The Expectations and Development of Trans-musical and Bi-temporal Competence for Musician-teachers: An Autoethnographic Perspective

Abstract

This autoethnographic article begins with a brief survey of some cross-cultural perspective based on diverse but collaborative authorial backgrounds in musical education from Africa and the United States, respectively. They describe their music teaching experiences and the changes they have made in their knowledge, skills, and preferences in music cultures and teaching methodology to succeed in their respective teaching positions. Their paper argues for keeping children at the heart of debates linked to their development. Towards this end, they contend that, instead of students adapting automatically to their teachers’ music culture, music educators expand their knowledge, skills and preferences to include the enculturative music preference of their students. Such an approach avoids enculturational discontinuity, particularly disrupting the cultural continuity of lifelong learning in music, as in case of the effects of colonialism and cultural marginalisation have had on educational curricula. In addition, we adjusted our teaching methodology to include more student-centred, participatory, collaborative instruction. This article, therefore, advocates for providing students with opportunities for contributing to research development, gaining experience with issues involving cultural policies and for reinterpreting and recirculating examples of contemporary global forms of music in addition to creating and expanding music-making in their music culture. The article, therefore, recommends for the preparation and certification of trans-musical and bi-temporal music educators.