This study aims to develop a contemporary music appreciation instruction method for middle school students. In order to do so, I have developed an appreciation teaching and learning instruction guide and class material based on Igor Stravinsky's <T...
This study aims to develop a contemporary music appreciation instruction method for middle school students. In order to do so, I have developed an appreciation teaching and learning instruction guide and class material based on Igor Stravinsky's <Three Songs from William Shakespeare>.
The 2009 Revised Music Curriculum states appreciating music while understanding its characteristics in light of its historical and cultural background as one of the goals of middle school music education (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 2012). In line with the current trend in music education of emphasizing exposure to and appreciation of music from various periods, interest in contemporary music instruction has also increased. Rapidly changing social trends after the 20th century have brought about great changes in music as well. Studying contemporary music, which attempts highly experimental and wide ranging music techniques, provides a fine opportunity not only to understand the musical trend of the current era but also to better comprehend the society in which one belongs to. Based on such understanding, this study attempts to explore contemporary music instruction methods and has developed a contemporary music appreciation teaching and learning instruction guide and class material using Stravinsky and his music as the subject.
Stravinsky, along with Debussy and Schoenberg, is one of the most frequently mentioned representative composers of contemporary music in the current 17 middle school music textbooks. Studying the music of Stravinsky, who widened the horizons of music by attempting endless changes in form through his work, will be of great help in understanding the musical trend of the 20th century. All of the 8 middle school music textbooks which refer to Stravinsky introduce him as a composer of Primitivism focusing on his piece <Rite of Spring>. Therefore, in order to create an instruction method which can expose various works of Stravinsky, I have deliberately based the development of my teaching and learning instruction guide on <Three Songs from William Shakespeare>. <Three Songs from William Shakespeare> is a piece which applies the serial technique, suitable for bringing to light a musical form of Stravinsky different from that used in <Rite of Spring>. I have also judged that the possibility of linking the piece to Shakespeare's literary works also makes it an interesting subject of learning.
The proceedings of this study are as follows. First, before establishing a teaching and learning instruction guide, I have analyzed contents of the 2009 Revised Middle School Music Curriculum and studied contemporary music appreciation learning methods. I have also conducted textbook analysis to look into how the current 17 middle school music textbooks employ Stravinsky and his music. Next, after having studied the life of Stravinsky and his tendency of work, I analyzed <Three Songs from William Shakespeare> and developed a two class teaching and learning instruction guide and class material. The basic model of this teaching and learning instruction guide is based on the step by step contemporary music learning instruction method suggested by 민경훈(2005).
The first class focuses on external aspects of the piece, for instance gaining an understanding of Stravinsky's life and musical view by listening to his various works, learning the compositional background of the piece, and learning basic musical factors of the piece through score reading. Building on contents of the first class, the second class is focused on studying internal aspects of the music such as the format and composition method of the piece. It also plans out a comparative listening activity of Stravinsky's various serial music pieces including <Three Songs from William Shakespeare>.
Based on the second class teaching and learning instruction guide I have developed, class was conducted with a total of 78 sophomore students from two classes in S girl's middle school located in Seoul Seocho-gu. According to reviews of the class, students answered that listening to various works of Stravinsky helped understand his life and musical view. In addition, at first, some students felt repulsion toward <Three Songs from William Shakespeare> due to its unfamiliar tune, however, by learning about the composition method and other aspects of the piece, they showed great interest in the fact that there are new and different methods through which music can be created.
Furthermore, the content validity and on-site applicability of this teaching and learning instruction guide was verified through a survey conducted on three teachers currently working in Seoul. The survey consisted of ten selection type questions regarding content validity and on-site applicability and two descriptive questions asking to assess positive and negative aspects and propose points for improvement. Based on results of the verification, assessment of teachers regarding the developed teaching and learning instruction guide and class material was positive, and the conclusion that it could be utilized as an effective tool for contemporary music education at school sites was reached.
I expect the teaching and learning material developed through this study will be utilized effectively at actual education sites, and hope research on various instruction methods and development of class material that enhance student's interest in contemporary music will further continue.
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