Seeing Double: A Comparative Approach to Music Education
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60
Estelle R. Jorgensen
Seeing Double:
A Comparative
Approach to Music
S y m p o s i u m
Education
Abstract
In this essay, I unpack critically and comparatively two sets of pictures of
music education—steward-conservation and pilgrim-quest—focusing on the
metaphors and their related models. These pictures are sketched, criticized,
and compared and contrasted with special reference to the teaching of music
I
performance.
make three propositions in that reality. For example, notions of jour-
this article:[1] first, music edu- ney, traveler, destinations, and itinerary are
cation cannot nor should it be seen as implying abstract notions of pur-
based solely on either meta- poseful life, the person living the life, life
phor or model proposed here; goals, and life plans. “[S]uch abstract sub-
second, the prospect of dif- jects as the world, ourselves, our place in
fering metaphors and their the world, and our normative relationships
related models for music ed- to others” are grasped through metaphors.
ucation provides ground for comparing Its proponents argue that metaphors are
and contrasting them, the schemes of so basic that rather than focus on data in
music education in which they are cen- the phenomenal world, it is important to
tral, and their contributions and detrac- attend to the underlying metaphors.[4] I am
tions; and third, this comparative strategy critical of this reading of conceptual met-
has important implications, particularly, in aphor theory because of its somewhat sim-
this case, for the teaching of musical per- plistic focus on metaphor to the exclusion
formance. This argument presupposes the of model and the figurative to the exclu-
value of thinking figuratively as well as sion of the literal—a point that I shall come
literally about music education.[2] Here, I to in a moment. My own approach is bet-
explore comparatively two metaphors and ter labeled more ambiguously as a com-
their related models of music education, parative one that allows for the prospect
and through mining them systematically, of both metaphor and model. At very least,
show how similar and different are their I would want a broader construal of con-
implications for teaching and learning ceptual metaphor theory that would en-
music performance theoretically and prac- compass metaphor and model, theory and
tically. practice. And it is only in the sense that
My present task resonates with an an- my analysis ploughs ground between met-
alytical technique known as “conceptual aphor and model, that is, metaphoric model
metaphor analysis.”[3] This approach aims or modular metaphor as the case may be,
to map what is evidenced in the phenom- that conceptual metaphor theory should
enal world onto ideas and conceptions of be read to apply to my present project.
FJME 2008 / vol. 11 nr. 1–261
Although I might also examine the cation if these other metaphors were priv-
implications of this analysis for music com- ileged in the same way that Richardson
position, improvisation, and listening as seeks to privilege stewardship?
well as for performance, the claims of space Pondering these issues, and in the
and time allow only the more modest midst of writing a chapter for a book, The
objective of reflecting just about musical Art of Teaching Music, I returned to an un-
performance and the ways in which it is finished manuscript on metaphors and
taught and learned. In making this choice, music education begun over fifteen years
S y m p o s i u m
I do not wish to be read to suggest that ago but untouched in the intervening years.
performance is more important than these Revisiting this earlier work, I was remind-
other ways of music making and taking. ed of the richness of metaphors as ways
Rather, this choice simply betrays my fas- of describing and analyzing music educa-
cination with describing and analyzing tional thought and practice. I began to
richly the various attributes of music ed- see in this writing the beginnings of lines
ucation related to performance.[5] And by of argument that might help explain my
music education, I am thinking broadly of unease with Richardson’s suggestion. Af-
the gamut from elementary to advanced ter writing a large part of the text of Pic-
levels of musical instruction in a variety tures of Music Education on which I am pres-
of institutions in which music teaching and ently working, I stumbled across Edward
learning is ongoing.[6] Slingerland’s essay, “Conceptual Metaphor
A word about the genesis of the Theory as Methodology for Comparative
present project. After Virginia Richardson’s Religion” and from Slingerland to George
presentation on the merits of stewardship Lakoff ’s work. Here, I encountered meth-
as the sole grounding metaphor for doc- odological nomenclature that related to,
toral programs in music education to the even if it did not exactly cover what I had
Committee of Institutional Cooperation already been doing. So, while this com-
(CIC) Music Education meeting held at parative strategy can be seen as relevant
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, to my own work it is not the driving force
in October, 2004,[7] I asked her whether behind it nor does my own approach par-
stewardship was the right metaphor for allel it in all respects. Still, Slingerland’s
music education doctoral programs. Some- work is of interest not only in his grap-
thing seemed to be “not quite right” in pling with questions of how to examine
her analysis but I did not know what it religions comparatively but in its similar-
was. Could or should any program in music ity to the sorts of questions I ask, notably,
education be based on a metaphor? Was “If music education cannot be described
stewardship the right one? Reflecting on solely with reference to one metaphor or
her model led me to contemplate other conceptual schema or practical manifes-
educational metaphors advanced through tation, how can these different approach-
the ages, for example, John Amos Comen- es to music education be understood com-
ius on “light,” Jean-Jacques Rousseau on paratively?”These similarities between the
“nature,” John Dewey on “growth,” Don- questions that scholars ask about compar-
ald Schön on “apprenticeship,” Parker ative strategies in religious studies and
Palmer on “pilgrimage,” Henry Giroux on those in music and music education that
“border crossings,” Barbara Thayer-Bacon are my present focus are not surprising in
on “quilting,” Maxine Greene on “story,” the light of Susanne Langer’s observation
“dialogue,” and “community,” Max van more than a half-century ago that the arts,
Manen on “tact,” Jane Roland Martin on myths, religions and rituals are ways of
“home,”Vernon Howard on “artistry,” and symbolization and knowing that go be-
Iris Yob on “the sacred.”[8] Would these yond discursive and propositional dis-
metaphors also inform music education? course—forms she described somewhat
And what would it mean for music edu- problematically as “non-discursive” or
Musiikkikasvatus 2008 / vsk. 11 nro 1–262
“presentational.”[9] And the consonance velopmental stages are not as clear-cut or
between Slingerland’s comparative study sequential as Piaget imagines them, stu-
of religious metaphors and my own com- dents sometimes seem to move back and
parative investigation into the role of met- forth between the hypothesized stages, and
aphors and their ancillary models is root- the onset of stages may differ from one
ed in similarities in the ways symbols func- student to another. Piagetian stages may
tion in the religions and arts. be useful means of thinking generally about
human development but teachers are nat-
S y m p o s i u m
No one single metaphor urally cautious about their application in
(or model) the phenomenal world.
Metaphors, by contrast, are understood
Recent philosophical thinking in music figuratively.[15] Nelson Goodman describes
education has tended towards “theories of a metaphor as “teaching an old word new
the whole of the world of music educa- tricks” or “an affair between a predicate
tion” formulated by writers such as Ben- with a past and an object that yields while
nett Reimer, David Elliott, and Frede protesting.”[16] (He may not have gotten
Nielsen.[10] Whether it be “music educa- away with the latter metaphor today).Two
tion as aesthetic education,” “praxial mu- sets of images are brought together in ways
sic education,” or “musikdidaktik,” these that may startle or surprise; a word and
philosophers have tended to organize the its associations go on an “expedition
entire field of music education from one abroad”[17] As music teachers, we use met-
point of view as a systematic theory that, aphors all of the time. Much of our talk
in Nielsen’s case, can be tested empirical- about how to play and sing and the vari-
ly. Much curricular thinking in music ed- ous characteristics of music is metaphor-
ucation is also modular, often by means of ic. We talk about music as being “dark”
graphical representations.The notion of the and “light” or its texture as being “thick”
“spiral curriculum,” for example, is a sim- and “thin.” For example, Percy Scholes
plified representation of a complex array explains musical forms narratively, And-
of scope-and-sequence decisions about rea Boyea describes Native American
how music is to be presented to young music in terms of stories, Randall Allsup
people.[11] I think, for example, of June invokes Darwinian views of evolution,
Boyce-Tillman’s and Keith Swanwick’s Deanne Bogdan thinks of music perform-
spiral curriculum and the Manhattanville ance dialogically, and Elizabeth Gould re-
Music Curriculum Project (MMCP) pub- gards women’s experience of instrumen-
lished in the latter part of the twentieth tal conducting nomadically.[18] As these
century.[12] Music education research is also examples reveal, there is a clear tendency
based on models, for example, Albert Le- to propose various metaphors of music
Blanc’s model of music preference. [13] education rather than to be content with
Models require a systematic understand- just one. And to these writers, the meta-
ing of the various elements that comprise phors about which they write have a va-
a particular entity, for example, music pref- lency and potency that is captivating and
erence, and are formulated systematically, helpful in grasping particular phenomena
tested empirically, and, if possible, refuted. in music education.
Sometimes, models also serve a metaphoric Since I am unwilling to jettison ei-
purpose. For example, applying theoreti- ther models for their literal, didactic, sys-
cal abstractions in the phenomenal world tematic, public, and specific meanings or
presupposes conditions different from the metaphors for their figurative, inspirational,
imaginary world. Teachers know that ap- pictorial, personal, and ambiguous refer-
plying Jean Piaget’s theories of cognitive ences, I have necessarily complicated Ri-
development in elementary classrooms is chardson’s and Slingerland’s analyses. We
sometimes quite a leap.[14] Cognitive de- are no longer left with a solitary meta-
FJME 2008 / vol. 11 nr. 1–263
phor but with a metaphor in conjunction us about the nature of music and educa-
with a model and we also confront the tion.[20] Fiction joins with fantasy to show
possibility of multiple metaphors and re- us things about ourselves as human be-
lated models. Finding a way in the “ground ings and the many ways in which we know
between” metaphor and model and phi- the world. As an art form, story evokes
losophizing for openings rather than clos- compelling pictures in imagination’s eye.
ings in ways might be helpful to music For this reason, Greene draws on the world
teachers and those interested in their work of literature in order to show us ourselves.
S y m p o s i u m
while not abnegating testable theories is As we play with these pictures imagina-
challenging. But how to accomplish this? tively, we can relate them to our work in
schools and all the other places we teach.
Understanding metaphors Still, there is the problem of fancy being
(and models) comparatively denigrated in an age of science, technolo-
gy, and corporate power so that metaphors,
One way to draw pictures of music edu- often read figuratively rather than literal-
cation is to describe literal situations in ly, are likewise disparaged.
schools. In his book, Democracy and the Arts In my reluctance to let go of one in
of Schooling, Donald Arnstine provides sto- the press for the other, the question arises
ries of “real life” fictional stories meant to as to how to draw on metaphors as well
approximate lived situations.[19] There is as models. In Pictures of Music Education, I
nothing wrong with describing things lit- juxtapose metaphor and model, and the
erally so long as the descriptions are ac- analysis falls in the territory between met-
curate and widely shared. I have noticed, aphor and model—what we might call
however, that when teachers hear situa- “metaphoric model” or “modular meta-
tions described that do not apply to them, phor.” On the one hand, I do not want to
they are inclined to dismiss the entire ar- literalize the metaphor but leave it wings
gument For example, were I to suggest to to fly. On the other, it is important to sys-
a male band director schooled in a tradi- tematically outline a related model that
tional approach to instrumental music seems to derive from the metaphor and is
education that a band rehearsal ought to more-or-less consistent with it (although,
be run like a garage band jam session, he the model may be less ambiguous, multi-
may tell me that I do not know what I am faceted, and evocative than the metaphor).
talking about; my example does not apply In each case, my model consists of several
to his known reality. Or were I to de- elements of music education: music, teach-
scribe situations in urban schools in Brook- ing, learning, instruction, curriculum, and
lyn or the Bronx (presuming that I knew administration.[21] In this way, each model
something about them and had taught for is not equivalent to its corresponding
some considerable time in these places), metaphor but it is a systematic portrait
readers in small-town Indiana or Iowa that might derive from the metaphor. The
might say that these examples do not ap- ambiguity of the metaphor also suggests
ply to them for all sorts of specific rea- the possibility of several different models
sons. As music teachers, we know that of which the one I present is an instance.
music teaching is very place- and person- Each picture-set is comprised of two sep-
specific and the difficulty of using literal arate pictures—a metaphor and a mod-
examples is that they are taken literally el—and I sketch the advantages and dis-
rather than figuratively. advantages of each set in turn.
Another way to draw these pictures is
to use metaphors. Here, Harry Potter and Stewardship-Conservation
his wizardry school friends, Frodo and his
hobbit friends, and Alice and her Won- Rather than beginning with Richardson’s
derland friends might have much to teach account of stewardship specifically as it
Musiikkikasvatus 2008 / vsk. 11 nro 1–264
relates to the doctoral degree in educa- ple, the Shoshone people of North Amer-
tion, I prefer to sketch my own pictures ica are responsible for taking care of the
of the steward-conservation, Here, I juxta- land on behalf of the Great Spirit to whom
pose the metaphor of the steward with its it belongs and they owe allegiance.[25]
ancillary model of conservation.This move Stewards are those who are caretak-
allows me to sidestep Richardson’s con- ers or custodians of other’s property while
flation of metaphor (the steward) with they are absent or elsewhere. They do not
model (a systematic approach to doctoral own the things they are entrusted with
S y m p o s i u m
music education) that literalizes or “freez- but merely act on another’s behalf towards
es” the metaphor.[22] And my brief por- ends that are the other’s. As such, they are
trayal of the steward-conservation pictures obligated to carry out the wishes of these
allows me to keep metaphor and model more powerful others. In olden times, we
conceptually (if not practically) distinct might think of a steward as a sort of but-
while also remaining open to the pros- ler who looked after one’s home and af-
pect of multiple metaphors and models in fairs, protected those assets, and invested
music education. them so that they grew in value while
The image of the steward is of an- one was away. Today, we might be more
cient provenance and abounds in the reli- likely to encounter a steward on a cruise
gions. In Christianity, for example, Jesus ship. The steward exemplifies values of
tells his disciples about the ruler who goes duty, responsibility, caring and propriety.
on a long trip and leaves his servants in Duty evokes notions of obligation, respon-
charge of his property.[23] Each servant is sibility and onus, in which one feels bound
expected to take care of what he is given. to think and act in particular ways irre-
Some invest the property with which they spective of one’s personal inclinations or
are entrusted and make a handsome prof- hedonistic desires out of respect for more
it; another buries his in the ground.When powerful others. Responsibility connotes
the ruler returns, he praises those who ideas of accountability to another, a weight
have invested their resources wisely and or burden on one, and an encumbrance
castigates and destroys the one who sim- that limits or hinders what one is able to
ply buries his in the ground. There is an- do. Caring, as Nel Noddings describes, is
other story about five wise and five fool- grounded in our connectedness with oth-
ish bridesmaids who are told to await the ers and in dispassionate concern for oth-
coming of the bridegroom.[24] The five wise ers who need our affection and interven-
women have sufficient oil for their lamps tion on their behalf.[26] Propriety suggests
and additional oil in case the bridegroom that the steward acts with appropriate
is late; the five foolish women do not pre- decorum, fidelity, honesty, discretion, and
pare their oil reserves and are caught with- honor in carrying out the responsibilities
out the necessary oil when the bridegroom entrusted to her or him. In other words,
eventually arrives later than expected. the steward binds himself or herself as
Again, the five foolish maidens are rebuked much as is bound by the expectations of
while the wise ones are praised. In both others to act in ways that are exemplary
of these parables, the onus is on the stew- and beyond reproach. Here, the steward
ards to ensure that they faithfully fulfill restrains personal desire in the interest of
their responsibilities as caretakers of the values that benefit others. And so the stew-
resources they are lent. In the Christian ard is self-effacing and oriented towards
world view, moral imperatives underlie service to others.
these pictures of the steward. This is also The disposition to act according to
the case in other world religions; while these values prompts the steward to con-
the particular nuances of the steward may form to traditional and normative con-
differ from one religion to another, no- duct. In contemporary life, as in earlier
tions of stewardship abound. For exam- times, the steward augments his or her
FJME 2008 / vol. 11 nr. 1–265
income with tips and gratuities as marks alive the musical traditions of the past, es-
of appreciation, wears a uniform in which pecially the classical traditions since these
his or her individuality is reduced, and may be out of the musical mainstream or
seeks to meet the expectations of those otherwise inaccessible to the public-at-
on whose behalf he or she works. Some- large. In such a world-view, musicians also
times, the steward serves a capricious cli- expect to attain a sort of “musical immor-
entele and pleasing these clients is of the tality” since musical notation and record-
greatest importance. One of the steward’s ing technologies enable their music to tran-
S y m p o s i u m
crucial characteristics is the exercise of scend their life times. And reverence is a
judgment. As he or she is in a position of principal value in which a sense of myth,
trust, it is necessary to imaginatively weigh mystery and awe is cultivated and fidelity
how best to serve the interests of the oth- to this music and respect for it is fostered.
er. Who are these others? We may say, at Teaching. A conservation approach to
very least, that they are more powerful teaching requires what Dewey would think
people. Although I have invoked inclusive of as a “traditional” approach to education
language to speak of the steward as mas- whereby the teacher passes on wisdom,
culine and feminine, traditionally, a stew- knowledge, and skills deemed important
ardess is the correct designation for a fe- for students to know and be able to do.[28]
male steward and my metaphor should be Neil Postman has a slightly different take
that of a male. The words steward and on the conservation model of teaching.[29]
stewardess are not exactly parallel since For him, the teacher acts as an thermo-
stewards historically enjoyed greater power static agent such that tendencies in con-
and responsibility than stewardesses. Still, temporary culture are offset or balanced
it is now possible to think of the male by what happens in schools. For example,
figure of the steward more broadly to in- since contemporary popular culture is so
clude women who regularly fulfill these very pervasive in ordinary life, the music
roles and serve in positions of trust and teacher’s role is to offer instruction in
accountability. musics that may be archaic and esoteric,
This metaphor translates into the mod- thereby acting as a counterweight to the
el of conservation. Among the writers on pervasive culture. Whether one sees con-
educational and musical conservation, I servation as necessarily isomorphic or not,
think of the work of Richardson, Neil Richardson and Postman each point to the
Postman, John Dewey, Israel Scheffler, Sc- crucial role of tradition in education and
holes, Anne Shaw Faulkner, and Julian the necessity of ensuring its survival. The
Johnson.[27] And I turn to a brief synopsis teacher is obliged and duty-bound to this
of aspects of music, teaching, learning, in- music and the exponents of this particular
struction, curriculum and administration tradition to forward its values, attitudes,
that are evident in this model. beliefs, and practices. In the academy, duty
Music. Musical conservation emphasiz- is expressed in a trinity of obligations
es keeping alive the musics of the past, namely teaching, research or creative ac-
especially the classical traditions that have tivity, and service.[30] Teaching is principal-
survived over a long period of time. In ly about the subject matter rather than the
this model, longevity and esotericism are individual development of students, an
particularly prized. Conservationists see approach that Scheffler describes as “im-
themselves as servants of the music pro- pression,” whereby the teacher’s function
fession, charged with bequeathing the tra- is to implant knowledge in the student.[31]
ditions to which they are heirs to the next Research and creativity concern the aca-
generation and, if possible, enriching and demic’s obligations to contribute to knowl-
enhancing them and ensuring that these edge in the field of study. And service en-
traditions continue to live and flourish. tails the myriad ancillary tasks that keep
Education is a crucial element in keeping the academy thriving.
Musiikkikasvatus 2008 / vsk. 11 nro 1–266
Learning. Students are responsible to Tradition looms large and a myriad im-
master the subject matter put before them peratives obligate teachers and students
by the teacher. This is not a matter for to deal with particular content in specific
dialogue or debate but if the teacher says ways. Each tradition has its canon of mas-
“thus-and-thus,” the student is expected terworks that deserve attention because
to obediently follow the teacher’s instruc- they have endured and stood the test of
tion. Rather than begin with student in- time. The curriculum is adjudicated pri-
terests and impulses and move toward an marily with regard to what is traditional
S y m p o s i u m
expert’s systematic view of music, this and oriented towards the past rather than
approach begins and ends with the sub- the present or imagined future. Historical
ject matter. Student impulses are not nec- examples of curricula that fill this bill in-
essarily and directly engaged and students clude those forwarded for school use by
do not necessarily have input into the sub- early twentieth century advocates of mu-
ject matter they are required to learn. In- sic appreciation.[34] For example, neither
stead, they may become disciples or tech- Scholes nor Faulkner seeks to deconstruct,
nicians who follow uncritically the beliefs unmask, or critically examine the West-
and practices bequeathed to them by their ern classical tradition but rather to trans-
teachers. Here, the student may be envis- mit it faithfully. Accordingly, curricula are
aged as a tabula rasa or blank slate waiting framed by experts since they are deemed
to be filled as described by John Locke, or to be in the best position to know inti-
an empty vessel into which the teacher mately the tradition being transmitted.The
makes deposits in Paulo Freire’s “banking ends of such curricula are convergent and
education.”[32] The teacher’s carefulness and can be prescribed and proscribed and spec-
attention to detail requires of students a ified ahead of time and teacher and stu-
comparable respect, restraint, and careful- dent accountability can be clearly dem-
ness. And students gradually internalize onstrated. Musicians in charge of the trans-
and absorb these values for themselves and mission of a tradition are not only con-
come to be adherents and exponents of servative in the sense that they wish to
this musical tradition. maintain the tradition as they found it but
Instruction. Here, teacher and student they also tend to selectively interpret, en-
interaction is a largely one-way transmis- hance, and transform it. I avoid, therefore,
sion from teacher to student. Since com- a narrow reading of conservation that in-
munication centers around things deemed sists somewhat unrealistically that tradi-
to be sacred or of spiritual value, the teach- tion is unaltered by human interference
er’s actions are invested with urgency and and passed on unchanged from one gen-
clear purpose, namely the transmission of eration to the next in favor of a more
this distinguished tradition to a new gen- liberal or dynamic view of the process.
eration.The preservation and transmission While its orientation is naturally towards
of this tradition is the principal raison guarding the achievements of the past,
d’être of music education and teacher and musicians also seek to enhance and en-
student interaction centers around what rich this tradition and make it more rele-
Parker Palmer would describe as the sub- vant to their times.
ject of “great worth.”[33] Here, the teacher Administration. Here, music education
is the arbiter of musical truth and the stu- is arranged hierarchically with the experts
dent has a lowly status as the one who at the top of the social system and the
receives wisdom from on high. neophytes at the bottom. The greatest so-
Curriculum. The conservationist cur- cial status and power accrues to those who
riculum is regarded as the subject matter are recognized as most expert. Given the
of instruction, the content to be learned values of elitism and esotericism in con-
by students, or more generally, the pro- servation, administrators are naturally very
gram of studies to be followed by them. concerned about the prestige of the mu-
FJME 2008 / vol. 11 nr. 1–267
sic program and its recognition by musi- clarity of instructional objectives and
cal experts. Along with the sacred times methods, resonance of curriculum in a
there are sacred spaces, those places in conservative age, and goal-oriented admin-
which rituals are enacted and that are in- istrative procedures are also comforting.
vested with importance because of the And we experience a sense of safety as
significance of the events that play out in we stand on a promontory overlooking
them. Bringing music alive through per- the ocean tempest before us.
forming is a principal activity and the space Still, this model also has its detrac-
S y m p o s i u m
devoted to it is of utmost importance.[35] I tions. In emphasizing tradition, it may stand
think, for example, of Auer Hall, an ex- against pluralist and humane music edu-
quisite space for hearing music at Indiana cation, especially regarding women and
University Jacobs School of Music.[36] And minorities who have been excluded from
we might likewise think of similar spaces professional music composition and per-
in this country. formance for the greater part of music
Conservation has much to recommend history. Even today, few women compos-
it. The emphasis on tradition helps keep ers come to our attention since their work
alive musical practices and emphasize the is largely marginal to the central canon of
contributions of classical musics to cul- great works that have stood this test of
tural life.Without tradition, society would time. Even though stunning compositions
break down. Education has historically had may surface by writers such as Hildegard
the role of transmitting the wisdom from of Bingen, decades ahead of her time
one generation to the next, thereby con- musically, this work is still largely exclud-
tributing to a measure of social, societal, ed from the canon.[38] The same might be
and cultural stability. Regarding what we said for those working on the margins of
teach as precious and caring for music as the European canon or within other mu-
for our students dignifies our task as a sical traditions. A preoccupation with the
vocation and invests it with significance past may also leave us unprepared to face
and importance. As custodians of musical present challenges and the diversity and
culture, we are naturally concerned to be plurality of today’s musical landscape that
careful about this heritage and treat it re- defies canonization. In our search for the
spectfully; we wish to exercise discretion one true way we may forget the many
and care as we pass it on to our students. different ways in which music can be made
The past is privileged and its values inev- and taken. This posture may leave us out-
itably hark back to old and treasured ide- of-touch and out-of-step with the reali-
as and practices that were regarded as ties of our time; paradoxically, those who
universally true.This sense of the one true preserve tradition may contribute to its
way is comforting, especially in the di- demise. Privileging certain elements of so-
verse societies in which we presently teach. ciety and their works may require one to
Our assumptions of what we think others subordinate one’s own way to more pow-
ought to think and how they ought to erful others, and stand against genuinely
agree with us may lead us to privilege the including the entire fabric of culture and
canonical, the old, and the tested. In such other principles of a democratic society.
a world view, classical music needs to be Such an anti-democratic mind-set on the
privileged since the evidence of its lon- part of musicians undermines the freedom
gevity is all around us and its prized works of all people to express themselves in dif-
have withstood the tests of time.[37] The fering musical ways. In this way, conserv-
venerable antiquity of this musical tradi- ative music teaching may stand against a
tion encourages us in a world in which pluralistic and humane music education.
change is pervasive and popular musical There is the additional possibility that past
styles are ephemeral. The clearly deline- insights may be fallible, incomplete, and
ated roles between teacher and student, wrong-headed and past wrongs may need
Musiikkikasvatus 2008 / vsk. 11 nro 1–268
to be righted. Technological and other umphant.[39] The pilgrim is also an actor
societal changes may render the past ir- in a cosmic drama in which supernatural
relevant to the present moment. These forces ensure that good triumphs over evil.
approaches may be insufficiently conver- Frodo plays his part amidst supernatural
sational, too directive of student learning, wars between the creator, Eru, and the
and leave few opportunities for students’ forces of good, and Sauron and the forces
insights and construction of their own of evil that would destroy all that Eru had
understandings. Students’ acquiescence to made.[40] The Star Wars mission is likewise
S y m p o s i u m
teacher direction may mask apathy and a helped by the Force—a supernatural power
failure to enjoy this instruction or make for good—and thwarted by the Dark
this learning their own. The curriculum Side.[41] And although it seems likely that
may be irrelevant to student lives and in- the pilgrim will fail and darkness will pre-
terests, and the stock-of-knowledge ap- vail, we hope that his or her mission is
proach may be insufficiently dynamic. An successful.
hierarchical administrative approach may Moments of transforming brilliance
brook little criticism of traditional prac- and enlightenment punctuate the pilgrim-
tice and fail to nurture sufficiently those age. Paul the Apostle is struck blind by a
who live and work in this environment. vision on the road to Damascus that
And these difficulties suggest reasons for changes his life and the future of Christi-
skepticism about stewardship as the sole anity just as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins are
metaphor or model for doctoral music visited by Gandalf the wizard and the elves
education or any music education for that provide Frodo with a camouflage cloak
matter. and food for his journey.[42] The objective
of the pilgrim’s journey is veiled in mys-
Pilgrim-Quest tery; it is precious and hidden from view
and the pilgrim must search for it. The
Taking a different tack, consider the pic- search for the Holy Grail, told in Dan
tures of pilgrim-quest in which we think of Brown’s Da Vinci Code has been ongoing
the pilgrim as a metaphor and quest as a for centuries and its power lies partly in
music educational model derivative from the mystery of what the grail is and where
or parasitic on pilgrim. The word pilgrim it is to be found.[43] Along the way are
comes from the Provençal pelegrin and the serendipitous happenings that shape the
Latin peregrinus meaning foreign. (Inciden- pilgrim’s progress and evoke surprise and
tally, it is related to peregrine, a falcon known wonder. Lucy and the other children en-
originally as a “pilgrim hawk” because it tering the wardrobe in C. S. Lewis’s The
was taken as an adult from the cliffs and Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, must sure-
mountains where it was born.) This is an ly be surprised to meet a lion and a witch
interesting connection since the pilgrim, among other beings.[44] Who could ex-
Frodo, in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the pect that a children’s game would yield
Rings, traverses sometimes wild terrain and such a surprising result? Or what hobbit
is a foreigner and even an interloper, come could expect to be smothered by tree roots
from afar and expecting to return home. and meet Bombadil and Goldenberry sing-
We may think of a pilgrim as one who ing in the woods?[45] And sometimes the
undertakes a journey to a sacred place, as pilgrim is joined by others, as Frodo is
the Muslim journeys to Mecca, the Cath- joined by Samwise, Merry, Pippin, Gan-
olic journeys to Fatima, or Frodo jour- dalf, and the other creatures in their band.
neys to Mount Doom, the seat of Sauron, This journey is transformative. Its epic
the evil one. In Pilgrim’s Progress, John and “larger than life” character makes it
Bunyan portrays Christian on a journey difficult to explain to those who have not
fraught with danger, languishing in the been on it when the pilgrim returns home
“Slough of Despond” but eventually tri- a changed person. How can I possibly tell
FJME 2008 / vol. 11 nr. 1–269
those who have never walked the streets as Howard shows, it seems cloaked in
of the old Moroccan city of Tetoun what mystery, and it is sometimes hard for the
it is like? I cannot capture its sights, sounds, student to figure out what is going on.
and smells, the jostle of people and their Those who are exponents of this music,
curious, hostile, and envious stares at me, love it and regard it as exceedingly pre-
a foreigner among other foreigners in their cious. And seeing music as a spiritual and
midst. Or how can I describe the old Arab intellectual undertaking downplays its sen-
quarter of Alzicin on one of the hillsides sate character and cultivates an esoteric
S y m p o s i u m
of Granada, Spain, to those who have never approach to its teaching and learning.
wandered its narrow streets, spied its Teaching. Thinking of teaching as quest
whitewashed houses, or mingled with its suggests that it is a calling in which “many
inhabitants as they celebrate a feast day in are called, but few are chosen.”[48] Here,
its square? I struggle for words but find one teaches for openings, and discovery
myself lapsing into silence, unable and even and conversation are means of observing
unwilling to spoil imagined moments with the “might be” as well as the “what is.”
too many words.This journey prompts new The challenges that teachers take up with
ways of seeing self, world, and whatever their students are genuine and important.
lies beyond that render the pilgrim alien Such teaching is also subject-centered in
in his or her own society. Although fear is the sense that persons as well as music are
often a powerful emotion on the pilgrim’s prized and honored for their own sakes.
part, he or she is a heroic figure; even And the openings for which teachers teach
though humble and weak, the pilgrim are potentially transformative.
exemplifies strength. It is the hobbits or Learning. In quest, learning relies on
“halflings,” not Gandalf or more powerful insight and intuition, and meditation and
others in The Lord of the Rings, who are reflection provide important means where-
chosen to destroy the ring. This is also a by this can occur. Cultivating reverence for
journey undertaken by adults and chil- music and an attitude of respect, awe, and
dren. Although Frodo, like Bilbo his un- wonder as one thinks in and through mu-
cle, is 50 years of age and “all grown up” sic and practices it is a virtue too often
when he sets out on his journey,[46] Harry neglected in general education. And the
Potter and the Hogwarts students, and quest is best undertaken as a community
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy in the of learners, that is, by learners who are re-
Narnia Chronicles may also stumble into spectful of and fully present to each other.
pilgrimage, just as do the adults. And they Instruction. The interaction between
all undertake spiritual journeys that render teachers and students is conversational but
them changed individuals. has its own particular flavor. The quality
How does this metaphor translate into of reverence that exemplifies it puts the
the model of quest? David Carr, Parker teacher who embodies and expresses this
Palmer, Iris Yob, James Loder, June Boyce- particular musical wisdom in the position
Tillman, and Anthony Palmer are among of intermediary or even priest or wizard,
those to think of education and music since the knowledge of which he or she is
education in terms of quest[47] The word an exponent is mysterious, revered, and
quest comes from the Latin, quaerere, “to even otherwise inaccessible. Still, although
ask.” It centers around the question and the teacher, like Gandalf, possesses great-
connotes a long and arduous search. And er power and wisdom than the student,
here is a brief sketch. he or she remains a fellow learner. Here,
Music. Thinking about music as quest a worshipful atmosphere is evoked in the
evokes notions of music as verb, or the learning community. In its focus on spir-
infinitive “to music(k),” and focuses on itual things, quest attends to the life of
musical processes rather than products. mind that is prior to or beneath the ac-
When the learner begins to study music, tions in the phenomenal world that flow
Musiikkikasvatus 2008 / vsk. 11 nro 1–270
from it. And notice that only a “few” have rather than denigrate and berate them.
been “winnowed” from among the many These pictures of pilgrim-quest have
and are fortunate to engage in these ped- strengths and weaknesses. Among their
agogical conversations. strengths, music offers experiences of tran-
Curriculum. The subject of great worth scendence and imminence, wonder, awe,
is at the heart of music instruction and at and reverence. The teacher’s work is ele-
the center of teachers’ and students’ in- vated to that of a calling, situated in the
terest. Who decides what is of value? Pre- context of powerful forces. Learning is
S y m p o s i u m
sumably, those with greatest experience, likewise centered around music and takes
wisdom, and expertise. Decisions of what advantage of learners’ questions and in-
is of value are mediated in various ways. sights as they engage music actively and
For example, Freire’s conversations with reflectively. Instruction is conversational
workers and academics color his thinking and transformative of the lives of those
about liberatory pedagogy.[49] Still, al- engaged in it. Curriculum enables musi-
though this is a pervasively constructivist cians to keep alive those musical tradi-
approach to curriculum, ultimately, the tions otherwise outside or beyond the
architects of a field of study and its chief musical mainstream or popular conscious-
proponents determine which subject mat- ness. And administration is organized
ter is of the greatest worth. Even Freire around significant subject matter allow-
tells us what it should be. The curriculum ing self-selected groups to form dynami-
is framed around important existential cally in small communities.
questions that matter to students so that The dark side of quest suggests the
they are brought eventually from their own possibility of tyranny, war, and genocide.
musical perspectives to grasp the field of We remember that Anakin Skywalker, Jedi
music as its exponents know it. Since the knight and “chosen one” of the “Force,”
quest goes into alien territory, teachers and becomes Darth Vader, committed to the
their students may be interlopers and even dark side.[51] Musically, quest may de-em-
treat others or be treated with suspicion phasize the sensuous, prosaic, and materi-
when they go abroad musically. This is a al character of music in favor of an exces-
global approach to music that goes out- sively intellectual and spiritual approach.
ward in time and in space. And since quest There is the possibility that teachers may
is a pervasively process-oriented approach, be insufficiently critical of the musical
evaluation serves mainly formative rather tradition(s) they teach and of the wisdom
than summative purposes. they receive. Students do not necessarily
Administration. Thinking of the subject turn out to be better people for having
reverently suggests that the times and plac- studied the arts and it may be difficult to
es where learners gather may be thought achieve the prolonged, sustained, and some-
of as sacred. Yob writes about stepping times difficult search for wisdom in a per-
over the threshold of the school as the vasively materialistic and product-orient-
place where one enters another world.[50] ed world. Instruction may be too idiosyn-
In this view, school is a place where one cratic, unsystematic, rhapsodic, and undi-
stands on holy ground, and those who rected. Curriculum may be controlled by
work within it, be they administrators, a powerful musical elite that determines
teachers, staff, students, or other visitors, which music is to be revered and which
have a calling or a vocation. Such schools mysteries are to be revealed. And adminis-
might be organized as bands of learners trators may be held hostage to religious
led by more experienced teachers around imperatives when spirituality is confused
important questions. Administration is with religiosity, just as quest’s spirituality
guided by ideals of flexibility, open-mind- may be lost when music education is or-
edness, inclusiveness, and caring. And lead- ganized around subject matter in ways that
ers seek to encourage others in the school are not also sensitive to learners.
FJME 2008 / vol. 11 nr. 1–271
Applications to performance and opportunities allow her or him to uncov-
performance pedagogy er hidden musical meanings. The pilgrim
is joined in the fellowship of a communi-
Although these pictures are flawed, they ty of learners or studio class without which
prompt reflection about what ought to be these insights might not be gained. And
the purposes and ends of music education the force of engaging with this music and
and how its work ought to be conducted. these fellow pilgrims is transformational
Taken alone, the pictures of steward-con- in the lives of those involved.
S y m p o s i u m
servation and pilgrim-quest seem both unre- Music. In conservation, the principal
alistic and impractical in their implications task of music education is to keep an eso-
for music education practice, and yet, since teric and distinguished musical tradition
they offer so much, we wonder how their alive and flourishing. Such a reading makes
contributions might be taken advantage performance central to music education
of while also avoiding and resisting their since it constitutes the only means whereby
darker sides. By way of bringing these old music can be resurrected and recon-
comparisons home to music performance stituted in the present. The power and
and the teaching and learning of perform- weight of music of the past overwhelms
ance, I briefly compare how performance an interest in music of the present since
and performance pedagogy are nuanced there is little time and space left to focus
differently beginning with the respective on new music. Privileging the music of
metaphors and their related models. In so the past means that new music needs to
doing, the practical insights that this com- conform to this weight of expectation and
parative metaphorical strategy can yield it is more difficult to break out of past
are apparent. molds and create new and different mu-
Thinking of the performer and per- sic. Seeing music this way also tends to
forming teacher as steward and pilgrim, privilege a static “stock of knowledge”
we notice the claims of the musical canon approach over a more dynamic and proc-
in both cases. For the steward, repertoire essual approach. Performers may feel
that is old and esoteric is especially re- obliged to include the study and perform-
vered since it has “stood the test of time.” ance of a wide array of music from this
The steward is powerless to alter this can- “stock” rather than be more selective or
on and is obliged to faithfully pass it on adventuresome in choices that press the
to the next generation. Since he or she boundaries of “acceptable” repertoire. In
reveres the masters and their works, the quest, although the performer’s interest is
test of an excellent performance is its fi- likewise in esoteric and antiquated reper-
delity to the score and the composer’s in- toire, there is a greater interest in a dy-
tent insofar as it can be discovered. Also, namic view of music as process rather than
the steward desires to create an authorita- product. Here, views of music(k)ing focus
tive and authentic performance that be- more on performance as an end as well as
comes immortal in the sense that it re- a means to the end of musical knowledge,
mains in the memory of those who hear on the doing of music rather than know-
it live or as a recording.[52] The pilgrim, ing about it. One might even see perform-
on the other hand, in search of musical ance as the raison d’être of music educa-
mysteries that can only be uncovered by tion. The mystery surrounding music in
diligent search, may seem an interloper, a quest, in counterpoint to the revealed truth
foreigner, traveling far afield in search of in conservation, poses a different task for
repertoire to play and sing. There is not the musician of uncovering meaning. So
the same clarity and sense of revealed truth analyses of the repertoire and its cultural
as there is for the steward. Rather, the context become especially important as
tradition in which he or she is in search is the musician seeks to excavate and dis-
unclear and ambiguous, and serendipitous cover how to perform this music and what
Musiikkikasvatus 2008 / vsk. 11 nro 1–272
it means.There is a sense in which uncov- and to follow particular texts.[54] In quest,
ering musical meaning is an ongoing proc- teaching is a vocation or a calling and more
ess that takes place over a lifetime and Socratic, focused on interrogation or ques-
may never be definitive. We think of a tioning rather than instruction or explain-
performer who records a piece multiple ing. As a result, the teacher leans heavily
times, each one of which has a distinctive on the student’s insight into the music
flavor and different truth and possibly a being studied.[55] Questioning the student
changing if not growing understanding of about a particular piece means that the
S y m p o s i u m
it. And like conservation, quest appeals student is likely to find musical features
mainly to mind than body, to the spiritual of which the teacher is unaware; he or
than sensual self, and to the lover of clas- she may wish to interpret it differently
sical rather than vernacular or popular than the teacher advocates or it has been
music. interpreted traditionally. These realities
Teaching. In conservation, the teacher suggest a much more open-ended ap-
of performance conveys information about proach to musical meaning and interpre-
the repertoire and its performance prac- tation.The teacher’s prompting of the stu-
tice to the student. This is not a dialogical dent’s insight into how this piece is to be
or conversational imperative but rather the performed focuses on “what might be”
teacher provides a program of study for rather than “what is” or “what has been,”
the student who obediently follows it. orients performer and student towards
Since so much hangs on the performer’s future possibilities rather than a fixation
personal instruction of the neophyte or on the past. And the teacher performs and
student musician, this is an elitist approach teaches for ambiguity rather than singu-
to music education in which only a com- larity in musical interpretation.
parative few are able to receive it. Im- Learning. In conservation, learning re-
planting esoteric musical knowledge in the lies on the performer’s and student’s obe-
student’s soul is such a crucial task that dience and acquiescence to traditional
much of the teacher’s time and effort is practices. The student accepts this tradi-
spent on expository and demonstration tion uncritically and trusts the teacher who
activities.The performer both tells the stu- embodies it, knows it intimately, and is an
dent how to do such-and-such and shows expert practitioner of it. As Howard writes,
how it is done. Whether it be the em- the neophyte artist initially trusts the teach-
boucher, breath support, hand position or er implicitly and does exactly what is asked
fingering, body position, or interpretation of her or him to the best of her or his
of the score, the teacher is insistent that ability.[56] In this approach, it is not the
the student follow normative technical and student’s place to ask “Why am I doing
interpretative rules. Even if the student this?” Rather, as the lowly follower and
finds alternative technical approaches or disciple of the master performer, the stu-
interpretations on his or her own, the dent is engaged in what Howard calls the
teacher is bound to insist that he or she “apprentice’s sorcery”—something akin to
follows the rules that have been be- learning magic.[57] Here, the learner is se-
queathed by his or her teacher. So the rious, deferent, careful, respectful and in
teacher serves as a conduit or vessel where- awe of a piece that is regarded as great or
by a particular tradition passes to the stu- a masterwork. Aaron Copland might de-
dent.[53] His or her sayings may be figura- scribe such a performer as “classic” in the
tive or aphoristic, pictures or sayings that sense that the performance is more “im-
encapsulate what for her or him consti- personal” and the imperative is a defini-
tutes the “best” or “correct” way to play tive score reading.[58] Learning in quest is
or practice. And the teacher believes it to likewise a sacred and spiritual undertak-
be essential to pass on the whole body of ing, fraught with important consequenc-
the tradition as exhaustively as possible es. Still, while the learner evidences a rev-
FJME 2008 / vol. 11 nr. 1–273
erent attitude to this music, this is a much North Indian classical traditions, students
more engaged learner who makes the have to prove themselves worthy to know
learning her or his own. So, as I look into the teacher’s wisdom and because of the
this piece and discover how I should play imperative of fidelity to the tradition; teach-
or sing it, there is a sense in which I make ers only share privileged wisdom with
it my own. Copland notes that this per- those students they believe to be deserv-
former might be described as “romantic” ing. David Neuman relates the case of a
in a more personalized and even passion- guru who had a pupil for 26 years and still
S y m p o s i u m
ate reading of what has been discovered did not think that he was ready to learn
in the score.[59] Importantly, in quest, much the surbahar.[61] Even in European and
hangs on the community of which the Western classical music, it is incumbent
learner is a part. This is a communitarian on students to persuade their teachers to
approach to learning in which pieces are teach them and to prove themselves wor-
discussed, various interpretations are tried thy of the teacher’s knowledge. By con-
out, and insights shared with others with trast, the instructional climate in quest is
whom one journeys. One thinks, for ex- conversational or dialogical. Although the
ample, of the studio class in which a small teacher carries authority by virtue of his
group of students study together with the or her expertise in performing this instru-
teacher, lessons are public rather than pri- ment or knowledge of this musical tradi-
vate in the sense that they are heard by tion, the social distance between teacher
other students, and those who are not ac- and students is lessened as students are
tually performing are engaged with the invited to share and develop their own
music by making notes on their scores, insights.There can be no denying the spir-
trying out different interpretations imagi- itual nature of this instruction and the role
natively and critically listening to their of the teacher as priest or conveyer of
fellow students who are actually playing musical mysteries. Like conservation, in-
or singing. All the studio class and their struction is typically conducted in small
performer-teacher are fully engaged with and elite groups. And the community to
this music and intent on its performance. which each musician belongs and with
For example, I think of Franz Liszt’s fa- which he or she is identified is a major
mous master classes described by the force in shaping the beliefs, attitudes, val-
American pianist Amy Fay, in which the ues, and practices of its members.
students are gathered in order to discover Curriculum. In conservation, one en-
how they ought to play this music.[60] Much counters a very traditional program of
hangs on students’ devotion to grasping study framed by expert musicians. Each
the mystery of how to play intelligently instrument has its own canonical litera-
and virtuostically. And there is an intensi- ture and within a music school, teachers
ty of concentration and energy that leaves are presumed to instill a knowledge of
all the participants drained at lesson’s end. this canon in their students. Looking at
Instruction. The quality of interaction the music school as a social system, as do
between performer and student in con- Henry Kingsbury and Bruno Nettl writ-
servation is a largely one-way and direc- ing in the United States,[62] teachers en-
tive communication in which the student counter social pressure from others to
is the recipient. The wide social distance conform to this literature. For example,
between the teacher whose expertise gives should a female teacher of voice empha-
her or him authority and the lowly stu- size song literatures that lie largely out-
dent who desires this prowess helps to cre- side the principal European vocal litera-
ate a formal instructional climate.This for- tures, for example, in French, German, Ital-
mality helps keep the focus of performer ian, and English, in order to cultivate al-
and student on the music under study. In most exclusively songs of South America
some musical traditions, for example, the in Spanish or Portuguese, Russian songs,
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