Singing-Journal*

Entry #1: January 13, 2012

As of now I do not feel very comfortable singing in front of my peers. I love singing in the car and when I am alone! I do not sing because I feel like I am a good singer, I sing because it can be fun and enjoyable. On the A, B, C, or D paper I chose B. Most times I feel like I am tone deaf. I love music and I love listening to music, so even if my car wishes I would just shut up along the ride I will probably continue to sing. I really do not feel comfortable singing around others but I am slowly starting to open up in front of my peers. Because none of us really want to sing in front of each other but it is all in good fun and part of what will one day be our profession so we all just need to make the best of it and have fun while we are here! I hope throughout the semester we all start to open up a little bit more, because I do think it will make the class a lot more fun! Singing can be fun no matter what, even though I think I am a horrible singing I still enjoy it.. by myself! : )

Entry #2: January 28, 2012

It has been about 15 days since I last posted. I have only had 4 music classes since the last post. I think I have changed a little bit since then. I am experimenting more with my range, I try to since a little lower and a little higher. Most of my group can sing pretty high but I can not, yet! Sing and See is really interesting. It is very jumpy when your voice is moving and it shows you right where you are singing. The first range finger we did my low was F3 and my high was C5. I haven't checked it recently but I will have to, I feel that it is slowly getting better as we move on! I have noticed that I am becoming a little more brave with my range and I am willing to try more with my group. I have become very comfortable with my group and I think that helps a lot when you are trying new things. I am happy that things are progressing in this class and we are all getting the chance to expand on things we normally would not do.

Entry #3: January 28, 2012

This is my free journal entry! I just wanted to write about how I feel it is great that everyone is opening up in this class, laughing, singing and having fun. We all came into the class dreading it because we did not want to sing around each other and in groups and working on our singing voice. Now when we look around the classroom we are all trying and being creative and smiling a lot. I think we all secretly enjoy the class even if we can't really sing. I am enjoying working with friends to become a more fun teacher by learning to sing and try different things. I think it is a great thing that we are all trying very hard together to improve what we will be doing one day with our students. I think this class is kind of a test for our future. How good of a teacher will you be? Are you willing to give it all you got in a music class that is 3 credits, and you embarrass yourself every Tuesday and Thursday for an hour an 15 minutes? If you try it, you will succeed because you will open up and learn to be more fun for yourself and all of your future students.

Entry #4: February 8, 2012

My top three multiple intelligences were nature, self and social. I think these could all be easy placed with music in some way. When you listen to nature it can sometimes sounds like music, the birds sing, the dogs bark, it is all music in some way. Self I think is important because music can sometimes help you communicate thoughts with yourself in some way. And the last one was social. I believe this goes with music because when you are listening to music other people can relate to you by the music you are listening to or what the music is saying. You could easily make new friends just by the music you are listening to. In the classroom you could play nature tapes for the kids who are really interested with nature and the musical tapes could help the children learn about animals. Next was the self and social category introducing music to 'self' could help students study or learn something by listening to certain music and music categories could help with social interactions with children by pairing them up based on what kind of music they enjoy!

Entry #5: February 14, 2012

I am surprised at how much I enjoy playing the guitar. The first day I was really frustrated I couldn't get my fingers to go the right way, they wouldn't stay strong and it irritated me. I really like being able to make music with the guitar and I think even outside of this class I will try to further my knowledge of it. I go home and brag to my family that I am learning, because it is something I never thought I would do. The first day I felt like it was going to be impossible but as I keep working on it, it is getting easier than I expected. I'm sure I will still get frustrated once and a while but in the end the progress will be worth it! Kids would love to hear the guitar in the classroom setting, it could be a good way to calm them down for circle time or get them ready to sing, etc. There are many ways to incorporate it and it could be a great time!!

Entry #6: February 18, 2012

I am really enjoying learning to play the guitar. I am constantly looking online for easy chords that I can possibly practice whenever I am in music class. I think even after this class is over I will continue to try to learn how to play. I feel like you never stop learning guitar it is something you can practice learning for the rest of your life and I find it to be quite relaxing. I enjoy sitting with my friends and listening to them learn to play as well. I am really enjoying my time in music class and I hope that it just keeps getting better each and every day!

Entry #7: March 23, 2012

When I was in 11th grade I lost a friend that I had known all my life. She passed tragically in a car accident. The part that bothered me was that we always rode the bus home together, we always shared our iPods and listened to certain music the whole way home together. One day I had cheerleading practice and her older friend had just got her license. She talked her parents into letting her ride home with her older friend. That afternoon on their way home from school her friend was texting while driving and she was killed in a car accident. There were always 4-5 songs that we would repeat the whole way home on the long bus ride. Now when I listen to that music it makes me feel like she is still here. She is listening to the music with me. Those 4-5 songs were OUR SONGS and as I listen to them I feel like she is still here!

I feel like in everything that I have read or heard in this unit is talking about how music gets you through the day, or that without music you can't get through the day as easily. I listen to music on a daily basis and I feel like if I didn't have music I would feel lost a lot of the time. Music is a way to escape the world or deal with the world. Music can make things a lot easier, and it can help you through the day. I think in a lot of things I read through out this unit everyone can agree that music is a big part of life and everyone uses music to deal with different parts of their life and their day! Music is life, and it is a big part of life. Music is great for kids as well, they can use it to help them write. They might need music to help them read, it is just a big part of everyone, even kids! You can play music when they are napping, playing or even working, there is different types of music to play for different parts of the day.

<span style="color: #066efe; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Entry #8: March 29, 2012

<span style="color: #066efe; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Over Spring Break I did a lot of babysitting. I watched a 3 year old little boy who is learning to count and also his ABCs, etc. He gets a little discouraged when he starts to sing because he doesn't know everything perfectly but I have seen his mother and his grandmother really encourage him to sing the songs that he has learned to help him along. Singing helps you remember many different things and when singing is encouraged that person has more power to learn and succeed. I think this represents how much singing is encouraged for young children and that is why it is so important to have the arts in early childhood programs and they need to be encouraged more! I really enjoyed hearing him sing, and seeing him be so encouraged to sing!

<span style="color: #9220bc; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Entry #9: March 23, 2012

<span style="color: #9220bc; font-family: Georgia,serif;">I have really enjoyed listening to classical music and getting in touch with guitar and different kinds of music. I enjoy playing the guitar and I have also really enjoyed learning to play the guitar. Guitar can be very relaxing and also very fun. I have had a lot of fun learning to play the guitar. Also going throught the different classical pieces I have started to listen to it more often when I need to get some work done. It can be very relaxing and also kind of encouraging plus it is a little peaceful as well. I have really enjoyed everything we have done in this class this semester. It really opens your eyes to the music world which is wonderful!

<span style="color: #ff0086; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Final Journal: April 15, 2012

<span style="color: #ff0086; font-family: Georgia,serif;">About their music education course: <span style="color: #ff0086; font-family: Georgia,serif;">"We got more time on music and art than drama or dance. I’m not all that experienced in any of the arts, so I needed that time for music and art, which I now teach because of the practical hands-on activities we did at uni[versity], which I now do with my class. But I’ve hardly done any drama or dance because I wouldn’t know where to start – that just wasn’t done at uni[versity]."

<span style="color: #ff0086; font-family: Georgia,serif;">About music in their first year of teaching: <span style="color: #ff0086; font-family: Georgia,serif;">"About three quarters of the teaching I’ve done this year has been either literacy or numeracy blocks. That leaves hardly any time left for everything else that the VELS [The Victorian Essential Learning Standards] says we’ve got to teach. Music is just one part of the arts, too, so I’ve tried to give my children arts experiences this year, but because there’s just not enough time, this has only happened every now and then."

<span style="color: #ff0086; font-family: Georgia,serif;">I really enjoyed reading this article... it was very practical and it shows how music is taught in universities and how teachers are applying it in the school settings. For the first quote I can relate because I would be comfortable having a smaller music course and being able to teach it to children because you could learn enough through our music courses at WU to be able to teach the children parts of music education. Although I would have to agree with the quote saying that there would be no way that I would ever teach a drama or dance course because we are not taught things like that in our courses here.

<span style="color: #ff0086; font-family: Georgia,serif;">For the second quote I feel like any teacher could relate to this because everything in todays world is about "the test" and all teachers are stuck teaching to "the test". This makes it very hard for teachers to be able to teach and help children develop a more social or creative side because they do not have a chance when they are stuck doing literacy or math assignments. Children need more of a chance to explore music and the arts but any teacher would have a hard time setting time aside just for the arts. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="color: #0069ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">