Facing the Music: Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective » (New Edition)

Huib Schippers is Director of Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre at Griffith University, Brisbane; Deputy Chair of the Music Council of Australia; and author of several Dutch books on music education including Harde Noten - muziekeducatie in wereldperspectief (Cultuurnetwerk, 2004), One Monkey, no Show - culturele diversiteit in de Nederlandse muziekeducatie. (Netherlands Institute for Arts Education, 2000), and Dundumba's in de Bachstraat - Wereldmuziek in de Muziekschool (VKV, 1993)

Facing the Music investigates the practices and ideas that have grown from some five decades of cultural diversity in music education, developments in ethnomusicology, and the rise of 'world music'. Speaking from rich, hands-on experience of more than thirty years at various levels of music education (music in schools, community organizations and professional training courses), Huib Schippers makes a powerful case for the crucial role of learning music in shaping rich and diverse musical environments for the 21st century, both in practical terms and at a conceptual level: "what we hear is the product of what we believe about music."
Advocating a contemporary, positive and realistic approach to cultural diversity in music education and transmission, Schippers advocates taking into account and celebrating the natural dynamics of music. He argues that "most music travels remarkably well", and regards every musical act as an expression of the 'here and now', as do many of the musicians and scholars he quotes. In this way, he challenges stifling directives to recreate 'authentic contexts', which in fact constantly change (and have always changed) in the cultures of origin as well. This liberates music educators to seek with integrity appropriate ways of presenting music at all levels of education: in schools, community settings, and professional training.
In seven succinct chapters that each approach the issues from a different angle, Schippers gradually unfolds the complexities of learning and teaching music 'out of context' in an accessible manner, and presents a coherent model to approach these, as well as lucid suggestions for translating the resulting ideas in practice. While mapping the various factors that determine all acts of music transmission, he also comes to surprising insights into the nature and preconceptions underlying much formal music education settings across the world, including those focusing on western classical music.
Facing the Music provides a rich resource for reflection and practice for all those involved in teaching and learning music, from policy maker to classroom teacher.

Foreword Patricia Shehan Campbell vii

Prologue: Facing the Music xv

1 Journeys in Music: An Auto-Ethnography 3

2 Positioning "World Music" in Education: A Conceptual History 15

The Term World Music 17

Cultural Diversity and Musiculturalism 28

Cultural Diversity in Music Education 32

Ethnomusicology 36

Conclusion 39

3 The Myth of Authentic Traditions in Context: A Deconstruction 41

Tradition 42

Authenticity 47

Context 53

4 Global Perspectives on Learning and Teaching Music: An Analysis 61

Explicit and Implicit Foci 65

Approaches to Learning and Teaching 75

Conclusion 87

5 Communities, Curricula, and. Conservatories: A Critique 89

Informal Music Learning and Teaching 92

Formal Music Education 101

Conclusion 116

6 Toward a Global Understanding of Learning and Teaching Music: A Framework 119

Applications of the Framework 125

Conclusion 136

7 Music Cultures in Motion: A Case Study 137

World Music Education in die Netherlands 138

Example 1 Djembe for Western Amateurs 142

Example 2 Balinese Gamelan in Teacher Training 151

Example 3 Indian Music As a Degree Course in a Conservatory 158

Conclusion 165

Epilogue: Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective 167

Appendix A Emergency Guidelines in Case of World Music 171

Appendix B Sample Questions for Interviewing World Musicians on Learning and Teaching 173

Appendix C Example of a Series of Classes on World Music with a Thematic Approach 175

Appendix D Five Domains of Musical Sustainability in Contemporary Contexts 180

Appendix E The World Music Adventures of Primary Teacher Ms. Benson Patricia Shehan Campbell 182

Glossary 185

Notes189

Bibliography 199

Index 215