Music Composition and Kyosei

The spirit of cooperation central to kyosei is a critical component in the creative corners of American music education. This chapter will describe a project that involved the creation of a hybrid space where a music teacher-educator and practitioner worked with pre-service teachers and middle school students to explore teaching and learning music composition. By recasting who is considered an expert, rethinking institutional boundaries, and immersing in project-based learning on multiple levels, teacher education programs and schools can better identify their challenges and explore possible solutions. Though not part of initial program planning, the principles of kyosei were evidenced in the evolution of complex understandings developed prior to and throughout the project, in the inclusive nature of project-based learning by pre-service teachers and music students, and in the professional relationships—and, ultimately, the friendships—that emerged as the teaching-learning community matured.

Traditional Music in Japanese Music Education

The research topic deals with the development of a music education on fundamental approach of teaching shakuhachi traditional music. The shakuhachi is a Japanese bamboo flute with four finger holes in the front and one thumb hole in the back. It is a very simple instrument and is played without a reed. The purpose of the study is to investigate the extent of the interaction of traditional musical issues on Japanese music education by tracing the new music curriculum in 2019. The topic of this study is the development of a fundamental approach of teaching Japanese traditional music. The author demonstrates a basic shakuhachi training method using two to five tones in Japanese traditional children's songs, and Japanese warabeuta (traditional children's songs) and minyo (folk songs). Students study how to make sound, then they play a simple piece. Also, they will be able to study Japanese cultural background through to shakuhachi.

The Seisa Model for Teacher License Renewal (TLR) in Japan

This study focuses on developing kyosei in the arts curriculum of Teacher License Renewal (TLR) at Seisa University. The TLR program at Seisa University utilizes a unique practice known as kyosei, the symbiotic relationship between individuals and the world around them. By employing action research methodology, the team of researchers planned the practice, conducted TLR at Seisa for in-service teachers (n=300), checked the practice, and applied it to high school students (n=16). Classroom communication and interdisciplinary form of arts helped to collaborate on different units, ages, and ability of learners; thus, it became a great opportunity for kyosei practice. On the other hand, for students, dealing with others and uncertainty presented challenges. Playing with others, participating the artistic activities and learning from each other turned a great training for kyosei.

How to Make an Impression of Classical Music on Students

In this article, the author introduces one interesting method to attract the attention of students considerably to classical music. That is a method to introduce quotation of music. Quotation of music means to quote a work by incorporating some of past composer's melodies or melodies of others to one's composing music. In some cases, it is done intentionally. Quotation is a kind of symbiosis of past composers and recent composers, and we can understand the intension of composers clearly by finding these quotations in the music.

Singing Together and Living Together

When students of different cultures come together to learn and make music, a special bond is created, and a sense of community is established. Music is a universal language that unites people of all cultures. From March 9-17, 2018, two choirs from New York University, the Modern Madrigals and the Jazz Choir, joined students from Shujitsu University in Okayama, Japan to exchange ideas and make connections through music. The chapter illustrates how the students of NYU and Shujitsu University achieved kyosei goal by sharing the experience of singing.

A Japanese Teacher Education Course in Creative Composition Project for Non-Music Majors

The study documents the creative composition project for non-music education major students in Japan to investigate the process of learning from each other. The participants (N=49), non-music major university students, employed Higuchi's idea marathon (IM) to maximize creativity by writing down and recording innovative ideas daily. They spent six months composing music regularly. Some of the challenges that students felt were peer learning to learn together as the composition could be solitary work, and there were many students who possessed different musical background as well as preference in musical style. In this study, the teacher-researcher encouraged each student to care, and group of students to help and support each other and share the work of the students regularly in class. At the end, students reflected on the process of peer learning and peer-assessed creativity in each composition, and students performed the selected song in small groups as units. The study particularly focuses on how students learned from each other and achieved kyosei goal by sharing creativity.

How Tabidachinohini Was Created in a Middle School in Chichibu in Japan

The song “Tabidachinohini” is mostly sung at graduation ceremonies in Japan. It is a song called “On the Day of Departure” born at a junior high school in Chichibu, a mountainous area in Saitama Prefecture. The study describes how the song was created and how the song changed the school climate. The message put in this song echoes dreams and hopes and courage. The melody is somewhat nostalgic, but it leads us to a bright future. While spelling out how this song was borne and spreading, the author unravels the circumstances that have transformed into a school where the contact between the teacher and the student and the singing voice resonate. Did singing change the minds of people? The author looks back the process of how “Tabidachinohini” was created and sang among the students.

Exploring the Collaborative Musical Experience of Swedish Bunne® Method in Japan

Universal design has been a timely and important research topic of our time both in the realms of music therapy and education. Bunne Method, Swedish music method, was developed by Sten Bunne in 1980 to overcome physical and social difficulties and age gaps by sharing musical ensemble experience. This qualitative study explores the collaborative musical experience of elderly people and children in Japan by implementing Bunne Method. Bunne instruments are made in universal design with a four string swing bar guitar, one string mini bass, chime bar, monophonic flute for the use of anyone regardless of music experience, handicap, etc. In music activities with Bunne instruments, human physical, psychological, and social nature are activated in a synergistic manner so that it also helps to create positive feelings and confidence and livelihood through the pleasure of playing music.

Exploring Collaborative and Creative Learning Experience Through Playing Ocarina Ensemble in Chinese Public Schools

The current general music class in China, especially in low income communities, does not provide students many opportunities to gain ensemble playing experiences, due to the cost of getting and maintaining various instruments and to the lack of music teachers who know and have experiences of teaching ensembles and the various instruments. According to current teaching pedagogy and learning theories, ensemble playing and collaborative and creative learning experiences are important to students. This chapter presents the value and benefits of group playing, collaborative and creative learning models, and the reasons for choosing ocarina as a media for gaining group playing experiences in Chinese public schools. In the last part of the chapter, some ocarina teaching activities are explored and discussed as examples of how students can learn creatively and collaboratively and gain ensemble playing experiences.

Bring the Power of Music Into Education

This study aims to utilize music to improve learners' motivation, communication, as well as all subject matters other than music, and to nurture human resources that will contribute to the creation of “symbiosis” society. By creating a new teaching learning model for recurrent education for in-service P-12 teachers in Japan, the study specifically presents several model classes to let the participating teachers plan the “Utilizing Music.” For training, they use active learning methods such as PBL with core communication among students. The data were gathered by asking all of the participants to answer an open-ended questionnaire after each session and to analyze their sample lesson plans after they received the instruction. Findings suggests that there were certain resistances in teachers to change their teaching to be more interdisciplinary and shifted to kyosei-based; however, most of the participants absorbed the proposed idea and created lessons in a new direction.