Frego, R, J. D. (n.d.). The approach of Emily Jacques-Dalcroze [blog post]. On the Alliance for Active Music Making. Retrieved from: https://www.allianceamm.org/resources/dalcroze/

Through the readings and videos on Dalcroze and Eurhythmics I have learned a lot about the philosophy behind it and how to apply it in the classroom. From the essay I learned that Eurhythmics is bringing together mind, body and emotions and placing them all at the forefront of learning. There are several ways to use this in a classroom. You can have incorporate movement into solfege exercises so students can combine movement and singing. This particular way of learning alters students from just thinking about music to thinking and actively participating in it using all parts of their brains and body. This way we can get students to start thinking about the intellectual aspects of music instead of just singing and learning solfege. 
In this blog there are several components of Dalcroze's method that are mentioned. The first is rhythmic solfege. "Students develop sensitivity to pitches, their relation to each other, and to the tonal framework (Frego, n.d.). The second component is improvisation. This can mean creating movement when given a melody, or improvising some sort of melody through singing. This can then translate to student's instruments. The last component is Eurhythmics. This means having good rhythm, symmetry, and proportion. These three components all work together, and therefore must all be taught together because they reinforce each other. 
Through these readings I've learned about what Dalcroze's approach is, the three components of this approach, as well as several ways I can use it in a classroom. This will be really helpful when I have to create lesson plans for general music classes. 

​Curriculum 

1. How do we introduce solfege to students?
2. What are some strategies to use for students when introducing note reading?
3. How can we introduce more technology into Elementary general music classes?
4. How can incorporate other music genres, hip hop or country, into general music curriculum and lessons?
5. What are some strategies for including movement in lessons when teaching rhythms or solfege?
6. What are some games we can use to teach note reading, clefs, and important composers?
7. How can we incorporate improvisation or composition into our classroom in a way that isn’t overwhelming to students?

Classroom management/environment

1. What are some strategies for keeping a fun, but productive, learning environment?
2. How can we create an environment where students are comfortable sharing their struggles, through music/other outlets?
3. How do we address disruptive students without derailing the rest of the class?

Culture/inclusiveness

1. How do we incorporate many different cultures into our classroom without making students feel left out?
2. How do you engage students with special needs in your general music class?
3. How do keep students who learn at different paces all engaged in your class?
4. What are some strategies to help students with visual/auditory deficiencies feel included?
5. How do we include students who are learning material faster so they don’t get bored?
6. How can we incorporate different languages into our curriculum?
7. What are some strategies to use in the classroom to be culturally responsive teachers?

I think after reviewing my 20 questions there are several main themes. One of them has to do with culture and incorporating different cultures, languages, and history into general music curriculum. Another large theme had to do with keeping students engaged so no one gets bored or uninterested. The last major theme had to do with curriculum planning and how to introduce certain subjects/topics to my Elementary classes. Based on my questions I think i'd be very interested in studying culture in classrooms and how to incorporate the cultures and backgrounds of all of my student's in the curriculum. 

Abril, C. R. & Kelly-McHale, J. (2016). Thinking about and responding to culture in general music. In C. R. Abril & B. M. Gault (Eds.), Teaching General Music: Approaches, Issues, and Viewpoints (pp. 241-263). New York: Oxford University Press.


In Abril and Gault's book visible culture is "the aspects of culture that we most readily notice when traveling to an unfamiliar country" (243). This can be clothing, food, hair, etc. Invisible culture "includes values, attitudes, beliefs, and thought patterns" (243). In my personal life the visible culture is what I let everyone see. For example, my favorite foods, clothes I wear often, and basic knowledge about what movies and music I like. My invisible culture is everything beneath the surface. It's my struggles and everything I have been through that not everyone can see. Lastly, I think within my own cultural there's many things we don't notice about other people. There are some things that we don't notice about other people within our own culture, like their beliefs, or what they might be going through in their own personal life. 

​ In this chapter the authors describe what culture guiding pedagogy means. This means that no student's culture is inaccessible to a teacher. This can mean "Reinventing curriculum, aligning with students experiences and knowledge" (10). By acknowledging and taking the time to learn and understand the student's cultures you can be more informed as a teacher. In addition you can gear your instruction and lesson towards the students in your classes. Something else this chapter describes is how curriculum follows culture. "Instead of asking what song or what culture to teach, we might ask, what does the culture need and what educational goals will help to meet those needs?" (15). This approach focuses on the culture and backgrounds of students. One way you can do this is to have students create their own musical projects because then they are able to share their own culture with the rest of the class. The third thing we learned about in this chapter is called Multicultural learning space. The "teacher provides the information or knowledge to students in an efficient and effective sequence for the majority of students" (17). With this concept students are able to voice their opinions, ideas and concerns to the teacher. If the teacher plans a lesson with music that makes students uncomfortable then they are able to voice that opinion to the teacher. 

This chapter also mentions cultural competency. Cultural competency is important for several reasons. I think it's important to learn and understand other cultures so that we can be more informed when we teach and interact with different students. We can incorporate the different cultures of our students into our lessons so everyone is able to become invested in what we're learning. I think it is also important to be informed of everything you're teaching so you know why you're doing something instead of just picking something you think is culturally relevant, but not why it is relevant. 

​After reading this chapter, I believe there are several ways we can respond to culture in our own class. One way is to have a discussion about it. I think if we are aware of differences in culture, and have an open mind, we become more aware of different cultures and where we all come from. I think we can also consider and discuss how to incorporate other cultures into our classes when we teach. That way when we teach we can incorporate students and their backgrounds/cultures when we have our own classes.