What I found interesting was the fact that types of music other than classical (which I will use as a broad term for the eras of baroque, classical, and romantic) have their own basis, or “elements”, like jazz or traditional fiddle. While they could be written and played using the same notation, they all have their own unique scales and means of creating compelling melodies. I also found the idea that individual students have their own “elements”, or ways of expressing how they interpreted music interesting too. My assumption that the elements of music that I was taught was a means of universally writing music was challenged, now that I know it’s not as cut-and-dry, because those elements cannot always convey the melodic intention or expression that is needed for other kinds of pieces, like how in jazz music, solos are meant to be improvised, but some pieces written for jazz already have a solo written down. What surprised me was how few students took music to Grade 12 in comparison to how many considered music an important part of their lives, knowing full well that Grade 12 music isn’t signing yourself up for a fully dedicated career in music, myself being one of two outliers in Grade 12, of the twenty that were in it. What frustrates me is the hold that classical music has on music education. Music education is dominated by learning about music history, which covers the periods Baroque through Romantic, and private instructors have to teach their students classical music because of conservatories like the Royal Conservatory of Music that not only give high school credits for certain exams, but also limit the pool from which students can pick their pieces from. Though the Conservatory allows students to play popular music, the selection of pop music is from a limited pool and each piece is sold separately from the books containing the normal selection of pieces. I would like to tell the authors that this article has opened my eyes to the fact that music isn’t so cut-and-dry as what’s on the page, especially regarding music not in the classical repertoire.

Rose, L. S., & Countryman, J (2013). Repositioning 'the elements': How students talk about music. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 12(3): 45-64.