Journal of Popular Music Education - Current Issue

Higher education music education programmes that prioritize Eurocentric perspectives related to the western classical canon may limit future music educators’ ability to connect students’ in-school and out-of-school music experiences. Growing interest in diverse and inclusive approaches to music education has led to increased attention on the inclusion of popular music pedagogy in music teacher education. Drawing on culturally responsive pedagogies as a theoretical framework, in this review of literature, I examined research related to popular music pedagogy in music teacher education. Researchers suggest that incorporating popular music in music classrooms may connect students’ in-school and out-of-school music experiences, resulting in greater student engagement and promoting lifelong musical involvement. Based on significant findings in this research, music educators might consider reimagining music teacher education programmes to reflect the changing landscape of music education and prepare future music educators with the skills necessary to acknowledge and value the diverse musical experiences and cultural contexts of students.

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine Polish and American preschool children’s preferences for and perceptions of popular music. The research questions were: (1) What popular music do preschool children prefer from a list of songs teachers typically use in formal instruction? and (2) How do preschool children perceive popular music used by teachers in formal instruction? Participants were fifteen children from Poland and nine children from the United States between the ages of 4 and 6. Data included observation, field notes, guided conversation, drawings and a sound questionnaire. Results indicated that children preferred popular music that they previously knew with a fast tempo and strong beat and music from children’s films, the radio and the internet. Children’s perceptions of popular music centred on lyrics, and they were more able to move and draw about music than describe it verbally. Teachers can learn more about the popular music children prefer and how they perceive it to craft more relevant and engaging music education experiences.

This study explored the impact of a fifteen-week course in modern band practice on developing music teachers’ identities as creative music-makers. Modern band is a growing area of the research literature in music education. Composition, improvisation and popular music-making experiences constitute current band activity. The creative identity measure (CIM-measure) evaluates self-perceptions of abilities in these areas. The measure has been used and adopted in various research studies over the past decade. For this study, twelve pre-service music teachers enrolled in the course ‘Creative Performance Chamber Ensemble I’ at School of Music, University of South Florida, USA were assessed on their perceptions of their abilities associated with various creative musical activities. The CIM-in music was used as a pre-and post-assessment of modern band experiences at the beginning and the end of the fifteen-week class. There were significant positive changes between the pre- and post-assessments. Open-ended response items were also collected. Findings suggest that pre-service music teachers increased their confidence levels associated with their abilities to compose, improvise, be involved in ‘new’ music ensembles, and be involved with popular music ensembles as a result of taking this course. They are more likely to plan on teaching their students to do these musical activities in the future as a result of these experiences.

Techno-musicality – the mechanics of audio production on the meaningful effect of a recording – is an integral part of composition, production and performance of popular music. Yet this discussion is largely absent from Australian music classrooms. The pedagogy of aural perception is taught as part of the Australian music curriculum and framed via six concepts/elements of music – pitch, duration, structure, texture, timbre and dynamics/expressive techniques. Student engagement with these six concepts largely neglects to address matters of techno-musicality. A study, conducted across Australian secondary students and their educators, revealed that students demonstrate rudimentary skills and/or knowledge to adequately engage with techno-musicality in their listening analyses, and yet educators are willing and mostly confident working in this area. This article addresses the importance of techno-musicality to meaningful analyses of recorded sound and discusses how educators can equip students to engage with techno-musicality utilizing the musical concepts and, in particular, timbre and expressive techniques.

In South East Asia, popular music is a rare but increasingly feasible option to study in higher-level education. The local educational landscape has been dominated by conservatories teaching western and Chinese classical music and pedagogical practices, leaving emerging popular music programmes to develop independently from the ground up. The author has been tasked with designing new curriculum and workbooks for a popular music diploma programme at a newly established arts university. As part of that process, this article presents a literature review of commonly used ear training method books. The findings reveal that the aims, genres and assumed skills and knowledge of western music theory made by the authors do not align with the practice-centred popular music programme. Excerpts from in-progress workbooks are presented with discussions of the different goals, challenges and methods of assessment.