Educator

Jason Noble’s
Statement of Teaching Philosophy

The most important thing a music education can provide is a strong grounding in musical fundamentals: students must be equipped with a solid base of skills that they can creatively repurpose according to the individual trajectories of their career paths. 

However, certain assumptions about what is fundamental in music are no longer tenable. The classical canon contains almost exclusively works of white male European lineage, to the exclusion of an incalculable amount of great music from other backgrounds. A pedagogy based on this canon will emphasize certain fundamentals while ignoring others. For example, a curriculum that prioritizes tonal harmony, equal temperament, and classical counterpoint, and only briefly mentions polyrhythm, melodic nuance, and timbral structure, is not a neutral introduction but a program for a very specific way of approaching music. Furthermore, in the changing cultural and technological contexts of our times, skills not represented in the classical curriculum are increasingly essential to daily life as a musician even within Western cultures, such as using DAWs and other music softwares, using digital media for dissemination and promotion, and navigating the social contexts of musical production. 

It is therefore no longer sufficient to simply transmit the music education that we inherited. Music teachers must conceive of their pedagogy in a state of constant change. We must learn to draw on a wide variety of musical sources and apply a wide variety of musical tools. We must be ready to adapt the methods and contents of our teaching to students from a wide variety of backgrounds and with a wide variety of interests and goals. We must be more aware than ever before of the socially, culturally, politically, and ideologically charged nature of music education, and take pains to create a learning environment that is welcoming and inclusive for everyone. 

I believe versatility in media of presentation is an important asset for any teacher today. Educators must preserve what is best in old media, such as the construction of lengthy, detailed arguments and the expression of complex ideas with literary grace, with what is best in new media, such as simultaneous engagement of multiple learning strategies (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and the ability to interact with materials in ways that were not previously possible (e.g., creating and manipulating digital representations of sound).  I harness both old and new media in my teaching, leaning more heavily in the one direction or the other depending on what best captures the spirit of the material being covered.     

I believe that many of the most innovative new ideas develop from interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and collaborative approaches.  I developed a fondness for interdisciplinarity while pursuing undergraduate degrees in philosophy and music simultaneously: I was impressed with how much the disciplines had in common, and how richly they could inform one another.  My recent research in music perception and cognition has also been highly multidisciplinary, drawing from fields including acoustics, cognitive science, phenomenology, linguistics, music theory, and composition, and frequently involving collaboration with people from other disciplines. I encourage students to draw on their own experiences and interests in research and creative projects, and I find it particularly exciting when their projects cross traditional boundaries and bring different perspectives together. 

With regards to composition, teaching it is an exercise in humility: it brings me face to face with the limits of my knowledge, for there is no fixed curriculum to help students find their individual voices as composers. Composition pedagogy is thus necessarily fluid and adaptable. I study students’ sketches, descriptions, examples of their past work, and other such traces, and form a mental archetype of what I think they are trying to achieve, ever wary of the danger of projecting my own ideas and values onto their compositions. I then compare what I think they are trying to achieve with the work they have presented, and suggest ways that I think they might realize their ideas more effectively. If the student is having trouble getting started, I am happy to suggest examples that I find inspiring, speak about my own process, and assign technical exercises designed to cultivate methods I think are helpful. 

Compassion is the guiding principle of all of my teaching and evaluating activities. Above all else, I care about my students as people. I want to help them flourish, to achieve their potential while remaining balanced and grounded. All of my pedagogical decisions follow from that goal.

Teaching 

Course Instructorships

  • Université de Montréal

    • MTE 2116 Instrumentation (undergraduate course). 2021, 2022. Intro to writing for the instruments of the orchestra, including conventional and contemporary techniques, various ways of describing and comparing instrumental timbres, and in-class demos.

  • McGill University

    • MUPD 560 Introduction to Research Methods in Music (graduate course). 2019, 2015. Intro to music research and scholarship for performers with limited research experience, focusing on utilizing library resources, preparing grant proposals, and writing program notes.

    • MUMT 250 Music Perception and Cognition (undergraduate course). 2017. Intro to physiological, psychological, acoustical, and philosophical aspects of music perception and cognition, including sound analysis and empirical research methods.

    • MUCO 260 Instruments of the Orchestra (undergraduate course). 2016. Intro to the instruments of the symphony orchestra and the theory of orchestrations, focusing on instrumental techniques, in-class demos, and in-class readings of student arrangements.

Teaching Assistantships 

  • McGill University

    • MUMT 250 Music Perception and Cognition, Prof. Stephen McAdams. 2016. Physiological, psychological, and acoustical aspects of music perception and cognition.

    • MUTH 151 Music Theory II, Prof. Nicole Biamonte. 2012. Fundamentals of Western music theory, including chromatic harmony and musical form.

    • MUTH 150 Music Theory I, Prof. Peter Schubert. 2011. Fundamentals of Western music theory, emphasizing practical and creative applications.

  • Western University

    • Music 3650B Studies in Music Theory 5, Prof. David Myska. 2010. Late 20th century post-tonal music theory and repertoire studies.

    • Music 3649A Studies in Music Theory 4, Prof. Catherine Nolan. 2009. Early 20th century post-tonal music theory and repertoire studies.

    • Music 2635A/B Dictation 3–4, Prof. Kim Lundberg. 2009. Musicianship training, focusing on aural dictation (second-year sequence).

    • Music 1636A/B Dictation 1–2, Prof. Kim Lundberg. 2008. Musicianship training, focusing on aural dictation (first-year sequence).

Course Development

  • McGill University

    • Composer-Performer Orchestration Research Ensemble (MUGS 676D1/D2). 2019–2020. Course developer in experimental research-creation seminar, involving year-long collaborative research-creation project between student composers and performers. Created and consulted on course content and mentored student composers. With Profs. Stephen McAdams, Guillaume Bourgogne, and inter-institutional partners at UofT, UCSD, UBC, and UdeM.

    • Musicianship and Keyboard Skills course sequence  (MUSP 140-1/240-1, 170-1, 346). 2016–2021. Research Assistant / Digital Course Manager. Prepared and administered interactive digital course materials in Finale and SmartMusic. With Profs. Peter Schubert and Justin Mariner.

Supervision, Examination, and Adjudication

  • St. John’s Kiwanis Festival

    • Adjudicator2023, 2020. Junior Vocal and Junior Piano Adjudicator for festival in St. John’s, NL.

  • Royal College of Music (Stockholm, Sweden)

    • Panel Member ; Discussant. 2023 (sched.), 2022. Provided external review of PhD dissertation at intermediate and final stages.

  • McGill University

    • Doctoral Thesis Mentor, Prof. Chris Harman. 2020–2021. Informally co-supervised DMus Composition student in preparation for thesis submission.

    • Special Project Supervisor. 2019. Mentored student in self-directed music perception and cognition project, in partnership with Vanier College (Research Methods for Sciences program). Led to student publication.

  • Conservatory Canada

    • Examiner. 2010 – present. Examiner of piano, voice, other instruments as required; classical and contemporary idioms; beginner to associate diploma. Assignments across Canada.

Invited Guest Lectures

  • Sakkyoku Jyuku (Composition Academy, Nagano, Japan).

    • Technology and Music Research (lecture series), Profs. Takuto Fukuda and Yukiko Watanabe. 2023. Technology, music perception research, and composition. Recording here: https://youtu.be/zKQiDW00gDI

  • Université de Montréal

    • EROC (performance seminar), Profs. Caroline Traube and Jimmie Leblanc. 2022. Imagination auditive et notation musicale (Auditory Imagination and Musical Notation)

    • Acoustiques d’instruments (undergraduate course), Prof. Vincent Verfaille. 2022. Speech, Dialect, and New Music for Guitar (with co-presenter Steve Cowan)

    • Introduction à l’acoustique musicale (undergraduate course), Prof. Caroline Traube. 2022. Timbre Perception in Research and Composition: Some Creative Applications

  • Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.)

    • Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Music (undergraduate course), Prof. Hubert Ho. 2022. Musical Timbre: Concepts and Applications

  • McGill University

    • Vocal Techniques (undergraduate course), Prof. Juanita Marchand-Knight. 2022. Notation, Performance Practice, and Composing for Voices

    • Composer-Performer Orchestration Research Ensemble (graduate seminar). 2019.Profs. Guillaume Bourgogne and Stephen McAdams ‘Orchestrational Problem-Solving, Auditory Imagination, and Musical Notation’

    • Theorizing Timbre (graduate seminar), Prof. Robert Hasegawa. 2019. ‘Empirical Research on Contemporary Musical Timbres and Textures’

    • The Art of New Music (undergraduate course) Prof. Kit Soden. 2019. ‘Introduction to Sound Mass’      

    • Integrating Methods of the Sciences and Humanities (graduate seminar), Prof. Moe Touizrar. 2019. ‘Integrating Empirical and Theoretical Methods: Musical Semantics Research’

    • Introduction to Research Methods in Music, (graduate course) Prof. Mylène Gioffredo. 2017. ‘Project Proposals: Getting Started, Developing Ideas, Refining Presentation, and Staying Sane’.

    • Introduction to Research Methods in Music, (graduate course) Prof. Evan Campbell. 2016. ‘Grant Writing Workshop,’ with co-presenter Laura Risk

    • Selected Composers: Penderecki and Lutosławski (graduate seminar), Prof. Chris Harman. 2015. ‘Sound Mass in the Music of Penderecki and Lutoslawski’             

  • Boston Conservatory at Berklee

    • Chamber Music (performance masterclass), Prof. Rhonda Rider. 2020. ‘Folk Suite for Cello and Marimba’ (with Juan Sebastian Delgado and Krystina Marcoux)

  • The Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford

    • 20th Century Music (graduate seminar), Prof. Ira Braus. 2013. ‘Empirical Study of Sound Mass Perception’

    • Introduction to Computer Music (undergraduate class), Prof. Robert Carl. 2013. ‘Research Applications of MaxMSP’                   

Workshop Delivery and Facilitation

  • McGill University

    • Introduction to Aural Sonology, with Dominique Lafortune and Philippe Macnab-Séguin. 2018–2019. Workshops introducing student composers to the theory and notation of Aural Sonology.

  • Canadian National Conservatory of Music

    • Teaching Contemporary Music to Young Students. 2013. Piano pedagogy workshop at Summer Sizzle festival in Mount Forest, ON.

Selected Other Teaching and Direction Experience

  • Private Tutor. 2012–present. Music theory, composition, orchestration, harmony, counterpoint, research, grant writing.

  • St. Jude’s Anglican Church, London, ON. 2010 – 2011. Music Director: choir director, organist, in-house composer.

  • Walter’s Music, 2010 – 2011. Piano Teacher: students of all levels; prep for music exams, festival performances, etc.

  • Take Note Music School, Mount Pearl, NL. 2005 – 2008. Music Teacher: piano, music theory, composition, and voice; in-house accompanist.