Marisa Curcio

Professor McBride
Critical Pedagogy I
4/30/2014
Philosophy of Music Education
Music is a fundamental pillar in the communication of ideas and feelings among people.
It is a very human thing to listen to, play, or appreciate music. Every person should be taught
about music from a young age. This being said, it is not like an older person who has never
touched an instrument should not pick one up later on in their life. However, students in the
public school system and otherwise - defying all cultures, backgrounds, and extenuating
circumstances that would prevent them from learning - should all be taught the universal
communicative power of music, even if it is for no other reason than to enjoy it. In fact, that is
the simplest and most powerful way to appreciate music - enjoying it, and whatever that may
entail.
Bennett Reimer, a man who has been deemed the father of philosophy of music
education, believed very strongly that music held an aesthetic power, and that it allows us as
humans to have these joyful or pleasurable experiences. He said that, through teaching how to
appreciate and perform aesthetic experiences, both the educator and the student gain a sense of
fulfillment and knowledge that is unparalleled (Reimer, 1970). He uses the words arts and
aesthetics interchangeably, implying that all forms of art - and especially the art of music - are
purely based in beauty. I agree wholeheartedly with his assertions that music education should
exist to allow people to experience the beauty that lies within music itself. So many teachers
hope that, at the end of their time with their students, they will have imparted some knowledge
and wisdom to them and connect this new information directly to their lives. Is that not the point
of the educational system in the United States? Music education is no exception; it exists in

schools to teach students how to, at the very least, understand and appreciate music at a higher
level. The aesthetic value in this priceless education is an increased comprehension of the beauty
held within each piece of music.
In the classroom, practically speaking, the use and subsequent facilitation of aesthetic
appreciation can be approached in many different ways. Of course, this should not be achieved
through the sole use of CDs and games that involve movement in the classroom. To get a fully
aesthetic experience, as Reimer (1970) elaborated, a student who is learning music at any age
should be able to fulfill multiple senses with their immersive musical experiences (p. 74-76).
Naturally, human beings form their own connections from aestheticism to apply to their
character. As people, we have the ability to react to expressive forms in whatever way we feel
suits them best; we respond to their significance and put a deeper meaning to aesthetic
expressions that very few other mammals understand (Reimer, 1970). Therefore, we interpret
every bit of music that we can, especially through its actual practice. We listen and observe
actively - never passively - as well as make the music physically using our voices, our bodies, or
other external instruments. We can learn how to read music or see a live performance, and
instantaneously begin understanding the merit and attraction of the experience. The possibilities
are limitless when looking for the beauty of music, because it is seemingly never ending.
The aesthetic value placed on music is not the only reason why music education is
continued in students schooling. Music has a great communicative power because, in many
ways, it is a language. Like spoken and written word, the ability to understand it is subjective; it
is based on feeling, emotion, and expression. Reimer argues that music as music lacks the
essential characteristic of any language; its terms (sounds) can not be defined or translated
(1970, p. 32). While I understand why he claims that it is not a language, the communicative

power therefrom is greater than any other form I know. Music, perhaps unlike language, is
wholly universal; people can take from it what they will. But within this universal
communication lies the ability to feel the expression, understand, and most importantly interpret
the meaning of the sound - even if it lacks a direct translation. This is important to recognize; it
requires certain skills to be able to interpret the music in any form. Some of these skills are
inherent traits, learned from a young age through societal interaction, and some can be taught in
a school setting. Thus, music as a communication has its own language that can and should be
presented to students no matter what age.
As part of a philosophy, I have asked myself, why should we teach them? Not why we
should feel compelled to teach them, but why they deserve to learn. I believe firmly that every
person, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, personal upbringing, and every other
stigma that could be cast, has a right to music. They have a right to learn it, and a right to
practice it; perform it; love it, and a right to connect to it to their personal spirits. However, for
some people in this country, they may not feel like society, the school, or the government want
them to learn. The politics of education are problematic no matter where the school is. Paulo
Freire was a Brazilian advocate for critical pedagogy, and in his works, talked about the
bureaucracy of music education, the class structure, and the classroom structure. He talks about
the colonial educational system of Brazil in several of his books, and how, even with
improvement, there are still long-lasting flaws. He said, schooling was antidemocratic in its
methods, in its contents, and in its objectives (Freire, 1978, p. 118). And in several ways, that
holds true in the United States as well. Freire goes on to say that children and youth who were in
the minority had a far more difficult time reaping the benefits of a formal education than
someone who was privileged enough to go to a better school (1978, p. 119). Music education

applies in a similar way. The teaching of music is widely varied: from types, to feelings, to text,
to songs. In this way, it is very subjective. The music taught in school should make sense and be
equally accessible to all students. This being said, students of every age should have the same
opportunities as everyone else to understand and appreciate all types of music. They are entitled
to it. But if students are not equally exposed to a proper education - full of wisdom, a balanced
curriculum, and opportunities to succeed - they begin flirting with the very foundations of this
country.
When I think back to my own public school experience, I remember just how
undemocratic it was. We had very little freedom. In large ensembles and general music classes
alike, we had to do what the director said and nothing more for the sake of keeping everyone on
the same level. Sometimes, the teacher did not think our input was valid or useful. We had very
few liberties; we were expected to sit and listen to teachers lecture us about topics that had no
direct correlation to us. We listened to pieces of music that had little to no effect on most of my
class because they did not understand how to listen. We had very little equality in the classroom.
Some classrooms were run as a monarchy, and others as a dictatorship - but none as a republic.
This is an important aspect to remember as a teacher. As generally the oldest, most mature and
insightful person in the room, it is easy to assume that students will not understand you. There is
such a noticeable disconnect between the students and the teacher in an undemocratic classroom.
If the ideas are exchanged between one another; if the students have a say in what they are
learning; if the teacher does their job and teaches to everyone in the room equally, then the
republic school mentality can be realized. The call for reform in the music classroom - and in all
classrooms - is so great that the plight cannot be ignored. If schooling is antidemocratic, why is
there little effort made to change it?

The teacher has a difficult task ahead of them: facilitating information about music and
having their students retain it. The question of how to connect to every person has been in
discussion for a fairly long time. What type of music do I teach them? Reimer even changed his
mind in the revisions of his philosophy; he thought originally that music of the western canon
should be taught, and then changed his beliefs to teaching music that honors the students
culture. Again, this should not be misconstrued as simply playing the popular music of a
students culture for the class and doing a listening analysis of the instrumentation. While that is
a valid lesson and a useful skillset to have, I do not believe that playing pop music honors any
culture. It is quite the contrary, really. Pop music is almost exclusively in the western style no
matter where you travel in the world simply because of todays small world feel. What was
once a time-honored, traditional type of music for many cultures has now been deemed folk
music by many people. Thus, I believe that, in order to really get in touch with the students
cultures and backgrounds, western music should not be the ideal, but should be another tool for
teaching along with the time-honored music of different cultures.
As a future educator, I think that trailblazing a path in the music education field is the
best and most effective way to teach. Music education, because of its subjective nature, has
immensely difficult material to cover, understand, and appreciate. There are so many
applications of the subject matter in everyones daily life. As Reimer said, studying music
improves learning skills imparts moral uplift fulfills a wide variety of social needs
provides a healthy outlet for repressed emotions encourages self-discipline provides a
challenge to focus efforts upon, and above all, makes one a better person (1970). Music
educators know that not every student will be completely engaged in their classroom - it is a lost
cause to desire complete attention from a classroom. While I understand that music as a career

may not be a real possibility for everyone - because everyone is different and has different
interests, strengths, and desires - I understand it to be a stepping-stone to so many other things.
Students of a younger age who are looking at careers should be able to do what they want with
their lives, but music can have so many positive influences on their life. We should teach
students skills that they would need to appreciate music at a deeper, more fundamental level, if
nothing else. Because of its communicative nature, it proves to be very useful in other careers
and throughout life.