ISME 2010 in Beijing

The 2010 world conference of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) will be held in Beijing in a few weeks. I am already on my way there - going early to Japan and China - and making final preparations for some conference presentations. Below are the abstracts for two of my presentations, the second of which is an international symposium I will be chairing. I have been asked to participate in two more presentations as well, but it is not yet clear how some scheduling conflicts will be resolved. It will be exciting to learn of new developments in the field from across the world, particularly China which is experiencing so much growth in recent years.

Paper Presentation: On the Musical Instrument Industry and Music Education in Japan

Abstract:
Much has been written in recent decades about the need for music education historians to expand their scope of inquiry to include consideration of the sociocultural, economic and political contexts of music teaching and learning. In many nations, the music industry has largely shaped the emphases of both school and community-based music education, yet its influence has only rarely been considered in historical accounts. Taking a social historical approach, this paper examines the rise of the musical instrument industry in Japan during the early twentieth century, as well as its ongoing relationship to music education that extends to the present day. Japanese music companies with a global impact will be discussed, including Yamaha, Kawai, Korg and Roland. Positions espoused by notable Japanese music industry leaders regarding music education and cultural policy will also be considered in relation to music education practices in and outside of Japan. The paper will conclude with some suggestions for how relationships between music industry and music education practices can be meaningfully examined through coordinated and innovative approaches to historiography.


Symposium: International Perspectives on the Teaching of Keyboard Improvisation

Abstract:
Keyboards are ubiquitous in music education, as the most popular instrument used in music teaching worldwide. Many different music genres feature improvisation, yet techniques for effective teaching of basic keyboard improvisation are often little understood by music teachers and only rarely bolstered by research findings. This international symposium addresses this challenge by offering demonstrations from Germany, Finland, and the United States that effectively integrate research and practice in the field of keyboard improvisation. Brief description of the current state of theory and research findings related to keyboard improvisation pedagogy will be followed by discussion of common challenges faced by keyboard teachers who seek to integrate improvisational activities into their instruction. The presenters will offer practical solutions and effective approaches to meeting the instructional needs of beginning keyboard improvisers.

Mapping Historical Ethnomusicology

I recently learned that my paper on theory and method in historical ethnomusicology has been accepted for the upcoming meeting of the international organization Society for Ethnomusicology, which will be held at UCLA in November, 2010. Below is the abstract for that paper:

Mapping Historical Ethnomusicology: Definitions and Debates

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, historical ethnomusicology has been identified by several scholars as an emerging subfield of ethnomusicology. An active Historical Ethnomusicology Special Interest Group has developed within the Society for Ethnomusicology, yet an array of contradictory positions have also been advanced regarding the extent to which all ethnomusicological scholarship might be seen as “historical” and whether such a specialized subfield as historical ethnomusicology should even exist. How might historical ethnomusicology be meaningfully defined in relation to ethnomusicology proper, and what arguments serve as the foundations for various positions on such a question? What kinds of ethical and epistemological issues are encountered in historical studies of diverse musical traditions that differ from that of fieldwork on contemporary musical practices? In terms of research methodology, what kinds of data collection and analytical strategies are unique to historical studies; and in terms of theory, what might historical ethnomusicologists learn from recent debates in historical sociology, cultural history, philosophy of history, and related fields? Such questions will be considered in relation to the author’s own research in several nations as well as three recent doctoral dissertations on historical topics for which the author served as either supervisor or committee member. The outcome of this discussion will be a conceptual mapping of the intellectual antecedents of historical ethnomusicology, as well as a critical interrogation of some possibilities for the future of this developing field.

The above paper extends further on ideas developed in a paper entitled "Whither Hypermusicology: Ethical and Epistemological Issues in Historical Ethnomusicology" that I gave in March 2010 at another international conference in Finland: Musicology in the 3rd Millennium. The abstracts for that conference can be obtained HERE.

At the conference in UCLA, I will also be leading a meeting of the society's Historical Ethnomusicology special interest group.

Philosophy of Music Education

The 20th anniversary symposium of the International Society for Philosophy of Music Education began today in Helsinki. Here is a link for further information: ISPME.

The International Society for Philosophy of Music Education is a professional scholarly organization that is "devoted to the specific interests of philosophy of music education in elementary through secondary schools, colleges and universities, in private studios, places of worship, and all the other places and ways in which music is taught and learned."

I reviewed paper submissions for this symposium, served as ISPME's webmaster, and will Chair some sessions and serve as a Respondent for a paper presentation.

Keynote Speakers and Special Guests include:

Philip Alperson (USA)

Tia DeNora (UK)

Estelle R. Jorgensen (USA)

Hermann Josef Kaiser (Germany)

Michael L. Mark (USA)

Frede V. Nielsen (Denmark)

Suvarnalata Rao (India)

Thomas A. Regelski (USA)

Marie McCarthy (USA)

Music in Norway

Life is full of interesting surprises. I am looking forward to a discussion with music teachers in Norway in just a few days. Here is a rather mysterious image of Bryggen - a photo I took the last time I was there. Somehow its curious lines remind me of abstract art, and I can only imagine all the stories accumulated in these historic wooden buildings.

Music in Southern Mississippi

Back to the USA . . . I have been offered a new position in the United States as Associate Professor with the School of Music, University of Southern Mississippi. My job will be leading the school’s PhD program and teaching graduate research methods seminars and other courses. USM is a state funded institution located about 80 minutes north of New Orleans that has a strong history for music programs (including winds, jazz, and music industry studies), is nationally designated as a research-extensive university, and has a tenure (permanent employment) system. The School of Music at University of Southern Mississippi is the only doctoral-degree granting music school in the state, and the university is considered a leading research institution of the Gulf South region. In this position I will also plan development of a unique research center to support the music education PhD program, focused on the theme of originality in music, including globally-significant genres that first originated in the southern Mississippi region, such as blues, jazz, and rock and roll.

MISSISSIPPI is actually a very important place for music, as the source of innovative performers that have forged new styles and made a substantial impact on music in much of the world. Musicians from Mississippi include leading blues performers Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Bo Diddley, W. C. Handy, Howling Wolf, John Lee Hooker and B.B. King, pioneers of rock and roll Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, jazz legends Lester Young, Hank Jones, and Gerald Wilson, contemporary jazz masters Tom Malone, Mulgrew Miller, Mose Allison, and Cassandra Wilson, pioneers of country music Jimmie Rodgers and Charley Pride, renowned songwriters like Jimmy Buffett, and even revered art music composers such as William Grant Still and Milton Babbitt.

University of Southern Mississippi is ideally situated - in the original heartland of American musical innovation - for studies of American music traditions that will be of interest to musicians and educators in other parts of the USA and the rest of the world. For anyone interested in the roots of blues, jazz, or rock, this is a perfect setting for research.

Recently, Mississippi also seems ripe for new initiatives in the areas of educational and cultural policy that could be supported by music education research. For decades, the state has experienced economic and educational challenges, with the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line in the USA and low ratings for basic educational achievement. Music education research studies may help to turn this situation around by developing more effective ways of capitalizing on the rich and unique cultural heritage of this area, which has impacted much of the world through music. Research in music education may also inform the development of innovative, culturally relevant forms of education that motivate students for higher levels of academic achievement.

Hopefully the experiences of developing intercultural music programs in Europe, indigenous/minority music education in New Zealand, community music in Japan, and online doctoral education in Boston may aid as I work with others to envision some new possibilities for music education in Mississippi, as well as opportunities for effectively sharing the important musical achievements from Mississippi with the rest of the world. USM has outstanding facilities, and will be an excellent place to host conferences and symposia on such topics as music education, sociology of music, popular music pedagogy, American music studies and ethnomusicology.

This is an exciting new opportunity and I am eager to work with the students and world-class music faculty at University of Southern Mississippi.

Master of Global Music Program Set to Begin

On Friday, the last of the auditions for the new Nordic Master of Global Music program were completed. The following audition dates were offered for applicants who passed the first phase of the GLOMAS admissions process:

• Malmö Academy of Music, (Sweden): Friday, May 7.
• Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus (Denmark): Tuesday, May 11.
• Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (Finland): Friday, May 21.

It was encouraging to see several outstanding students apply to the GLOMAS program, with an especially large number at the Sibelius Academy. Auditioning students came from a wide variety of musical and cultural backgrounds, including a flamenco guitarist with experience playing the Arabic oud, a Kurdish-Swedish saz player, a Danish singer and dancer who has lived in Ghana, a Danish avant garde trumpeter with experience in Indian music, a Tanzanian drummer and dancer, a Finnish harpist-songwriter, a Swedish-Finn who plays Brazilian percussion, a Slovenian violinist, and a Finnish kantele player, to mention but a few. The admissions decisions will all be formally announced within the next few weeks.

Part of my job at the Sibelius Academy in recent years has been to coordinate the development of this new program, including its curriculum and admissions/auditions process. As of this week, the preparatory work will finally all be complete and the new program will be fully ready to be launched in August. It was exciting to serve on the adjudication panel at each of these three institutions during the past few weeks, and to see first-hand the broad range of talented musicians interested in this new international-collaborative joint Master program.

More details regarding this new program are described in the following open-access publication:

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].

Below is more information regarding this program, as explained on the Master of Global Music (GLOMAS) program website:

The Master of Global Music (GLOMAS) is a joint study programme offered in collaboration between higher education music academies in three nations: Royal Academy of Music (Aarhus, Denmark), Lund University, Malmö Academy of Music (Malmo, Sweden), and Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland). The programme leads to a Master degree according to each institution’s regulations and national legislation. GLOMAS is a highly innovative, interdisciplinary programme that is responsive to new needs arising from globalization in the field of music. The programme emphasizes development of “bimusical” performance skills (typically within at least two traditions from different parts of the world), as well as studies of topics relevant to the career of a professional musician, including such areas as musical leadership and instructional skills, project management, and applied research.

Graduates from this Master degree programme will demonstrate:

(1) a high level of comprehensive musicianship that transcends cultural boundaries,

(2) knowledge of both traditional and contemporary hybrid music genres, in and outside of Europe,

(3) an ability to effectively lead music ensembles, communicate and teach music across a diversity of formal and informal settings, and

(4) an ability to successfully develop, document and manage intercultural music projects.

The GLOMAS programme seeks to play a transformative role at the level of both individual students and Nordic society, by broadening musicianship and enhancing both intercultural understanding and lifelong music learning, inside and outside of schools. This new postgraduate program seeks to foster innovative forms of intercultural musicianship, and is inspired partly as a response to music globalization, as well as the rapidly changing student demographics in urban schools within the Nordic region.

Click here for further information: http://glomas.net

Southern Roots of World Music

A common observation made by travelers to various parts of the world is that American music seems to be encountered virtually everywhere – not just the most recent popular songs, but classic recordings of early blues, jazz, and rock and roll, as well as the vast array of newer genres with roots that are traceable to these original traditions.

It is striking how much of the music enjoyed in so many parts of the world today has been influenced by sounds that may be traced to the southern Mississippi region, the original birthplace of blues and jazz.

Music may be rightfully regarded as the most significant American cultural export, since even Hollywood movie production is increasingly rivaled by regional industries, such as India’s Bollywood genre and Hong Kong’s action/martial arts films, as well as enormous multi-national productions (like Avatar and Lord of the Rings, which were partly made in New Zealand), and we must not forget that many Hollywood movies also feature American roots music as well as themes derived from American music.

Blues, jazz, and early rock and roll pioneered the use of highly danceable, groove-based song forms structured with chordal harmony as a backdrop for sophisticated improvisation by both vocalists and virtuoso instrumentalists. While some would still insist that aspects of European art music are more highly developed, it cannot be denied that each of these American genres - particularly jazz - clearly served as some inspiration to the majority of major European art music composers (as well as popular music performers in much of the world) during the twentieth century, and the value of this music is increasingly recognized worldwide by musicologists in the twenty-first century. Further research is needed on how the richness of this unique musical legacy – and its global impact – is effectively taught at all levels of formal and informal education.

Below are links to some of my 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.

· 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).