Global Music and Global Perspective of Music Education

Global Music and Global Perspective of Music Education by Dr. Lily Chen-Hafteck,

CMEA Global Music Education Representative

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives like never before. Among many topics that we have to address now as music educators, the subject of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has emerged as one of the top priorities. The Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the increase of anti-Asian hate crimes due to the origin of the pandemic have raised our attention to the inequalities that the racial minorities of our nation have been facing for centuries. One way that music educators may address such challenges can be through providing the opportunities for students to learn about the music and cultures of the world, and thereby deepening their understanding and appreciation of diverse music and cultures.

At this time of history in America, in which we are facing tremendous pressure to tackle problems relating to racism, there has been some prominent criticism of the term ‘World Music’ in the music industry. Kalia (2019) reported that some of the popular musicians and leaders in the music industry felt that ‘World Music’ is no longer appropriate in labeling the kind of music they produce. The original intention was to allow the music from other cultures to change our world view, and to accept what was once perceived as ‘exotic’ sound into the world of music. Yet the musicians in recent years have cross-pollinated styles so much that the sounds are contemporary rather than ‘exotic’. Moreover, the term ‘World Music’ has created a distance between western and world music by ‘lumping together anything that wasn’t deemed to be from a European or American tradition’. Some artists even called it racist. As a result, the Grammy Awards category of the World Music Album has been changed to Global Music Album (Aswad, 2020). The Recording Academy Board indicated that this is a more inclusive term that represents the diverse communities, symbolizing ‘a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk, and “non-American” that the former term embodied’. Global Music implies that musical cultures do not have borders. A lot of interconnectedness can be found in Global Music, resulting in a fusion of sounds originating from diverse cultures in modern music (Aswad, 2020).

These intense discussions on ‘World Music’ and ‘Global Music’ in the field of music industry are all very interesting. They are the results of the critical reflections of musicians in addressing DEI in popular music performance and production, based on the current trend of the market in music business. In music education, we have advocated for the study of music from diverse cultures of the world for many years. The purposes behind studying music of diverse cultures are very different from those behind producing music from world cultures for sale. Therefore, we need to examine these discussions more closely and determine what position we, as music educators, should take that is most appropriate for our profession.

The three main rationales of introducing multicultural music in school have been discussed by Fung (1995). They are the social, musical and global rationales. The social benefit of studying world music includes developing multicultural awareness, understanding and tolerance among the students, both of their own cultures as well as the cultures of the others. Moreover, opportunities to experience music from diverse cultures allows students to explore a broad range of materials rather than being limited to any one particular musical style. This can expand students’ musical knowledge and skills. Furthermore, since music is a phenomenon practiced by people from various cultures, the study of world music can enhance sensitivity to cultures in a global context and develop a global view of music and humanity among students. Therefore, the significance of promoting such a perspective on music and cultures is an important consideration for music educators. Studying multicultural music can help students in achieving it.

Schippers (2009) also expressed the need of shaping music education from a global perspective. He identified four approaches to the study of cultural diversity in music, that ranges from ethnocentrism to global understanding. Monocultural approach uses the dominant culture as the only frame of reference while multicultural approach recognizes different peoples and musics, allowing them to lead separate lives. Intercultural approach involves contacts and exchanges between cultures while transcultural approach provides an in-depth exchange of ideas where different musics and approaches are of equal footing. With an understanding of these four levels of approaching the study of music and cultures, music educators will be able to facilitate student development of a global perspective to learning music. The goal is for students to