feel including parental love, romantic love, and platonic love.
Reimer questions whether the concepts of hate and fear are separate or related since fear
might trigger hate. Feeling is a sensation, unhindered by the limitations of words, but
emotion often requires the translation of the initial feeling into language, thus the
difference between a feeling like fear and an emotion like hate is the difference between
an experience and an interpretation (Reimer, 1970, p.36). Experience is always
accompanied by feeling but the ability to portray what is being felt is not limited by
words if communicated through essential rhythms and sounds. Instrumental music and
vocalization of tones can directly convey feelings without the use of lyrics. After the
patient or student has released the feeling into the musical medium, lyrics might be added
to explain the feeling as a specific emotion. The music is implicit and lyrics are explicit to
complete the communication process.
Music develops several skills that can be applicable as life skills. Dexterity and
discipline improve through the practicing of technique. Repetition and routine build
strength and stamina. After the practical skills are mastered, the art of expression grows
from the self-confidence and familiarity with the instrument and the repertoire. The
expressive skills provide the individual with a voice to communicate musically. When
studying music, students learn to accept criticism, reflect on different points of view, and
revise their work or performance after being given feedback from the instructor. Students
not only benefit in improved technique and artistic expression but also improve in other
educational aspects.

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The improvement of character is displayed by increased attendance, participation,
grades, and perseverance. In the mind of a determined artist there is no such thing as
failure, only practice until success is achieved. Determination is an integral part of the
learning process and a vital lesson for the reality of life beyond school. The qualities of
the world are not simply given to human experience; they must be won. Memorization to
perform a composition without the score is a challenge however the ability to remember
is a critical aspect of cognitive capabilities and expression is improved once the music is
internalized. Listening to other musicians perform the same composition before deciding
how to interpret the composers intent in a new way utilizes the skills of adaption and
creativity. Without the ability to imagine culture would cease (Eisner, 1998, p.25).
Translating life experiences into artistic expressions is an artistic skill. Our imaginative
life is built from experience and becomes musical art when others hear it or share in the
performance (Eisner, 1998, p.25). Experience is not an act or event; it is an achievement
(Eisner, 1998, p.23). If the hard work is done, the experience will be achieved. Music
education can prepare children for the good life and music therapy can heal patients for
a better life (Woodford, 2007 p.16).
Educating individuals through music therapy serves the vital role of nurturing
both the creative and the analytical sides of the brain while improving students musical
ability. Creating a diverse and inclusive community celebrates a freedom of emotion.
Woodford (2007) suggests that teachers can help children place their own musical tastes
and experiences into perspective by taking into account relevant social, cultural,
historical, political, and ethical factors involved in musics composition, performance,
and reception (p. 8). In order for learners to have the self-confidence needed to share

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their own tastes and experiences with other learners, an effective educational
environment must be first established with respect, trust, and emotional support.
Traditional classrooms within the public and private sector encourage the development of
artistic skills as life skills of communication, co-operation, discipline, acceptance of
criticism, and expression. Similarly music therapy provides life skills to individuals who
need coping strategies and alternative methods of recalling memories or communicating
intense emotions. Music has the power to be internalized for the connection of heart and
mind, feelings and thoughts. Remarkably music also has the power to be externalized as a
shared sensory experience. After a patient has enough self-confidence to use the musical
medium to express emotions and thoughts, the learning process has been successful.
Music is the special form of flexible abstract thinking, which enables us to use all kinds
of configurations and schemes in our various developmental stages in the creative and
integrative purposes within the traditional music educational system and the clinical
application of musical therapy (Degmicic, 2005, p. 299). Music is a vital component
within the processes of maturity and healing through the engagement of the senses,
emotions, and mind for sharing experience and communication of individual experiences.
The importance of music education and therapy is in the development of character and
the development of skills for life.

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References
Degmecic, D. Pozgain, I. Filakovic, P. (2005). Music as Therapy. International Review
of The Aesthetics and Sociology of Music. Croatian Musicological Society. Vol.
36, No.2 (pp. 287-300).
Eisner, E.W. (1998). The kind of schools we need: Personal Essays. (pp.9-31).
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Jorgensen, E.R. (1995). Music Education as a Community. Journal Aesthetic Education,
Vol. 29, No.3 (pp.71-84).
Koelsch. S, Offermanns. K, Franzke P. (2010). Music in the Treatment of Affective
Disorders: An Exploratory Investigation of a New Method for Music-Therapeutic
Research.UniversityofCaliforniaPress.Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary
Journal, Vol. 27, No. 4 (pp. 307- 316).
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2010). The Ontario Curriculum grades 11-12: The Arts.
Ontario: Queens Printer.
Reimer, B. (1970). A Philosophy of music education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall: 9-11, 34-41.
Woodford, P. (2007). Chapter 25: Reclaiming A Democratic Purpose for Music
Education. In K. Veblen, C. Beynon. S. Horsley, U. DelAwiss, & A. Heywood
(eds.), From Sea to Sea: Perspectives on music education in Canada (Chapter
25). London: Music Education eBook Collection, http:
//ir.lib.uwo.ca/musiceducationbooks/1/