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Secondary General Music

A Position Statement Adopted by the
Wisconsin School Music Association (June, 1990)
Wisconsin Music Educators Association (December, 1991)
(Revised, December, 1993)

A complete music program in the middle, junior or senior high school, intended to offer all students opportunity for music study, must include three basic types of music offerings: Choral Music, Instrumental Music, and General Music. As a category, general music can be unique in its primary purposes of refining the aural perception and musical curiosity of all students. As a part of a complete music program, general music offerings should be available without prerequisites for participation at all grade levels. Secondary level general music offerings should be designed to apply, extend and enrich the foundation of musical understandings, skills and attitudes provided by elementary general music experiences.

General music may be viewed as courses where the principal means of experiencing music are through a) listening, b) hands-on performing and creating, and c) relating to other art forms and history. Examples of offerings which may fit into the general music category include related arts, music appreciation, survey courses, electronic music, computer assisted instruction, the study of folk instruments, music in society, music technology, keyboard or guitar instruction, and ancient instruments.

Instruction may focus on some of the following:

• Making music alone and with others.
• Improvising and creating music.
• Using the vocabulary and notation of music.
• Responding to music aesthetically, intellectually, and emotionally.
• Becoming acquainted with a variety of music styles.
• Understanding the role music has and does play in our lives.
• Making aesthetic judgements based on critical listening and analysis rather than on stereotypes and/or prejudices.
• Developing a commitment to music learning.
• Supporting music in the community and encouraging others to do so.
• Continuing musical learning independently.
• Experiencing multicultural music
• Integrating music with other subject areas.

The expansion of general music offerings in the secondary school should be carried out without diminishing existing music offerings which focus upon music performance. The three types of music offerings (choral music, instrumental music, and general music) can be complementary if the inauguration of non-performance courses is approached carefully and imaginatively.

Staffing

A new general music offering may require adjustments in staffing in order to provide instruction. Administrators and teachers need to be aware that there is a secondary general music certification which applies to teachers certified after 1982 in Wisconsin. Some teachers may need to upgrade their existing certification or request provisional certification in order to comply with state requirements. All music teachers have skills and knowledge which can be applied to the implementation of a middle or high school general music offering of some kind. It is recommended that the person responsible for teaching a new general music offering be identified soon enough to allow for involvement in the planning of the course design and content. 

Scheduling

The offering of quality music courses is of little value if students cannot schedule them. Instructional time and scheduling for general music courses should be appropriate to the type of experience being offered and consistent with existing policies of the school. Depending on these factors, a general music offering may be daily, every other day, quarterly, semester long, or year long. In addition, some courses are more appropriately taught by more than one staff member. In order to meet state requirements, more than one high school general music offering will need to be designed. For instance, four different courses could be designed and one of them offered each year. This would allow students to elect a different offering each year. Or, another option would be to offer different levels of the same course so that students may progress through each level if they wish to do so. Independent study for small numbers of students is also possible. One way or another, interested students can be accommodated.

General music courses should be designed to meet the course credit criteria which are applied to other academic courses in the school. For those courses which meet these criteria, grade point and graduation credit comparable with other academic subjects should be given.

Resources

Listening based or related arts general music courses need to be provided with a high quality stereo system (record, tape or CD) as well as a budget for recorded music and other related materials. For hands-on performance or creative experiences, the school may need to purchase or lease instruments such as electronic keyboards, guitars, rhythm instruments, recorders, computer software, etc. Needed equipment can include a combination of school owned and privately owned(or leased) equipment.

Coda

For thousands of Wisconsin citizens, junior or senior high school may be their last opportunity for the study of music with a qualified music teacher. This makes it essential that all three types of basic music offerings: choral music, instrumental music, and general music be available to all students. Wisconsin school administrators and music teachers can work together to provide meaningful music learning opportunities for all students. The Wisconsin School Music Association will work to be a part of the effort to see that the third component of the basic music program, general music, becomes a part of the secondary school curriculum.