The Rise and Fall of Philosophies of Music Education: Looking backwards in order to see ahead

Abstract

This paper argues for a more profound contextual analysis of the music studied. It is argued that the impact of some newer ideas from the second half of the 20^th century, often labelled post-modern, have not been sufficiently assimilated in music education philosophy. What is in reality a call for greater depth in contextual analysis has too often been trivialised into a superficial notion of a social context incorrectly focussed more on the contemporary than the historical. The shift to social constructivism should not demolish the concept of cultural truth or the historical usefulness of the idea of immanence or metaphysical presence, as some commentators would argue. Instead, the new heuristic methodologies, particularly those of such writers as Jacques Derrida, Paul-Michel Foucault and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, provide powerful tools for developing a truer understanding of the importance of the situatedness of all music. How this might be exposed is demonstrated from the traditions of western culture. The way forward for a philosophy of music education is to accept the blurring of genres (or disciplines) over the last few decades, and go further than simply accentuating the social situatedness of today's student. Indeed the idea of an education should enable the student to rise above her own social situation. Music works as a cultural system in itself, but one which refers to and reflects the larger culture in which it was situated and which gave it form and meaning within its own systems of thought and action. Musical understanding is explained as being derived from a study of performance practice within these important contextual factors.