Music Education in "Spring of the Cowherd Class"
Watching this film coincided with the eighth volume of Aristotle's Politics. In Book VIII of Aristotle discusses musical education, including the role of music. He believes that music generally has three functions: first, entertainment and rest, that is, music is regarded as a way to relieve fatigue and relieve worries. Second, music can cultivate our temperament and cultivate our virtues. The effect of cultivating our virtues is to improve the practical wisdom in our rationality. Third, music is helpful to the integrity of the soul and is sufficient to promote reason. This is a higher level of meaning, that is, the highest virtue mentioned by Aristotle - "contemplation". In the eighth volume of Politics, Aristotle focused on the second role. Aristotle advocated the middle way, believing that people in the world can achieve wisdom and virtue by being neither broad-minded nor tight-minded and accustomed to peace, and music has just that. This effect. In Discussing the Music Education of Young People, Aristotle believed that through non-utilitarian performances, children can improve their own standards for judging music, realize the inherent function of music, and thus cultivate their own inner virtue. I remember that I had a big doubt at the time - can children in their teenage years really abandon external utilitarianism and achieve the improvement of inner virtue when playing? . At that time, Teacher Li talked to me for a long time, but I still couldn't understand this issue. "Spring in the Cowherd Class" cannot be said to have made me realize this, but the music education in it really moved me. I was moved by the melody, the lyrics, the simple images, Mohanqi's eyes, Bebino's waiting, the child's simple question "Teacher, is this Lepu?" and the collective table slapping. The sense of rhythm it brings, if we ask whether life has a rhythm, let us first think about it from the perspective of children!
The creative inspiration for "Springtime of the Cowherd" came from "The Cage of a Nightingale", which won the French box office championship in 2004. One critic wrote this about the film: "It is different from ordinary tragic movies that use pathos to sensationalize, or hilarious comedies that are extremely funny. "Spring of the Cowherd Class" is a movie that makes people happy because of it. This tearful movie has also created a new concept of French movies - sunny emotional movies. This good movie without beauties, violence, action, murder and commercial elements has become the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" of French people this year. I think Chicken Soup's evaluation of this film is really appropriate and beneficial. The reason why the film moves people is inseparable from the music in it. The most successful aspect of this film is that the music is so perfectly softened into the film.
Is life rhythmic? When I was asked this question I had no idea because I had never thought about it. I have thought about this question repeatedly but cannot find any answer within myself. Where is the rhythm of my life? I thought of a scene in "Spring in the Cowherd Class". Teacher Matthew's Lepu was taken away by the children. The children took the sheet music and sang in the dormitory, "Bald head, bald head, you are finished, you are finished, you are not the king here." Teacher Matthew stood behind him. Guo and Ban didn't know At a loss, he didn't expect that Teacher Matthew would just accuse him of being out of tune, that's all, and there would be no punishment. In the evening, Teacher Matthew wrote in his diary: "This tune has been lingering in my mind. They don't sing well but they love singing very much. I even noticed a few good voices. Is there really no cure for their singing? Saved. I vowed never to compose music again, never say never, anything is possible." This tune from the children inspired Teacher Matthew to want to pick up music again. The tune reminded Teacher Matthew that it had just begun. How can it be said that life is hopeless? Maybe there should be music. Every child has his own music in his heart, and life gives them the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of spiritual joy. They enjoyed the pleasure brought by collectively beating the table. The rhythm made them indescribable but excited. They felt the sound, but they did not know that it was the sound coming from their hearts. This reminds me of a saying that children are born with rhythmic spirituality. Teacher Matthew’s music education begins here (in the heart of the children).
When the smart teacher Matthew started his music education, he did not teach the children those great pieces of music. Instead, he composed music and lyrics for the children based on their lives. This is so important, if it hadn't started like this there would be no paper airplanes in the film. The lyrics of the child's first song are: Gaiheke was punished to eat only dry bread for every meal. We are the elite of the nursery on the bottom of the pond. That's why we are so nerve-wracking.
The children sang it over and over again, they were so happy. As Mr. Matthew said, this is not great art but it can attract children. Then came their second and third songs... I can't help but repeat these songs here: There was a young man named Ji Le, who ran away on the way up the mountain to hunt wild goose. Dear fellow Ji Le, Don't let you die easily. Yang Fan moved forward and away from the coast. It was the good time of summer. He sang the poetry of freedom, letting the haze sweep away and feeling the initial throbbing and trembling of joy. The most beautiful music is nothing more than this. It belongs to the children, not us. This is how the initial music education should be. Not clichés formulated by us adults, but conceived from the lives of children.
Written here, just like in the film, Mohanqi, who has musical talent, appears. Of course, this is not his first appearance, but it is his first appearance as a musical genius. Mohanci's appearance was to sing the music Concerto pour une Voix (Voice of the Angel) by the French contemporary composer Saint-Preux, and the lyrics were part of Rameau's Night (Rameau's Night: Looking at the Path of Your Future Life, Forgotten and the lost children, please extend your helping hand to them, lead them to a better future, feel the passion of midnight, the fluctuation of hope, the heat of life, feel the glory of the journey, the happy time of children, forgotten too quickly And erase, the light shines, at the end of the road, feel the passion of midnight, the fluctuation of hope, feel the glory of the journey, oh, the night will bring the mysterious silent magic of the earth, accompanied by darkness, you are so Soft, such a harmony, from the voice you sing, your power is so great, turning everything into a beautiful dream, gently caressing the ocean, light seabirds standing on the rocks of the island eroded by the sea, winter The fleeting wind is finally far away from your breath and the mountains. It hovers in the wind and spreads its wings. At the dawn of dawn, looking for the way to the rainbow, discovering the vitality of spring and the tranquility of the vast sea). Listening to this song brings an indescribable beauty to Mo Hanqi. The pure sound coupled with the tune of Concerto pour une Voix makes you have to admit that he is really a musical genius. Teacher Matthew devoted a lot of effort to Mo Hanqi. In the film, we can also see that Teacher Matthew not only taught Mo Hanqi tunes, but also allowed him to experience human emotions through music. In the end, we saw Mo Hanqi's emotions when he sang to the female board of directors. For example, in the film, Teacher Matthew said: In Mo Hanqi's quasi-focused eyes, I suddenly understood a lot of things, including pride and being... The joy of forgiveness and a new feeling, the way people felt about him. Of course, I think Mohanqi here is the representative of this group of children, and Mohanqi’s transformation represents the children inside. Seeing this, I thought of the question I originally asked - can children in their teenage years really abandon external utility when playing and achieve the improvement of internal virtue? The answer is self-evident.
In the film, we won’t say much about the departure of Teacher Matthew, the children’s paper airplanes, and Bebino’s waiting. Let us consider a few questions about music education. Is life rhythmic? Does music play a role in education, is it for the cultivation of moral character? Or is it about entertainment? Or thirdly, it lies in the cultivation of the soul. How do we teach music to children?