Music Appreciation As An Opportunity For Inclusion, Diversity, And Democracy, Dr. Carol Shansky

When inclusivity, diversity and democracy are discussed in music education our focus is on the welfare and experience of our students. This is important, of course, as those that may have been marginalized in the past should be and feel included and those privileged in the past can only benefit from this interaction.

I argue, however, that our repertoire and our academic work has not kept pace. Of course, many school concert programs are increasingly populated by arrangements of music from other cultures and there is an effort to incorporate world instruments in music classes. Here, I focus in particular on what we are teaching in Music Appreciation classes, particularly in high school. Most textbooks that support this subject are really western music history surveys, with some sidebars that highlight world or popular musics. In addition, many well-meaning teachers believe that this is what the objective should be of a class such as this. All of this just underscores the lack of inclusion, diversity and democracy in what we teach by elevating western classical music to the primary landscape of the book or class. In that case, to “appreciate” music really means to be versed in the achievements of a group that is often not representative of those in our classrooms. I do not suggest that we not teach our students the innovations of Bach, Beethoven or Brahms, but instead encourage music educators to draw connections between the music that students listen to and music to which they have not yet been introduced.

But shouldn’t the school music classroom be a place where students learn about music that they don’t otherwise encounter? Don’t their science and history classes do just that? After all, how many students are conducting experiments at home or studying World War I in depth while hanging out with friends? A silly argument, of course, because schooling is supposed to expand your knowledge. Frankly, every time someone follows a recipe in the kitchen they are conducting a form of chemistry, for instance. A music class should also seek to expand and build on your knowledge, but not to the prioritizing of some musical styles over others.

Many music teachers report aggravation over how to teach Music Appreciation as their students find the classical music focus boring and unrelatable. How can we show them the beauty of Bach and the profundity of Beethoven without losing them by the third week? What really is the point of this class? What can possibly be accomplished in the time frame of the class? My intention here is to spark your imagination about the possibilities for a more inclusive and diverse Music Appreciation class and my suggested exercises are just that; suggestions that may guide your thought process.

Music is found in cultures world-wide, so why not start with why people engage in musical practice starting with the students in the room? It’s unlikely that students do not listen to some music. What are they listening to and why? To increase inclusivity and democracy is to let the students take the lead in examining their own musical experiences and preferences. What do they want to learn about music? What are they curious about? Besides in their ear buds, where else do they encounter music? This can lead to rich discussions and paths to follow.

Dr. Carol Shansky New Jersey City University Jersey City, NJ

Democracy assumes some measure of independence but at the same time requires positive group effort, including the exchange of diverse ideas and opinions as well as a group decision on how to proceed with a problem. This can be achieved through the creation of a musical composition. But, can we “let” our students do this if they have no musical background? How does one conceive of a musical composition? Using sampled sounds, students can work in groups to determine the order of sewing those samples together, thereby having an initial experience in composition as well as employing critical group practice. An aleatoric project would accomplish this as well. What you are teaching them is to begin to understand the music composition process, how their favorite music may have come about in addition to learning to respect diverse opinions and experiences through a democratic process.

I like to approach music appreciation using themes that group different musics by what they have in common. (Full disclosure, I authored a textbook with this approach, but it is not my aim here to sell it. If you are interested, feel free to reach out to me). In this approach your students would study different types of music genres by what they have in common, rather than separating them because of how they’re different.

Here are some ideas: • Music and Storytelling: Looking at music that has a narrative reinforces skills learned in the English classroom, as well as compelling students to listen carefully to lyrics to determine if there is truly a narrative in place. Music Appreciation textbooks often include Schubert’s “The Erl King.” It certainly is a great piece and one worth introducing to your students. What is fascinating about it is how Schubert uses musical devices such as vocal range and tonal centers to reinforce the telling of the story. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels and the folk song, “Barbara Allen” are also examples of narrative in music. How do they, like Schubert, create a sense of place (the bluegrass violin provides the setting and the nature of folk singing gives us focus to feel inside the story). Using this concept as the central focus, your students not only learn about vocal range, tonality and the role of the accompaniment, but also folk and country-rock styles. By studying these varying pieces of music in tandem, you make democratic the learning experience. As musicians, we are familiar with the concept of program music wherein there are no words to tell the story and it is communicated through the instrumental writing. Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” is a wonderful example, and we can be more inclusive and diverse by including pipa music from China, with a piece such as “Ambush on Ten Sides.” • Music and Politics: I mentioned teaching music appreciation in high school at the start of this article. We want our high school students to be paying attention to politics and music, especially popular music, which has held a role in politics for much of its history. This is a great opportunity to discuss what popular music is and its role throughout human history. The “L’Homme Armé” song may be best known to music majors as the cantus firmus of Masses, but in fact the original song from the Renaissance period is possibly making a political statement about the Crusades as it may well have been sung by knights returning from the Holy Land. Historians are not sure about the meaning of the text, though, and its vague nature would open a chapter into text (lyrics) interpretation and could apply to some of Bob Dylan’s rich lyrics of the 1960s. American presidential campaign song history starts with our first president and the antiwar movement of the late 1960s to the early 1970s and is famous for the role music held in swaying public opinion. What is the role of music in our politics today? What are the issues, how does music today use the visual medium to make its point? Compare that to popular songs published during World War I and the nature of the sheet music cover art. If you’re concerned that you haven’t included classical music, an examination of the use of Wagner’s music by the Nazis is replete with political intent and Britten’s “War Requiem” was a statement on the

futility of war and the destruction it causes. Closer to home, “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” by Penderecki is a statement on nuclear war that still resonates in today’s political climate. National anthems are a form of political music and the recent anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner” produced excellent materials that would make a great chapter as would the story of the South African and German national anthems, both of which had to go through transformation after societal and political upheaval. • Music and Drama: What is the musical that is going to be produced at your school this year? What is the background, who is the composer and what other musicals did they score? What is the nature of the alternation between dialogue and songs? What is the role of the dance aspect? This chapter is also an excellent chance to introduce aspects of opera, but again, alongside similar characteristics of musicals so that students can go from something more familiar to something possibly more remote. Given the basic structure, have your students construct their own opera, using existing music. This engages them to think about the connection between the song, narrative and action. Opera is not an exclusively Western form, however. Chinese opera and Japanese Kabuki are fantastic to see visually and would open your students’ ears to unfamiliar melodic and harmonic approaches. • Music and Commemoration: We honor our war dead with “Taps,” but it is a song with a history that is well worth studying. Classical composers such as Mozart and Verdi wrote Requiems and rock artists like Eric Clapton and Billy Joe Armstrong have composed personal songs of memorial. Study such as this can open a dialogue about how and what music represents us. What does the band play at the Memorial Day parade? How has parade music changed over the years? Marching is something the students are doing and it would be interesting for them to learn about the history of bands in our lives.

These are but a few ideas and I’m sure that you can come up with your own as well as creative group exercises to support them. Catering the curriculum to be more inclusive would enable you to take advantage of topics in the school’s curriculum. Can you connect with the History, English or Modern Languages faculty and coordinate your lessons? Would a history teacher want to work with you on songs from the Civil War? If you were to do a chapter on songwriting, for maybe an entire semester, would someone from the English faculty be interested in helping with poetic verse?

This approach would also enable you to engage with music practitioners in your community. What better way to address diversity than to invite someone from outside the school to present their music to your students? If students have a relative that is engaged in musical practices from another country, you would increase inclusivity by having that person in.

A thematic approach to music appreciation is, to me, one of the best ways that we can model inclusion, diversity and democracy. When students study different musical traditions side-by-side, the playing field is leveled and a type of democracy in learning is achieved. You are telling your students not only about important musical traditions, but demonstrating no judgment about what is “good” or “bad” music.

I hope that this article has spurred thoughts about the ways to approach Music Appreciation and excited you about the possibilities of a class such as this. See where it leads you!