The Course:
Music 321: Methods and Materials in Music Education, K-12

If the pace and breadth of material covered in Dr. Larry Smithee’s MUS321 course were set to music, it might sound something like Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.”

“We cover a lot of ground,” said the associate professor of music. “My goal isn’t to turn students into experts on every topic as it relates to teaching music, but they need to be enlightened about what should be going on in the classroom. They need to be familiar with the issues and know where to go to find answers to questions that come up.”

This “survey course,” which meets the Tennessee requirements for state licensure in music education, presents principles, strategies and philosophies for teaching music in the public-school setting. Students in his class (most of whom are future music educators) are required to conduct research on a variety of topics – topics that they probably wouldn’t have covered in classes taught through the College’s Education Division.

“Music’s abstract aesthetic requires that the music educator develop special skills that are missing from traditional college education courses,” Smithee said. “In teaching math or science, for instance, there are no performance components, nor is there a need to learn how to compose.”

Smithee spends a few days discussing the components of performance, asking his students to consider the creative process, the skills and activities necessary in performance, and appropriate content. He also spends a few days on how to teach non-performing classes, such as music theory and music appreciation courses.

Two different tracks of MUS321 are offered to accommodate students’ teaching interests: vocal or instrumental. Smithee tailors assignments depending on whether his students see themselves directing choruses or bands.

Students spend time researching the various types of learning that music engenders – cognitive, psychomotor (how to manipulate an instrument) and affective (how music is analyzed and interpreted) – and studying the methods of and approaches to music education made famous by Émile Jaques-Dalcorze, Zoltán Kodály and Carl Orff.

They tackle very practical topics – such as determining appropriate instruments for specific age groups, how to help children and adolescents choose an instrument to play, and how to teach young musicians how to play and young vocalists how to sing.

“We do some simulations,” he said. “For instance, how would you put together a rhythm band for children in an elementary school? Well, you’d want to assemble things like maracas, little drums, tambourines, sticks that students can hit together and maybe some homemade instruments.”

They also learn how to prepare for and conduct rehearsals, how to prepare scores and how to teach listening skills, even delving into the psychological and physical factors affecting intonation.

On the syllabus is also discussion of how to interview for a music-teaching position and what to wear as a teacher.

Because music education is still a required course in most public schools throughout the United States, Smithee said it isn’t difficult for his former students to find vacant positions, but landing a job often requires that graduates be flexible and open-minded about where they relocate.

As school systems deal with leaner and leaner budgets, music education is frequently vulnerable to cuts and compromises, but its importance in the classroom is hard to refute, Smithee points out.

How to argue the value of music education is yet another topic of discussion in MUS321.

“Every now and then, teachers have to justify their positions,” the professor explained. “I encourage my students to find a way to justify, to rationalize why we have music in the schools.

“The research will tell you that students need to think abstractly, and music is a good vehicle for that,” he added. “Music enhances skills in thinking creatively, solving problems and thinking logically. It’s also provides an important link to our culture and helps facilitate communication.

“There are some things that can be communicated through music that can’t be communicated through any other means.”