Mary Higgins

Standard 4: The teacher of PK-12 music has skills in listening to, analyzing, describing, and
performing music.

Listening to, analyzing, describing and performing music are four of the main skills that are
applied in a typical music classroom. These skills are important, but they often get put on
the back burner as reading, writing and creative musical skills take the lead. However, analysis,
performance, and response are some of the most crucial skills that make up a well-rounded
musician. Because of my experiences in developing and utilizing these skills, my students will be
provided with a strong foundation on which to grow their musicianship.

Through years of theory and history classes, I have worked on developing my skills in listening,
analysis, describing, and performance to a high degree. I have gained the ability to determine
the relative genre, technique, and the organization of music by listening to countless examples.
A music educator must also have the knowledge of music vocabulary in order to describe music
accurately. I have gained this knowledge through years of private study, large and small group
ensembles, theory classes, and history classes. For example, in music history classes, many of
our exams consisted of vocabulary words and we were to define them. Our score depended on
how well we defined each term. We also had to do listening journals for each piece we studied.
All of this experience has helped me develop my skills in listening, analyzing and describing
music. As for performance, my career in music performance started at just 7 years old when I
performed my first ever piano piece by myself in a recital. I have performed in many levels of
bands and choirs, but I have also performed alone on numerous occasions. My senior year of
high school, I gave a recital that consisted of one piano piece, one German piece, one French
piece, one English art song, one Italian aria, one musical theatre piece, and a female barbershop
song that I performed with three other singers. I have also performed solo pieces in many
classes at Kansas State University and in several other recitals.

Through these experiences, I as the educator will provide students with opportunities to foster
their skills in listening, describing, analyzing and performing. I will also create an environment
where they can use their skills in different situations. I want my students to become active
listeners, meaning they are always aware of the sounds around them and constantly adapting
their individual sound to promote the blend of the ensemble they are performing with. One
way to do this would be to record my choir singing a piece that they have solidly learned, and
then to have them listen to the recording and respond to their performance. My students will
be able to use their knowledge of musical concepts to describe what they hear and to critique
their performance.

Overall, my experiences developing and fostering skills in listening, analysis, describing, and
performing music will allow my students to achieve their highest potential. With these tools in
hand, my future students will be able to take their knowledge from my classroom and apply it
throughout the rest of their musical careers.