Module 4. The nature and design of compelling music #1

For this week’s discussion, we talked about the “hook”. The hook is a memorable catch phrase or melody line which is represented in a song (Gary Burns ,1987).  Also, as it is mentioned in the article, there are several elements (rhythm, melody, harmony, instrumentation, tempo, dynamics, and production elements) which make a great/compelling hook. I think we can consider the hook as a main theme or subject matter in education. Thus, if the hook provides compelling and memorable experience to the audience, which means that the main theme and subject matter become the memorable and compelling knowledge to the students.

From this article, to make compelling music (to make a compelling hook), it is not only the repetitions and variations which are needed. The right combination of all other factors (musical elements, performance elements, and production elements) can make an appealing hook. If the musical elements (rhythm, melody, and harmony) are compared to the composition and organization of the knowledge, I think the performance elements (instrumentation, tempo, dynamics) are compared to the teacher’s own skill in the learning/teaching process. In education, the performers are the teachers. When the students are exposed to the new learning situation, depending on how the teachers perform this knowledge, the whole learning process can be totally different. For example, if the teacher’s pedagogical knowledge does not match the content knowledge, the learning/teaching process cannot provide coherent/memorable experience to the students. Likewise, for making a compelling hook, the tempo, dynamic, and instrumentation should be complementary each other, for effective education, teacher’s pedagogical practice should match the content.