Ethnicity and Music Education

The role of ethnicity in music teaching and learning is a topic of increasing interest among music educators in the 21^st century. Recently I have been developing a chapter entitled “Ethnicity and Music Education: Sociological Dimensions” for the book Sociology and Music Education (Ed., Ruth Wright) that will be published on Ashgate Press in late 2009. Contributing authors to the book include Ruth Wright, Christopher Small, Lucy Green, Pamela Burnard, John Finney and others. I believe this will be the first multi-author book to provide an international overview of this topic by primarily European authors.

Here is a link to an article that describes a music education project among Native Americans: http://archives.dailyuw.com/2001/013001/N1.yakimafeat.html

Here is a link to a project involving Thai and Maori music educators:
http://www.drama.org.nz/ejournal_single.asp?ID=26

Hildegard Froehlich has also written a concise and unusually insightful book that provides an American perspective on the sociology of music education:

http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/academic/product/0,3110,0131776967,00.html

Here is a link to a useful resource for sociology of music education compiled by Marie McCarthy:

http://www.maydaygroup.org/php/resources/bibliographies/sociology.php

There have also been five international symposia on the Sociology of Music Education, from which conference proceedings were produced:

http://www.sociologyofmusiceducation.com/

Ethnicity is a particularly complex topic in music education that must be considered in terms of the identities of teachers, students, and even the music itself. The following organizations tend to offer relevant research studies:

Society for Ethnomusicology

http://webdb.iu.edu/sem/scripts/home.cfm

Cultural Diversity in Music Education

http://www.cdime-network.com/cdime

Asia-Pacific Symposium for Music Education Research

http://www.tmue.edu.tw/~2011APSMER/

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UPDATE (summer, 2010):

Here are some of my recent publications related to this topic:

• Heimonen, M. & Hebert, D. G. (2010). “Pluralism and Minority Rights in Music Education: Implications of the Legal and Social-Philosophical Dimensions”, Visions of Research in Music Education, vol. 15.
  

• Hebert, D. G. (2010). Jazz and Rock Music. 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. (in press, 2010). Ethnicity and music education: Sociological dimensions. In R. Wright (Ed.), Sociology and Music Education. Aldershot: Ashgate Press.

• Hebert, D. G. (2010). Educating Professional Musicians for a Multicultural Society: Emerging Issues and New Developments. In proceedings of Orally Transmitted Music and Intercultural Education, symposium offered by EU Culture Initiative Music, Orality, Roots, Europe (MORE) at Cité de la Musique, Paris, France (December 3-4, 2009) [http://www.music-orality-roots.eu/sites/default/files/MORE-Symposium1-HebertD-EducatingProfessional.pdf].

• Hebert, D. G. (2009). Rethinking the historiography of hybrid genres in music education. In V. Kurkela & L. Vakeva (Eds.), De-Canonizing Music History. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 163-184.
  

• Editor (with Sidsel Karlsen), special issue on multiculturalism:
  

Finnish Journal of Music Education, Vol.13, No.1

Congratulations to Dr. Carol Shansky

Carol Shansky has very recently completed her doctorate degree in music education with a dissertation entitled A History of Two New Jersey Community Bands: The Franklin and Waldwick Bands. This thorough and insightful study examines two of the oldest surviving instrumental music ensembles in the American state of New Jersey, with attention to how these bands transformed over time, the broader cultural forces that contributed to their sustainability across generations, and their social role as vehicles of informal community music education. Dr. Shansky is an accomplished professional flutist and experienced lecturer of college courses. It was a great pleasure to serve on her doctoral advisory committee along with her supervisory professor Patrick Jones of Boston University.

Congratulations, Dr. Shansky!


Here is the abstract of Dr. Shansky's dissertation study:

Abstract:
This research established the history of two currently operating New Jersey community bands and illustrated their roles in music education. The bands studied were the Franklin Band founded 1874 and the Waldwick Band founded 1894. The histories of these two longstanding bands contribute to the history of community bands in general and the State of New Jersey in particular. The Franklin Band is one of the oldest bands in New Jersey and has maintained a steady presence in its geographic area, with the exception two brief hiatuses the beginning of the twentieth century and World War II. In addition, ensembles that were related to the band such as a Hungarian Band and the Franklin Miners Band provided the functions of a town band elsewhere in the community. The Waldwick Bands history was less consistent than that of Franklin having been founded as a town band in 1894, it appears to have dissolved in the 1920s. The town of Waldwick experienced a resurgence of a town band in the form of an Italian Band in 1937, followed by a reformation as a fire department band in 1954 and finally as a community band in 1966. Research and reporting of this study utilized historical methods. Archives, books, newspapers, and other publications and photographs were examined. In addition, longserving and former members of both bands were interviewed to support the historical record. Background information on community bands in general was gathered by document review as well. Participation in a community band is an important resource of music education for adults and schoolaged musicians. This research study describes the successful participation of schoolage participants in two particular community bands and the implications that community band membership has for the music education of all involved in these ensembles. The long histories of these two bands illustrates that community bands have long served, and continue to serve, a valuable function in participants lives, and in the lives of the communities in which they exist. In addition, these histories reveal the roles of two particular community bands in the life and culture of their local area.


Here is a link to Dr. Shansky's website:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8wzr8/

R.I.P. Freddie Hubbard

. . . one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time passed away today.

Among Freddie Hubbard's fine recordings is his unforgettable solo on the title track to Herbie Hancock's album Maiden Voyage (1965, Blue Note Records). In the same period he also contributed some highly innovative playing to Eric Dolphy's landmark avant garde album Out to Lunch (1964). In recent decades, some of Freddie Hubbard's great recordings have been from live performances in Japan with the group V.S.O.P.

Link for more information:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/AR2008123002881.html

Music for All

Cochlear Implants may soon enable the deaf to experience music.

Below are links to some related news articles:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,24817307-5014239,00.html

http://www.theage.com.au/national/hifi-quest-is-music-to-the-ears-of-the-deaf-20081217-70tf.html

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=3&ContentID=113748

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2449228.htm

Why Become a Music Professor?

It can seem at times that the path to becoming a music professor is quite long and difficult, and that in the end it might even turn out to not be worthwhile. Why is this so?

Here, for example, is a link to Sarah Schmalenberger’s brilliant review of musicologist Henry Kingsbury’s recent book that paints an unprecedentedly bleak picture of the field of ethnomusicology (p. 38):

http://www.rds.hawaii.edu/counter/count.php?id=24

Regardless of the extent to which Kingsbury’s account may (or may not) turn out to be very reliable, his tragic reflections provide unusually penetrating insights into the kinds of formidable challenges that are too often encountered during the early stages of an academic career in music. Such writings are certainly not for the faint of heart, and should be approached with the same kind of cautious skepticism reserved for other books in a similar vein, such as Mozart in the Jungle. Still, there is something to be learned from this genre, as long as it does not inspire prejudice or paranoia among its readers, especially for those who would otherwise enter academia with naïve expectations. This genre also provides important food for thought as one strives to envision improved policies and procedures for academic governance, management, and evaluation that might prevent the recurrence of perceived injustices, whether real or merely imagined. All devoted music teachers should be given good reason to feel genuinely appreciated by their superiors and peers, and all should also give (and be given) the benefit of the doubt, rather than allowing differences to turn into destructive hostility.

It seems best to keep in mind that despite the kinds of challenges discussed by Schmalenberger and Kingsbury (from different perspectives), there are obvious signs of improvement within higher education music programs throughout much of the world, and many find that after enduring some difficulties the teaching, performing, and researching of music becomes a highly enjoyable and fulfilling profession. There are still many good reasons to become a music professor, and many prospective colleagues in the field of music who are genuinely admirable people.
* Music professors make a positive difference by helping others to better understand music and enjoy participation in musical activities, as well as by advancing their art form.

* Music professors also expand musical knowledge through research, and devise new ways to more effectively create and share music.

Here is a link to a helpful article on "employability" in the field of music:

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/subjects/palatine/Enhancing-Employability-in-music.pdf

Here is a link to an article that, although a bit simplistic at times, makes some useful points regarding the process of becoming a music professor. Its contents are particularly relevant to prospective teachers of music performance:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/434252/how_to_become_a_college_music_professor.html

Projects in Early 2009

In addition to mentoring doctoral students (who I hope to see finish their degrees soon), I will be working on several music projects in early 2009: Books, grant applications, lectures, recording sessions, program development, and research editing.

Books

I am currently writing a chapter entitled “Ethnicity and Music Education: Sociological Dimensions” for the book Sociology and Music Education (Ed., Ruth Wright) that will be published on Ashgate Press. In recent months I have completed chapters for the books De-Canonizing Music History (Cambridge Scholars Press), Music Education for Changing Times: Guiding Visions for Practice (Springer), and Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education (Rowman-Littlefield), as well as for my own book Wind Bands and Cultural Identity in Japanese Schools (Springer), all of which will be published in 2009.

Grants

In 2009 I will be applying for funding to support some Nordic research associated with the global Sustainable Futures in Music project of Huib Schippers. I am also currently designing a proposal for a multi-national research project on the use of new music technologies in targeted urban centers of Europe, Asia, and North America.

Lectures

I will be giving lectures on music-related topics in ten countries in 2009. The first of these is a keynote lecture on “How Music Education Research Approaches Music” in Orebro, Sweden for the Nordic Network of Research in Music Education. The topics of other presentations include “Virtuality and Music Education in Online Environments,” “On Maori music,” and “Institutionalizing Popular Music Pedagogy: Lessons from Jazz Education.” I am also currently planning a conference presentation in collaboration with Marja Heimonen.

Recordings

I will finally be spending some time in the recording studio in early 2009 to record several new original songs I wrote over the past few years. I am also producing some original music for New Zealand playwright Susan Battye's Telling Tales book series and singing with Kampin Laulu in a recording session for their CD on Alba Records.

Program Development

Lauri Vakeva and I have recently developed a proposal for a Master of Music degree with emphasis in popular music pedagogy, for which we will be seeking partnerships and external funding from music industry and various foundations. As a member of the GLOMUS network of Nordic higher education music academies, I am also contributing to development of a new inter-institutional Nordic Master of World Music degree.

Editing

Soon the editorial board will release a "Call for Papers" for a special issue of the Finnish Journal of Music Education on multicultural music education, for which I am serving as Guest Editor in mid-2009. I am also continuing on the Editorial Board of Research and Issues in Music Education and as Associate Editor of International Journal of Education and the Arts for at least a few more months. Alexandra Kertz-Welzel and I will also move forward with resubmitting our proposal for a co-edited book to academic publishers.

Slatkin and Music Research

A recent article in the Detroit Free Press celebrates renowned American conductor Leonard Slatkin’s premier as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on December 11, 2008: http://www.freep.com/article/20081212/ENT04/81212013/1039/ent

In the article, Slatkin, who is acknowledged as “one of the leading American conductors of his generation,” is quoted as saying, “I don’t want to hear about the impact of music education on SAT scores.” Why would Slatkin make such a statement regarding music and standardized tests? Searches through international music research databases reveal only one notable publication that discusses the impact of music education on SAT scores:

Music makes the difference: Music, brain development, and learning. Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference (MENC) 2000.

Slatkin’s remarks may be interpreted as a subtle rebuke of those who disseminate dubious and irrelevant research claims as part of their “advocacy” efforts on behalf of American school music programs. But why should the unique problems of American school music advocacy be of concern to leading musicians? It is important to recognize here that some music educators consider budget cuts to school music programs to constitute an emergency situation for which an “anything goes” approach to advocacy is acceptable. If research can be found that suggests, for example, that students will die of scurvy if they do not receive a daily dose of music education and cod liver oil, some would probably use it as a basis for their advocacy efforts to “save” music.

Slatkin seems to understand the fundamental reasons why this regrettable kind of “advocacy” is only encountered in a very specific and localized field. Most teachers of history and mathematics have never had to consider the idea of using research to justify their existence, and many music teachers in the vast majority of nations outside the United States have never heard of “music advocacy” and would probably have difficulty comprehending what it actually means in practice.

Rather than placing so much effort on advocating outdated traditional school music programs on the basis of unconvincing claims, surely efforts are better spent on transforming music programs into centers of relevant, lifelong musical activity valued by the local community.This is where researchers and music organizations should be focusing their attention.

Slatkin understands that music education is much too important to be justified on the basis of its potential to instill patriotism, to enhance test scores in mathematics or reading, or to improve the brain development of students. Slatkin also seems to recognize that some forms of music advocacy are misguided, useless and even destructive. While music research sometimes only serves to increase the division between theory and practice, it is best conducted with an awareness of the “bigger picture,” informed by the broader insights of social critics and historians, as well as expert artists and practitioners. In this way research may lead to insights that empower positive transformations, so music education is valued naturally without the need for aggressive advocacy campaigns.