Mini disclaimer – In July I posted some questions on twitter around the validity of teaching music through genre in the classroom. Spurred by this I considered writing a blog post on my reflections. A year later I am now the proud father of a one year old and have been on parental leave for most of the year. Foolishly I thought this would give me loads of time to write… it has not. Due to the time is has taken me write this, below are some protracted thoughts on whether to teach music through genre.
As part of their subject report series, Ofsted recently published findings (I started writing this post in July 2023) from an inspection of music education across 25 primary and 25 secondary schools – a relatively small sample size. You can read the full report here. Others have offered discerning critiques of both the methodology and findings (this commentary by Prof Martin Fautley is particularly incisive). However, in this post I wish to focus on one of its main findings:
I really like teaching music through genre, especially composing at KS3. However, I can also often feel as if I am doing my students a disservice.
- Am I selecting the “right” ones?
- Am I restricting creativity?
- Are genre constructs reductive?
Now add to this list of concerns Ofsted’s perception that possibly teaching through genre could hamper musical development across a key stage. As, from their observations, these genre focused blocks often stood alone as isolated units. Some have made a move away form this popular manner of sequencing music education. This blog by Liz Glead shows how music curriculum can be sequenced in to themes, such as ‘Music as social justice’, which can include several contrasting genres such as reggae, punk, grime and modernism.
Therefore, we must think are there any advantages to teaching through genre and can we overcome the trap of teaching music in seemingly unconnected silos?
Possible advantages:
Could the use of genre be an important component to teaching composing in a music curriculum? This is interesting as the teaching of composing was another of Ofsted’s concerns. The report states ‘in most schools, the weakest aspect of the curriculum was teaching pupils to become better at composition’ (Ofsted 2023).
Below is a list of possible advantages:
- Can it help provide high quality models (if chosen well)?
Obviously what is high quality can be heavily debated. However, when teaching through genre, it can perhaps give an opportunity to share seminal works that shaped the history of music in a particular setting or location; works that have used innovative techniques or forces, or have employed pioneering processes. I don’t teach minimalism but the innovation of phase shifting, developed by Steve Reich, has had lasting impact on the western-musical landscape. The technique of slap bass, developed by Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone) from the double bass players of New Orleans, changed the role of electric bass guitar in following decade of the 1980s. - Does it give students a framework within which to be creative – some decisions are made for them allowing them to concentrate their creative energy?
Genres have musical conventions. Could composing within and around these conventions remove some element of choice allowing students to focus their creative attention. For example, using the conventions of disco music; a drum groove of a four-to-the-floor beat with accented off-beat quaver hi-hats, or the jumping octaves on the bass line following a quaver semiquaver semiquaver rhythm. Using these models student could eliminate some choice, whilst providing a template to compose for a rhythm section. - Can it help observe “universal” (or not) trends across contrasting musics?
Music is in no way universal, however, could studying different genres help students observe links between some musics and contrasting elements between others. Many musics appear to have distinctions of pitch. However, whilst Bach’s chorales can hold the keys to western tonal harmony, their homorhythmic nature could feel alien to the griot drum masters of West-Africa. The same could be said of the tuning systems of pelog and selendro of gamelan compared the equal tempered tuning used in most western countries. Equally observing the similarities between the Garmakas of Carnatic singing and the ornamentation of Da Capo Aria from the Baroque era could shows students the connections between types of vocal music. - Can it help introduce students to music they may have no prior experience of?
Students are not empty vessels when they arrive at secondary school. Most will have some experience of music and will have interacted with it one way or another. They may come from cultures which hold music is varying degrees of import. Sharing genres can exemplify to students a time/place/culture/demographic which generated a certain shared inflection of musical expression and how they may differ. The curriculum should be both a mirror and a window for students. They should be able to see themselves reflected in the music pursued in the classroom. But equally, we should provided opportunities to discover something different. I remember seeing/hearing Tuvan throat singing for the first time at A Level and being absolutely transported. Or being taught to recite Tabla Bols and remembering how vast and complex all music must be and how small my understanding was! - Can it help afford meaning to music; analysing why composers have made particular compositional decisions – either because of the music that preceded it or the context in which it was created? Bossa nova can been seen as interesting example of this, as it was composed from and in spite of the samba music that preceded it. It was a new trend in Brazil that drew on the musical conventions of samba but also rejected some of them. It could be interesting to highlight these two distinct but linked genres to students. One is dance the other is not. They have contrasting dynamics and tempos, the harmonic progressions have their own flavours and different forces are highlighted through their prominence. The use of drums being the most pronounced in samba but the guitar taking the leading role in bossa nova. To the people of Brazil this may be evident but others may miss this nuance between the two genres and their interconnected meanings.
- Can it help show music as a reflection of society and the culture in which it exists? When teaching Reggae teachers often site the work Bob Marley. However, his circumstances greatly affected the music he produced. It had a purpose and the message he sought to share was heavily influenced by his upbringing, religion, politics and the discrimination he suffered. Sharing this with students can show how art can be created in reaction to circumstances and can be used to share opinions and carry messaging about the environment it was created in. The song ‘War’ is a powerful example of this. In addition, think of the grunge scene from Seattle, the house music of Chicago, the difference between the East and West-Coast hip-hop scenes and how each can be seen as a reflection of their social geography.
Longer-term musical development:
Perhaps using genre is helpful for composing and these questions are good to ask but we still have not considered how to connect seemingly unrelated genres throughout a curriculum. One way to approach this could be to teach a concept through contrasting genres. Mark Aitchison talks through his approach to teaching hooks and riffs by comparing Vivaldi with Beethoven and Ed Sheeran on the MTA’s podcast: Teaching notes, Ep. 81.
Following this model we could think about what to teach students initially, without selecting the musical material (I have discussed my approach to this in an earlier post). Consider what knowledge/skills/understanding you wish students to accrue. After you have decided, then select the genre(s) that will facilitate this.
Once the knowledge has been considered, perhaps ask are there any which tie across curriculum decisions? Let’s take one example of something I wish my students to know how to do: form major/minor chords on the keyboard. Potentially start with choosing something with a simple and repetitive chord progression synonymous with the rock genre; the simple adjacent triads in Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’.
Once students are confident with this, perhaps we could introduce a genre which uses a more complex harmonic palette; like funk. This genre can help to introduce extended and inverted chords.
We could also make decisions about how students will engage with the music and the pedagogies you will employ before we considering the material itself. I find the ISM’s curriculum framework (section 5) incredibly helpful in contemplating this. If you have decided to make singing a big part of your curriculum; how can this been used in every SoL/unit? Does it matter if you choose genres which do not feature the use of vocals?. If improvising or composing is important, which genres can make a difference in connecting the two? I have thought about one way to do this and as a result YR9 have been composing their own funk pieces this year. My account of this will appear in a future which I will link to once it is written.
Reference list
Ofsted (2023) Striking the right note: the music subject report. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-music/striking-the-right-note-the-music-subject-report (Accessed on: 30/10/2023)
Treble Teaching 