The Craft of (Re-)Presenting Musical Works

Abstract

In this chapter, I explore the encounters between music and participants in learning environments. The encounters I refer to are situations when a teacher or instructor presents music intending to involve participants in responsive activities. The activities can be dialogues about music and meaning, creative music-making or construction of performances, the writing of poems or narratives inspired by the music, creating dances based on the music or singing or playing a selected repertoire. The discussion is primarily related to music listening as a curriculum element in schools and higher music teacher education, and the chapter seeks to analyse strategies and competencies which may be defined as the craft of re-presenting musical works. The choice of the topic is motivated by Holdhus and Espeland Music in the Future Nordic Schooling: The Potential of the Relational Turn. In European Journal of Philosophy in Arts Education 2(02), 2017) who discuss general school music in the light of relationality in their article “Music in Future Nordic Schooling: The Relational Turn”. From their perspective, music educators need to achieve a greater awareness of the cultural and critical aspects of listening. They call for “a stronger focus on personal as well as aesthetic, artistic and critical listening so that pupils can relate to, interact with and discuss music in and across cultures” (Holdhus & Espeland, 2017, p. 102). This chapter seeks to investigate various perspectives on music listening by asking the following questions: (i) How can teachers relate to present day thinking about music and music education when presenting “musical works” in educational contexts? (ii) What aesthetic, musical, relational, ethical or social choices should be considered when selecting repertoires for different target groups? The questions will be discussed by referring to empirical and theoretical perspectives on the craft (or crafts) of presenting musical repertoires for various participant groups. The theoretical approach is based on research in music education and music performance. The empirical perspective draws on several examples from my practice as a music educator, primarily in higher education.