The Introduction of Popular Music in School Music Curriculum - Essay Example

?The Introduction of Popular Music in School Music Curriculum In most societies in human civilisation’s timeline, there has been a great regard to various art forms, and these are often included in the daily lives of these peoples. Music is considered to be one of these important art forms that not only serve an aesthetic purpose, but also as part of the community’s culture, traditions, and spiritual living. While music is not something that everyone must do in any given society, it has been a universally-accepted truth that aside from all other humanistic artistic pursuits, music is a key universal feature in human civilisation (Green, 2003, p. 263). Such is high regard for music that long after modernisation and expansion of science and technology, there is still room for the inclusion of music in nearly every aspect of human society and culture from business (i.e. showbiz and merchandising) to social stance (i.e. music in defining political standpoint), thus it is still included in nearly every school curricula from the past to the present. Music education among various levels of schooling has been the norm for most educational systems and often lauded as a strong means of empowering and changing students and teachers (Abrahams, 2005, p. 12). Positive effects of music learning like instilling different virtues and attitudes among music students such as discipline and teamwork and improving literacy rates and increasing social awareness within the musical context are included in the many reasons why music is still a strong part of educational curricula in all levels of education despite a world-wide decrease in funds allotted for education in most nations (Philpott & Plummeridge, 2001; Tagg, 1982, p. 40). Aside from music as a universal concept and idea, it is considered a part of tradition and culture, giving people their unique identity amidst a fast-paced modern life (Lamont & Maton, 2010). Music’s importance and relevance is still recognised, and as a strong component of aesthetics music education remains to be integrated in most schools’ current curricula. At present most schools’ music curricula focus on traditional teaching music through the use of different scales, notations, sight reading, harmonisation and other musical concepts associated with traditional music lessons, along with musical styles of church hymns, orchestral and solo instruments typical of the early European classical pieces (Swanwick, 2002). While there has been observed advanced developments in other curricula such as science, mathematics, literature, and sociology, teaching methods in musical education have not changed much since the introduction of the public schooling system, making it lag behind from other fields of study. Because of this, lessons appear to focus on music that most of the younger generation consider “church music”, “old people music” or “archaic”, making them care less and deem these to be of lesser regard as opposed to say, music from the 1970’s and beyond (Jorgensen, 2003, p. 4). This way of thinking pushes the need to include other aspects of music that the present generation has greater appreciation of into the school curriculum, to increase the interest of the students in learning music and to improve their perception in learning the important principles of music as a whole (Frith, 1998). However, the fact that most academicians have less regard on popular music makes it harder to integrate this kind of music genre into an academic setting, as popular music has often been considered to be unimaginative, has lesser variation in style, timbre, etc., highly-repetitive, and comparable to mass-produced items (Lebler, 2008; Serra, Corral, Boguna, Haro & Ll. Arcos, 2012). Stigma associated with popular music does not give it justice to be taught formally to younger generations, which makes it difficult to integrate it into formal music curricula. Thankfully, there were changes in this viewpoint recently, and it is possible that through a compromise between the introduction of traditional and modern music theories and principles, it is possible to integrate popular music into any school’s curricula and improving music pedagogy as a whole. Issues in adding Popular Music to Formal Schooling Most current music curricula delve in traditional musical concepts such as scales, notations, and the rendition of classical pieces through individual or group pursuits through the use of instruments, of vocals, or the combination of the two. There are also informal learning groups, wherein aside from the principles and theories taught in the school’s music curriculum there is application of music concepts set in modern day popular genres (i.e. the formation of school rock bands, jazz bands, etc.) (Allsup, 2005). However, due to the rapid changes in music trends within recent years as well as socio-economic reasons, there has been an increased debate on how and what kind of music is acceptable or unacceptable in curricula different levels of study, with some schools leaning towards the inclusion of popular music in formal education for the students. While performing popular music in schools do not create issues for audiences, in the case of teaching or including popular music in school curricula it is often met with disapproval for a variety of reasons. For one thing, popular music composition and structure has been considered to be unorthodox since there is strong opposition of structure and forms compared to traditional and classical kinds of music, such as European hymns and folk songs which are more in-line with the academic and formal study of music (Hebert, 2011, p. 13). Another issue of the inclusion of popular music in the educational system is that in popular music, there is greater consideration for the social value of the song, its timeliness or newness, for its lyrics, and most often solely due to the artist that popularises the song, opposing the traditionally-accepted notion of learning music mostly because of the notes and not the lyrics per se (Green, 2006, p.107). Music is also considered to be an all-around emotional outlet for some popular artists, and as such the issue of censorship in some songs which have highly-explicit lyrics and suggestive themes have increased, often deemed to be unacceptable for public or classroom performance due to potential ethical issues (Lamont and Maton, 2010).Lastly, due to an increased sphere of influence in teaching various subjects such as improving the interrelations of different topics and how these can affect each other, music is now often taught not just from a musical perspective but also through a multi-cultural perspective such as in world music education, through a language and literary perspective as how literature instructors often use songs for literary analysis, and through a sociological and philosophical perspective such as the use of songs in the promotion of equality within a largely-stratified society (Philpott and Plummeridge, 2001). A need for including popular music in the curriculum evolved to teach any kind of subject through multi-perspective and multidisciplinary measures, at the same time keeping it in line with school objectives, visions, mission, and goals. This also makes it harder for music instructors to create a purpose-driven lesson plan with higher specifications as to what aspects of popular music shall be included, especially since the term “popular” itself has a very broad meaning and therefore can also have various interpretations as well (Cohen, 1993). These caused a rather slow progress in the acceptability of including popular music alongside other kinds of music (e.g. classical/Western music, traditional/folk/local music, etc.) that are often the main staple of music curricula worldwide. Pros of Including Popular Music Popular music has been gaining strong ground since the beginning of the 19th century, evidenced by the numerous genres that have evolved during its short time relative to more traditional and conservative forms of music. The introduction and proliferation of many genres such as jazz, blues, ballads, rock, country, alternative, electronic music among others have proven that musicians as artists have increased their creativity by diverging outside the walls of what most people would consider classical music (Frith, 1998). There has been an increase in music appreciation as the result of new tunes, new chords, and even newer kinds of instruments, along with technological developments in reaching a wider range of audiences. As a result, people are not limited to listening to instrumental or opera-kind of music, and they have more choices in selecting music genre to the extent that different cliques and music groups emerged from their common interests in music genre and type. Thus, it is not surprising that younger generations become less in-tune with older forms of music, basically because there is not enough avenue for the proliferation of such music, there are limits to when and how these kinds of music are performed since most older kinds of music were not preserved properly, and that there is simply just an overwhelming number of popular music in comparison to older kinds of music (Georgii-Hemming and Westvall, 2010).As such, to keep the interest of younger people in formally learning music as opposed to informal learning most music instructors and other respected music scholars propose to include popular music as a single part of the music curriculum, as a specific subject in class or as a dedicated course or specialisation in secondary or tertiary education. As absurd as it sounds to music instructors with a more formal and traditional upbringing, there are actually many positive ideas in including popular music in the music curricula. First is that music becomes a respected subject or course through students’ perspectives, wherein their interest in learning music can increase since they get a chance to discuss the kinds of music that they can actually relate to, what they hear on a regular basis, and through the basis of popularity (Jorgensen, 2003, p. 135). Due to this, students will not only gain formal knowledge of rudimentary principles in music, but they can also increase their depth of understanding of favourite music genres and not limit themselves to the beauty of the lyrics, the catchiness of the melody, or even the appearance or the personality of the singer or artist behind their favourite song (Frith, 1998, p. 54). By latching on to the mass appeal of popular music, students can become more engaged in learning other aspects of music, and music instructors can take advantage of this opportunity to improve music curricula acceptance. Aside from using popular music to engage students in learning basic music principles, the strong appeal of popular music to younger people through a collective youth culture can also be used to motivate them to learn other areas of specialisation in music, for example they may be interested on how to play various musical instruments. This is because due to the greater focus on vocals rather than the accompaniments, more and more students opt to learn how to imitate the voices of idols or popular music groups rather than delve into other aspects of popular music, such as learning how to play stringed or percussion instruments (Green, 2006). Through these processes, it is possible for students to be more involved in making music in another way by expressing themselves through music. They do not limit themselves to just singing or writing lyrics and tunes, but they can be interested in learning how chords work, how chords are played, and how these can be arranged to improve music quality and output. Apart from the direct influence of the inclusion of popular music in music curricula, its use makes the educational system more appealing and effective to a greater number of students. The idea comes from the fact that there have been positive attributes tied to the inclusion of formal music education among students, such as improved study concentration and memory, lesser dropout rates, increased discipline and self-esteem, as well as a lesser time spent under the influence of prohibited substances or mental illnesses (Allsup, 2008, p. 7; Green, 2005; Lamont and Maton, 2010, p. 70).It is possible to motivate students to go to school through certain subjects such as literature and sports due to the appeal of these subjects to literary and physical skills, and if it is possible to entice students through these subjects it is also possible to use popular music to engage them since students are still young and they might try learning new skills if something interests them strongly. As such, instructors can use the innate nature of students in learning new things by reading through their interests and integrating these into their lesson plans. Students will benefit greatly from the inclusion of popular music in the school curricula, but teachers can also reap the rewards of following current music trends and teaching these through an academic point of view. Students gain one more common ground with their instructors, making it easier for teachers to reign in the attention of students by sharing something in common (Philpott and Plummeridge, 2001, p.51).Students are more inclined to listen to people attuned with their interests, and by including something that interests them this gives teachers an opportunity to share their knowledge of the subject area and other important life lessons, which may be set aside if there are no common grounds between teachers and students. Thus aside from earning the respect and trust of the students, teachers can also have an improved self-esteem and ties with the students through the inclusion of popular music in their lesson plan and course outlines. Cons of Including Popular Music Adding popular music to music curricula may have numerous positive outcomes of its own however the cons of including it may outweigh potential benefits if not carefully studied. This is because popular music is broad, and as such complications may arise in its introduction to the classroom. The fact that popular music can be tackled under different perspectives as well as varying levels of mass appeal may become a problem with some students, as it is probable that in one particular class a certain genre of popular music may be more acceptable than another one, and the use of only a single one may cause issues such as lack of appeal within the class, similar to the problems faced by instructors in the singular use of classical or traditional forms of music in musical education (Lamont and Maton, 2010).While it is well and good that instructors include other kinds of music to be studied in the classroom, it is possible to alienate some students in the process of selecting the kinds of popular music subgenres to be presented in the class. For example, it is possible to offend some members of the class if modern gospel or worship songs are included in the course curricula or in the music lesson plan without prior notice to the kinds of students participating in the class (Philpott and Plummeridge, 2001, p.194). There is also the potential of causing negative feelings or encroachment of cultural barriers or identities if some students are suddenly forced to listen to music or songs with particular references to certain races or customs, such as the inclusion of songs with hidden agendas or propagandas (Cohen, 1993). Lastly, there is the possibility that songs with explicit or suggestive content may have an overall negative effect to students, especially among the overly-impressionable ones, and as such instructors must take full responsibility to make sure that the nature of these songs must be explained thoroughly, and that the utmost care in discussing these songs through an academic perspective be delivered in order for the students to gain as much positive associations with popular music and music education as possible(Green, 2003). Aside from the potentially negative cultural and emotional impact of the use of popular music in the school curriculum, there have also been several issues with regards to haphazardly including only a few forms of popular music in the curriculum. Thoughtless or random inclusion of any kind of popular music genre or subgenre may not only exclude some students in terms of the kind of popular music that they are interested in, but it could potentially create biases in the kinds of lessons that students may learn, which in turn narrow down their perspectives on the musical lessons that they will recall (Jorgensen, 2003, p. 136). Also, because popular music has gained a notoriety of negative attributes such as being called bland, lacks creativity and a wide range of textures, has way too-simple organisation and structure, and has lesser dynamics than older forms of music, instructors must be able to take these things into account as certain subgenres of popular music may be much harder to be explained thoroughly on an academic point of view, and in turn become much more confusing for students (Serra, et al., 2012). Thus while it is in the best interest of students to learn popular music through a music instructor’s perspective, it is also easy to become overwhelmed and confused due to the wide variety of music subgenres, especially with the rapid turnovers of the various kinds of music considered popular by young people. Aside from the abovementioned potential issues in teaching popular music, timeliness of the kind of music genre is considered to be the most important aspect of teaching popular music to younger students, and the lack of care in selecting the kind of music can cause problems since music styles not only have a wide variety but also a short shelf-life for audiences (Green, 2005, p.108).This is because the different kinds of music genres and musicians have to compete with one another to come up with something that is both trendy and unique, which will ultimately lead it to be considered as “popular” among its listeners. In relation to this, additional care must again be considered by instructors if they wish to incorporate popular music in their lesson plans, as it is possible that what sounds trendy and hip today may not be so after at least a semester or a year (Stephenson, 2013). Thus if music educators really want to include popular music in their curricula, they will be exerting greater efforts in keeping up with trends, and in doing so may put a considerable amount of time in arranging and rearranging lesson plans, quizzes, notes, and so on, which is a tedious and time-consuming process (Jorgensen, 2003, p.137). Considering the fact that classical and traditional music do not change and that popular music rapidly change within a span of a decade, there is a lesser appeal for popular music among educators since music lessons based on traditional and classical music can endure time and generations and do not need to be changed so often. As such, for popular music to remain in the music curricula there is a strong need for constant updates of lesson plans, which may not be at all favourable for some music instructors. Lastly, in line with including popular music in music education, there are also issues with instructor competency in teaching rudimentary music principles, the lack of which can affect teaching popular music as academically-oriented as possible. It is possible that due to the instructor’s competency issues, there will be strong biases towards the genres of popular music included in the curriculum, previously-mentioned to potentially cause problems in terms of introducing popular music in a broad sense (Jorgensen, 2003, p.137). While the need for music instructors to form partnerships with their students in building lessons that everyone will appreciate, the lack of a strong musical background could affect the students’ depth of understanding the kind of music that they listen to, how the various aspects of popular music are formed, and the increased sensitivity of students in analysing the important characteristics of both popular and traditional music in general (Abrahams, 2005, p. 18). Due to hurdles in handling the teaching of popular music in classrooms, it is imperative that issues be brought up and checked for valuable input to solve these potential problems in the future. Possible Solutions Music effects differ among various age groups, thus the issue of introducing popular music to a particular music curriculum may vary, making it important to take into account music students’ ages, cultural backgrounds, and so on (Green, 2006, p. 110). Considering these factors, it is important for school administrators and other officers to establish music curricula through solid and sound facets such as objectives for learning, visions, missions for the students, what students are expected to achieve other than academic performance, and other ideals. There must also be careful music selection and establishment of prerequisites or the amount of knowledge needed for students to fully comprehend or understand the lessons in the curriculum, and students must have a certain level of musical competency. Instructors must also be knowledgeable with a multidisciplinary knowledge of popular music to teach the subject as unbiased and as well-rounded as possible (Hebert, 2011).As such, solutions for dealing with the introduction and acceptance of popular music in school curricula may be utilised for its full integration into the school curricula. Three possible solutions will be discussed: the age and competency of students learning popular music; balancing the traditional/classical and popular music within the curriculum; and creating adjustments in teaching styles and methods in the classroom. Choosing Age and Music Competency Level In music pedagogy is important to know the students and identifying their ages and experiences, musical competence levels, and to what extent can they integrate fundamental and experimental aspects of music education (Abrahams, 2005, p.18). It is expected that not all students will have similar knowledge of basic music, and not everyone will have similar reception to the lessons in the curriculum. Students may fixate to only a part of the curriculum due to the disinterest in other lessons, usually from result of the lack of knowledge to other facets of music (Allsup, 2008). Thus, knowing who the students are is very important in integrating popular music with the curriculum and in the proliferation and acceptability of the music curriculum in general. It is a well-known fact that younger children are highly receptive in learning the fundamentals of music. Their minds are also more malleable and much more open to learn concepts compared to secondary or tertiary level learners (Jorgensen, 2003). Using this knowledge, instructors can take advantage by introducing them to traditional or classical forms of music along with basics such as the scales, notation reading, harmonics, key signatures, and other building blocks of music (Department for Education, 2011). While this initially seems contrary to the relevance of including popular music in the curriculum, it makes a better avenue for music appreciation by letting younger students learn music at a deeper level by studying different notes and chords, what differentiates each note from one another, why certain note successions evoke certain feelings, and in the case of traditional or native songs or music in the basic music curriculum, to understand cultural aspects and importance of learning traditional or classical music (Swanwick, 2002, p. 103). This improves young students’ depth of understanding by analysing the music deeper than just looking at the lyrics, and gaining a sense of discernment in their music preferences (i.e. choosing certain kinds of music due to rhythm, melody, timbre, etc.), not just simply following common music trends. Establishing a strong background on basic music principles and theories makes better understanding of the various genres and kinds of music, and introducing popular music as part of the music curricula brings benefits to students in secondary education since it is expected that at this age they have already encountered music in various styles and forms (Abrahams, 2005). By learning about improvisation and spontaneity in performing music, students at this age and level of music competence can understand other musical aspects like cultural and emotional motivation of compositions, while analysing these using basic and fundamental knowledge of music principles and theories (Lamont and Maton, 2010). Integrating the significance or relevance of selected musical pieces or songs, how various components of music gives it a lasting impression, and judging the song or piece if it can or not “stand the test of time” makes the study of popular music more meaningful (Stephenson, 2013; Tagg, 1982, p. 44).If students learn fundamentals of music and apply these to current musical trends, there is wider appreciation of music in general, not just any one genre of music. Balancing of Traditional and Popular Music Genres Included in Lessons Teaching music through similar and contrasting elements can provide better understanding for all age groups and levels of competencies compared with just focusing on a genre in one subject or topic of the music curriculum. This works by pointing out what brings together different genres and what differentiates them (Jorgensen, 2003, p.113). In establishing the levels of musical knowledge and competency at an early age it is important to consider teaching at most two music genres within a curriculum so students can apply rudimentary musical knowledge. It also helps them increase their sensitivity levels by analysing the rhythm, harmonics, and the dynamics of music that ultimately identify each genre, as well as allowing others to listen to music genres they would not normally hear, such as cases where some students do not listen to either classical or popular music (Green, 2003, p.267). Different subgenres of popular music such as rock or band music can be included in the revitalised music curriculum and studied comparatively or contrastingly with traditional or classical music, contributing to a dynamic learning since students can use auditory abilities honed from previous music lessons in listening to other forms of music that they would otherwise passively or immediately disregard (Green, 2005). Also, exposure to various kinds of music makes good academic discussion, sparking the creative sense of students by hearing music in a different manner, and forming social discourse by defining different music genres. Lastly, showing different music genres lets students gain music composition appreciation through a greater knowledge and understanding of how different music aspects create differentiate genres simply by changing certain musical qualities and what keeps the genre’s identity intact (Hebert, 2011).Students can appreciate certain subgenres of popular music and traditional or classical music because an academician’s sense is used in analysing the music and not just simply analysing it due to its popularity or levels of acceptability, providing a unique experience for students through objectivity and open-mindedness in observing the various popular music subgenres. Apart from aforementioned solutions, instructors must remember not to teach all popular music subgenres since popular music is dynamic, and it will be beneficial for students and instructors to limit genres in each curriculum to focus on lesson quality (Stephenson, 2013).This saves time in redoing lessons for future purposes and reduces chance of overwhelming the students, like in lessons about parallel analysis of popular music and classical or traditional music. By limiting the choices students can learn various aspects of popular music subgenres at a deeper level than either learning about popular music in general or learning about too many subgenres at a time. Adjusting the Music Teaching Methods and Learning Styles For a successful and meaningful integration of popular music into the current curriculum, effective methods and learning styles must be used in music education. Depending on the age and levels of musical experience by the students, the main objectives and expectations within the music curriculum, as well as the instructors’ levels of musical competence and their strategies in teaching music, teaching methods and learning styles may be adjusted accordingly. Music can be taught through various methods such as introducing and discussing music through a sociocultural perspective, integrating basic principles and fundamental theories and concepts in music by analysing different compositions from various genres, the inclusion of philosophical ideas while discussing musical genres and compositions, or the introduction of learning musical instruments in the learning either or both classical and popular music (Frith, 1998; Georgii-Hemming and Westvall, 2010; Jorgensen, 2003; Li, Ogihara, and Li, 2003; Stephenson, 2013). These methods may be used on their own or with other kinds of teaching methods for an enhanced learning experience. In teaching music, students may have a better grasp of lessons when having to perform lessons that they learned right away, thus during this time collaborative and group efforts such as school marching bands or orchestras can effectively develop the musical sense of younger students through experience, as well as other important non-musically related virtues such as teamwork, concentration and discipline (Stephenson, 2013). While is not recommended to totally immerse students into popular music during early stages of music education, it will do very well to include popular tunes in their routines to keep their interest intact. Once students gained sufficient knowledge in music, such as learning how to play musical instruments, they can become more interested in learning advanced music and they will have an increased morale since they can create music, not just passive listeners (Green, 2005). They will also be much more prepared for advanced music lessons involving other genres such as popular music since they have gained experience understanding the effort it takes to make music for people based on their experiences performing with other students and. This makes a well-rounded knowledge and experience, stimulating students’ desire to learn other music aspects and improve musical creativity. Similar methods can be used in teaching music under a multicultural and multi-subject perspective, but problems such as expenses may arise if musical genres in the music curriculum are not accessible, and as such it will be better to integrate cultural aspects of the music genre, further building on discussions of different kinds of music using pre-recorded audio. This may not be as effective as seeing live performances or living in certain periods but can still enrich the musical experiences of students (Philpott & Plummeridge, 2001, p.118). However, it is recommended that students must have rudimentary knowledge of music to fully appreciate the various ways popular music is composed, and to remove any initial prejudice or high selectivity in choosing which popular music subgenre to opt for, so that they will have better knowledge of analysing popular music based on various aspects. Despite different ways of including popular music in school, the fact remains that basic music knowledge will always be an integral part of the music curriculum especially when popular music becomes widely-accepted in all academic and social circles worldwide. Conclusions The long history of music education proves that even through modernisation there is still a need to preserve music learning even under the guise of tradition, culture, and aesthetics. Unfortunately, certain aspects of music education lag in comparison with other subjects such as the sciences, reducing its significance. Because of this many music instructors and scholars proposed including popular music in school music curricula, to revitalise the music education scene, to increase students’ levels of engagement, to improve certain music skills, and to instil other non-music related skills such as discipline, teamwork, memory, and concentration. It is expected that by including the kind of music most young people listen to, they will gain interest in learning more about theories and principles in music, they will have better discernment in music choices, and gaining an open mind by increasing what they consider to be “good” kinds of music. Adding popular music in school curriculum may seem like a step towards improvement, however other factors must be considered before inclusion in the music curriculum: popular music is very dynamic; has a broad range of subgenres and a very short lifespan compared with traditional music. This reduces lesson plan applicability and acceptance among young students. Also, teachers intending to teach popular music must also have a strong grasp of rudimentary music principles, so that they can teach in a deeper and broader sense, avoiding the pitfall of bias in genres taught to students. In addition, reasons for including popular music to the curriculum should define how this subject will be taught, taking into consideration their ages and levels of music expertise and experience for focused, dynamic, energised, and rewarding learning. It is possible to overcome the stigma of teaching popular music, but can only be achieved by balancing traditional and formal methods of music education with a more informal and improvised style of teaching. This is because in learning rudimentary knowledge of basic music principles, students’ can better accept and appreciate popular music beyond the beauty of melody and lyrics, become more open to other genres despite the youth’s collective culture, and become interested in the whole musical creativity process. Thus, aside from improving music education acceptability by including popular music in the curriculum, this allows the students to better analyse the kinds of music that they listen to by providing them with skills they can use, in a way empowering them to be mindful yet open-minded of the many genres of music available for them to appreciate. Bibliography Abrahams, F. (2005). The Application of Critical Pedagogy to Music Teaching and Learning: A Literature Review. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 23(2), 12-22. Allsup, R. E., 2008. Creating an educational framework for popular music in public schools: Anticipating the second-wave. Visions of Research in Music Education, 12(1), pp. 1-12. Cohen, S., 1993. Ethnography and popular music studies. Popular Music, 12(2), pp. 123-138. Department for Education, 2011. Music: Attainment Target Level Descriptions. 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