The human brain’s
limbic system becomes highly activated during music participation.
Because the limbic portion of the brain developed early in the
evolutionary process, it is likely that musical behaviors developed
early also, perhaps even before speech, which is controlled by the
cerebral cortex, the last major part of the brain to evolve. The
striking fact that music became a part of all known cultures, past
and present, adds credence to the hypothesis about music’s early
evolution.
Despite its universality, the only
truly universal characteristic of music is its existence; indeed,
music and musical activities vary so widely that it is difficult,
some say impossible, to identify universal musical traits and
practices among the world’s cultures. Regardless, it appears that
music and musical behaviors developed in various ways at different
times and in different places throughout the process of human
evolution. It also appears that music and music participation mean
different things in different cultures, as well as different things
among subcultures and even individuals within cultures.
More than three decades ago,
Bennett Reimer set forth a philosophy of music education with which
few music educators would disagree: “[T]he nature and value of music
education are determined by the nature and value of the art of
music.” Since Reimer wrote those words, music educators seeking to
understand and explain music education have written copiously about
“the nature and value of the art of music.”
Much writing about music focuses
on its sonic qualities, and on the important related topic of music
as a means of aesthetic expression. This is valuable work, because
just as surely as aesthetics is a central feature of music, music’s
aesthetic meanings should be central to music teaching and learning.
Far less has been written about
other aspects of music, especially how it functions in society other
than as a means of aesthetic expression. These “other” ways in which
various cultures use music, and music’s effects on people, should be
considered as well. Furthermore, many writers have tended to treat
music as a monolithic phenomenon, whereas in reality it occurs in an
almost infinite variety of types, which has led some writers to use
the term “musics,” plural. For all these reasons, I would alter
Reimer’s statement to read: “The nature and value of music education
are determined by the nature and value of musics and musical
practices.”
When considering the “nature and
value” question, we should remember that music probably evolved as a
primary means of expression and communication, and that today it
continues to function in similar ways. Humans express thoughts and
feelings through music that can be expressed and communicated in no
other ways. For that reason, music is unique among human behaviors
and in the human experience generally.
At the most basic level, music as
a psycho-social phenomenon could be described as an important,
apparently essential means of establishing and maintaining our
humanity through learned and shared (as opposed to instinctual)
behaviors. It appears to be a unique, learned means of abstract
communication through which humans not only express thoughts and
feelings, but through which they can receive the expressed thoughts
and feelings of others. Some of these thoughts and feelings are
aesthetic in nature, whereas others involve the signaling of intended
relationships (including opposition), not only to one’s own culture,
but to the myriad subcultures and ideas that make up an individual’s
network of social identifications. In addition to identifying with a
specific music or musics, individuals (including music participants)
often identify with one or more musical groups or musical activities,
which constitutes a direct form of musical social identification.
The (apparent) fact that music
evolved early and became a culturally universal practice suggests
that it is indeed a human need, whatever the cause(s). At this point,
we cannot give a definitive answer to “the nature and value of music”
question, because musics and musical practices vary so widely
throughout the world that their “nature and value” defy definitions.
Nevertheless, advocates could emphasize that there should be no need
to justify the inclusion of music in the school curriculum beyond the
fact that it is a universal human need and practice, leaving scholars
and others free to continue to speculate about the reasons why this
is so.
The wisest course for society and
its music education profession might be to expend less energy and
fewer resources devising universal rationales and philosophies for
music education (why teach music), one-size-fits-all music curricula
and curriculum guidelines (what music and musical behaviors to
teach), and elaborate, prescriptive teaching methods (how to teach
music). We should probably be less concerned about the why’s, what’s,
and how’s of music teaching—such as whether music is taught through
performance, listening, or composition—than whether it is taught at
all. For all these reasons, advocates of music education should work
to facilitate the teaching of musics and musical practices in as many
venues as possible throughout the world.
Music belongs to a very small
group of sociologically universal human practices. As such it is, by
necessity, transmitted from generation to generation in every
culture. In the world’s less complex cultures, this transmission
takes place without formal instruction. In the world’s more complex
cultures, masses of children are taught in formal schools so as to
free most adults for other tasks. Formal schooling also seeks to
ensure systematic coverage of subjects deemed too important to be
left to chance in cultures in which most adults are preoccupied with
jobs other than rearing and educating their and their neighbors’
children.
Why teach music in schools?
Because it is a unique, exceedingly powerful means of aesthetic and
social expression that is central to our humanity. In cultures
complex enough to need formal schooling practices, formal music
instruction is essential because musics and musical practices,
together with a few other subjects, are simply too important to be
left to chance.