ABOUT
Music in the plural. The name of this portal expresses, firstly, that Music expresses itself in different ways, or rather, that there are different types of music, and none of them are better, they just present themselves in different contexts.
Second, this name also denotes that such songs are heard in a context of plurality. In other words, not just Music, but the world itself is plural and multifaceted.
How can music education be constituted, respecting musical differences and the plurality of the world, of teachers and students? How can music education position itself in the fight against prejudice and discrimination without, however, neglecting the teaching of musical content? Helping to understand these issues is the purpose of this portal.
Music Education and Cultural Differences
"We need a heterogeneous curriculum, because our students are like that" (ARÓSTEGUI, 2011, p. 25).
The world is a plural place. People have different races, ethnicities, genders, origins, knowledge, religions... so much! Are
all human, but we are, at the same time, so different!
The differences themselves are positive, it's something to be celebrated. The problem to be tackled is the inequalities that are linked to differences. That's because, as different as we are, even power circulates through our hands in different ways. Some have so much, while others have so little. In general, social groups that have more power tend to dominate and oppress other groups. Often, these elites impose their culture on others, as if their knowledge were superior to others.
In Music, this doesn't happen differently. Some songs are highly valued, as if they were superior, while others are erased and forgotten. For example, "classical" European music is seen as superior and more important than African music or the music of indigenous peoples.
Similarly, issues related to race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and religiosity also affect the dynamics of music education. It is known that black people are better accepted in certain musical formations than others (VANDWEELDEN; McGEE, 2007). Similarly, girls and women can suffer prejudice when, for example, choosing to study a "male" instrument (ALMQVIST; HENTSCHEL, 2019). Afro-Brazilian and indigenous musicalities, despite Law 11,645/2008, which imposes these contents as mandatory, still find little space in music curricula (SANTIAGO; IVENICKI, 2017). However, LGBT+ people also suffer prejudice in schools, including in music classes (PALKKI; CALDWELL, 2018). Finally, it is clear that Afro-Brazilian culture and musicality, in general, are not well accepted in music classes (SOUZA, 2015).
In this sense, a multicultural music education will seek 1) to rethink the power relations that are created and/or reproduced in music classes; 2) value all musical genres, especially those produced by subordinate identities; 3) fight all types of prejudice and discrimination, as well as seek alternatives to avoid them, in advance; all this without neglecting the teaching of musical content.
It is hoped that this portal will help in this regard!
References
ALMQVIST, Cecilia Ferm; HENTSCHEL; Linn. The (female) situated musical body: aspects of caring”. Per Musi, no. 39, Music and Gender: 1-16, 2019.
AROSTEGUI, José Luis. For a counter-hegemonic curriculum: from musical education to educational music. ABEM Magazine, Londrina, v.19, n.25, 9-29 jan.jun 2011
PALKKI, J., CALDWELL, P. “We are often invisible”: A survey on safe space for LGBTQ students in secondary school choral programs. Research Studies in Music Education, 40(1), 28–49, 2018.
SANTIAGO, Renan; IVENICKI, Ana. Musical diversity and teacher education: which music forms the music teacher? Rev. FAEEBA – Ed. and Contemp., Salvador, v. 26, no. 48, p. 187-204, Jan./Apr. 2017
SOUZA, Rafael Ferreira de. "Macumba is a thing of the devil, uncle!": Discussing prejudiced relations from the Music class. Artes de Educar Interinstitutional Magazine. Rio de Janeiro, V. 1 N. 2 – pp. 263-276, Jun - Sep 2015
VANDWEELDEN, Kimberly; McGEE, Isaiah R. The influence of music style and conductor race on perceptions of ensemble and conductor performance. International Journal of Music Education Copyright © 2007 International Society for Music Education Vol 25(1) 7–19, 2007