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Which curriculum model should South Africa follow?
It would appear that, during the transition from a eurocentric curriculum to a multicultural one, South African music education will move away from emphasising diversity at the expense of commonality, to a curriculum structure which supports notions of ‘common citizenship’ – that is, which supports ‘unity’ and gives less attention to ‘diversity’. However, the South African values of equity and equality demand a multicultural music education approach which recognises diversity, but not at the expense of commonality.
The ideal curriculum for multicultural music education would be model 6: Dynamic multiculturalism. The curriculum should facilitate two fundamental ways of being musical: ‘bimusicality’ at least, and ‘multi-musicality’ at most (Elliott 1989:18).
However, until such time as music education is able to realise this ideal, a more realistic solution must be found and implemented. As music practices are culture-specific, it may be advisable, in the present transitional situation, to make use of the (local) host culture, and to incorporate music and songs from other cultures, as described in model 4 (insular multiculturalism).
If South African music educators aspire to the ideal of the dynamic multicultural music education curriculum, they will have to move away from the traditional aesthetic perspective of music education which tends to approach all musics from a conceptual perspective. The teacher’s role will of necessity have to change from that of teacher/facilitator to that of rolemodel/’ performer’. This would mean that the teacher who has had no musical training, would now require less formal musical knowledge, but, to enable him/her to be a ‘role-model’, the necessary music for accompaniment would have to be provided by music specialists on audio cassettes or video tapes. Comprehensive music education programmes will have to be compiled for the various levels of education, making in-service teacher education in music essential. It must be emphasised at this stage that the cultural factor plays a vitally important role in the learning process of the young child. Tonal acculturation, with reference to taste and perception, usually occurs between the ages of five and eight years. This is the process of learning through which the child receives the musical experience of the society or milieu to which he/she belongs (Tighe & Dowling 1993:178).
Cognitive psychology of music
The second factor influencing curriculum planning which needs to be examined in more detail is cognitive psychology.
Music presents one with a complex, rapidly changing acoustic spectrum. The primary task that the auditory system has to perform is to interpret this spectrum in terms of the behaviour of external objects (Deutsch 1982:99). Many of the processes involved in hearing and comprehending music are implicit and unconscious. When the musical information processing focuses on the mental activities involved, it is called cognitive (Dowling & Harwood 1986: ix).
Pogonowski (1989:9,10) elaborates on metacognition as a dimension of musical thinking which involves skills associated with individual awareness and personal thinking. One of the most salient characteristics of metacognition is that it involves growing consciousness concerning one’s own cognitive processes and products, or anything related to them – learners become more aware of their own thinking, or intrapersonal intelligence. Elliott (1991:21-23) maintains that the terms music and knowledge can be understood in a variety of senses, and that « the concept of music as knowledge is rich with possibilities ». He is concerned that music education as aesthetic education neglects the epistemological significance of music-making: it does not allow the possibility that music performing could be an end in itself – that it could indeed be a form of thinking and knowing valuable for all children. In music education as aesthetic education, musical performing is secondary and subservient to ‘music-as-object’, supporting the longstanding – but, according to Elliott (1991:24), false assumption – that the physical actions involved in practical performances do not involve thought. He considers the intentional actions of any kind of musical performing as thought-full/cognitive. Elliott elaborates on the concept of procedural knowledge (or knowing how):
• intentional actions are practical, non-verbal manifestations of thinking and knowing
• overt intelligent performances are not clues to the workings of minds; they are those workings
• every form of musical outcome owes its existence to actions that are ‘informed’. « To cognitive psychologists, musical performances are quintessential examples of cognition in action because they require a performer to match a detailed cognitive representation of an auditory event with an equally complex mental plan of action » (Elliott 1991:29).
CHAPTER 1: Introduction
1. Formulation of the problem
1.2 Aim of the study
1.3 Method employed
1.4 Definitions
CHAPTER 2: Philosophies of music education
2.1 Introduction
2.2 What is music?
2.3 Music as an intelligence
2.4 Music education as aesthetic education
2.5 A praxial philosophy of music education
2.6 An African philosophy of music education
2.7 Philosophy and advocacy
2.8 Philosophy and (music) practice
2.9 Conclusion
CHAPTER 3: Developmental psychology of music
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The development of a sense of pitch
3.3 The development of a sense of rhythm and tempo
3.4 The development of singing skills and a sense of melody
3.5 The development of a sense of harmony
3.6 Conclusion
CHAPTER 4: Curriculum development
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Curriculum theory
4.3 Factors influencing curriculum planning
4.4 Approaches to curriculum planning/making
4.5 Curriculum development in South Africa
4.6 Toward compulsory pre-school education in South Africa
4.7 Conclusion
CHAPTER 5: The influence of culture and psychology on curriculum planning
5.1 Introduction
5.2 What music is in a culture
5.3 Music education (with)in a culture/as a culture of music
5.4 Multiculturalism
5.5 Cognitive psychology of music
5.6 Conclusion
CHAPTER 6: Evaluation of existing pre-school music programmes
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Criteria for evaluation
6.3 South African music programmes selected for evaluation
6.4 Die eerste treë in musiek:’n handleiding vir onderwysers
6.5 Let’s teach music: Book 1 & Book 2
6.6 Musiek as terapeutiese hulpmiddel vir kinders met
6.7 The Spiral Staircase: Music education programme
6.8 Aktiewe musiekbeluistering deur middel van dramatisering
6.9 The designing of a three-year programme for use in South
6.10 Conclusion
CHAPTER 7: A comprehensive music programme
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Musical growth charts
7.3 A dynamic and comprehensive programme
7.4 Guidelines for the non-specialist teacher
7.5 Basic knowledge required for playing and notating rhythms
7.6 Notation of ‘melody’
CHAPTER 8: Additional uses of music to complement the comprehensive music education programme
8.1 Additional uses of music
8.2 Reinforcing the development of auditive discrimination
8.3 Enhancing classroom activities
8.4 Gaining from music’s therapeutic qualities
8.5 Conclusion
CHAPTER 9: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
9.1 The problem
9.2 Aim of the study
9.3 Method employed
9.4 Literature study
9.5 Evaluation of existing pre-school music programmes
9.6 A comprehensive music education programme
9.7 Additional uses of music
9.8 Recommendations
Bibliography
Annexure 1
Annexure 2
