Written by Dr. Charles R. Ciorba
This semester, I am teaching an online graduate course on the topic of multicultural perspectives in music education. Given today’s social and political climate, I’ll start the semester by asking, how should music educators approach the subject of multicultural music in their classroom? This question involves a complex response, and I thought it best if I opened the course by sharing some of my own thoughts and experiences.
I would like to begin by going back 22 years, when I was attending a state music education conference at the University of Michigan. At one of the sessions, a music educator from New Mexico presented on the topic of authenticity when teaching multicultural music. Two points of view were being debated. On one side, there were those who were committed to true authenticity. This group advocated for the teaching of music from other cultures in a truly authentic manner. The other group advocated for the teaching of multicultural music using various approaches. For example, one teacher discussed combining African folk music with hip hop rhythms. This group claimed the music they taught was authentic because they were creating it on the spot. In other words, it was authentic because they were doing it. It was a lively discussion. Philosophically, I quickly fell into the second group. In fact, it was a pivotal moment in my history with multicultural music. As a music teacher, I would fuse many different types of musical styles in my classroom. Contemporary rhythms with traditional melodies, rap and poetry with traditional hand drumming; you name it, I did it. It was all about the music, and I addressed each topic with respect and enthusiasm. In response, the students (and the rest of the school community) responded positively. The post-modern mind set of “anything goes” was in full force. Of course, I was also sensitive to the need for respecting the rules and customs of the Native American community. With proper awareness, I would teach the music representing this culture in a truly authentic manner. It was an exciting time to teach music in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
While living and teaching in Ann Arbor, I would regularly commute to northern Ohio (approximately 70 miles one way) while I earned my Master’s Degree in Music Education at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). It was during this time I took my first online course, which was taught by Dr. Victor Fung. The title of the course was Multicultural Music. This too was a pivotal moment, as I became familiar with the term multicultural music. Before that, the popular term was world music. In fact, you could walk into many record/CD stores in the 1980s/1990s and see a section devoted to world music. Dr. Fung disagreed with this term by stating ALL music is world music, and that term should not be applied to music that represents a culture that is different from our own. Rather, he believed the term multicultural music should be used. I also took another class that was taught by one of Bowling Green’s musicology faculty. I quickly discovered that BGSU was one of the only universities in the United States that owned a full gamelan, which consists of instruments from Bali and Java, Indonesia. I attended one of the gamelan concerts in the fall of 2002 and was completely impressed with the authenticity of the performance.
Let’s now jump forward 12 years. At this point, I’m an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma. I’m no longer teaching multicultural music in the K-12 environment, but I did experience another pivotal moment that further developed my understanding of multicultural music. The Norman Music festival is an annual event, where many bands from all over the region perform as part of a huge music festival. During this time, Mary Fallin was the Governor of Oklahoma. I won’t comment on her administration, but given the part of the country in which the state of Oklahoma is located, your political assumptions would probably be correct. The governor has a daughter named Christina, who sang with a band called Pink Pony. One summer, Pink Pony was given a headline spot at the Norman Music Festival. Please click on the link below to find out what happened.
One of my graduate students knew some people who attended this performance. Of course, protesters clashed with fans of the group, and it was quite a mess. Christina Fallin’s actions were calculated, deliberate, and political.
Within this personal story of mine, I presented several examples of people teaching and performing music from a multicultural perspective. The first, in which I (as a music educator) embraced multicultural music in a variety of ways. The last, in which a state governor’s daughter used music to make a controversial political statement. In both circumstances, cultural appropriation was being practiced, but the contexts and intentions were completely different.
Given my professional history, I now realize it is more than just teaching the music. It is also important to be well informed and culturally sensitive when addressing multicultural perspectives. We should be encouraged to delve into the historical and emotionally sensitive elements behind each culture. By doing so, we can begin to address the realities of cultural appropriation and social bias in a positive fashion. I look forward to a fun and rewarding semester.
Dr. Charles R. Ciorba 