Report of the Task force on the Undergraduate Music Major
(Published by the College Music Society)
Read pp. 1-40, 57 -end.
NOTE: You will probably want to print this and use your highlighter!
What parts of the reading do you agree with? What parts do you disagree with?
If you could have designed the theory requirements for your undergraduate degree program, what would it look like? Consider: 1.) core classes 2.) required upper-division classes 3.) Elective upper-division classes. Keep in mind that there still needs to be room for your other required classes and that the degree should fit realistically into four years.
NOTE: It will be very helpful if you do this in outline form using a word processor, then paste it here with appropriate line breaks so it's easy to read.
“To be sure, the TFUMM report and vision at times assume an activist tone that may feel unfamiliar to musical academe and that may be disquieting to some readers.”
ReplyDeletePardon my sarcasm authors, but I didn’t notice… When I read the opening paragraph of this “manifesto” and read a buzz word meant to illicit certain ideals and philosophies, “SOCIAL JUSTICE,” there immediately was a bad taste left in my mouth for the rest of the paper.
Frankly, I agree with the notion that we need to have more improvisation and creation happening in the music curriculum at all levels. If one consults Bloom’s taxonomy of learning, the highest levels are those dealing with creation and synthesis. Musicians I believe are at their highest level of achievement if they can apply musical skills learned to composing and improvising in a wide diversity of styles including Classical European, Jazz, Pop and if desired Rock, Rap and beyond.
BUT to put forth that we need to change the foundations of music theory to be politically correct and contribute to “ecological and cultural sustainability and social justice.” Really? REALLY? We teach and learn at the tertiary level concepts such as how harmonies fit together, counterpoint, phrasing, and form which all ties into how music is fundamentally created. Maybe we can add courses or integrate into existing music history courses what is happening culturally with music around us in modern times BUT PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW WHAT WE DO IMPACTS ECOLOGICAL OR SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES. Making connections between written music and these issues is one thing but trying to impact them is a completely other idea altogether.
With that being said, I can agree with this statement “’Options’ does not mean obliteration of what is currently in place; it is simply a way of addressing the need for diversification for those who view this as important, and for enhancing student ownership and sense-of-being around whatever pathway they choose, as opposed to having limiting pathways imposed upon their learning. Empowering students to discover their own learning styles and artistic aims and chart their developmental trajectories accordingly must be considered among today’s most important educational goals, regardless of discipline.” YES choice is a wonderful thing for students and more options would be wonderful.
Another notion I can get on board with is more integration of African music and its influence on Jazz and further developments until today. In fact I can wholeheartedly agree that this influence on music and our current pop culture has been severely lacking. I think adding classes dealing with African and Afro-Cuban music among others can and should be achieved by lessening “general” education requirements and credit hours.
In conclusion, yes I believe that there is a change that needs to happen, but we can’t believe that we are some sort of social-political force here to change the world. We are here as music teachers. Our future musician students can do what they want to change the world. It is OUR job to give them the building blocks, knowledge and concepts to be competent musicians in whatever field that they choose.
Forgive me for the pun I'm about to use (and I frankly hate this expression), but I'm glad this struck some chords with you. I honestly agree with you on the "social justice" piece, but my interpretation of it is the: To give students more options in the degree program is to give them more practical and feasible career options after graduation, which is--in short--to act ethically.
DeleteSo if one defines "social justice" --albeit broadly--as "doing the right thing," then it kind of works.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of things in this reading I agree with. I think the emphasis on students learning in a relevant, contemporary way is very important, but it is also important to not abandon teaching fundamentals and harmony to a certain extent. I also agree with the stress on multicultural learning. The manifesto is absolutely right that some students never leave their campuses to learn more about other cultures. It is disturbing to think that people with degrees in music have never spent significant time exploring music of other parts of the world. I agree with the concept of “streamlining” as well, but it seems like a lofty goal. It would take years and years to restructure curriculums, and there is no way that everyone in the field would agree on what is most important.
ReplyDeleteThis document is really inspiring, but it also reminds me how 8 people can meet for 18 months and write 60+ pages and never see anything as a result. It’s pessimistic, but it’s true. I might just be in a negative mood right now, but I think by the time curriculums are restructured across the board, there will either be more changes that need to be made in the areas of electronic music and other technologies, or music programs will have evaporated all together. The knowledge base will never stop growing for music, and there will always be a desire to change the curriculum, if there is one.
CORE CLASSES
Of course, I think theory is a very important core class, but in a perfect world, there would be different approaches to theory. At Appalachian, they offered a pop music-based class called Contemporary Musicianship to the music industry majors, which was great. Unfortunately, this class did not count toward other degree tracks, even though industry students were invited to move on to theory 2 when they finished their required 2 semesters of CM. It seemed that those classes could be more beneficial to a lot of students, especially in music therapy and jazz. It would also be nice if education majors had a more pedagogy-focused class and performance majors had a more repertoire-focused class. But, this required additional faculty, which means more money, which no one has.
Music history could also be offered from different perspectives, but presents the same issues. I think it’s important for history to be taught chronologically, which is often not required.
REQUIRED/ELECTIVE UPPER DIVISION CLASSES
I actually really like what YSU does with UD classes. Students are required to take them, but they have options for what to take, and they are welcome to take more than required. As far as which classes are offered, I think it’s important for classes to be chosen based on the faculty. Classes should be offered with the most qualifiedand passionate professors to teach them. For example, you wouldn’t want someone teaching Shenkerian with little experience or interest in the subject. Same with Theory Ped. You wouldn’t want a wet noodle teaching this class, it would be boring and students wouldn’t gain much from the class. I like the idea of both students and faculty being interested in the classes they take/teach.
MA: "This document is really inspiring, but it also reminds me how 8 people can meet for 18 months and write 60+ pages and never see anything as a result."
DeleteJR: Sounds like you're ready for a career in mindless bureaucracy--oops, I mean academia.
MA: "there will either be more changes that need to be made in the areas of electronic music and other technologies, or music programs will have evaporated all together. The knowledge base will never stop growing for music, and there will always be a desire to change the curriculum, if there is one. "
DeleteJR: Dude, did you just turn into a grumpy old man??
Yes, I have often thought that the Contemporary Musicianship Class offered at App should be THE Musicianship Class.
DeleteMy standpoint is that skills taught in musicianship classes, classes based on what I get the feeling the TFUMM considers completely out-of-date and inconsequential, are a set of universal fundamentals of understanding for us all as musicians to learn that are still essential and valuable. The world is changing, it's true; but society and art have been in a state of consistent change since the beginning of mankind. There is nothing new under the sun in this regard. This does not, however, change the importance of the rich history of music, and the conventions that we all operate under as musicians.
ReplyDeleteHarmony, voice leading, knowledge and theoretical constructs and organization of music of the past and other fundamentals such as these are still essential to being musicians (people that perform/ make music, to be as explicit as possible). It is easy to gather a committee and discuss and diagnose what ails the music community and publish said grievances. To offer valid, valuable and viable methods is another. With that the TFUMM has entirely missed the boat. I can see how this manifesto could be considered disquieting or confusing to the music community as a whole (I myself just find downright disheartening) because I find the core principles of some of the major suggestions made in this publication to be strikingly absurd.
LMJ: "...because I find the core principles of some of the major suggestions made in this publication to be strikingly absurd."
DeleteJR: Can you give some examples?
I agree with the spirit of what you're saying, but what about the ethical onus--if you think there is one--of providing students with a broader range of career options? I suppose it comes down to the philosophical question: Is college for mind expansion or for job training. Ideally, it's both. But how do we balance those two concepts within a four-year degree?
DeleteI was very pleased to read that this “task force” is taking into consideration the ever changing world that the professional musician is exposed to. Specifically when the manifesto mentioned “the task force considered the role of musicians in public life and the way in which the curriculum might better reflect relevant needs, qualities, knowledge, and skills … Factors include an expanding, interconnected global society with its cross-cultural influences, crossover stylistic expressions, electronic as well as acoustic performance and production, advances in technology, access and transmission afforded by the internet and digital media, and growing creative impulses for many real world musicians in the form of improvisatory and compositional endeavors” - my eyes immediately lit up.
ReplyDeleteFrom this point, I was really engrossed in what the manifesto might present and I agreed with most of what it had to say. I firmly believe that the goals of a curriculum should be as culturally diverse as the students that may and will be a part of it. It should be geared toward the advancement of the student as well as the advancement of the field. Exploring music from a multicultural level introduces not only elements of music history, but also ethnomusicology. (I know that this branch of musical study is of high interest to me, but is not always touched in today’s curriculum.) Like Nick, I’m not sure how I feel about the “social justice” issue. I think that what we do impacts cross-cultures in a different way; perhaps a more positive way?
Music as a whole has developed and will continue to develop with the introduction of new technology and teaching methods. However, I must agree with Meredith where she mentions that we should not move away from the fundamental basis that music has offered us over the years. I believe that the old should merge with the new. Fundamental based methods could be upgraded and applied to modern music, in a way reaching back to the past to enhance the future.
I agree with how the task force identifies the current state of music education. The implementation of new media and technology is not only relevant but is alluring to a perspective college music student. Even in my own experience, the skill of improvisation was never required of me. Improvisation is a very marketable music skill and yet it was not part of my curriculum. I consider the education that I am receiving now is adequate for a classical instrumentalist like myself but in the modern world of music, knowledge of a computer application like ProTools would also be very useful.
ReplyDeleteEven though there should be a push to be as progressive in music education as possible, the traditional model could work for certain people more than others. It depends on what that particular student would like to study most. Say you're a flute player and you want to play in a symphony, you need to learn those excerpts and there's no time for improvising. Specializing in one particular little thing and becoming very good at that one thing can lead to a lot of success. Music is so diverse and the education needs to reflect that diversity. I think that if every school offered the same thing, then that is when you would see a decline in admissions. My theory is that the more variety of options that are offered to a student would increase enrollment in music programs across the board.
I think the theory curriculum should reflect what area of the music industry the students hopes to succeed in. All programs should have contemporary theory as well as traditional theory offered but they should also encourage the student to pick one to stick with and specialize in. With that being said, obviously some schools would have a better program in the certain music field that interests a student more than another school whose program might not be as accomplished. On a personal level I feel my core theory classes prepared me for what I want to do, my only complaint is that I did not learn enough contemporary music theory. As far as required and elective upper-division classes, I think a couple cool classes would be an advanced sight-singing and keyboard course and jazz theory course. I think these classes would be beneficial in multiple music study areas and especially for performance majors.
“This document summarizes key issues under review by TFUMM…” To be honest, I found this line funny. Summary would not be the word I would use to describe this 63 extensive “manifesto” about transforming music study from its foundations. I agree with an immense portion of the beginning of this book. “When these tendencies are reversed, the three core pillars of a transformed model – creativity, diversity, and integration – come into mind”. The authors believe that these three “core pillars” are a deficiency when it comes to music education. “That the majority of music students graduate with little to no experience, let alone significant grounding, in the essential creative processes of improvisation and composition represents one of the most startling shortcomings in all of arts education.” This statement shocked me a bit truthfully. In my opinion, we music students at YSU have been given multiple different opportunities to create and improvise music. The students in our jazz band are given chances to improve music on their instruments. In Instrumental Music Education, we study jazz band and do a few class sessions about improve. In fact, we have a full jazz method class that encourages the students to improve on a weekly basis. When it comes to creating music, we have multiple opportunities as well. Overall, I feel as if that statement cannot be completely true for most music schools or students. However, I agree that creativity and improve should be a large portion part of the music education for students. The next part of the core pillar that is a deficiency is “the ethnocentric orientation of music studies, which carries with it enormous societal ramifications”. The authors state that students get little hands on experience “in music beyond European classical repertory”. This statement again shocks me. I have experience with music in different countries from different time periods. This could possibly be the same for other schools and be a portion of the music history sequence if not anything else. The same could be said for performance ensembles where they would perform different music from different countries. The last deficiency is “pervasive fragmentation within the curriculum and organizational structures of music school”. This is the first deficiency that I think could truly be a problem. The structure of curriculums and schools can cause a problem when it comes to students and their learning. However, there are ways for the teachers to collaborate and work together to make a working school system for students to contextualize what they have learned in their classes and use it in their performances and such.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I believe that the authors suggest many different approaches to help reform the core musicianship. “The first involves a theory/aural skills class based on the principles previously described, where jazz, popular, global and European classical practices and materials are integrated with improvisatory, compositional, and rhythmic studies and other skill development”. I like the idea of incorporating more international type music. However, that could conflict with the music that the students already have to learn within their curriculum. However, incorporating them more into history courses and theory classes, students can get the inclusion that is thought to be helpful for the students. “If theory and music history were conceptualized in an integrated fashion using perspectives advanced by TFUMM, opportunities would arise for richer, deeper, more rigorous …” however, this is a difficult process to teach to students.
Overall, this article was interesting to read and opened my eyes to how some authors think about with music school education. However, I think some of the thoughts they have about music school is generalization and underestimates what some music schools actually teacher their students, and that is what makes YSU a great music school.
The reading gave me much to think about in terms of my own music education since I have started here at YSU. Like most students, there were certain subjects *cough cough MUSIC HISTORY cough cough* that at times I felt were irrelevant to my education, and quite frankly I thought it was just another way for the university to steal more of my money and keep me there as long as possible..to steal more money. But of course, along with the maturation process of most young adults come the realization that the more knowledge you gain, the more you can be prepared for almost ANYTHING. This includes both academia and real world situations.
ReplyDeleteAfter scrolling back down memory lane, I became less distracted and began to focus on the text more. The overall idea of getting students prepared for the real world; I am totally for. During my time here at YSU, I would often get frustrated when certain professors would toggle between "real world" lectures, and then lectures that were less real and more "school-friendly." These situations would happen when a professor tried to establish some sort of connection between the them and the students, without overstepping any boundaries of course. It was almost like, when the professor was pissed, he or she would speak of "real world" perceptions like, "if you don't pass this theory class, you will never go to grad school and will become a failure at life," or my favorite, "play your instrument better, or go change your major." On days when the professor was happy, it would be things like "you're awesome!" and "you're 70 cents flat, but since we are in school, it's ok! I'll teach you how to play in tune! There's hope!!! :D" But anywho, I digress..
I have always favored the real world approach, because after all, life doesn't get magically better when you come to college, nor will it get magically better after you leave college. Being honest, blunt and understanding is something that I have always wanted from my professors, regardless of the subject.
I say all of this because, I agree that students ultimately should be prepared for the real world as much as possible while in college. The only thing that I disagree with is the change or cancellation of the history of music. I think that the origins of music should remain the same, and that more current topics of music should be implemented within todays lectures along with the history of certain subjects.