Readings and Topics on Research

"Prime Difficulty: What is my subject"

It's very interesting that the author of this chapter has been able to capture the very essence of difficulties in starting reseach for a particular subject. I have always found it difficult to pin down one particular subject for research I have done in the past. In fact, I am in the midst of this as I write. I have two research projects to think of, and pinning down a subject to focus on is proving a very time consuming task. It's as if the subject is alluding me. One line from the chapter reads, "A subject is always trying to merge itself again into the great mass of associated facts and ideas." How true this is. A great deal of work goes into bringing a work its connectedness and continuity. I also greatly agree with the thought that "reading, writing, and thinking are the three activities of research." I wrestle the most with thinking.

"Foreward"

I love to read and I enjoy learning new things, but I believe that writing is a process in which the author is constantly wrestling with himself to create something meaningful. I don't enjoy wrestling. I like Angell's line, "Writing is hard, even for authors who do it all the time." Thank you for making the rest of us feel better, sir. I agree that while I'm writing, I need to sometimes take a step back and "ruminate" over what I've done. I need to take in the big picture--does my writing sound like it flows? Am I conveying clear ideas to the reader? Is my subject obviously stated? I need to remember these more as I write. It's good to know that even renowned authors such as E.B. White need to do the same.


"Introduction"

I really enjoyed how E.B. White recalls the memories of a professor he had and the impact the professor had on his life and his writings. I admit that sometimes in college I have made essays extra "wordy" just because of a required number of words. The importance of using words carefully and using just enough to get your point across is emphasized in this intro. I am planning on making every word count in my upcoming research and essays. I appreciate William Strunk Jr.'s passion for writing and attention to words. I hope that any research I conduct this summer and in the future will be meaningful and thoughtful--with attention to how I use words to convey my thoughts to my readers. 

Possibilities for Research Topic

Today during class I started to jot down some ideas for my research project. The first idea that came to mind was to further a project I started in college called "Integrating Children's Literature into the Music Classroom." I collaborated with a professor on this project and I feel that it's really helped me see how important interdisciplinary practice is to all classrooms. I also feel that it helped to get me thinking about Common Core and how to make connections between the standards and the music classroom.

Something else that I've been thinking about recently is starting a choir. I have been searching for a job for a year and a half and have not procured a permanent position as of yet. I've tried to stay active in the musical community, but I would really like to have a choir of my own. I love choral music and so I've been considering starting a choir in my area. I'm not sure that this would be a good research topic, but I could research audition processes, choral literature, changing voices, ect. I also think it would be good to start a choir and keep this research going throughout the entire process.

My third option for a research project is how to connect music in school and community. One obvious way to do this is to have students perform in the community--nursing homes, malls, ect. I performed in the chorus of Tri-Cities Opera last year and I was thinking about forming a presentation for schools based one of the operas of the season. I could include interviews, history of the opera, ect. This would be an effective tool to get students interested in opera or any musicals in the community.