Musical Monday - Labels Can Hold You Back

As a new, idealistic music teacher, I had decided that I would never have that ROCK music in MY classroom.  Well.  That changed when I happened upon the Herbie Hancock, the History of Rock & Roll.  Of course, I had never realized just how amazing this art form really was. With all its ties to R & B, Jazz and even Folk, learning how the music came about was so much fun.  Then of course, teaching that to my students was amazing.  We went so far as to learn about the technology that grew with the music.  I think that unit that I developed was one of my favourites to teach.

You see I had resisted rock music because I just knew the label but not the actual musicality.  Are you resisting introducing some music to your singers because the label of a certain type is holding you back?  Here are some ideas for you to introduce some different forms to your repertoire.

1.  Listen to LOTS - With the advent of You Tube you can listen to all sorts of music.  I challenge you to listen to something you have never heard before.  Remember that not all music of a certain genre will suit you or your singers.  Listen to a WIDE range of styles and types.

2. Liking is forbidden - In my classes, the students & I were not allowed to say that we liked or disliked a piece of music.  We decided that you only used liking to decide on buying music but not on listening.  Some music is so outside your usual that you absolutely have to detach the LIKE mechanism to let the music speak.  Like our Friday Facebook cartoon says, you may think Mozart but Cage is what is playing.

3. Enjoy - No matter what style of music you choose, enjoy the experience.  Pieces that you choose to try may be the best thing you have ever experienced.  Other pieces may be interesting and fun but not something you will revisit.  No matter what, enjoy the ride.  Learn but do NOT put up walls between you and any single type of music.

4. Leave the labels off - I try really hard to not label a song as a hymn or country or rock or modern etc.  I just present the music and away we go.  There are pieces we enjoy doing more than others of course but we don't dismiss a piece because of its genre. Have fun exploring lots of kinds of music.  Never let a label hold you back.