Overlapping Your Boxes Integrating the Music Curriculum   Introduction As educators we should all want to produce "complete" musicians But...  We tend to isolate our areas of instruction Music Theory and Composition Music History and Literature Performance Private Instruction Ensembles This forces the student to cross-reference the material on his/her own Sketchy, loosely-knit connections Incorrect correlations Or... (worst scenario) no overlapping at all "Overlapping" integrates different cognitive skills Musicians need to think: Factually Contextually Critically Analytically Creatively Imaginatively Expressively Each area of study benefits from all of these cognitive skills Critical, analytical, and creative skills used in Theory and Composition can enrich the Performance process Historical context enhances the interpretive performance process Imaginative and expressive skills can bring "life" to Theory For a composition to be musical it must incorporate the expressive attitude of a performer Theory procedures make more sense when put into the proper historical context Theory assignments become more personal for the student when they incorporate creative and imaginative elements and on...   and on... There are practical applications Creative and imaginative skills can be utilized in the classroom to: hold the students' attention adapt to immediate needs personalize lessons and activities etc. Critical and analytical skills are needed to: evaluate scores for potential use diagnose problems in rehearsal study scores and anticipate potential problems in rehearsal and performance etc. Contextual knowledge will facilitate stylistic interpretation Imaginative and expressive communication by the teacher will be mirrored in students' response and performance The lists can (and should) go on and on Classroom / Studio / Rehearsal Activities Projects Making It Work / Soliciting Cooperation