Should Western Art Music History be Taught to Music and Dance Undergraduates?

MU4012: Critical Encounters with Western Art Music and Dance, University of Limerick, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance

Abstract

“Why should we bother teaching undergraduates about the history of western art music?” Many may also ask questions such as, “What if their course does not directly contribute to western art practices?” “Would learning about it be of any relevance to their success in their undergraduate degree?” “Are there any benefits or disadvantages in incorporating contemporary practices to their current studies?” All undergraduate students studying any type of degree in the performing arts of music or dance should be taught a western art music history curriculum to deepen their knowledge and open their minds further outside the contents of their preliminary course of study.

I will create an argument as to why western arts history and practices should be taught to performing arts undergraduate students today by explaining the concept of multiculturalism and cross-culture in a music and dance sense, the connection between the different contemporary practices, the importance of different cultural understandings, and the relevance and general overall benefits of combining music and dance education. To support my statements and conclusion for this argument, I will provide the necessary resources and evidence to go along with my claims.

The Connection Between Music and Dance

Combining music and dance undergraduates into one course teaching western art music history is or can be extremely beneficial in the long-term of the students’ artistic careers; if you were to go and observe a day in a common music or dance course, oftentimes you may find that both courses would be intermingled in a way for different modules. This is because music and dance have a great deal of relevance to each other, and they are often connected. When these music and dance curriculums are combined into one, it opens up and allows for more opportunities for the students to experience multiculturalism. Consider the words of William M. Anderson and Patricia Shehan Campbell in their book, “Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Volume 1: Teaching Music from a Multicultural Perspective,”

…that philosophy centers on developing an understanding that there are many different but equally valid forms of cultural expression and encourages students to develop a broad perspective based on an understanding of, and a tolerance for, a variety of opinions and approaches (Anderson et al. 1989).

There are many positive benefits to music and dance undergraduate students whose course provides education in western art music history - broadening students’ understanding of different artistic cultures provides them with further knowledge among a greater general understanding to be successful within their own practice. See this quote by Marie McCarthy from “Dance in the Music Curriculum: Music Educators Journal Vol. 82, Page 18,”

When students learn dances as a component part of learning a musical style, they are in an advantageous position to engage in creative musical activity that emulates that (dancing) style…Attention to cross-culture aesthetics is vitally important in the background study and presentation of dances in the classroom (McCarthy 1996).

In a western art music sense - we are able to see just how western arts practices contribute to today’s common music and dance practices. There are a lot of components that make up what we would call ‘dance.’ In most genres of dance, you must have precise rhythm, timing, and coordination. These same exact concepts are prevalent in most styles of music. Looking more directly at classical ballet in relation to classical music, for example, there are so many different ways in which these practices are relevant to one another. Classical music is often defined by ‘formal musical traditions written from traditional European art standards.’ Classical music is fabricated of strict musical notation, instrumentation, melody, and harmony. This is applicable to different genres and styles of dancing as well and learning about the history of these techniques is important for quality of performance and for an appreciation of different artistic works whether it be for either music or dance.

The Importance of Different Cultural Understandings

Referencing once again to William M. Anderson and Patricia Shehan Campbell in their book, “Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Volume 1: Teaching Music from a Multicultural Perspective,”

A multicultural approach to learning necessitates organizing educational experiences for students that develop sensitivity, understanding, and respect for people from a broad spectrum of ethnic-cultural backgrounds (Anderson et al. 1989).

Experiencing multiculturalism of the musical arts in an educational environment is important because it gives students a better knowledge of not only the history and connected origins of different contemporary practices, but it also helps them to engage in critical thinking to better their learning in their course of study. I found a source that directly outlines the great significance that the teaching of western art music history has on present day university students in an arts degree. Take into account this quote from Philip Taylor in “Mozart in Madrās: Global Learning and Western Art Music,”

The influence of cultural studies has added important new perspectives on music’s interactions with issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. As well as a response to art music’s changing role in Western society, one of the features of this critical reorientation has been a shift in how the West’s cultural heritage is perceived to relate to the diversity of musical experience in the rest of the world (Taylor 2015).

The Relevance of Music History in the Classroom

There are many individuals who argue today and in past circumstances that the teachings of music history - and particularly in western art music history - state that it is irrelevant and even ‘inappropriate’ in some sense because there have been many changes through the decades and centuries surrounding traditional musical techniques and norms. Jason Toynbee in Chapter 14: Music, Culture, and Creativity of “The Cultural Study of Music: A Critical Introduction (Edited by Martin Clayton, Trevor Herbert, and Richard Middleton) 2nd Ed.” poses an example of an argument of individuals in different artistic fields of study wanting to ‘do-away’ with musical history teaching s as it has been said to sway away creativity in others; to this, Toynbee states,

My response to all these tendencies in cultural studies that want to do away with creativity, or dissolve it into the everyday, is a banal plea for moderation: don’t go so far. While listening and dancing are surely creative, music (like any other symbolic system) is in an obvious sense fashioned by those who design and perform it. Production comes first…and it is the composer, instrumentalist, singer, and engineer who shape the phenomenal form of the musical text (Toynbee 2011).

Lucy Green in Chapter 18: Music Education, Culture Capital, and Social Group Identity of “The Cultural Study of Music: A Critical Introduction (Edited by Martin Clayton, Trevor Herbert, and Richard Middleton) 2nd Ed.” goes on in discussing specifically musical education,

A society without music has never been discovered. But although music making is a universal feature of human society, it is by no means universally undertaken by every individual within a society (Green 2011).

To summarize and continue off of what Green has said here, not everyone would, or even should, be taught the histories of music and western art music, however she believes that it is a necessary thing that should be taught to fine arts undergraduates for a better general understanding of where certain things came from to apply that to their present practice and to strengthen their base of knowledge on the subject.

Concluding Statement

Western art music history should be taught to music and dance undergraduates today because not only are music and dance techniques proven to be connected and relevant to each other, it is just a generally good base knowledge to have. By posing a discussion on the different topics such as the connection between music and dance, the relevance of teaching music history, and the general benefits of the study, we have established a statement that says that western art music history should indeed be taught to undergraduates.

Sources Cited

Anderson, W. M. and Campbell P. (1989). [Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, 3rd Ed., Vol. 1, Page 1] R&L Education

McCarthy, M. (1996). [Dance in the Music Curriculum: Music Educators Journal Vol. 82, No. 6, Page 18] Sage Publication, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Taylor, P. (2015). [Mozart in Madrās: Global Learning and Western Art Music. Musica Docta, 5(1), 113–125]. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2039-9715/5874

Clayton, M., Herbert, T., & Middleton, R. (Eds.). (2011). The Cultural Study of Music: A Critical Introduction (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203149454