This is a past event
Jonathan Stephens will give the paper, 'I only hear familiar things...'.
'I only hear familiar things...'
Theoretical/pedagogical background: It is commonly accepted that unfocused listening arising from a sound-saturated environment has a negative effect on the development of listening skills. The issue has exercised professional musicians and music educators for many decades; arguments state that the use of music in a background capacity devalues both the listening experience and music itself.
Content: This paper revisits the issue from theoretical and practical perspectives, and considers whether or not the perceived problem has been overstated. Whilst the educational difficulties arising from indiscriminate use of background music deserve serious consideration, the tendency for individuals to limit their listening to a familiar musical landscape is considered to be of greater significance, as well as potentially more detrimental to developing musical understanding.
Method: The approach adopted in this paper is largely discursive and philosophical. Different perspectives are analysed and evaluated in the light of observation and research, and linked to curricular emphases in music education. Suggestions are offered to increase individual acceptance and understanding of a wider range of musical genres beyond the assertion, 'I know what I like'.
Summary of the main ideas: A perception that music exists primarily to entertain provides common ground between the two areas of background music and limiting musical experience to the realm of the familiar. One suggestion arising from this paper, however, is that background music need not conflict with encouraging musical perception. Whilst background music differs in many respects from background art, it can fulfil a similar function in setting a suitable context for learning; much depends on the imaginative approach of the music educator to engage and challenge learners. The sensitive use of music in therapy has long been recognised as having significant benefits for individuals. Similarly, the association of music with visual image or the spoken word can create a distinct art form where neither medium is devalued, but where each enriches the other in establishing a new identity.
Conclusions and implications for music education: A re-evaluation of the place of background music in society can help music educators establish positive learning benefits for its use. Many curricula acknowledge the importance of linking the formal and informal (school and society) in education; the role of background music in extending familiar aural boundaries and encouraging indirect learning may be considered as part of this process.
- Speaker
- Jonathan Stephens
- Venue
- macRobert Building, Room 051