Erinne M.

Phillips

Dr. Bryce Hayes

MUED 471

22 February 2021

Contemporary Music Education

As a music education student and future educator, it is important to understand the

concepts of growth, change, and inclusivity. Much of what we are taught about music is

outdated, and much of what we view as typical education is outdated as well. Through the works

of Loren Kajikawa, Adam Neely, and Juliet Hess, this essay shows how we have grown in music

education, and how we can find ways in which we can continue to grow.

Kajikawa

In “The Possessive Investment in Classical Music”, Loren Kajikawa discusses the ties

between westernized music and whiteness. He discusses three main “politics” in this essay, those

being the Politics of Exclusion, the Politics of Inclusion, and the Politics of Resistance.

First, the politics of exclusion discusses how music programs in universities are blind to

all other types of music besides classical music; “it is a system that privileges the music of white

European and American male composers and tends to exclude the music of almost everyone

else” (Kajikawa, 2019, p. 156-157). This culture of exclusion, however, is not focused simply on

the genre of music learned by students but is also focused on students themselves. Often times

students, particularly voice students, who decide to partake in a cappella groups on campus have

received backlash from their individual voice professors. Professors claim the vocal technique

used in a cappella settings could be damaging to that with which we use in our solo classical

repertoire, which isn’t necessarily true.

genres of music into their curriculum. Adding new courses to their programs discussing different

genres other than classical music is a good start, but there need to be ways to keep going. “The

fetishization of classical performance standards also impedes an institution’s ability to recognize

the full humanity and artistry of the world beyond its doors” (Kajikawa, 2019, p. 157). There are

courses for the appreciation of genres that are different from typical, white classical music, but

they should be incorporated as course requirements in my opinion. Kajikawa expresses how the

music of black Americans has been grouped into a “non-serious” category which completely

contradicts the point of including the genre into Schools of Music

Lastly, Kajikawa discusses the Politics of Resistance, which ties in very closely with the

Politics of Exclusion. Although, there are efforts in place to expand the diversity in university

music programs, there is still the unspoken understanding of the competitiveness and overall

whiteness that is directly related, if not endorsed, by schools of music. Kajikawa (2019) writes in

this section “…the legacy of white supremacy plays a role in restricting access to colleges and

universities by determining who is qualified to be there, both as students and as teachers” (p.

157).

Based off of my experience, I agree with what Kajikawa has discussed and broken down.

Much of what we are taught as music students is typical westernized music, and rarely is there

ever room for anything new. JMU has opened up a bit to new genres of music, and new ways of

thinking, especially in the music education department, but there is still such a long way to go.

Neely

In “Music Theory and White Supremacy”, Adam Neely (2020) discusses how extremely

dated the term “music theory” is, and how white-centered it is. Throughout the entire video,
Neely substitutes “music theory” for “the harmonic style of eighteenth-century European

musicians” since they are, in this context, exactly the same (Neely, 2020). In the video, Neely

conducts an interview with Philip A. Ewell, a music theory professor and cellist from Hunter

College of the City University of New York, where Ewell gives his insight into the way

institutions and universities teach what we know as music theory. Ewell hints on the fact that

there are so many different types of “classical music theory” besides what we know to be music

theory, by stating “any culture with a music (which is every culture) has not only a rich musical

tradition, but a rich music theoretical tradition” (Neely, Part iim – Northern Indian Theory and

Perspectives).

To further the idea that music theory is not one-dimensional, Neely also discusses Anja

Kamat, an Indian youtuber whose channel discusses and compares Northern Indian classical

music, and the westernized music that we know. She breaks down this theory to the basics and

shows how our solfege system is exactly the same as their swara system, we just use different

syllables. (Part iim – Northern Indian Theory and Perspectives) Just like Anja, there is another

social media influencer that I discovered myself on the popular app TikTok. Her name is Vidya

Kanthan, and all of her content is based around Indian style classical music. Her most popular

videos being the ones where she discusses and then models Carnatic riffs which, as she had

described, are ways in which to connect multiple different swara syllables.

Further in the video, Neely discusses even more about how Western music theory is old

and white and has become “a tool for proving a piece of musics worth” (Part IVmaj7 – Music

Isn’t a Universal). He discusses Russia and Russian music theory by discussing how culture and

music are viewed in Russian culture as feminine activities, which means that there’s a long

tradition of Russian, female music theorists. This leads me to wonder then if what we consider
music theory is just idolized in the United States and Europe, or if “the harmonic style of

eighteenth-century European musicians” (Neely, 2020) is also put on a pedestal in countries like

China, Russia, India, etc. Ewell states that “we’ve only seen this music from this angle, and it’s

been a white angle and it’s been a male angle” (Part IVmaj7 – Music Isn’t a Universal), yet we

see in instances like Russia, that it’s possible to not just have that angle, but still have limited

perspectives based on century-old values.

Hess

In Chapter 4 of Juliet Hess’ book “Music Education for Social Change”, the main focus is

on the idea of student-centeredness and sharing lived experiences. The best way for students to

learn organically and in the safest possible environment is to create that safe and brave space as

an educator.

It’s important to value what students bring to the classroom and honor the lived

experiences that they have. Hess also warns, however, about the potential risks that come with

students sharing their lived experiences (Hess, 2019). She states that “some students who have

experienced trauma may not understand that they have”, and that it is our job as educators to

inform students that sharing is their choice (Hess, 2019). By giving students this option, it helps

them maintain control of their own stories.

Hess also explains the possibilities of creating and giving students performing

opportunities. These opportunities of improvisation, performance, songwriting, etc. give these

students the chance to practice giving constructive feedback, build up self-confidence, and

explore who they are.

Relevance
 All of these sources are relevant to my teaching because they all show how everything is

forever changing. We can’t have the same mindset of music theory and classical music that we

have had previously because the world has changed and so has the music. We can’t have the

same essentialist views on teaching, we have to be progressive and adapt our thinking and our

teaching as the world changes and as our students change.

Career Application

Personally, I have always felt called to serve high school students. I believe that all ages

and grade levels are influential when it comes to music, and the arts in general, but I believe high

school students are the ones who need it the most. High schools are often the settings of the

worst bullying, first heart breaks, and where most students start to really figure out who they are

and where they belong. Students become so vulnerable, regardless of if they seem that way or

not, and it is so incredibly important that they have a soft place to land, that also acts as a place

for them to grow.

My high school chorus teacher did such a fantastic job creating that safe and brave space

in her classroom and creating a sense of family between students. We couldn’t have had a more

diverse group of students in my choirs, from football and basketball players, to FBLA and SGA

students, to your typical wallflower students, to theatre and band kids. Everyone was welcomed,

and since we had formed that family, we hung out and spoke to each other outside of the

classroom. I want to give my students that same experience, and I want to inspire my students to

be the best versions of themselves that they can be.

In the first five to ten years of my career, I really want to advocate not just for choir

students, but for all students and try to create a general music program in the secondary school

setting. That way students who don’t want to conform to the typical separation of band,
orchestra, and chorus can also have a safe space to deepen their appreciation for music. I want to

show diversity in concerts by incorporating music that resonates with my students not just the

music given to us through the typical westernized ideal.

Conclusion

Growth, change, and inclusivity are necessary tools we need as educators as we move on

into the classroom. Being open to change and actively pushing for reform of the current music

education standards is my personal career goal, and I plan to use what I have learned in the

works mentioned as the basis for research I can personally do on the subject.
 References

HESS BOOK:

Hess, J. (2019). Music Education for Social Change: Constructing an Activist Music Education

(1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429452000

KIJIKAWA:

Kajikawa, L. (2019). The Possessive Investment in Classical Music: CONFRONTING LEGACIES OF

WHITE SUPREMACY IN U.S. SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS OF MUSIC. In Crenshaw K., Harris

L., HoSang D., & Lipsitz G. (Eds.), Seeing Race Again: Countering Colorblindness across the Disciplines

(pp. 155-174). Oakland, California: University of California Press. Retrieved February 21, 2021, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcwp0hd.12

NEELY VIDEO:

Neely, A. [Adam Neely]. (2020, September 7). Music Theory and White Supremacy [Video].

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr3quGh7pJA