Mindfulness, Ambiguity, and Aesthetic Hierarchy:

A Philosophy for Music Education

 

The purpose of philosophy in education is to examine the fundamental values of what and how we teach. Sandra Stauffer (2012) suggests that music education philosophy should reflect a particular time, space, and experience. More precisely, the philosophy for music education is responsive to the environment in which is being taught. Therefore, the philosophy for music education put forth represents a particular time, space, and experience. As time, space, and experiences are fluid entities within themselves, the (1) act of mindfulness, the (2) acceptance of ambiguity, and the (3) deconstruction of aesthetic hierarchy represents current cultural changes with the purpose for preparing students to responsibly participate from within.

Mindfulness

To be aware means to be cognitively critical of our senses and thoughts. Mindfulness is the active process of being aware. Given this, there are varying degrees of awareness as regulated by oneself that can dictate ones mindfulness. On one end of the spectrum, there is a degree of awareness that involves only the basic instincts of the senses. This can be thought as being ”on autopilot;” having basic survival senses and following routine motions. In this degree of awareness, critical thinking and senses are “partially engaged.” On the opposite side of the spectrum, there is total cognitive involvement of the senses and thoughts. This occurs through a ”deliberate consciousness” and varies based ones own practice and understanding. In this degree of awareness, critical thinking and senses are ”fully engaged.”

Of these varying degrees of awareness, we find ourselves to predominantly be only partially engaged. Why is this? Consider two examples from nature: (1) A stream or a river has a larger boulder in the middle. When the water reaches the boulder is has two options, go over or around. The decision to go around or over is determined by the ”path of least resistance.” (2) The domestication of wolves to modern dogs was a result of humans offering food. For the wolves the option was to receive food from humans or hunt their own food. The decision to take the food offered by humans was the path of least resistance.

As it is in nature, the brain seeks the path of least resistance, or in this case, partially engaged awareness. When we encounter obstacles in our daily life we seek the simplest action to meet the desired solution. However, unlike the stream of water or domesticated wolves, humans can manipulate the path of least resistance to seek greater understanding. This manipulation can be seen as practicing mindfulness. If we increase both our ability and tendency for awareness, the greater growth and understanding we will achieve.

A Vehicle for Change

The current tide of progressive movements such as Black Lives Matters, and the Women’s March have given voice to groups that are normally not able to dictate a national conversation. Leaders and participants of these movements have sought change within their communities and the country by challenging the status quo. Change can only occur when the majority of a community decides to forgo the status quo or the path of least resistance and engage greater awareness or mindfulness.

Music education can enable mindfulness by engaging the senses and consciousness in greater awareness to experience, as Elliot Eisner describes, the “qualitative state.” Eisner (2002) says that our understanding of this qualitative state and the process for which we find understanding shapes our personal identity or individuality. Given this, our senses, with the aid of culture, shape who we are. As Eisner states:

“Work in the arts…is a way of creating our lives by expanding our consciousness, shaping our dispositions, satisfying our quest for meaning, establishing contact with others, and sharing a culture” (pp. 19).

Music can allow students to foster new meanings and challenge preconceived notions by expanding their awareness of their environment. Put simply, music, as a member of the arts, promotes mindfulness. In turn, students develop a voice of change. As Eisner states,

“We are given permission to slow down perception, to look hard, to savor the qualities that we try, under normal conditions, to treat so efficiently that we hardly notice they are there.” (pp. 21)

While human nature tells us to follow the path of least resistance, mindfulness, as enabled by music education, can train us to view our environment with greater awareness; engaging the senses through music allows us to expand our spectrum of awareness. In turn, as we develop awareness, we develop our capability to be an agent for change. As Eisner suggests, a culture with great constraints on imagination will see little change due to the lack of imagined possibilities.

Ambiguity

The current political climate in the U.S. is largely defined by the divisiveness and polarity of two ideologies: liberal and conservative. The growing polarity has inhibited change and progress within the country. Within the national conversation of immigration, gun rights, and other divisive topics, the conditioned response is to “take sides” and simplify the debate into a yes or no question, or right and wrong. While we debate in terms of “black and white,” the experiences that shape our lives are occurring within an increasingly gray world. In order to unite and foster productive debate we must begin to see in shades of gray and embrace the ambiguity.

In the truest sense of a democracy, every voice is given equal representation. Given that our experiences differ, our voices together represent a spectrum of thought. A democracy, in the truest sense, can only experience growth when decisions are determined within the middle of the spectrum. The mixture of diverse voices therefore must embrace ambiguity to form a democratic decision.

Seeing Gray in a Democratic Music Classroom

Within our democratic culture there are a variety of roles that music can take on. Whether that is a performer, composer, critic, listener, or variety of others, the democratic music classroom must foster these roles. Perhaps the most democratic role within the music classroom is criticism. Through criticism students are subjected to the authentic experience of music within culture. As previously suggested, the world in which we live is experienced in terms of complexity and ambiguity. Therefore, by fostering criticism within the classroom, students are bound to embrace the ambiguities and see the gray.

As Paul Woodford (2004) suggests, criticism is respect. Within in the democracy, respect is necessary to foster dialogue. Woodford continues to suggest that:

“[Democracy in the classroom is an] Acknowledgment of the complexity and variability of musical experience. Probably the majority of the concepts that give our lives meaning and hope, including music and education but also love, equality and religion, are ultimately resistant to final definition. Simply abandoning them because they are difficult, messy, or challenging would be a grave mistake as it would be akin to abandoning the humanist tradition and its quest for liberty and just and the improvement of the human condition.” (Pg. 79) 

By cultivating an experience of complexity and variability within the artistic experience, students are better prepared for the realities they will face in their lives outside of school. Not only this, but they will be able to promote “liberty and just and the improvement of the human condition” by means of seeing the shades of gray and embracing the ambiguity.

Aesthetic Hierarchy

The current national conversation has brought to center the role of identity in our culture. As a society, we are collectively beginning to reevaluate identity in terms of, among others, sexuality and race. From legalization of gay marriage, to transgender rights, to a national conversation about sexual assault, the role of sexuality and gender are under a close microscope. Similarly, between policy of policing in black and Latino communities, to immigration and sanctuary cities, large groups in our society are questioning the status quo to bring about necessary change.

Colonial powers have largely shaped the principles and ideologies within the United States. When we consider the “status quo,” we are generally referring to principals and ideologies set by traditional Western-European values. Since the first colonies reached the shores of North American, those principals and ideology have seen changes; changes driven by evolving cultural demographics. The change is ultimately the work of a democratic society in which the voices of the people determine the direction of the country.

As with all change, there comes resistance and push back in order to maintain the status quo. Recent resistance can be seen from the White Nationalist demonstrations to a presidential campaign running on the slogan “Make America Great Again.” Despite the resistance, it is important to continue to acknowledge the progress our country has made to come to these discussions on a national level. This all begins with challenging the status quo. And within music, we can start by deconstructing aesthetic hierarchies.

Postmodern Imperialism and the Arts

The act of enhancing the status quo and pushing for a continued centralization of Western-European views can be considered “postmodern imperialism.” The high-placed value of tradition in music has not only impeded growth within the field but also has enabled postmodern imperialistic views to thrive in the music classroom. If we evaluate the materials used in teaching music (repertoire, instrumentation, textbooks, etc.) and the methods we use to present these materials, we will discover a traditional Western-European canon of principals and ideology.

The use of prominently Western-European materials can be clearly noticeable to both the student and the teacher. For example, students will take notice when they are only studying and performing works by Beethoven and Handel. However, what is less apparent but equally critical is the method by which the materials are presented. For instance, a middle school band that plays prominently popular songs and folk songs with an occasional intermittence of marches and European art music appears to challenge to status quo. However, the method for engaging students will have the ultimate determination of whether or not the classroom is challenging the status quo. In fact, this scenario can result in further solidifying the status quo.

What postmodern imperialism essentially looks like in the classroom is “aesthetic hierarchy.” Through a fixed perspective based on Western-European traditions, we place value with music and therefore create an aesthetic hierarchy. The consequences of a fixed perspective can result in perceived inferiority or deficiency of select cultures. Deborah Bradley (2012) discusses the colonization and decolonization of music as it relates to the methods of teaching:

“…multicultural music becomes, in effect, its own “aesthetic”: pursued for its own sake rather than as means promoting cross-cultural understanding.” (pp. 426).

“In music education, moving beyond ‘add-and-stir approaches to multiculturalism to robust inclusion of multiple musical genres that decenter (without eliminating) the western canon, calls for a reconstituted, more broadly conceived vision of what is mean to be musically educated.” (pp. 428–429)

The role of music education is to challenge the perceptions we carry about music and the culture in which it inhabits. In the same way that as a society we are beginning to have national conversations about the status quo of gender equality, sexual identity, and race, music education should foster conversations as to how music is experienced and perceived within our and other cultures. The goal is not to eliminate Western-European principals and ideologies, but to refocus, or decenter, it to allow for, as Bradley says, “cross-cultural understanding.”

In a moment of growing cultural divisions and mounting progressive movements, there is a unified call for a new generation that can mend divisions and foster continued progress toward equality. Whether it is developing mindfulness, embracing ambiguity, or deconstructing aesthetic hierarchies, the role of music education is to provide students with the experience, knowledge, and capability to contribute responsibility toward the greater good of society. From heighten senses to cultural critiques; the music classroom is responsive to the needs of those who it serves, the students.