Harmony and the Oneness of Opposites: : Teaching Music Theory through Aesthetic Realism

Part of : Hellenic journal of music, education and culture ; Vol.2, No.1, 2011, pages 18-36

Issue:
Pages:
18-36
Author:
Abstract:
With examples from Bach, Chopin, Stravinsky, Ellington, and Monteverdi, this paperprovides an answer to the question: “What is the best way to motivate students to learn musictheory?” By relating it to the questions people face in life! And the most effective, accurate, excitingway to do so is through the Aesthetic Realism teaching method, created by the great American poetand educator Eli Siegel. According to Aesthetic Realism, art and life have in common the Opposites:the very substance of the world and our emotions, and likewise the technical basis of music. AsSiegel explained: “In reality opposites are one; art shows this.” Central technical concepts inharmonic theory are considered in the light of this philosophic idea, and the work of varioustheorists is cited in support of it, including Zuckerkandl, Schönberg, Schenker, and Toch. The essayalso addresses two ethical matters inseparable from effective pedagogy: how to bridge the gapbetween “art and science,” famously described by C.P. Snow, and how to recognize the temptation,for student and teacher, alike, to establish our personalities on the basis of contempt rather thanrespect—a danger Eli Siegel did more to unearth and explicate than any previous educator.
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Subject (LC):
Keywords:
Eli Siegel; Music Theory; Music Pedagogy; Aesthetic Realism; Harmony; Art and Life, Eli Siegel, Music Theory, Music Pedagogy, Aesthetic Realism, Harmony, Art and Life
References (1):
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