Musical Pathways

This course is for students who are interested in exploring the many different types of
musical pathways that are available to them in society. A few examples of the variety of music
that is available to people in society today are through the radio (like NPR), filmography
(soundtracks), spotify/itunes/soundcloud, live music (community bands), music therapy, social
justice and music, songwriting/producing, music management in the industry, etc. It is viable
within music education for students to be aware of all of the options they have to have an impact
in society using music as their medium. Contemporary music coexists within culture and this has
an effect on people who live in that culture. Because a majority of contemporary music is
celebrated in a participatory manner, this course will be taught using a lot of participatory
culture. The course, Musical Pathways, is important for students to have because it teaches
how contemporary culture affects society and provides students with a variety of options to
pursue music.
This course provides students a well-rounded music education by teaching more than
western classical music, but also music that exists within contemporary society. Contemporary
music has an effect on people emotionally, socially and culturally. This is essential because “for
many people existing simultaneously in a local, regional and a global cultural post-industrial
context, music permeates and shapes everyday experiences” (Bloustien, Peters, Luckman,
2016). An example of how music is used to affect the emotions of people is through advertising.
Rock music has associations with freedom, rebellion, youthful exuberance, etc. In order to
evoke these emotions in products, such as Coca Cola or jeans, advertisements has used rock
music to their advantage (Bloustien, Peters, Luckman, 2016). This is one of the many examples
that music is used to impact the listeners. For students to possess this knowledge will help them
to have keener ears towards the music that they choose to identify with and the music that they
choose to bring to their society.
Contemporary music has been the minority in school music education, although it is a
huge contributor to society. Students need to have this awareness that they have other options
to pursue music other than western classical music. Having a variety of choices for students
helps to nurture a lifelong love of music making. “Being creative...is an imperative for developing
skills ready for the creative industries” (Minors, Burnard, Wiffen, Shihabi, Walt, 2017). It is
essential to stay updated for students so that their music education is “preparing musicians to
enter varied types of careers, alongside examples that advocate for equality, diversity and
inclusion” (Minors, Burnard, Wiffen, Shihabi, Walt, 2017). This updatedness will help students to
contribute to society in a meaningfulness and impactful way.
Participatory culture is the medium that will be used for students to learn the diverse
accessibilities to music. Participatory culture is “a public desire to participate within, rather than
simply consume media” (Tobias, 2016). In order for a student to be fully immersed within the
culture of the music they are studying or the medium through which they are studying the music,
they must be able to not only observe, but participate. This will enhance their experience with
the music as they are completely involved in the music, not observing from the outside. This will
boost their efforts in being able to connect with the music and develop a lasting impact. They
will have the opportunity to develop their own personal evidence of the impact that different
musical pathways has had on them. This is further proved by the statement, “Educators must
work together to ensure that every American young person has access to the skills and
experiences needed to become a full participant” (Jenkins, Clinton, Purushotma, Robinson,
Weigel).
Because students are living within contemporary music, it is more important now than
ever that the different pathways are being taught in music education. As a growing society,
music education must also be able to grow with students. This does not mean forgetting about
the past, but it means adding on to the present. The course Musical Pathways will help to
infiltrate not only a lifelong love of music making but also help students to learn how to impact
their own society in a meaningful way.
 Reference List

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Allsup, R. E., & Shieh, E. (2012). Social Justice and Music Education. ​The Call for Public
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Allsup, R. E. (2016). ​Remixing the classroom: Toward an open philosophy of music education​.
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Bloustien, G., Peters, M., & Luckman, S. (2017). ​Sonic Synergies: Music, Technology,
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Dewan, S., & Ramaprasad, J. (2014). Social Media, Traditional Media, and Music Sales
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Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., & Robison, A. J. (2009). ​Confronting the
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Minors, H. J., Burnard, P., Wiffen, C., Shihabi, Z., & Walt, J. (2017). Mapping trends and
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Shepherd, J. (2017). ​Whose Music?​Retrieved May 1, 2018.

Tobias, E. S. (2016). Toward Convergence. ​Adapting Music Education to Contemporary Society

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