Originality in Music

After a lengthy review process, I have recently learned that another of my articles on the institutionalization of popular music is soon to be published. It will be in Music Education Research International (vol.5), a fully-refereed scholarly journal edited by Professor Victor Fung and published in an online, open-access format, and I understand the volume with my article will shortly be available. I have also added a link to the right side of this website for a separate page with a full list of publications. Below is the title and abstract for my upcoming article in MERI:

Originality and Institutionalization: Factors Engendering Resistance to Popular Music Pedagogy in the USA

David G. Hebert

Abstract

The roots of much of the world’s popular music may be traced to blues and rock – styles that originated in the Southern Mississippi Valley in the early 20^th century – yet, when considered from a global perspective, performance of these genres has been especially slow to gain wide acceptance in schools of their homeland: the USA. This paper begins with identification of some inevitable challenges associated with institutionalization of novel artistic movements, and then contrasts these with factors perceived to have engendered resistance to the growth of popular music pedagogy (PMP). That PMP is increasingly accepted while genres such as blues and rock come of age (and stake a claim to cultural heritage) is no coincidence. This discussion illustrates the perennial educational challenges posed by originality and cultural diversity in music, as well as the need for research to more fully understand opportunities and risks associated with the array of PMP approaches currently advanced.

Below are links to some of my other writings and projects that address related topics:

· Hebert, D. G. (2010). Jazz and Rock Music. In W. M. Anderson & P. S. Campbell (Eds.), Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Vol. 1 (third edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman-Littlefield Publishers.

· Campbell, P. S. & Hebert, D. G. (2010). World Beat. In W. M. Anderson & P. S. Campbell (Eds.), Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Vol. 2 (third edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman-Littlefield Publishers.

· Hebert, D. G. (2009). Musicianship, Musical Identity and Meaning as Embodied Practice. In T. Regelski & J. T. Gates (Eds.), Music Education for a Changing Society: Guiding Visions for Practice (pp. 39-55). Dordrecht and New York: Springer Press.

· Hebert, D. G. (2009). Rethinking the Historiography of Hybrid Genres in Music Education. In V. Kurkela & L. Vakeva (Eds.), De-Canonizing Music History (pp. 163-184). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press.

· Campbell, P. S., Hebert, D. G. & Will, R. J. (Eds.) (2001). Around the Sound: Popular Music in Performance, Education, and Scholarship - symposium proceedings. Seattle: University of Washington & Experience Music Project.

· Hebert, D. G. & Campbell, P. S., (2000). "Rock Music in American Schools: Positions and Practices Since the 1960s," International Journal of Music Education , Vol. 36, No. 1 (pp. 14-22).