Musical Experience in Our Lives: Things We Learn and Meanings We Make

359 Pages·2009·1.12 MB·English

by  Jody L. Kerchner, Carlos Abril

Music • Instruction & Study
“Jody L. Kerchner and Carlos R. Abril’s Musical Experience in Our Lives takes us a giant step toward
what the fi eld of music education most needs to become: more real. In chapter after chapter by the
assembled writers, the actual musical lives being lived by people at every stage, from early childhood
through older adulthood, are portrayed thoughtfully and delightfully, demonstrating how rich and diverse
those lives can be and how minimally related they are to traditional music programs in the schools. This
is an indispensable book for all music educators, eye-opening, refreshing, mind-expanding, and hopeful
for its encouragement of an invigorated profession.” —Bennett Reimer, John W. Beattie
Professor of Music Education Emeritus, Northwestern University
“Musical Experience in Our Lives is a compelling text that masterfully conveys the inherent value
of ‘school music’ within the larger dynamic landscape of engagement, learning, socialization, and
meaning-making. Invoking an overdue and welcome lifespan perspective, Jody L. Kerchner and
Carlos R. Abril have shaped the work so that chapters collectively bridge the too-frequent divide
between music in school and music in life. A must-read for those who are serious about music edu-
cation as a crucial element of meaningful living.” —David E. Myers, professor and director,
School of Music, University of Minnesota
“What a valuable resource for music education! Musical Experience in Our Lives addresses the essence
of the musical experience through eighteen engaging topics, prepared by leading experts in the fi eld.
This very readable and insightful text spotlights the importance of musical experiences occurring in a
variety of settings from the more formal to the informal, and resulting in the ultimate quest for life-long
music makers.” —Carolynn A. Lindeman, profesor emerita, San Francisco State University, Musical Experience in Our Lives
and past president, MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Things We Learn and Meanings We Make
Jody L. Kerchner is associate professor and director of music education at the Oberlin Conserva-
tory of Music, where she is the secondary school music and choral music education specialist. Her
research focuses on music listening and cognitive processing, portfolio assessment, college—public
school collaboration, and music teacher identity.
Carlos R. Abril is assistant professor of music education at Northwestern University, where he
teaches courses in general music, multiculturalism, and philosophy. His research focuses on the
sociocultural dimensions of the music teaching and learning process, music perception, and policy.
For orders and information please contact the publisher
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD EDUCATION
A Division of Rowman & Littlefi eld Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefi eld Publishing Group, Inc.
Published in Partnership with
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200
Lanham, Maryland 20706
1-800-462-6420 • fax [phone]
www.rowmaneducation.com edited by JODY L. KERCHNER and CARLOS R. ABRIL
MusicalExerperienceLITHO.indd 1
MusicalExerperienceLITHO.indd 1 3/4/09 4:42:19 PM
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KERCHNER
Musical Experience in Our Lives
& ABRIL
Musical Experience
in Our Lives
PRAISE FOR MUSICAL EXPERIENCE IN OUR LIVES. . . .
“I opened this book and was immediately engaged. This is a book about
alignment, about broadening our perspectives on music education, about
identifying the range of music learners in our society and discovering what
they can teach us when we take time to watch and listen.
Jody L. Kerchner and Carlos R. Abril have created a compelling collection
that should be a part of every musician’s library of inspirational books, and
one that provides exceptional models for continuing research into the
meaning of musical experience. There is no other publication like this in
our music education literature.
Kerchner and Abril hope that readers of this book will consider new di-
rections for music education in response. I say: Follow them—they are lead-
ing the way with this publication!”—Donna Brink Fox, associate dean of
academic and student affairs and Eisenhart Professor of Music Education,
Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.
“Jody L. Kerchner and Carlos R. Abril break new ground in this book by
bringing together in one publication a series of narratives and case studies
that illuminate the nature and meaning of musical engagement in formal
and informal settings across the lifespan. Set in rich social and cultural con-
texts and authored by scholars with diverse interests, each study brings the
reader to the heart of musical experience and meaning-making at different
developmental stages—infancy and early childhood, childhood, adoles-
cence, and adulthood and older adulthood. The collection serves as a cata-
lyst for expanding the vision and reach of music education and reassessing
the impact of music on the human condition.”—Marie McCarthy, profes-
sor and chair of music education, University of Michigan.
“Musical Experience in Our Lives features a veritable pantheon of outstand-
ing researchers and thinkers in the field of music education. They bring to
this work important perspectives on the transmission, learning, and joy of
music-making from the youngest child to people in their later years.
These qualitative studies provide a detailed description of the sociological
dimensions of music learning, helping us to understand that what is learned
far transcends a particular classroom, teacher, or setting.”—Carol Scott-
Kassner, retired professor of music education, author, and consultant.
Musical Experience
in Our Lives
Things We Learn
and Meanings We Make
Jody L. Kerchner and Carlos R. Abril
Published in partnership with
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
R OW M A N & L I T T L E F I E L D E D U C AT I O N
Lanham • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
Published in partnership with
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Published in the United States of America
by Rowman & Littlefield Education
A Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowmaneducation.com
Estover Road
Plymouth PL6 7PY
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2009 by MENC: The National Association for Music Education
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Musical experience in our lives : things we learn and meanings we make /
[edited by] Jody L. Kerchner & Carlos R. Abril.
p. cm.
“Published in partnership with MENC, the National Association for Music
Education.”
ISBN-13: 978-1-57886-945-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-57886-945-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
eISBN-13: 978-1-57886-947-3
eISBN-10: 1-57886-947-1
1. Music—Instruction and study. 2. Music, Influence of. 3. Music—Philosophy
and aesthetics. I. Kerchner, Jody L., 1964– II. Abril, Carlos R., 1970–
MT6.M9628 2009
780.71—dc22 2008035000
⬁™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Carlos R. Abril and Jody L. Kerchner
Part I: Infancy and Early Childhood
1 Songs of Belonging: Musical Interactions in Early Life 21
Beatriz Ilari
2 From the Teacher’s View: Observations of Toddlers’ Musical
Development 39
Wendy H. Valerio
3 A Community Music Program for Parents and Children with
and without Special Needs 59
Marcia Earl Humpal
4 Musical Portraits, Musical Pathways: Stories of Meaning
Making in the Lives of Six Families 77
Lori A. Custodero
Part II: Childhood
5 Pulling the Curtain Back on Performance in the
Elementary School 93
Carlos R. Abril
6 “El Camaleon”: The Musical Secrets of Mirella Valdez 113
Chee Hoo Lum and Patricia Shehan Campbell
v
vi Contents
7 Improvisatory Musical Experiences in the Lives of Children
with Severe Disabilities 127
Kimberly A. McCord
8 Composing in the Classroom: The Journey of Five Children 145
Betty Anne Younker
Part III: Adolescence
9 Strings Attached: The Reality Show 165
Margaret H. Berg
10 Drawing Middle-Schoolers’ Attention to Music 183
Jody L. Kerchner
11 At-Risk Teens: Making Sense of Life through
Music Composition 199
Maud Hickey
12 Boys’ Voices: Inside and Outside Choral Music 217
Patrick K. Freer
13 Music in Motion: An Overture to the Student Experience in
the High-School Marching Band 239
Cecil Adderley
14 The Violin and the Fiddle: Narratives of Music and Musician
in a High-School Setting 255
Matthew D. Thibeault
Part IV: Adulthood and Older Adulthood
15 Creation to Performance: The Journey of an African American
Community Gospel-Jazz Ensemble 277
Marvelene C. Moore
16 Both Sides of the Coin: Experienced Musicians Tell of Lives
Lived and Shared 297
Katherine Strand
17 Dancing Inside: Dalcroze Eurhythmics in a Therapeutic Setting 313
R. J. David Frego
18 Voices of Experience: Lessons from Older Adult
Amateur Musicians 331
Don D. Coffman
About the Contributors 347
Acknowledgments
We extend heartfelt thanks to the many contributors, who brought their
personal brands of musicianship, pedagogy, and scholarship to this book.
Their dedication to the project and patience with the publication process
have been exemplary.
We are most grateful for the astute editorial eyes of Frances Ponick
(MENC) and the publication team at Rowman & Littlefield—Thomas Ko-
erner, Maera Stratton, and Catherine Forrest Getzie. Thank you for your
guidance and careful attention to this project, about which we remain so
passionate.
We would like to thank our many colleagues who offered valuable com-
mentary throughout the project. We are especially grateful to Peggy Bennett,
Maud Hickey, Katy Strand, and Betty Anne Younker. We also thank the re-
viewers of the manuscript when the book, in its infant stages, needed focus
and finesse.
Finally, we celebrate the lives and musical experiences of those infants,
children, adolescents, adults, teachers, student-teachers, and parents who
graciously invited us into their musical worlds in order to inform those of
us examining, interpreting, writing, and reading about their experiences. By
sharing their intimate musical experiences, they underscored the richness of
being human and the connection and meaning that music teaching and
learning bring to our lives.
J. L. K.
C. R. A.
vii
Introduction
Carlos R. Abril and Jody L. Kerchner
Musical experiences are an important part of our lives, from birth to the
cusp of death. In the earliest years of life we perceive and process the music
surrounding us in our minds, and produce and respond to music through
our bodies and voices. Throughout our lives, we exercise and develop our
innate musicality through singing, playing instruments, moving, compos-
ing, and listening. Alone and with others, we engage in musical experiences
to challenge us, comfort us, and bind us to others. These experiences help
us construct meaning and understanding of music, and help us come to un-
derstand ourselves, our cultures, and our world.
Many of these experiences are musically educative in that they involve
music teaching and learning processes, conscious or unconscious. Other ex-
periences are therapeutic in that they facilitate physical and mental healing.
Some musical experiences help to bind two people or large social groups to-
gether. The authors of the chapters that comprise this book examine the
myriad dimensions of the musical experience within their sociocultural
contexts in formal and informal settings. They also seek to emphasize the
meaning people construct from these experiences and consider implica-
tions for music education.
The purpose of this introduction is to provide a conceptual and theoret-
ical framework for the book. In so doing, we begin by describing the nature
of musical experience, its relation to social contexts, and the construction of
meaning. We also provide a brief overview of musical experience in relation
to the lifespan and explain our reasons for conceptualizing this book as
such. We then describe transmission and enculturation, as concepts that sit-
uate culture at the heart of music learning. Finally we lay out the plan for
1