Week 1: The Class of Three Making Mistakes

Have you ever had a class fewer than five students? Well, our Music in Western Culture course (MU150) this block consists of only two students including myself! At the beginning of the first week, I was a little intimidated by the class size. A class this small means that class discussions are fueled by only three of us. Now, this isn’t a terrible thing at all but a dollop of shyness can make daily class conservations petrifying. What if I say something wrong? What if I offend them? What do I do if they look me in the eye? Hence, on the first day, I was hesitant to even offer a modern pop song for the beginning of class. How hard was that? Difficult.

“Make mistakes!” as our professor, Dr. Rakefet Bar-Sadeh, would exclaim for the first few days. She urges that we can only grow and discover ourselves -our limits and potentials- if we are brave enough to make mistakes. It is a fierce reminder that few things should get in the way of our education and self-discovery. The rest of the week demanded even more dialogue and by Friday, I was speaking out at least twice a day as I grew comfortable with my classmate and teacher. My gradual confidence to speak every day may seem small, but it’s a huge step for me and a rewarding one. I encourage every student to speak up at least once in the classroom and build your confidence from there.

In addition, Dr. Rakefet Bar-Sadeh strives in creating an interdisciplinary education. With a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics and her Ph.D. in Musicology, she believes that learning should draw knowledge from all academic disciplines to consider new ideas and reason across boundaries. For instance, she insisted that I write my final paper relating to Western music and the biological sciences since I intend to be a molecular biology major. Thus, the notion of my paper discusses the anatomy of the birds’ respiratory-vocal system and the use of bird vocalization in Western music! Dr. Rakefet Bar-Sadeh uses the advantages of a small class setting to create a more personalized and interdisciplinary education for her students.

Dr. Rakefet Bar-Sadeh is a visiting professor from Israel who is teaching two blocks for Spring 2019. She has contributed to academic works regarding Israeli composers born before the declaration of the state of Israel and educated in Europe and their impact on new movements of contemporary music in Israel. Dr. Rakefet Bar-Sadeh is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and also works as a consultant for the Canada Royal Conservatory. She is married and a proud mother of two children. Her next block is Jewish Music (MU224) so be sure to take the class with her!

Overall, I am excited for what the next few weeks have to offer. Here’s a selfie of our class!