Sociomusicology: A New Philosophy of Music Education

12/18/25

A New Philosophy of Music Education

Our latest book will finally be published in the coming months, A New Philosophy of Music Education for the Era of AI.

As artificial intelligence (AI) more deeply impacts many aspects of education and the arts, we are hopeful that this book will become a helpful resource for teachers of all kinds.

This original monograph is the outcome of a long-term collaboration with Professor Jiaxing Xie, an ethnomusicologist and music teacher educator who worked for years in Beijing as Director of the Chinese Music Research Institute of China Conservatory, and recently published an 18-volume encyclopedia on the history of Chinese musical thought.

Here is a summary:

This book outlines a philosophy of music education that is responsive to the age of artificial intelligence. Against the background of AI's challenges to human modes of production, the authors demonstrate how music education can become a tool for self-discovery in this transformative era. Taking the approach of a dialogue between Chinese and Western perspectives, the book addresses the relationships between the social functions of music education and individual development in different historical periods, and envisions the potential role of music education in a new environment shaped by AI. Integrating insights from recent research, it establishes a forward-thinking philosophy of music education that is oriented towards self-discovery and grounded in science. Bringing together philosophical perspectives from Chinese and Western scholars, this book shows how integrating these perspectives can clarify the values that shape music education practices, and enable scholars and educators to better address contemporary issues in the teaching of music.

Prof. Pamela Burnard (Cambridge University) also wrote a beautiful Foreword for this book. Detailed information is available on the Routledge website.

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Welcome to Sociomusicology

For nearly 20 years (since 2007), this website has offered musings on contemporary society and its music by David G. Hebert, PhD. He is a sociomusicologist specializing in global music education who has held academic positions with universities on five continents. Dr. Hebert is now a tenured full Professor with Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen. There he leads the Grieg Academy Music Education (GAME) research group and manages the multinational government-funded Nordic Network for Music Education, which organizes annual intensive Master courses and exchange of teachers and students across eight countries. He is also an Affiliated Professor with both University of the Faroe Islands and Kyambogo University (Uganda), and an Honorary Professor in China with the Education University of Hong Kong.

Professor Hebert's research applies an international-comparative perspective to issues of pluralism, identity, and cultural relevance in music education, as well as processes by which new music traditions emerge and change - both sonically and socially - as they are adopted into institutions. Born in the 1970s, he is among the most widely-published and globally-active music scholars of his generation (h-index:22), with professional activities in an average of 8 countries per year across the past decade (2008-2020).