World Music Education Research Articles

KARL ORFF AND SHINICHI SUZUKI ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD MUSIC EDUCATION

In this article the authors consider pedagogical concepts of Karl Orff (Germany) and Shinichi Suzuki (Japan), regarding music education of young children. As is known, they dedicated their lives to the musical and aesthetic education of children and made an invaluable contribution in world music pedagogy. Leading scientists and researchers highly rate their activities. The article presents an analysis of scientific sources, brief biographical data and information. In particular, it is reveals that the creative atmosphere in his family influenced the becoming of K. Orff as a composer, musician and teacher. The desire for improvisation, composing music, poems and stories, staging theatrical performances became the core that contributed to the emergence of an integral system of music-aesthetic education of children called «Orff-pedagogy». Its basic principle defined by the concept of «learning-doing creating». Various types of musical activities, on which he relied in his work, aimed to emotional-creative and moral-aesthetic education of the younger generation.The uniqueness of Suzuki's method emphasized by the necessity of forming creative activity in the process of musical-performance activity, in particular, in playing the violin, from the earliest childhood. The materials of the article also allow us to understand that Suzuki's "method of talent education" implies: reliance on the belief, regardless of the child's capabilities, that every child has musical abilities; manifestation of the teacher's love for young performers; training them to creative labor; joint work of the teacher and parents in the musical education of children; manifestation of care and mutual assistance.In spite of the fact that K. Orff and S. Suzuki are representatives of different ethnic groups, cultures and traditions, but their pedagogical views have much in common. This is, above all, the manifestation of great love for children, the desire to bring them up to be creatively active not only in the process of communicating with music, but also in their relationship with the world around.

Sounds of Wisdom: Unveiling the Hidden Pedagogical Power of Musical Instruments of World Music Ensembles

This article explores the transformative power of musical instruments on pedagogical strategies within music ensembles, with a focus on world music ensembles at the tertiary level. Drawing from my unique perspective as an international graduate student in the U.S. and having had no prior exposure to world music ensembles, I share my experiences with the saron metallophone from the Javanese gamelan and the mṛdaṅgam, the principal rhythmic instrument of South Indian Karṇāṭak music ensemble. I argue that the interaction of sound between instruments and learners offers a deeply enriching, immersive educational journey. Recognizing this sonic interaction broadens our understanding of world music education and suggests that instruments inherently carry pedagogical value. By embracing this notion, educators can cultivate a more holistic teaching methodology, enhancing the pedagogical landscape within and beyond world music ensembles.

Learning Wagogo (Nindo) Music: Pathway Through World Music Pedagogy

In East Africa, Tanzania’s musical expressions are rich and varied, and typically a combination of music and dance. A description of Nindo, a multipart vocal music form of the central Tanzanian Wagogo community, is provided, and a tribute is offered to the legacy of an important village artist, Mchoya, of the musical form that is begin continued by his progeny. A learning pathway, following the dimensions of World Music Pedagogy, is outlined for experiencing Nindo, and resources and references are recommended for teachers to facilitate listening, viewing, singing and dancing, and developing intercultural understanding.

Part 1: Learning Korean (Samulnori) Percussion: Pathway Through World Music Pedagogy

Energetic and electric, samulnori is a contemporary formalization of traditional Korean percussion music known as p’ungmul. A description will be offered of the music, and of key musician, Master Kim Duk Soo who has dedicated himself to the design and dissemination of this highly regarded genre. A learning pathway on Korean traditional samulnori, developed to encompass the five dimensions of World Music Pedagogy, is detailed, and resources and classroom adaptations of instruments are provided.

World Music Pedagogy and Building Empathy in Early Childhood

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of one music teacher (the researcher) and two intact classrooms of 3- to 6-year-old children who engaged in world music lessons as a pathway to developing empathy. Participants in each of the two classes engaged in a 30-minute world music lesson once per week for 8 weeks, and each lesson included a different musical culture. Data sources for this study included semi-structured interviews with early childhood center directors and teachers. Further data included transcripts and video recordings of class sessions, researcher field notes, childcare center curriculum documents, and planning documents. Findings indicated that this world music-based approach was successful in generating curiosity about the world, making empathetic connections with others, navigating new and different sounds and experiences with respect, and inviting children into the role of expressing empathy.

Aspirations and limitations: the state of world music education in secondary schools in multicultural Manchester

AbstractThis article examines the state of world music education in secondary schools in Manchester, analysing school curricula and exam specifications alongside interviews conducted with teachers. World music occupies a significant position in music education at Key Stage 3, but its scope becomes progressively limited at higher levels. While teachers recognise the benefits of world music education for promoting cultural understanding and social inclusion, they struggle to maintain it throughout their programmes because of barriers related to examinations, teaching materials and school resources. This creates a dysfunctional learning trajectory that discourages students from studying music, particularly disadvantaging those from weaker socio-economic backgrounds. Nevertheless, teachers’ perspectives, often overshadowed by government policy, evidence strong aspirations to implement multicultural music education in practice.

THE PROBLEM OF FORMATION OF SKILLS AND ABILITIES IN MUSICAL AND COMPUTER ACTIVITIES OF MUSIC TEACHERS: DIDACTIC ASPECT

The rapid development of digital technologies, the disclosure of their new possibilities and ways of application in music education, actualizes the problem of the formation of specific skills and abilities of musical teachers necessary for the effective use of the latest achievements of music and computer technologies in educational practice. The article provides an overview of the positive experience illustrating the use of digital technologies in the system of world music education. The list of skills and abilities necessary for musical teachers for the successful implementation of musical and computer activities in the course of professional pedagogical practice has been determined. A didactic complex was proposed, the content of which includes a multimedia workshop, a multimedia manual, an educational website and an electronic textbook. The pedagogical potential of this complex is considered in the formation of such skills as typing musical text in a photographic editor; creating a computer arrangement and its subsequent artistic processing; making sound recordings; development of digital didactic technologies for subsequent implementation into the music education system. Special attention is paid to the approbation of the author’s complex in the training of future music teachers, the positive results of which are presented in the article. It is noted that its use is advisable not only in professional musical and pedagogical training, but also in the system of professional development in the process of continuing education of practical teachers.

Playing with A Different Beat: The Whitening of American Steelband

Although academic discussions of whiteness in music education have been prevalent for over a decade, critical examinations of whiteness in world music education have been disproportionately lacking. One specific world music ensemble that warrants examination is the steelband within American schools. The steelpan was introduced in the United States in the 1940s–1950s, and currently there are over 750 known school steelbands in the US. Many of these school ensembles have unintentionally distanced themselves from West Indian community ensembles and AfroTrinidadian traditions. In this paper, I explore the “whitening” of American steelband through ethnographic research conducted as a participant-observer. Through analysis of fieldnotes, interviews with participants, and current steelband resources, I examine approaches to pedagogy, membership, and performance. The article concludes with implications and recommendations for US-based steelpan ensemble directors and other world music ensemble directors.

A Survey on Chinese Music Teachers’ Attitudes towards World Music Teaching

This study used a questionnaire as a research instrument to investigate the attitudes of 1 368 Chinese primary and secondary school music teachers towards world music teaching. The questionnaire includes single- and multiple-choice questions. It was used to examine the music teachers’ definitions of ethnomusicology and world music, their understanding of the major rationales for world music teaching, the world view of music, and the purpose of world music education, teaching approaches, and effective teaching activities as they perceived, and the challenges faced by Chinese music teachers in world music teaching. The results showed that Chinese music teachers did not have a clear and profound understanding of the aspects examined above. Instead, the teachers are more influenced by Western centralist values. They are less affected by ethnomusicology, which interprets human music from a cultural perspective, and multicultural music education. In general, the music teachers lacked confidence in teaching world music.

From Veracruz to Los Angeles: The Tradition of Son Jarocho

The African Mexican music tradition of son jarocho comes from the Veracruz region of Mexico. As a performance practice, son jarocho has strong ties to social justice and civil rights, and is a thriving genre both in Mexico and in the United States. This article includes teaching suggestions for guitar or ukulele lessons in general music settings for elementary or middle school level students. The phases of World Music Pedagogy are applied to several son jarocho resources.

World Music Pedagogy: Gateway to Global Citizenship and Children’s Creative Impulses

In this article, we seek to examine ways in which educators can bring music of world cultures into classrooms of children in a respectful, sensitive manner. Myriad issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the center of the conversation among music educators across the globe. As educators are committed to issues of globaliation, social justice, and cultural democracy, we intend here to discuss World Music Pedagogy (WMP) as a means of fostering children’s musical and cultural awareness in embracing both local and global communities. These involve careful considerations, as WMP is a multi-dimensional learning process that recognises the importance of deep and reflective listening as gateway to knowing the music in order to participate in it, to perform it, to create new works within the style of the studied music, and to know its cultural meaning, context, and function. Lastly, we present three “classroom portraits” through activities with examples from Brazilian, Ugandan, and Canadian Arctic Indigenous cultures that can open pathways that lead learners to a comprehensive experience with music in and as culture.

Demystifying World Music Education: From Guiding Principles to Meaningful Practice

Over the past several decades, music education scholars have put forth a variety of convincing rationales for world music education. Yet the gap between theory and practice in this area persists. In theoretical ways, practicing music educators acknowledge the value of world music learning experiences, but many remain reluctant to fully embrace and embody this approach in practice. Through this article, one practicing general music educator shares her personal experience of writing, implementing, and subsequently observing another music educator use a new world music curriculum resource, inspired by the music traditions of the Fon people in southern Benin. As our understanding of world music pedagogy continues to evolve, more practicing music educators should share their unique perspectives and experiences. These “snapshots” from the field can help other (perhaps more hesitant) music educators envision what this pedagogical approach might look like in their own classrooms.

Into the mystic: lived experiences of world music pedagogy programmes

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this autophenomenography was to explore our lived experiences in three world music pedagogy programmes. We participated in three different world music pedagogy programmes in the United States and Ghana. We gathered data through field notes and researcher journals, and by collecting interviews of other participants and programorganizers. After emergent category coding with constant comparison and dialogue, we explored salient related literature in order to root our findings in music education discourse and to find points of agreement or tension between what has been examined and our own lived experiences. Our findings are presented as thematic strands of experiencing the dynamically sublime, struggling with p-prims, engaging in comparisons of spiritual and social mores, exploring the sense of identity and community, and bringing learning home.

The Moral of the Story

How can we make ethnomusicology truly matter and, more specifically, how can we at once build upon and transform its traditions in order to make it a more relevant, impactful, and humane discipline? These are the central questions addressed in this article, which was originally presented as the keynote lecture at the British Forum for Ethnomusicology’s (BFE) annual conference in 2017. The work is organized in four sections. The first deals with world music pedagogy, the second with the music and culture of Balinese gamelan beleganjur, the third with the author’s collaborations with funk music legend George Clinton, and the fourth with his research on the ethnomusicology of autism. “Tradition today”, the conference theme of BFE 2017, provides the conceptual groundwork for this wide-ranging exploration, which is further unified by Bakan’s choice of topics and issues deriving from his principal areas of research, teaching, and musical activity. The examples set forth are used to advocate for more engaged, activist, and representational (as opposed to representational) approaches in ethnomusicology.

Folk Lullabies as the Resources for World Music Education

Folk Lullabies as the Resources for World Music Education

Theoretical Significance and Practical Value of Xinjiang Multicultural Music Education in Primary Education

The multicultural music teacher is now one of world music education’s hot topics that have the significant value significance in the Xinjiang multicultural music education in the primary education specialty implementation. As the primary education specialty in music education, must base under the multicultural music education field of vision, the national music took a part, strengthens the student to this national music culture sympathy, raises its esthetic consciousness lets various national outstanding culture be able to inherit and to develop. The present paper in view of the current primary education specialty in music education existence question, proposes the multicultural music education in the primary education specialty implementation theory basis and the suggestion.

Instrument-making as music-making: An ethnographic study of shakuhachi students’ learning experiences

Instrument-making is a powerful way to teach and learn music, especially world music. This case study looks at adult music learners whose engagement in music involves instrument-making and the long lasting practice of music. A case in point is Japanese and North American practitioners of Japanese bamboo flutes, especially the end-blown shakuhachi. Informants in this ethnographic study were involved in the organic process of harvesting bamboo, making instruments, and performing music on self-made instruments. Findings indicate that instrument-making contributed to the formation of attachment to the instruments, the development of place-based musical thinking, and the creation of an enriched music-learning environment. Through the examination of an existing model of sustainable musical engagement, this study proposes a world music pedagogy that begins with instrument-making.

Performing Tolerance and Curriculum: The Politics of Self-Congratulation, Identity Formation, and Pedagogy in World Music Education

Performing Tolerance and Curriculum: The Politics of Self-Congratulation, Identity Formation, and Pedagogy in World Music Education

Steps Toward Gaining Knowledge of World Music Pedagogy

This article presents steps toward gaining knowledge of world music pedagogy for K-12 general music educators. The majority of the article details steps that invite engagement within everyday contexts with accessible resources within local and online communities. The steps demonstrate ways general music teachers can diversify and self-direct their professional development. A later section outlines long-term strategies. This section focuses on interaction with people in the immediate and broader community to develop world music pedagogy curriculum projects.

Smithsonian Folkways

This column describes multimedia resources available to teachers on the Smithsonian Folkways website. In addition to massive collections of audio and video recordings and advanced search tools already available through this website, the Smithsonian Global Sound educational initiative brought detailed lesson plans and interactive features to the fingertips of teachers and students. Smithsonian Folkways Certification Courses in World Music Pedagogy are also discussed.