I chose to interview the violin teacher that I had before coming to Western. I found that throughout the time I studied with her she was very helpful to me anytime I had a question about university, career goals, or just general life planning. Whenever I had a new idea I would always want to run it by her and get her opinion. In addition to that, I developed a more solid foundation of technique while studying with her, as well as a more structured practice schedule. Both of which have been very beneficial to me while I have been studying at Western. Since my teacher does not live in London, I chose to conduct my interview through email.
Mary: At what point in your life did you know that you wanted to incorporate music education into your profession? AP: About 15 years into my playing career.
Mary: Did you always know that you wanted to be a music teacher? AP: No. I did not anticipate teaching and thought I would only perform.
Mary: Have you ever wished you pursued a different profession? AP: I have enjoyed being a musician.
Mary: How would you describe yourself as a music teacher? AP: Every student is different; the physical build, learning style etc. I try to find the best approach for each student.
Mary: What has influenced you to be the type of teacher that you are? AP: My own teachers. I was fortunate to have some very fine instruction.
Mary: How many years have you been teaching? AP: 30
Mary: What part of teaching brings you the most joy? AP: When a student masters a new skill that allows them to play the music freely.
Mary: What do you find most challenging about teaching music? AP: Motivating students to practice.
Mary: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? AP: Retired from music-practicing as a landscape architect.
Mary: What are your interests outside of music/music education? AP: Urban design.
Student Interview's - Demi & Martin
I decided to choose students with very different backgrounds in music in order to understand the role that music has had in their lives. I also wanted to compare the quality and amount of exposure they had to music education to understand areas where music education can be improved at the elementary and high school levels.
The first student I choose is a music major (Martin) and the other is studying kinesiology (Demi). I found that both of them view music as an important and influential area in their lives. However their exposure to music throughout elementary school and high school was quite different. It seems like Martin had significantly more exposure to music throughout his elementary school and high school education prior to attending university. This allowed Martin to start playing a band instrument before high school, in addition to the guitar lessons he continued to have outside of school. However, Demi felt she never chose to participate in private lessons because that was just not something that her friends were doing, and in high school she felt that she didn’t have enough prior knowledge of any instrument to participate. She though that music in high school music was something that you just did, and she really didn’t understand that you could start with no prior knowledge.
One of the main things that I took away from these interviews was the level of comfort that each student had when approaching the topic of music education in high schools. I skipped grade 9 and 10 music, and took trumpet in grade 11 and 12. Despite starting with students who had already been playing for a couple years, I never felt intimidated. It seemed like Martin felt similarly about playing an instrument in high school, and I believe that studying privately, before instruments are introduced in school’s, can have quite a substantial impact on how open a student is to participating in high school music classes later on.
Martin - Music Student
Demi - Kinesiology Student
Mary: “What genres of music do you listen to the most?” Demi: “I lean towards country and pop, those are probably the two I listen to the most.”
Mary: “Have you ever learned how to play an instrument?” Demi: “No.”
Mary: “Did you ever want to play any instruments when you were growing up?” Demi: “Yeah, I always wanted to learn to play guitar…I went through a minor phase when I really wanted to learn how to play the harp.”
Mary: “Did you learn how to play any instruments in elementary school?” Demi: “No, in elementary school we had a musical part of the curriculum but it usually just involved us tapping out a beat.”
Mary: “Did you ever have to play the recorder in elementary school?” Demi: “Nope”
Mary: “When you were in elementary school, were you ever part of a Christmas recital?” Demi: “Yes, we were in Christmas recitals where we would perform pieces as put on skits.”
Mary: “Did you ever participate in any kind of musical ensemble?” Demi: “I was in choir for a few years in elementary school. I liked it a lot, it was in elementary school so it was always fun. Especially because we all sang together, so it wasn’t just me on my own.”
Mary: “Do you like musical theater, and is that something that you have ever had any part in?” Demi: “I was in musical theaters with my dance studio growing up and we would compete a lot and I really enjoyed that.”
Mary: “What role do you think that music has in your every day life?” Demi: “ It can be motivational to me in the mornings, and at the gym!”
Mary: “I know that you spend a lot of time working with children who have disabilities… is music therapy ever something that is incorporated in the environment where you work? Demi: “There is quite a bit of that actually, the arts and music is starting to have a bigger role in helping children with disabilities”
Mary: “So why did you choose not to take music in high school?” Demi: “I had never done it before so I was kind of nervous, I thought that it was something that you had to have been doing before and have experience with before you could really jump in there.”
Mary: “If you had taken high school music, which instrument would you have picked, or would you have preferred to be in vocal?” Demi: “Definitely not vocal! Probably guitar.”
Mary: “Looking back now, do you think there is any reason why you didn’t start music lessons when you were younger?” Demi: “None of my close friends were in music so I never felt much of a push to get started.”
Mary: “Do you see yourself trying to learn an instrument later on in your life?” Demi: “Yes definitely, especially when I’m not in school anymore. I would love to start learning an instrument, but in school, right now I just don’t feel like a have enough time to commit to it.”
Mary: “Which instrument would you choose?” Demi: “Guitar”
Mary: “What genre of music would you most likely want to play?” Demi: “I think I would be open to anything. I would want to start with country music, because I think that would be easiest, and then start branching out from there.”