How Jazz and Rock Came into the Music Classroom

Chapter 5

I. 1940s-1950s: Post-War World

a. America is the strongest military, economic, and industrial force

b. The Cold War brings tension, however

c. Rapid technological change is everywhere

d. National security is a top concern—but so too is education reform

II. Proponents of Reform

a. Admiral Hyman Rickover relied on an educated population to support his program

i. He saw American schools as weak compared to European schools

ii. He saw some students as more gifted than others and did not see equal treatment of all students as efficient or effective

b. Dr. James Bryant Conant, former president of Harvard

i. Stressed stronger academic preparation

ii. With Rickover, he wanted more attention on science/math

c. Woods Hole Conference--1959

i. Leaders became concerned about education

ii. Federal government got involved

1. American Association of School Administrators issued statement calling for curriculum reform

2. National Education Association did the same

III. 1950s-1960s

a. Society evolving rapidly

b. No room for a 1930s music curriculum in a 1950s classroom

c. Fast and radical social change demanded more modernization in the music classroom

d. Thus, John Goodland wrote: “The curriculum and the students of tomorrow may be better served by subjects and subject combinations other than those deemed important today” (p. 149).

e. Philosophy of music education prevalent at the time focused on how Western art music was an expression of feeling

f. Foundations and Principles of Music Education in 1959 by Charles Leonhard and Robert House set the stage for the philosophy of music as aesthetic education

i. The philosophy of music education according to Leonhard and House was this:

ii. “a system of basic beliefs which underlies and provides a basis for the operation of the musical enterprise in an educational setting” (p. 151).

g. The Process of Education

i. Conceptual learning in music education

ii. “The heart of music education has become the study of music itself, the components of pitch, duration, dynamics, and timbre, and the resultant concomitants such as melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, style, and form” (p. 154).

IV. 1960s-1990s

a. Changes improved SAT scores

b. National accountability movement helped clarify goals and objectives

c. Language and core curriculum were the focus of national attention

d. However, problems persisted

i. Drop-out rate was too high

ii. SAT scores plateaued

iii. Too much money being spent and not enough improvement

e. National Defense Education Act off 1958

i. Gave money to schools to support classes such as music

ii. Title I allowed federal dollars to go to music and other arts programs

iii. However, in 1973, Title I was revised so that funds only went to music/arts if the courses somehow supported basic skills

f. Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth

i. Brought new programs of arts to children

ii. Hundreds of millions spent supporting music/arts programs

g. National Alliance for Arts Education

i. JFK Center for Performing Arts in the 1970s supporting performers

ii. Supporting the arts for K-12 as basic part of education

h. Other projects, such as Yale Seminar criticized quality of music curriculum and called for investigation into why schools had not produced a musically literate and active public

i. Juliard Repertory Project was not widely accepted by music educators

j. Music advocacy groups like MENC got the inclusion of arts into the Goals 2000 Act

k. An expanding view of the music education profession

i. Incorporation of the theories of Piaget into music education

ii. The psychology of music teaching (1960s-1970s)

l. The broadening of musicology beyond Western music

i. The incorporation of music from Africa and Asia into music curriculum

ii. This was supported also by the Civil Rights movement and a trend towards inclusivity and other cultures

iii. Multiculturalism was a dominant theme of the 1960s and has continued since then into our own time

V. New Methods

a. Orff’s approach

i. Orff thought rhythm music would be more effective with children than with adult learners

ii. Schulwerk (his method) attracted international interest

b. Kodaly method

i. Focused on making learners musically literate

ii. Wanted to build a national musical culture

c. Suzuki method

i. Believed children could learn more than they were often given credit for

ii. Introduced young prodigies who were learning instruments at early ages—much earlier than Americans were used to