Appropriation vs. Opportunity
What must be done in music classrooms in order for band directors to engage in the culturally relevant teaching that Ladson-Billings (2006) advocates? According to Mills (2011), although the traditions of several cultures have contributed to the development of a distinct American, music classrooms in our schools continue to reflect a white, Western, European image. What steps must be taken by teachers to ensure that students are receiving an equitable, socially just, and well-informed music education?
In terms of repertoire, there are two tools that band directors can use in order to provide culturally relevant introduction: music from other cultures and music about other cultures.
Generally, it is difficult within the time allotted between marching band competitions, district festivals, winter and spring concerts, parades, and football games to shy away from the band medium and explore mediums and traditions from other cultures (by other, I am referring to things that are not Western art music from European tradition). Collegiate percussionists, for example, often immerse themselves in the steel band traditions of Trinidad and Tobago, the gamelan traditions of Indonesia, the drumming traditions of West Africa, the taiko traditions of Japan, and much more. However, secondary schools also do not have the resources necessary to equip students with the instruments and materials that are essential for performance of these international mediums.
In most cases, having the opportunity to perform things such as gamelan music and taiko music in a high school setting is practically unheard of solely because of the nature of the instruments that are required. However, for the sake of comprehensive music education, students at the middle and high school level should be exposed to these musics from other cultures. In the event that Latin and African traditions, for example, are capable of performance, it is imperative that the music teacher provides an informed instruction of the culture.
This is where the dichotomy of appropriation versus opportunity comes into play. For example, adding bongos to a piece of music does not make it Caribbean. Uninformed and misdirected instruction of music from non-Western cultures prolongs the appropriation of those cultures in our society. In order for students to benefit from the opportunity of learning and performing diverse styles of music, the traditions must be taught explicitly and correctly. Music teachers must see this need for informed culturally relevant music pedagogy as an ethical necessity that provides students with the equitable education that is part of their human right (Ladson-Billings, 2006). Interestingly, there have been noteworthy composers from non-Western cultures in the recent century that have written music for the band medium. However, not many distinct connections are made between the culture's traditions and the band tradition, which just eventually leads to these works being labeled as more Western art music.
On the other side of the coin, and perhaps ironically, Western composers have attempted to express the true traditions of other cultures in their works for the band medium. One of the greatest examples of this scenario is John Barnes Chance's Variations on a Korean Folk Song, which is considered to be one of the greatest masterworks of band literature. Pieces such as this are easily accessible and significant tools for engaging in multicultural education.
What must music educators do to ensure that study and performance of band music about other cultures fosters opportunity and not appropriation? A study conducted by Mills (2011) examined the absence of fragments of historical information in certain presentations of Appalachian music. This research found that the elements that African-Americans contributed to the development of Appalachian music (e.g. the banjo) were often forgotten or ignored. Therefore, it is imperative that pre-service music teachers are equipped with the content knowledge necessary to present accurate representations of cultural traditions.
For a piece like Chance's Variations on a Korean Folk, although the score requires traditional instruments of the European concert band, therein lies a glorious opportunity for genuine multicultural and culturally conscious music education. An informed study of the Korean folk song, the nature of the tonality, the history of the temple blocks, and other elements of the piece will provide the director with a chance to explore the Korean culture. Performing a work like this without further examining the culture it is intended to represent would be a negligence to the students.
After a music educator provides his or her students with an equitable, just, comprehensive, multicultural, and well-informed music education, another opportunity emerges as a result. Reflection on this issue should easily remind directors of the endless repertoire of multicultural works for band that exists. Thus, music education is one of the most overlooked opportunities to explicitly and correctly teach and expose cultural traditions. When these conditions occur, music education becomes a vehicle for the development of transformationalist citizens (Howard, 2006) who not only become color-conscious but strive to discover new cultures and break down institutional walls of inequity.
In terms of repertoire, there are two tools that band directors can use in order to provide culturally relevant introduction: music from other cultures and music about other cultures.
Generally, it is difficult within the time allotted between marching band competitions, district festivals, winter and spring concerts, parades, and football games to shy away from the band medium and explore mediums and traditions from other cultures (by other, I am referring to things that are not Western art music from European tradition). Collegiate percussionists, for example, often immerse themselves in the steel band traditions of Trinidad and Tobago, the gamelan traditions of Indonesia, the drumming traditions of West Africa, the taiko traditions of Japan, and much more. However, secondary schools also do not have the resources necessary to equip students with the instruments and materials that are essential for performance of these international mediums.
In most cases, having the opportunity to perform things such as gamelan music and taiko music in a high school setting is practically unheard of solely because of the nature of the instruments that are required. However, for the sake of comprehensive music education, students at the middle and high school level should be exposed to these musics from other cultures. In the event that Latin and African traditions, for example, are capable of performance, it is imperative that the music teacher provides an informed instruction of the culture.
This is where the dichotomy of appropriation versus opportunity comes into play. For example, adding bongos to a piece of music does not make it Caribbean. Uninformed and misdirected instruction of music from non-Western cultures prolongs the appropriation of those cultures in our society. In order for students to benefit from the opportunity of learning and performing diverse styles of music, the traditions must be taught explicitly and correctly. Music teachers must see this need for informed culturally relevant music pedagogy as an ethical necessity that provides students with the equitable education that is part of their human right (Ladson-Billings, 2006). Interestingly, there have been noteworthy composers from non-Western cultures in the recent century that have written music for the band medium. However, not many distinct connections are made between the culture's traditions and the band tradition, which just eventually leads to these works being labeled as more Western art music.
On the other side of the coin, and perhaps ironically, Western composers have attempted to express the true traditions of other cultures in their works for the band medium. One of the greatest examples of this scenario is John Barnes Chance's Variations on a Korean Folk Song, which is considered to be one of the greatest masterworks of band literature. Pieces such as this are easily accessible and significant tools for engaging in multicultural education.
What must music educators do to ensure that study and performance of band music about other cultures fosters opportunity and not appropriation? A study conducted by Mills (2011) examined the absence of fragments of historical information in certain presentations of Appalachian music. This research found that the elements that African-Americans contributed to the development of Appalachian music (e.g. the banjo) were often forgotten or ignored. Therefore, it is imperative that pre-service music teachers are equipped with the content knowledge necessary to present accurate representations of cultural traditions.
For a piece like Chance's Variations on a Korean Folk, although the score requires traditional instruments of the European concert band, therein lies a glorious opportunity for genuine multicultural and culturally conscious music education. An informed study of the Korean folk song, the nature of the tonality, the history of the temple blocks, and other elements of the piece will provide the director with a chance to explore the Korean culture. Performing a work like this without further examining the culture it is intended to represent would be a negligence to the students.
After a music educator provides his or her students with an equitable, just, comprehensive, multicultural, and well-informed music education, another opportunity emerges as a result. Reflection on this issue should easily remind directors of the endless repertoire of multicultural works for band that exists. Thus, music education is one of the most overlooked opportunities to explicitly and correctly teach and expose cultural traditions. When these conditions occur, music education becomes a vehicle for the development of transformationalist citizens (Howard, 2006) who not only become color-conscious but strive to discover new cultures and break down institutional walls of inequity.
Reference List
Howard, G. R. (2006). We can't teach what we don't know: White teachers, multiracial schools (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). “Yes, but how do we do it?” Practicing culturally relevant
pedagogy. In Landsman, J. & Lewis, C. (Eds.) White Teachers/Diverse
Classrooms: A guide to building inclusive schools, promoting high expectations,
and eliminating racism (p. 29-41). Sterling, V.A.: Stylus Publishing
Mills, S. W. (2011). Challenging exclusionary paradigms in the traditional musical canon: Implications for music education practice. Version of record published in: International Journal of Music Education, 29(4), 374-386.
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