From the Melting Pot to Cultural Pluralism: General Music in a Technological Age, 1892–1992

Abstract

Some 148 miles east-northeast of Ithaca one hundred years ago this past July, the Music Department of the National Education Association met. In the Second Presbyterian Church in Saratoga Springs, NY, music teachers and others interested in music education convened on July 14-15, 1892, for two days of paper reading and discussion much like the meetings being held here in Ithaca this week. To get a flavor of the similarities and differences between the meetings in Saratoga Springs and the meetings here, it might be helpful to take a little closer look at that program. (1) Then as now leaders in music education read papers. In Saratoga Springs, Nathan L. Glover of Akron, Ohio, presided and gave the opening remarks. Other presenters were George C. Young of Wichita, Kansas; Arnold J. Gantvoort of Piqua, Ohio; Philip C. Hayden, then of Quincy, Illinois; and Benjamin Jepson of New Haven, Connecticut. Many people attending the meetings responded to the papers. Of these, one name in particular stands out: Hosea E. Holt of Boston. Church and state separation was apparently not an issue, as the teachers met in the Presbyterian Church. The pastor of that church opened the first session with a prayer. Musicians performed solos and small ensembles throughout the program, including one noteworthy recital by Victor Herbert on the cello following President Glover's opening address. (2) It is clear from reading the papers and resolutions of the 1892 meetings that music educators were very much concerned with sightsinging, vocal pedagogy, and music appreciation. All the papers and most of the discussions mentioned sightsinging directly or indirectly. The members attending the sessions expressed their ideas in a set of resolutions: First. Sightsinging, that is, the thinking of musical tones in their scale and harmonic relations, the thinking of rhythm, of tone lengths, and the quick perception of the signs which stand for these definite mental concepts, should be taught in the primary grades, and made the basis of all work in music. Second. Good quality of tone should be sought in all exercises and songs; and the voices of children should be protected from injury by avoiding the extremes of high and low pitch, or of loud and soft singing, and by securing distinct articulation. Third. Correct intonation and blended voices in part singing should be developed. Fourth. Musical taste should be cultivated by the use of best music in all grades. Fifth. Emotional or expressive singing should be secured. (3) A survey of the history of general music from 1892 to the present might start with the state of affairs as expressed in Saratoga Springs and proceed through the years to look at key people, places, and ideas. Among the most important ideas are goals and objectives for general music classes, materials, equipment, and facilities for those classes, and teaching procedures (methods or techniques) and evaluative measures used in them. Underlying one hundred years of development are two profound influences. The first is an evolution--some would call it a revolution--from the metaphor of the melting pot to the idea of cultural pluralism. The second major influence on general music education over the past century has been the development of technology. These two influences often worked independently, but they also worked in concert to shape the course of music education history, particularly in the area of general music. (4) Cultural pluralism--or multiculturalism--has been significant in American history since the earliest immigrations of European settlers and their African slaves in the land of the Massachuset, Delaware, Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, and countless others. Even the Europeans came from Spain, France, England, the Netherlands, Sweden, and elsewhere. They also held to diverse creeds of Judaism, Puritanism, Catholicism, Quakerism, and many more. In the closing years of the nineteenth century, many observers of racial and ethnic diversity used the metaphor of the melting pot. …