We are
grateful to his supportive local supervisor Dr. James Isabirye, Dean Elizabeth Kyazike,
and the entire CABUTE team for this important accomplishment.
It was a
joy to host Rogers Mpoza in Norway, and we eagerly look forward to meeting again in
Uganda in 2025.
Congratulations to Rogers Mpoza!
This week
there were announcements about some of my publications in both European and
Chinese social media, which was encouraging to see.
Click HERE
to access a public announcement from Bergen
Summer Research School that describes publications I developed with PhD
students from a few different cohorts of courses across recent years. This
includes two edited volumes and a journal article.
Click HERE, if you read
Chinese, to see some interesting discussions surrounding a Chinese translation
of the book Theory
and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology.
Displayed above
is a photo from a few days ago of my backyard at dawn. It is definitely Autumn
now in Norway, time to wear warmer clothes.
.jpg)
Is it
reasonable to think of common laptop computers as musical instruments? It might
seem like a strange question but actually, a large proportion of the most
popular music in the world today is produced almost entirely on
computers. Many kinds of music ensembles also feature "live electronics" in their performances. Still, for those of us who love traditional musical instruments it
can be a bit sad to think of common computers as instruments.
An article
co-authored with my new PhD student Kristian Tverli Iversen (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences) examines how music
teachers in Norway approach teaching music with the laptop computer as their
instrument. As creative teachers aim to negotiate this new challenge with
curricular requirements, the resulting situation naturally creates novel
pedagogical issues: what are the equivalents for technical drills and “repertoire” on such an instrument? There is also a broader philosophical concern: With openness to technological innovations, how are we to attain an optimal balance with the notions of heritage and tradition in music teaching?
Kristian
Iverson’s unique article, with my support as co-author, will appear soon in the
British Journal of Music Education (Cambridge University Press).
Below is
the full bibliographic reference, abstract, and a link to the journal where it will soon be available:
Iversen, K.
T. & Hebert, D. G. (2024, in press). Laptop computer as instrument in music
performance lessons: Issues and opportunities. British Journal of Music
Education.
Abstract
In the
twenty-first century we are increasingly exposed to music created entirely on
computers. This article shows how pioneering music teachers approach the
challenge of teaching music on the laptop computer in the context of one-to-one
musical instrument lessons. Interviews and observations with five laptop
teachers in Norwegian secondary schools enabled the authors to explore
characteristic challenges in this field. This study explored two research
questions: What are the instructional strategies, content and “repertoire” in
music lessons on laptop computer? How have teachers experienced the laptop’s
evolutionary process toward legitimation?
Keywords:
Laptop computer, live electronics, music technology, individual lessons
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-music-education
Displayed above: Public Domain image.
A new
article is now available as an “online first” publication through the International Journal of Music Education (Sage publications). This article was co-authored with four
doctoral students from around the world who participated in one of my online seminars
at Bergen Summer Research School
during the COVID-19 pandemic—Lu Liu, Sergio Garcia-Cuesta, Laura Chambers and
Sergej Tchirkov—and contains some interesting discussion of ways that music
programs might be reoriented and even rejuvenated in universities and
conservatoires.
Link to access article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02557614241281992
The authors
found that writings on decolonization can stimulate useful reflections and
insights regarding issues and strategies for improving higher music education,
particularly in terms of its Eurocentric and often excessively competitive
emphases. The former is notable when contrasted with departments of language
and literature, for instance (in which it is inconceivable that one would only
examine western traditions), while the latter becomes obvious when compared
with visual arts studies (in which nearly everyone would count as a “composer”
if compared with music studies).
In our
view, different approaches that are more open to diverse forms of musicianship—whether
Indigenous and non-western traditions, folk and popular music and electronic music genres, or
studies that place more emphasis on originality with less focus on competition
in virtuosic and standardized performances—all promise to strengthen the overall position
of music in higher education.
Below is the bibliographic reference and abstract, as well as a link for this article, which is published in an open-access format:
Liu, L.,
Garcia-Cuesta, S., Chambers, L., Tchirkov, S. & Hebert, D. G. (2024). Rethinking ‘musical excellence’ from a decolonial
perspective: Disruptive autobiographical experiences among doctoral scholars. International
Journal of Music Education.
Link to access article:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02557614241281992
Abstract
This
collaborative autoethnography was developed by recent doctoral students in
music from Southern Europe, Eurasia, East Asia, and North America, along with a
professor based in Northern Europe. Our primary research question is “What
can disruptive autobiographical experiences teach us about the
implications of the decolonization movement for redefining “musical excellence”
in higher music education?” The co-authors interviewed each other
for their respective personal narratives on this theme, then collaboratively
coded, analyzed and developed their results and interpretations. Four
sub-questions served as prompts: (1) What was your gateway into music and how
did the music learning-tradition that you were exposed to affect your
development as a musician? (2) In what ways was the concept of “musical
excellence” a part of your (early) development as a musician? (3) How does the
concept of “musical excellence” impact how being an “artist” is defined by you
and people around you? (4) How did this perception of “what is an artist”
affect your musical path (and even how others perceive your career)? We share
our findings and discuss implications in terms of possible innovations to
higher music education, definitions of “musical excellence,” approaches to
evaluation, and the role of competition in education.
Displayed
above: Public Domain image of medals from competition
We have been impressed by the work ethic and professionalism of the staff
at Kyambogo University, and I would especially
like to thank Dean Elizabeth
Kyazike, Peter Ekadu-Ereu (Lydia’s supportive local co-supervisor), James
Isabirye (another important mentor and productive scholar), Nicholas Ssempiija
(ethnomusicologist and local leader of the Music branch of CABUTE), and Steinar Satre, who leads the entire project from here in Bergen, Norway.
The Music team of CABUTE has consistently benefitted from timely and effective cooperation, which is beneficial to all involved in the project. Indeed, there is an impressive community of music education researchers in Uganda that is determined to nurture the next generation.
Congratulations, Lydia Basemera!
Plans are now in place for a unique music conference to be held in Groningen,
Netherlands in early November: “2024 International Research School on the
theme of Sustainable Cities and Cultures of Music.”
This event
is connected with the EU Music4Change project and Grieg
Research School for Interdisciplinary Music Studies.
My main
activity at this conference will be to serve as Respondent for the “Prøvedisputas”
of PhD candidate Elizabeth
Oltedal (of Volda University College, Norway), as she reaches the final
stages for completion of her PhD.
Elizabeth has
long been deeply interested in the challenges associated with developing fair,
accurate, and meaningful assessments of music performances. This is a complex
and important topic of relevance to all music teachers, and I look forward to seeing
what we can learn from Elizabeth’s research.
Click HERE
for more information about this event in Groningen, Netherlands.
Image source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martini_Toren.JPG
It is a
pleasure to have just been appointed to the International Advisory Board for a
book series in the field of research methods, New Research – New
Voices, on Brill Press. I currently also serve on the boards of two other
book series, one in the field of music education and one in ethnomusicology.
The music
education series is the ISME Routledge Book Series
of the International Society for Music Education.
Since 2019,
I have also been co-Editor of a book series that will soon be part of Bloomsbury
Publishing (who recently purchased Lexington Books and the rest of the Rowman
& Littlefield Academic catalogue). That is the Lexington
Series in Historical Ethnomusicology: Deep Soundings, which currently has four volumes published and two
more under contract.
It is interesting to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship, and although each academic field has distinctive characteristics there are significant intersections between educational research, musicology, and music education. Each of these book series is producing unique scholarly contributions and seems to have a promising future despite the increasing challenges faced by academic presses.
I am eager to hear from prospective authors who may be interested in publishing in any of these series.
