Multicultural Music: The Modern-Day Wonder in the Music Classroom

• Me’Haley Babich
• Posted 1/3/22
• 0 comments

Introduction

Never has there been a time in music education more open to teaching multicultural music than now. Teachers that have been working since the 90s may read that sentence and say, “Hey, wait a minute. I remember another time.” And they would be exactly right.  

The nineties also saw a mini-revolution and push for more multicultural music in the music classroom. What happened? No Child Left Behind happened. The push for test scores and the elimination of all non-test-related curriculum happened. So, I will say it again: never has there been a time in music education more open to teaching multicultural music than now.  

Even in times such as these, music educators have encountered barriers to teaching and sharing multicultural music in the classroom. But why? The belief is that music education has the potential to teach more than music history and theory. For years, research has linked music education to improving non-music test scores and students’ academic self-concept (Shin, 2011).  

In a study by Howard (2018), results show that multicultural music education delivers further extramusical benefits, such as cultural sensitivity, from the study of the music of various cultures. Sounds fantastic, right? 

Why all the obstacles to this modern-day wonder that has so many positive influences? Many hurdles for music teachers come from inadequate training in multicultural music, lack of culture bearers in their local communities, and not enough administrative support in the form of resources.

As a music educator, I was not surprised to discover that this was the case. However, I was a little astonished to read that these seem to be the same barriers faced throughout education. It is not just us. 

In this series of articles, I hope to provide a clear definition of multicultural music and ways music educators and administrators can implement it. I will explain some of the most up-to-date research on multicultural music in the music classroom from current teachers. Last, I will share helpful resources that may aid in your own journey to bringing music of other cultures into your music classroom.

References

Howard, K. (2018). The emergence of children’s multicultural sensitivity: An elementary school music culture project. Journal of Research in Music Education, 66(3), 261–277. doi:10.1177/0022429418784594 

Shin, Jihae. (2011). An investigation of participation in weekly music workshops and its relationship to academic self-concept and self-esteem of middle school students in low-income communities. Contributions To Music Education, 38(2), 29-42. 

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Multicultural Music:
The Modern-Day Wonder in the Music Classroom

Article Series

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: The Research
Part 3: My Curiosity
Part 4: My Discoveries
Part 5: Resources to Get You Started