Publish at June 13 2016 Updated June 11 2024
Far from being a simple, more or less useful discovery, music as taught at school has several objectives, some of which have an important cross-cutting dimension.
The first, and most obvious, benefit of studying music in the classroom is an openness to art and culture from near and far. However, since the 1950s, pedagogues have been questioning the benefits that children derive from this kind of learning, apart from this openness.
This is how school curricula have been built around two global modules, which are then broken down by level. The first is the discovery of music as a major art form. Whatever the origin, style, composer... of the piece, it must be possible for the pupil to perceive, situate and understand it.
In kindergarten, the aim is to exploit both the voice and listening skills through poems and songs. Not only does this help to integrate social rules, particularly for listening and speaking, but it is also a vehicle for learning vocabulary, the notion of rhythm, and motor skills, since at this age, choreography is often associated with little songs, including at school parties. This word-based approach is a playful way of exploring different styles, languages and cultures, and even encourages children to take the risk of creating their own piece or song.
Giving children access to music at school, from kindergarten to university, gives them the opportunity to approach works and places dedicated to music that many young people would otherwise be unable to access, because they are too complex or expensive. From then on, the teacher, through his or her cultural contributions and pedagogical construction, can provide learners with a progressive and clear form of the different pieces or composers. In primary and secondary schools, these elements will be pursued by building on previous learning and continuing with performances, operas, orchestras...
In addition to general culture, musical education is an interesting way of building knowledge. First and foremost, it's an approach that encourages listening: to the Other, so as to know when to intervene, or to better study the lyrics, so as to understand them.
But it's also an interesting approach to individual creation, based on clearly defined criteria: the role of staves, harmonies, combinations...
Numerous resources are available to help teachers and students do just that. When practiced in a group, music gives access to the rules of group work, regularity and a sense of effort, which develops certain skills in individual pupils, and which can be widely transposed to other sectors.
Poetry and song, for example, are complementary disciplines in literature, history and French. The principle of deconstructing knowledge means that, once mastered, this model can be reproduced and, why not, passed on later, to fellow students through a presentation, or to others by becoming a teacher in turn.
Finally, it's also a tool for developing memory, self-esteem and concentration.
Photo credit: HotlantaVoyeur via Decorators Guru / CC BY
Sources
Interministerial portal for artistic and cultural education - musical education, music
http://www.education.arts.culture.fr/n-1/enseignements-artistiques/eacuteducation-musicale-musique.html
Music in education - international conference on the role and place of music in the education of youth and adults (Brussels June-July 1953)
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001365/136525fo.pdf
Eduscol - humanist culture: musical education at school
http://eduscol.education.fr/cid59468/education-musicale.html
Eduscol - artistic fields: music
http://eduscol.education.fr/cid49866/musique.html
French Ministry of Education - cité de la musique digital resources for teachers
http://education.citedelamusique.fr/medias/medias.aspx?instance=EXPLOITATION
Le conservatoire national supérieur de danse et de musique de Paris -Pascal Terrien - De la musique à l'enseignement : la transposition didactique http://larevue.conservatoiredeparis.fr/index.php?id=900
La montagne secrète - "l'écoute de la musique favorise la réussite scolaire" - Jonathan Bolduc, Ph.D, is Associate Professor of Music Education and Director of the Mus-Alpha Laboratory (FCI), in the Faculty of Music at Université Laval.
http://www.lamontagnesecrete.com/EntrevueJonathanBolduc
Educatout "the unsuspected benefits of learning music".
http://www.educatout.com/edu-conseils/preparation-ecole/chroniques/les-bienfaits-insoupconnes-de-l-apprentissage-de-la-musique.htm
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