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Music learning always builds upon what the student has already learned. Some students have had music lessons since they were very young, and others are first experiencing music education when they step into my classroom. This requires everything I plan for lessons to be learner-centered, and cultivates critical-thinking so students piece together their own learning progress (with guides from me and others). The thing about vocal music, however, is that it is the best way to train learners' ears to hear pitch and rhythm, and feel it in the body. Repetition is still required, but vocalizing and students replicating musical ideas with their voices is the best way for the body to go through the learning process cognitively and socially. A method that helps with the cognitive logical side of learning music, ear training, and theory is called Kodaly. This reminds students that music is joyful to learn, but there are logical ways to make it easier for the ear to catch on to concepts. To do this, melodic concepts are learned with solfege, or certain syllables and hand signs to assign a motion and sound with an area of a specific modality in music. Canon is also used to solidify pitches and rhythms when students are singing together. Linked is a video of Mirelle from Churchlands SHS school of music teaching with this specific method.

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I am thrilled about authentic activities based on culture in the music classroom. There are historical roots to solfege, and different methods, but Kodaly is quite universal and is my favorite for all ages. Aside from that, music styles and specific pieces always have historical roots and meaningful backgrounds, and I want to have students collaborate to do presentations on a piece of their choice. They will research the composer, country of origin, language, religion, and general culture and practices (if all applicable). Students will share their findings with each other and discuss how to implement elements of the culture into their performance of the piece, or even the learning of their piece to help them have an authentic experience while preparing the music.

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In musical settings, students often get discouraged if they have not had opportunities to study music as a young child when their peers have and are ahead of them. What is not emphasized is that curiosity and dedication at any point in one's life is more important than how early one's music lessons began in childhood. Music is a natural part of everyone's lives, hence why it is so powerful, but being interested in how to perform it more powerfully and learn the ins and outs of music is a different level!

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There seems to be wide support for the idea that we are living in an "age of complexity", which implies that the world has never been more intricate. This idea is based on the rapid pace of technological changes, and the vast amount of information that we are generating (the two are related). Yet consider that philosophers like Leibniz (17 th century) and Diderot (18 th century) were already complaining about information overload. The "horrible mass of books" they referred to may have represented only a tiny portion of what we know today, but much of what we know today will be equally insignificant to future generations.

In any event, the relative complexity of different eras is of little matter to the person who is simply struggling to cope with it in everyday life. So perhaps the right question is not "Is this era more complex?" but "Why are some people more able to manage complexity?" Although complexity is context-dependent, it is also determined by a person's disposition. In particular, there are three key psychological qualities that enhance our ability to manage complexity:

1. IQ: As most people know, IQ stands for intellectual quotient and refers to mental ability. What fewer people know, or like to accept, is that IQ does affect a wide range of real-world outcomes, such as job performance and objective career success. The main reason is that higher levels of IQ enable people to learn and solve novel problems faster. At face value, IQ tests seem quite abstract, mathematical, and disconnected from everyday life problems, yet they are a powerful tool to predict our ability to manage complexity. In fact, IQ is a much stronger predictor of performance on complex tasks than on simple ones.

Complex environments are richer in information, which creates more cognitive load and demands more brainpower or deliberate thinking from us; we cannot navigate them in autopilot (or Kahneman's system 1 thinking). IQ is a measure of that brainpower, just like megabytes or processing speed are a measure of the operations a computer can perform, and at what speed. Unsurprisingly, there is a substantial correlation between IQ and working memory, our mental capacity for handling multiple pieces of temporary information at once. Try memorizing a phone number while asking someone for directions and remembering your shopping list, and you will get a good sense of your IQ. (Unfortunately, research shows that working memory training does not enhance our long-term ability to deal with complexity, though some evidence suggests that it delays mental decline in older people, as per the "use it or lose it" theory.)

2) EQ: EQ stands for emotional quotient and concerns our ability to perceive, control, and express emotions. EQ relates to complexity management in three main ways. First, individuals with higher EQ are less susceptible to stress and anxiety. Since complex situations are resourceful and demanding, they are likely to induce pressure and stress, but high EQ acts as a buffer. Second, EQ is a key ingredient of interpersonal skills, which means that people with higher EQ are better equipped to navigate complex organizational politics and advance in their careers. Indeed, even in today's hyper-connected world what most employers look for is not technical expertise, but soft skills, especially when it comes to management and leadership roles. Third, people with higher EQ tend to be more entrepreneurial, so they are more proactive at exploiting opportunities, taking risks, and turning creative ideas into actual innovations. All this makes EQ an important quality for adapting to uncertain, unpredictable, and complex environments.

3) CQ: CQ stands for curiosity quotient and concerns having a hungry mind. People with higher CQ are more inquisitive and open to new experiences. They find novelty exciting and are quickly bored with routine. They tend to generate many original ideas and are counter-conformist. It has not been as deeply studied as EQ and IQ, but there's some evidence to suggest it is just as important when it comes to managing complexity in two major ways. First, individuals with higher CQ are generally more tolerant of ambiguity. This nuanced, sophisticated, subtle thinking style defines the very essence of complexity. Second, CQ leads to higher levels of intellectual investment and knowledge acquisition over time, especially in formal domains of education, such as science and art (note: this is of course different from IQ's measurement of raw intellectual horsepower). Knowledge and expertise, much like experience, translate complex situations into familiar ones, so CQ is the ultimate tool to produce simple solutions for complex problems.

Although IQ is hard to coach, EQ and CQ can be developed. As Albert Einstein famously said: ""I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."

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Curiosity Is as Important as Intelligence

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There seems to be wide support for the idea that we are living in an "age of complexity", which implies that the world has never been more intricate. This idea is based on the rapid pace of technological changes, and the vast amount of information that we are generating (the two are related).

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Kodaly allows students to have multiple senses working with them to hear correct pitches. When something like hand gestures or the syllable gets mixed up, often the student is not confident with the note and they still need practice or individual work. In this video, two of the students in the front row messed up their hand signs and started laughing, and it was apparent they knew they had done something wrong. This method allows them to recognize that, fix it, learn it permanently, and get back on track. The teacher here also has students harmonize, and decide if they are on the right notes or not all by themselves.