Popular music pedagogy

Popular music pedagogy — alternatively called popular music education, rock music pedagogy, or rock music education — is a development in the field of music education consisting of the application of the systematic teaching and learning of popular music both inside and outside formal classroom settings.^[1] Some popular music pedagogy tends to emphasize group improvisation,^[2] and some is associated with community music activities than fully institutionalized school music ensembles.^[3]

The origins of popular music pedagogy may be traced to the gradual infusion of rock music into formal schooling since the 1960s (in the UK, the USA, and elsewhere), however it has expanded as a specialization to include the offering of specialist degree programs — including graduate degrees — in institutions of higher education.^[4] Some notable community institutions, such as Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Seattle's Experience Music Project have also contributed to the development of popular music pedagogy through symposia and educational outreach programs.

The UK has pioneered the teaching of popular music, the first degree programme beginning as early as 1994 at Salford University, and postgraduate programmes developed for example at the Institute of Popular Music at the University of Liverpool. There are now more than 76 popular music studies related degree programmes in the UK^[5] This large number has been triggered by the UK government making popular music a core part of schools music provision through the Curriculum 2000 developments. Popular music is also commonly taught in German speaking countries ^[6] and in Ghana, for example.^[7] It is also increasingly common in Australia. However popular music courses tend to be based in newer institutions, rather than older more traditional ones, which often still tend to focus principally on classical music.

Degree programs

Numerous institutions worldwide now offer popular music pedagogy as a component of their degree programs. The following is a partial list of institutions that offer advanced degree programs in popular music pedagogy and related fields:

Australia

• Griffith University (B. Popular Music)

Denmark

• Rhythmic Music Conservatory

Finland

• Sibelius Academy

Ireland

• Cork School Of Music

Norway

• University of Agder, Department of Popular Music

The UK

• Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
• University of Huddersfield
• University of the West of Scotland

The US

• Berklee College of Music
• University of Southern California

The Netherlands

• Fontys Rockacademie, Tilburg
• Academie voor Popcultuur (Academy for Pop Culture), Leeuwarden

See also

• Music education
• Musicology
• Ethnomusicology
• Popular music
• Cultural studies

References

Bibliography

The following are some notable publications in this field:

• Around the Sound: Popular Music in Performance, Education, and Scholarship - symposium proceedings (2001, Seattle: University of Washington Publications, for the Experience Music Project),
• Cooper, B. Lee & Condon, Rebecca A. The Popular Music Teaching Handbook: An Educator’s Guide to Music-Related Print Resources (Libraries Unlimited, 2004).
• Davis, Sharon G. "That Thing you Do!: Compositional Processes of a Rock Band". International Journal of Education and the Arts 6 no. 16 (2005).
• Hebert, David G. "Originality and Institutionalization: Factors Engendering Resistance to Popular Music Pedagogy in the U.S.A.." Music Education Research International 5, pp. 12–21 (2011).
• Hebert, David G. & Campbell, Patricia Shehan "Rock Music in American Schools: Positions and Practices Since the 1960s." International Journal of Music Education 36 no. 1, pp. 14–22 (2000).
• Lebler, Don "Popular Music Pedagogy: Peer Learning in Practice." Music Education Research 10 no. 2, pp. 93–213 (2008).
• Oehler, Susan & Hanley, Jason "Perspectives of Popular Music Pedagogy in Practice: An Introduction." Journal of Popular Music Studies 21 no. 1, pp.2-19 (2009).
• Rodriguez, Carlos Xavier (Ed.). Bridging the Gap: Popular Music and Music Education (2003, MENC).
• Stimeling, T. & Katz, M. "Songwriting as Musicological Inquiry: Examples from the Popular Music Classroom." Journal of Music History Pedagogy 2 (2011).
• Tønsberg, Knut. Value changes in Norwegian music education. From increased acceptance of rock to a reduced status for classical music? Nordic research in music education. Yearbook Vol, 14. 145-166. (2013).

External links

• International Society for Music Education
• MayDay Group
• International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM)
• Experience Music Project
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
• Dr Fung's International Music Education Links
• Visions of Research in Music Education