Popular, Informal, and Vernacular Music Classrooms: A Review of the Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Mercado
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Inclusive Curriculum ◽  
Vernacular Music ◽  
School Music ◽  
Musical Genres ◽  
Music Classrooms ◽  
Out Of School

The purpose of this literature review is to examine research in popular, informal, nontraditional, out-of-school, and vernacular music education from 2012 to the present in order to concentrate on recent literature and make suggestions to inform current practice. Researchers have indicated that these classrooms can provide creative and collaborative opportunities and can help students connect with out-of-school music experiences. In addition, these classrooms seem to align with culturally relevant and student-centered pedagogies and an inclusive curriculum. In contrast, researchers have discussed a perceived dissonance concerning the validity and use of vernacular music in the classroom (i.e., the musical genres considered acceptable in the classroom and how they support or hinder the learning outcomes).

“Modern Band” as school music: A case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Byo
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Concert Band ◽  
Community Identity ◽  
School Students ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Rock Band ◽  
School Based ◽  
School Music ◽  
Music Community

This purpose of this study was to uncover the nature and value associated with involvement in “Modern Band” (rock band), the primary, not supplemental, means to music education in one US school. The values that emerged—music, community, identity, teacher, and classroom management—overlap considerably with the benefits and values identified by adolescents in traditional concert band, orchestra, and choir. These results provide data worthy of consideration as readers ponder the viability of rock band as a medium of school-based music education and a way to connect meaningfully with more secondary-school students. Evidence suggests that if there are reasons to reject the rock band, the source for the skepticism should not be the values accrued and identified by its participants. This case is an example of meaningful, authentic, and valuable music education that is positioned between the extremes of formal and informal learning, process and product orientation, and teacher- and student-centered pedagogy.

Music Education Assessment and Social Justice

2015 ◽  
pp. 512-524
Author(s):  
Martin Fautley
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
World Music ◽  
Western World ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Education Assessment ◽  
Music Making ◽  
School Music ◽  
Music Classrooms

This chapter considers the role that assessment, particularly formative assessment, has to play with regard to social justice purposes in education. It disentangles the notion of assessment from that of testing. Valorization of music is highly significant, as what is valued tends to be what is assessed. This can result in the disenfranchising of world music, pop, rock, and jazz on a daily basis in music classrooms all over the Western world; so this chapter problematizes the content of the music curriculum, too, asking whether that which can be labeled “school music” has any relevance beyond itself. To counter these problems, this chapter suggests the use of feed forward, which takes place during music making, privileging process over product. It suggests that the principal purpose of assessment should be to improve learning in music, not to simply provide data for systemic purposes.

Equity and Access in Out-of-School Music Making

2017 ◽  
pp. 502-510
Author(s):  
Kylie Peppler
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Equity And Access ◽  
Music Making ◽  
School Music ◽  
Pathways Model ◽  
Recording Studios ◽  
Out Of School

This chapter focuses on the importance of community to both music education and the ways that youth shape their ideas, interests, and identities in music. Musical learning is rarely, if ever, about a learner operating a new musical technology-based tool in isolation. Music is inherently social, and these influences have a great impact upon the development of musical identities. This chapter explores the ways that out-of-school spaces like those in the Computer Clubhouse Network, YOUmedia, and Musical Futures support social music learning by providing private recording studios that allow youth to assume increasingly public roles as musicians, performers, and producers. The chapter also describes how mixing formal, nonformal, and informal learning spaces helps to develop a youth’s musical maturity through what is known as the “progression pathways model.”

Adolescents' Expressed Meanings of Music in and out of School

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Shehan Campbell ◽  
Claire Connell ◽  
Amy Beegle
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Programs ◽  
School Programs ◽  
School Music ◽  
Character Building ◽  
Out Of School

This study aimed to determine the significance of music and music education to middle and high school adolescents, including those enrolled and not enrolled in school music programs. Of particular interest were their expressed meanings of music both in and out of school, with attention to adolescent views on the role of music in identity formation, the musical and nonmusical benefits for adolescents of their engagement with music, the curricular content of secondary school music programs, and the qualities of music teachers in facilitating music-learning experiences in middle and high school classes. An examination of essays, statements, and reflections in response to a national essay content was undertaken using an inductive approach to analyze content through the triangulation of interpretations by the investigators. Five principal themes were identified within the expressed meanings of music by adolescents: (a) identity formation in and through music, (b) emotional benefits, (c) music's life benefits, including character-building and life skills, (d) social benefits, and (e) positive and negative impressions of school music programs and their teachers. Overwhelming support was expressed for music as a necessary component of adolescent life, with support for and comments to probe concerning the work of music educators in secondary school programs.

scholarly journals The intersections of curriculum development: Music, ICT and Australian music education

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Southcott ◽  
Renée Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Music Technology ◽  
Australian Curriculum ◽  
National Review ◽  
Information And Computer Technology ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Creative Learning ◽  
School Music ◽  
Music Classrooms

<span>Recently, in Australia both the </span><em>National Review of School Music Education</em><span> and </span><em>The Australian Curriculum</em><span> identify the importance of technology in school music education. However, the understanding of music technology, as demonstrated by state and territory curricular guidelines, is limited with technology mostly recognised as a tool. In comparison, contemporary Australian information and computer technology (ICT) curricula appear to have a very different understanding of how technology can enhance learning in the arts, specifically music. Through a comparison of the Australian States and Territories Years 7-10 curricular guidelines this article compares understandings in the two domains - ICT and the arts (particularly music). The different perspectives on the use of technology in music education can be seen as either using technology as a tool to support instruction in drill-like programs or as a platform for collaborative and creative learning that resonates with students in Australian music classrooms.</span>

Honoring Trans and Gender-Expansive Students in Music Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Garrett ◽  
Joshua Palkki
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
School Music ◽  
And Gender ◽  
General School ◽  
Music Classrooms

Trans and gender-expansive (TGE) youth deserve safe and empowering spaces to engage in high-quality school music experiences. Supportive music teachers ensure that all students have access to ethically and pedagogically sound music education. In this practical resource, authors Matthew Garrett and Joshua Palkki encourage music educators to honor gender diversity through ethically and pedagogically sound practices. Honoring Trans and Gender-Expansive Students in Music Education is intended for music teachers and music teacher educators across choral, instrumental, and general music classroom environments. Grounded in theory and nascent research, the authors provide historical and social context, and practical direction for working with students who inhabit a variety of spaces among a gender-identity and expression continuum. Trans and gender-expansive students often place their trust in music teachers, with whom they have developed a deep bond over time. It is essential, then, for music teachers to understand how issues of gender play out in formal and informal school music environments. Stories of TGE youth and their music teachers anchor practical suggestions for honoring students in school music classrooms and in more general school contexts. Part I of the book establishes the context needed to understand and work with TGE persons in school music settings by presenting essential vocabulary and foundational concepts related to trans and gender identity and expression. Part II focuses on praxis by connecting research and teaching pedagogy to practical applications of inclusive teaching practices to honor TGE students in school music classrooms.

scholarly journals Variations in Music Education Curriculum and the Organization of Listening

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Klett
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Performance ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
Musical Sound ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
School Music ◽  
Music Classrooms ◽  
Elementary School Music

Sociologists argue that we learn evaluative skills, such as those to distinguish qualities of music, through practical knowledge. Yet sociologists have not asked how we understand those sonic events as musical in the first place. Through nine months of semi-structured observations in six elementary school music classrooms, I examine how music education draws symbolic boundaries around musical sound. I find that variations in curriculum produce different organizational practices in the classroom. These practices develop what is a basic sensory skill – listening – in very different ways. I identify four dimensions of teacher performance that support these differences: authorized sound-makers, constrained movement, enforced perspectives, and selected attention. These variations in music education produce contrasting performances for recognizing musical sound.

Music Education, Curriculum Design, and Assessment: Imagining a More Equitable Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-65
Author(s):  
Jennifer Mellizo
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Planning Strategy ◽  
School Music ◽  
Music Classrooms ◽  
Content Pedagogy

Although it is not their intent, conventional curricula may place some students at a disadvantage in school music classrooms. This article offers a practical planning strategy that music educators can use to confront and resist some of these curricular tendencies in subtle yet important ways. By reimagining long-standing norms related to content, pedagogy, and assessment, we can build a system that provides more students with access to a high-quality, equitable, and personally meaningful music education.

A Rising Tide

2021 ◽  
pp. 265-274
Author(s):  
Will Kuhn ◽  
Ethan Hein
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Technology ◽  
Cultural Authenticity ◽  
Music Program ◽  
Popular Music Studies ◽  
Vernacular Music ◽  
School Music

This chapter reflects on the curriculum outlined in the book and how it fits into the larger music education landscape. While project-based electronic music may not be appealing to all music teachers, the benefits of this approach to music education generally are broad and substantial. An open-enrollment music technology course creates a culture of inclusion that can lend a school’s music program greater cultural authenticity and demographic inclusiveness. When students are able to create music in their preferred styles, it validates their musical identities and helps them build toward lifelong learning. There are racial politics underlying the gulf between “school” music and “popular” music, and the chapter discusses the opposition that each successive form of African-American popular and vernacular music has faced in the academy. Critical popular music studies animated by antiracism can serve to both advance social justice goals, and to strengthen and enrich music programs.

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