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While Langer's assertions about feeling and art have had a marked impact on music educators’ thinking and action, they have also earned substantial critique. The purpose of this philosophical inquiry is to examine Langer's and Deleuze's writings about the ontology of art and to posit a new concept, ‘becoming feeling,’ inspired by the meeting of their philosophies. Deleuze's assertions about forces, intensities, and becomings avoid the pitfalls of Langer's statements about music's symbolic nature, but his focus on ‘nonhuman becomings’ has the potential to neglect the emotional aspects of humanity that Langer finds central to musical experiences. I offer that artistic experiences foster ‘becoming-feeling,’ which involves sensing the world as though one were specific, continually-changing feelings. Examples of how musically educative experiences centred on ‘becoming-feeling’ might lead to more refined and ordered understandings as well as to more complex and confused ones are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this philosophical paper, I propose a theory of music education inspired by ancient Chinese philosophy. In particular, I draw on five classical Chinese philosophical texts: the Analects, the Mencius, the Zhuangzi, the Xunzi and the Yue Ji. Given that music education was an integral part of the social fabric in ancient China, it is potentially illuminating to uncover the theoretical underpinning of this enterprise, and to examine the implications of such a theory for contemporary music education. Based on the texts, I posit an ancient Chinese-inspired theory of music education that comprises four facets: society, teacher-model, effortful training and effortless action. I conclude this paper with implications for contemporary music education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The philosophy of music curriculum for the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) developed by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) is conceived from the background of Western music. It impacts little on the learning of Nigerian music. Music is an essential, inseparable and a fundamental part of African cultures. The traditional systems of the Nigerian society consider music to be an indispensable part of education and some families were renowned with long traditions of music making. The mode of training notably involved a long period of apprenticeship with an imitation approach as a major method of the teaching-learning process. Against this background, this paper examines the content of the music curriculum for the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in relation to its stated philosophy and objectives and that of the Nigerian cultural system. It further examines the possibility of replacing most of the repertoire of imposed Western musical tradition with Nigerian musical heritage, in order to make it more relevant to the student's social environment and for the economic advancement of its graduates and the society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The 1957 launch of Sputnik and the 1983 publication of A Nation at Risk shifted national education policy. Music educators promoted an “intrinsic value” of music philosophy following Sputnik and music advocacy through politics and public performances following A Nation at Risk. Examining the history of both the intrinsic value philosophy and advocacy reveals that music educators responded to Sputnik and A Nation at Risk by continuing to work within their existing language and practices rather than reacting to and transforming after either event. The political, social, and cultural contexts of these events may explain music educators’ responses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dealing with traditions is a central issue in music education. I investigate different perspectives on tradition by engaging in a local hermeneutic study surrounding an interpretive event from a viola studio. To understand the function of tradition in this event, I construct a theoretical perspective with roots in hermeneutics and educational philosophy. Analysing this event and the participants' reflections, the contrast between the teacher's approach and the student's view of the work brings forward their divergent understandings of interpretive tradition. To investigate these differences, I offer three lenses: negotiating aesthetic values, liberation from tradition, and understanding tradition as a noun and as a process. I conclude that there are different ways in which a musician can 'be like Primrose', and become a participant in a tradition. I also suggest ways in which traditions can be explored in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The music education profession seriously underestimates the potential significance of philosophical or theoretical inquiry to its instructional, curricular, and research efforts. This essay urges that rapidly changing realities and an unpredictable future make theoretical inquiry more important than ever—theory or philosophy of a very different kind than that to which the profession has grown accustomed. The potential benefits of philosophical pragmatism are explored, with particular attention to the primacy of action and the habit of changing habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the phenomena of performativity and aestheticization and their implications for education. The forces of performativity pose a threat to music and the other arts, even though some advocators try to justify music education by appealing to their alleged performative results. At first sight, aestheticization seems to accord much better with music education but closer analysis of this many-sided phenomenon also yields negative points: superficiality often reigns, overfeeding leads to anaesthesia, and the aesthetic itself is often controlled by economic performativity. Even so, it is argued, the prospects of music education may not be as sombre as postmodern philosophy suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]