Music Pedagogy in Adult Education
Our project idea started with the desire to develop proposals for the implementation of music-pedagogical activities in basic education and (second) language learning. The Ham’avaaz – Polyphonic partnership is formed by educational institutions that offer various programs for adult learners and/or trainers, including language courses, and basic education among others.
On a very small scale, music has been a recurring theme in our educational work, but with this project we wanted to take an in-depth look at the benefits of music for resource-orientated, critical and emancipatory educational work.
The benefits of music for the mental health and cognitive development of children and adolescents are generally recognised. In recent years, a number of approaches have emerged that focus specifically on the needs of adult learners.
Although links have been established between language learning and music education, there is a distinct lack of didactic material tailored to the needs of educationally disadvantaged learners. Intending to close this gap, Ham’avaaz aims to create an inclusive and diverse learning atmosphere in which learners work together on pieces of music, lyrics, melodies and rhythms from diverse (sub-) cultural contexts.
In our Methodology, we analysed research and music education findings in areas that may be relevant from the perspective of adult educators and trainers. This includes, for example, possible synergies between language acquisition and music education, the role of music in promoting resilience in adult learners, strengthening body awareness and relaxation through movement and dance, and transcultural exchange through listening to and sharing songs with each other without reinforcing stereotypes and clichés that are often connected with music.
Download the Methodology here:
Music Box
In this publication, we present different ways in which you, as a trainer, can integrate music activities into your (second) language and basic education classes, or other adult education courses.
The Music Box comprises a total of 20 lessons; it is divided into five chapters of four lessons each, which we would like to briefly introduce: The first chapter, Tuning in with Music, offers an introduction to music education. The focus is on listening to pieces of music together, exchanging ideas about listening habits in order to create authentic occasions for discussion in which learners can contribute their interests.
The second chapter, Exploring Sound and Musical Instruments, introduces musical instruments from different cultural contexts through playful activities (such as the Ham’avaaz Memory Game or the Sound Bingo). It also creates a transition from listening to songs together to actively making music: participants are invited to explore and create sounds using various materials as well as instruments they have built themselves in a workshop.
The third chapter, Music in the Second Language Classroom, is dedicated to the question of how songs on relevant topics, selected on the basis of the participants’ interests, can be worked with in adult education, using second language acquisition methods. The activities are designed to support learners to memorise words and language structures.
The fourth chapter, Transcultural Communication and Musical Storytelling, focuses on the feelings, affects, and emotions transmitted via music and how they can serve as a reference point for exchange between participants and group dynamics. Apart from that, this section of the Music Box encompasses a lyric writing workshop that leads to a joint musical performance – on a voluntary basis!
The publication closes with Moving to Music and Body Percussion. In this final chapter, we look at how the learning process can be supported by including body awareness and movement. Among other activities, body percussion (and its link to language learning) as well as dancing together are addressed here. The chapter concludes with a music-based relaxation exercise, allowing learners to benefit from the calming effect of music, which – alongside its activating impact – likewise has a positive effect on the learning process.
The publication is interactive: it is possible to jump from the table of contents to the corresponding exercise. From any page of the document, it is possible to quickly return to the table of contents (by clicking on “content” in the margin).
Many thanks to Oma Art Studio for the wonderful design!
Download the Music Box here:
Join our Discord Community!
We would like to see a community grow where adult educators (and perhaps also music teachers) engage in an exchange about the use of lyrics, melodies and rhythm in the classroom.
You can find all the materials we have developed as part of the project on a Discord forum and we would be delighted to receive your feedback as experts. Perhaps you have incorporated one or two exercises into your teaching practice and would like to tell us how it went? Or maybe you’ve already developed your own exercises and would be willing to share them with others? It doesn’t matter if you have a musical background or not – there are many ways to pick up songs, use them as conversation starters, look at vocabulary or language structure and much more. And last but not least, the Discord server is also a place to share music suggestions for classroom use with us!
Ham’avaaz on YouTube
Our YouTube channel is linked to the project’s core result, the MUSIC BOX: In a total of 38 videos and tutorials we present:
Musical activities to be implemented in the adult education classroom: This encompasses tutorials to learn songs, rhythmical recitatives, tutorials to build small percussion and melody instruments etc.
Musical resources for adult education classes (relaxing music, musical sketches with different moods): these are clips of piano music, with different musical characteristics, intended to be used as evocative music for movement or relaxation activities.
Warming up activities: tools and methods for warm-up activities, ice-breakers and energizers, motion exercises, stretching, vocal warm-up etc.
Workshops with participants: In these videos, we present percussion, group dynamics focused on movement
Workshops recorded with trainers: presenting percussion workshops or lyric writing/performing activities.
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