Philosophy of Undergraduate Music Education

Scott Courtney, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa

Today’s undergraduate music education student does not fit nor comply with any
standard “model”, and each student is unique in his or her own way. As a result, a
defined philosophy to serve these students becomes an important concern. Eclectism
may be a mixture of philosophical principles but this term may conjure an image of mish-
mashed thoughts and beliefs. Today’s student is a different student than previous
generations and our “eclectic” philosophy cannot operate in a haphazard way. We must
provide the leadership and direction that our students need.
Our students are becoming more unique with each year. Some traditional
freshmen may experience “firsts” such as dorm life or the freedom of no immediate adult
supervision. Other undergraduate students may be older, returning to college to complete
a degree or obtain teacher certification. There are also students in the middle of this
journey such as a third year student that transfers colleges or changes majors. These
students each possess different levels of maturity, approach to academic work, and
practice regimes. From an academic perspective, it is probable that students as a whole
will have more differences than commonalities.
We must accept that the world is confusing and overpowering for many of our
undergraduates. Regardless of age, experience, or other diverse factors we must assist
these students in dealing with the rigors of college. A defined philosophy enables us to
function with direction and purpose. This philosophy will help generate our student
learner outcomes, course descriptions, syllabi and lesson plans. It would be beneficial to
supply, and teach, one unified school of thought for undergraduate music education. One
method could be to teach all students the traditional “Realistic Approach”. Realism
would allow experts to define truth that is then taught to our students. This would make
life simple, creating a tidy packaging of beliefs that will conquer any problem or
situation. Obviously this plan is flawed in numerous ways, but it is perhaps still better
than having no defined philosophy at all.
 Courtney Undergraduate Philosophy 2

There is a wide range of skills required in an undergraduate music curriculum and

many learning theories are utilized. Gardner’s concepts of spatial, kinesthetic, linguistic,
musical and interpersonal intelligences are displayed through Solfege hand signs. This
one activity quickly employs half of Gardner’s revered intelligences. Composition
students utilize Bloom’s learning taxonomy as they evaluate and analyze their works.
These same students will take courses such as music history, which are more knowledge
based learning activities. I am suggesting that variety in learning is the key component of
undergraduate music education. This variety includes both student and content and our
philosophy must reflect this.
It seems fitting that an ideal music philosophy begins with “idealism”. My
conservatory background was rooted in “fixed truths” which were dispensed by all-
knowing faculty (at least my perspective). I am comfortable with the idea of “fixed
truths” being dispensed by experts. This philosophy aims to produce organized,
professional models that young students can imitate. Our upper level students would then
model the appropriate behaviors for freshman. The students would showcase works,
approved by experts, during recitals and repertoire labs. Older students will lead by
example for our younger students to follow and emulate. Like the older student, the
idealist instructor will expose students to the highest quality of music. That instructor
will show how discipline should be an integral part of the student’s musical and
scholastic experience. Exams, performances, and juries will be a valued part of the
student experience since that evaluation process helps provide both intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation for the student.
The idealistic student can be compared to a machine. They are focused, driven,
and organized. The goal is defined and the student becomes determined to succeed.
Yoichi Udagawa, one of my mentors was a definite idealist. A small Japanese man from
Texas, he always wore a bolo tie so all would know him as a Texan. Yoichi would
regularly yell, “Plow hit rock, plow keep going.” I enjoyed his tutelage in becoming a
finely tuned machine. My study skills and work ethic still reflect his “plow” approach.
I believe that undergraduates desperately need these types of idealistic thoughts.
Too many of our undergraduate students struggle academically, possessing lower GPAs
that might have been avoided through a more disciplined approach towards school.
 Courtney Undergraduate Philosophy 3

Perhaps a stronger mentor would have encouraged additional practice time, and an older
student could model how to best use that time. Idealism offers many great ideas but
sometimes does not specifically deal with the natural development or exploration that
may happen in the collegiate experience. In addition, we must remember that there is a
whole “real” world awaiting our students outside of the practice rooms, classrooms and
ensemble setting.
Popular culture takes great enjoyment lampooning the “experimentation” stage of
college. We must recognize Bill Clinton’s “smoke but not inhale” experience as part of
the naturalistic philosophy at work. My undergraduate experience was in a private
Christian college and “normal” temptations such as alcohol were minimal. I think most
Christian colleges put great emphasis on student development, but the goal for all
universities should be to provide a nurturing, not imposing, environment for all students.
We may connect “nurturing” with protection, such as the protection from alcohol at my
undergraduate institution. This would be a naïve concept of a nurturing environment.
From a social and professional level, we must set our students up for appropriate
developmental opportunities. “Appropriate” does not refer to eliminating recreational
drug use, it instead refers to providing opportunities to conduct, play in an ethnic
ensemble, or seize leadership options. From a curricular stance, the discovery method is
displayed through course selection. Most degrees allow students to have some flexibility
in course selection, such as choice of an advanced music history or literature class.
Perhaps a student chooses jazz band over orchestra, or chooses an ethnic music course
over a 20th century music history course. The ability to choose something does not
automatically qualify this development process as naturalistic. Students must also be
given a chance to respond to those choices. That becomes the sense of self-discovery that
is present in the naturalist philosophy. The student led chamber ensemble, study group,
class presentation, or sectional music rehearsal are all examples that provide opportunity
for choice and response. Some part of this naturalistic approach is essential in the
development of the undergraduate student. We must lead our students in having
opportunities to discover and respond.
Providing the ever-changing student population with methods of discovery means
that our existence in higher education is in a constant state of change. We can deny these
 Courtney Undergraduate Philosophy 4

changes and maintain the status quo, or we can develop a more pragmatic approach to
help “deal” with these changes. Changes can be personal and academic. People move,
get new jobs, have financial stress, and struggle with romantic relationships.
Academically, people struggle with rapid changes in technology, the quest for current
edition of texts, and stress over comprehension of changing University handbook policies
and requirements. Each example above could apply for both students and faculty. The
student must deal with changes in responsibility, life style and learning style, but the
faculty must also consider these changes when designing instruction. One lesson may not
work for all styles of students, nor may they work when repeated only one year later.
Hands-on, multi-media activities might be a consideration over traditional lectures, which
might require an overhaul of the course design. Web-based learning and resources are
excellent, but new technology and research may make these tools outdated. The student
and faculty must keep up with all of these changes. A pragmatic believes “a river is
always changing” and therefore “we cannot step into the same river twice”. Incoming
2010 traditional freshman live in a world where text messaging is the “norm”, where
wikipedia is a trusted source of “truth”. The “river of life” is active change and
philosophy must account for this change.
Faculty must continue their search for truth while realizing the shortcoming of
appointing “Experts”. I just returned from a Singapore band festival where the directors
possessed different ideals and musical beliefs than myself. My background provided
empirical truth on great composers, but these Asian band directors had different
experiences and different beliefs. These differences included approach to rehearsal,
teaching methodologies, and interpretations of the performed music. The process of
determining great music was still evident, and that process is what determines truth in a
pragmatic philosophy.
In summary, students cannot postpone their jury or recital until the music is ready.
They cannot wait until the truth becomes completely clear and obvious. It is our time to
lead. We must be the role model and instructor that will lead our students to graduation
and employment. This essay could qualify as eclectic since it does involve concepts of
naturalism, idealism, and pragmatism. More than assigning a title to this philosophy, this
document creates the important framework of beliefs. We must nurture and support our
 Courtney Undergraduate Philosophy 5

students to take chances in their ever-changing world. Only then will our students
become the innovators, scholars, and leaders that our future needs.

September 14th, 2010