Creative innovations are based upon perceiving likeness between things. Davis, (1996), describes creativity techniques as, brainstorming, analogical thinking, morphological, synthesis, creativity technique, and visualization. Some of the suggestions to be implemented, in this practicum, are from an article by Davis. They are: * There should be more attention to art, music, movement arts, and drama, which facilitate imagination, creativity, and self-realization. * Appreciating and prizing creative students should be a school objective. * Schools should hold competitions in art, literature, and science in which creativity is the criterion of evaluation. * Encourage community organizations to use competition, prizes, and media to acknowledge and show appreciation for creative achievements. * Encourage youth organizations to establish Creativity clubs to foster the creativity of young people.

"Improvisation is not just the province of jazz musicians. It can be used in traditional instrumental lessons to free the students' reliance upon the notes on a page and strengthen their reliance on their ears" (Hickey, 1997). Hickey points out that, humans can experience music in a variety of ways, such as performing, creating, listening, evaluating, and analyzing.

Bissell (1998) states that by teaching songwriting using music software, "students learn how to obtain information, accomplish tasks, and solve problems using higher-order thinking skills, which expand their capacity to consider differing viewpoints and make judgements." Music technology enables students to practice practical applications of general music theory, as well as, creates a bridge to other curriculum such as math and science. Students creating songs as a group, develop social skills, also.

Music education contributes to the development of reading skills. Reading is the interpretation of certain symbols to convey meaning. In America, children are taught to write from left to right. In music, writing a musical phrase with special symbols, called notes, is referred to as writing a musical sentence. Students make this association easily. It is one more way that the training of the left to right eye movement is developed for reading classes.

Music education can also be applied to mathematics. The notes used in music have specific lengths of duration represented by the shape of their symbol. The study of notation in music is easily transferred to the study of fractions, addition, multiplication and division.

Webster (1998) speaks highly of constructionism and its process of emphasizing creative thinking and learning through application. He states that, " . . . many music educators see music as teacher-centered in its design". Implementing many activities that are not as teacher centered, and more group-oriented, allows the students more freedom for self-expression, and self-learning. I am influenced by an approach that yields itself to child developmental or sequential learning. This process works well with my elementary music students. We experience the concept first, then we intellectualize the process. The students internalize those concepts they experience; then, the educator explains the process that took place. The whole process of learning has more meaning if the students know where it is they are going in that process. How do they fit? What are they to be learning and why?

Gardner, in his book, Frames of Mind, states that, "creativity emerges from the interaction of three nodes: the individual, the domains, and the judgments competent within a culture." The choice for including Gardner was influenced because he has a music intelligence domain among the eight intelligences. The ability to sequence is a spatial-temporal function and Gardner has provided the reader with interesting information on how music requires multiple functions. These functions overlap in complexity, and at the same time, there is an organization and a method used to produce a body of work. A professor I once had, said that he believes that the term intelligences should be used as learning preferences. Something to think about, anyway.

References:

Webster, P.R. (1990). Creativity as creative thinking. Music Educators Journal, 6:22-28.