Students from the Paul Green School of Rock Music performing at the 2009 Fremont Fair, Seattle, Washington
Popular music pedagogy — alternatively called popular music education, rock music pedagogy, or rock music education — is a development inmusic education consisting of the systematic teaching and learning ofpopular music both inside and outside formal classroom settings.[1] Popular music pedagogy tends to emphasize groupimprovisation[2] and is more often associated with community music activities than fully institutionalized school music ensembles.[3]
The origins of popular music pedagogy may be traced to the gradual infusion of rock music into formal schooling since the 1960s (in the UK, the USA, and elsewhere), however it has expanded as a specialization to include the offering of degree programs — includinggraduate degrees — in institutions of higher education.[4] Some notable community institutions, such as Cleveland'sRock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Seattle'sExperience Music Project have also contributed to the development of popular music pedagogy through symposia and educational outreach programs.
The UK has pioneered the teaching of popular music, the first degree programme beginning as early as 1994 atSalford University. Postgraduate programmes were later introduced, for example at the Institute of Popular Music at theUniversity of Liverpool. There are now more than 76 popular music studies degree programmes in the UK.[5] These programs expanded when the UK government made popular music a core part of schools' music provision through theCurriculum 2000 developments. The effect rippled into other countries as well. Popular music is commonly taught in German speaking countries[6] and in Ghana, for example.[7] It is also increasingly common in Australia. However, popular music courses tend to be based in newer institutions, rather than older more traditional ones, which often still focus principally on classical music.
Numerous institutions worldwide now offerpopular music pedagogy as a component of their degree programs. The following is a partial list of institutions that offer advanced degree programs in popular music pedagogy and related fields:
^Hebert, David G. "Originality and Institutionalization: Factors Engendering Resistance to Popular Music Pedagogy in the U.S.A.." Music Education Research International 5, pp.12-21 (2011).
^Higgins, Lee and Campbell, Patricia Shehan, Free to be Musical: Group Improvisation in Music (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2010).
^Higgins, Lee, Community Music: In Theory and in Practice (Oxford University Press, 2012).
^Lebler, Don "Popular Music Pedagogy: Peer Learning in Practice."Music Education Research 10 no. 2, pp.93-213 (2008).
Cooper, B. Lee & Condon, Rebecca A.The Popular Music Teaching Handbook: An Educator’s Guide to Music-Related Print Resources (Libraries Unlimited, 2004).
Hebert, D. G.Jazz and Rock Music. In W. M. Anderson & P. S. Campbell (Eds.),Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Vol.1 (third edition) (pp. 112–127). Lanham, MD: Rowman-Littlefield Publishers (2011).
Tønsberg, Knut. Value changes in Norwegian music education. From increased acceptance of rock to a reduced status for classical music?Nordic research in music education. Yearbook Vol, 14. 145-166. (2013).
