PLN Resource 6 (TEDtalks)

TEDtalks
URL: http://www.ted.com/talks/browse
URL for Benjamin Zander video on music and passion: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html


As I was searching my PLN resources, I discovered an extremely interesting resource. The resource that I discovered was “TEDtalks” (http://www.ted.com/talks/browse). “TEDtalks” is a website that contains video archives of presentations on numerous subjects with “ideas worth spreading.” “TED” is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Although the acronym is for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, the scope of the talks are far vaster. Since the site encompasses a broad range of topics, I focused on the “Arts” section of the site that provided talks and performance related to music. Through my search, I discovered a particularly interesting video presentation by Benjamin Zander on music and passion. The discussion was about different types of music, leading into a discussion about classical music, and how everyone can have a passion for classical music. The presentation was a lecture type discussion; however, it was a very entertaining program in which Benjamin Zander was able to appeal to the entire audience, making an incredibly persuasive case for how everyone can relate to and have a passion for classical music.

As an educator and an advocate for helping students develop an appreciation for all types of music, I thought that the TEDtalks video presentation by Benjamin Zander was an extremely valuable resource. The video gave me a new perspective on classical music and how it can relate to everyone, and this is something I believe could appeal to students as well. I really appreciated how Benjamin Zander did not “sugarcoat” classical music to make it appealing, but he drew on the emotion of the music to make it relate to everyone. I think that this concept is important because it can give people a better appreciation for the music.

From my experience, students seem to be “turned-off” to classical music before they even give it a chance. If I give students an opportunity to play recordings for the class, I almost always get examples of pop music or rock music. In addition, when I play musical examples for students, they almost always enjoy the rock and pop music examples, and dislike the classical music example. However, I feel that the students do not even give classical music a chance. Students will sigh with dismay at having to listen to classical music. However, I think if someone can show students how the music relates to them, as was done in the video, the students can develop a passion for the music. I also think that this could apply to any type of music, including pieces that students are performing in class. For this reason, I think that it would even be valuable to show students the presentation by Benjamin Zander to help them open up to different types of music. I also think that teachers could learn from the passion and leadership that Benjamin Zander displays in this video to help convey passion about music to their own students. If you would like to see the Benjamin Zander video on TEDtalks, go to the following URL: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html