Anatole Leikin –Teaching Statement 2003-04
Professor in Music

          At UCSC, I teach music classes to very dissimilar groups of students: non-majors who may know very little about art music and who perhaps had never been to a classical music concert before taking my class; undergraduate music majors, many of whom later become professionals; and graduate students who may already be accomplished professional musicians. 

Naturally, teaching strategies differ significantly depending on the type of students for whom a particular class is intended.  There is, however, one fundamental goal common to all the classes I teach: the knowledge about music that the students acquire has not only to be understood or memorized or reasoned, but also heard and perceived in the music itself.  In order to do this, students must develop an ability to hear in music everything we discuss in class and then some.

When I teach a music appreciation class (Music 11) to non-majors, the most difficult job is to show the students who do not have a musical background the beauty of the inner life of a musical composition and to lead them through all the intricacies of the musical language.  In a small class, this can be done more easily through the interaction between the teacher and the students. Unfortunately, a typical music appreciation class nowadays consists of two or three hundred students, which hinders a relaxed dialogue between the teacher and the students.  A solution here, in my view, is to offer a high-wattage type of class that incorporates elements of lecture, concert, storytelling, carefully guided music-listening, and multi-media presentation. 

Gradually, the students learn how to listen to music on their own. There is nothing more rewarding than hearing from my former students that classical music has become part of their life, that they have added a classical music station to their car radio memory, and that they now go to classical music concerts.

Another class that I teach regularly, Music Theory and Musicianship for majors and minors (Music 30ABC), is specifically aimed at developing aural abilities in combination with theoretical knowledge and analytical proficiency.   One of my most challenging teaching tasks during the last few years was a drastic reorganization of Music 30.  This was necessary to accommodate a rapidly growing number of students while increasing overall efficiency of the class, especially in the area of ear-training.

Before the reorganization, the class consisted of three concurrent sections.  Each section included all the components of the class—theory, analysis, and ear-training—which were all taught by one instructor.  A number of students complained that the class was often heavy on theory and light on ear-training, since their professors typically preferred discussing theoretical concepts rather than working on students’ aural skills.  Another common complaint was that there was little continuity in this yearlong class, because professors might change every quarter (it is logistically impossible to lock three professors into one section for an entire year because we simply do not have enough resources).

Therefore I introduced a new format of Music 30 based on a differentiation   between the acquisition of knowledge and the acquisition of skills.  All three sections are now joined twice a week for lectures on theory, counterpoint, harmony, and analysis (knowledge acquisition).  These lectures are taught by a ladder faculty member who also prepares and coordinates all the materials of the course, both theoretical and practical.  The three smaller sections, each taught by a lecturer under the general guidance of the ladder faculty, are devoted to ear-training (the acquisition of skills).  These sections meet three times a week.  Finally, graduate students, under the supervision of both the ladder faculty and the lecturers, teach weekly singing and keyboard labs of about four students each (the acquisition of skills).

As a result of this overhaul, our already strong theory/musicianship program has become one of the best in the country.  When our students go on to graduate programs, they easily test out of most required theory and musicianship courses offered in those graduate programs.   I often receive words of appreciation from former students of Music 30, such as the following email from one of them who had just finished a year of Music 30 and attended a prestigious summer program for singers elsewhere (I must add that for the first few months he had been badly struggling in Music 30):

"Yesterday I was given a compliment which I think is more fit for you than me.  I was having a coaching with an incredible coach . . . and he asked me repeated questions about the form, harmonic functions, and other theoretical aspects of the aria.  Though I had not thought for a second about those parts of the music, I was able to deliver answers for all his questions off the top of my head.  I really surprised myself.  After discussing the use of escapes, appoggiaturas, and rhythmic syncopations by the composer and their relations to the poetry and the emotion of the piece, I was able to be much more insightful and expressive in my interpretation of the piece.  After the coaching was over, I was told I was a good musician, a compliment I have never received before.  I don't know how worthy I was of his compliment, but I do know that however much of it I earned, I owe to you.  It is only thanks to your teaching and in spite of my own reservations that I could hear those words from another musician." 

Once a strong aural foundation has been laid, other music classes that I teach, such as the upper-division music history, graduate seminars in performance practice, and graduate piano lessons, continue to expand the students’ abilities to hear various aspects of musical language, This enables them to make more discoveries in the music that they study, perform, and teach.