Bledsoe, R. N. (2015). Music Education for All?. General Music Today,28(2), 18-22.
Bledsoe's (2015) article entitled "Music Education for All?" addresses the issue of are we really teaching music to benefit every type of student that comes through our classroom, or only the students that enjoy ensemble based classrooms? He argues that "the large performance ensemble was established as the model for music education during the early 1900s and has remained relatively unchanged for a century". Based on this model alone, he wonders if that is why there is a low enrollment in music classes. He then asks the reader what more we could offer students beyond the traditional large ensemble experience? (Bledsoe, 2015)
To discuss this idea further, Bledsoe looks at the population of students who's musical careers did not extend beyond elementary general music, and maybe a short experience in a middle or high school ensemble before dropping. He took three students specifically and discovered that though these students did not partake in school music ensembles, it was not because they lacked a passion for understanding music, but instead they we not given opportunities to learn the music that they wanted. Therefore, each student found an alternative form for learning music outside of school, whether self-taught or by a knowledgable peer. Later in the article, we discover that though these students were not given opportunities they wished they had in the school music programs, they still went off to college to major in music in some manner. Interestingly enough, the music that they did study in college, revolved around electronic and digital music making skills. (Bledsoe, 2015)
Bledsoe then wonders what if school music programs offered more electronic and digital music making opportunities? "If technology is already changing the way our students think, what are we doing musically as music educators to attend to this?" Even though all three of the students consider themselves now composers, one of the students was hesitant on labeling themselves as one because of their lack in note reading pitches on the staff. Yet the composition job he has does not require note reading skills. It is on this note that Bledsoe makes his final statement that whether there is a use of technology in the music classroom or not, teachers have to be aware of the subtle messages they are sharing indirectly to their students. (Bledsoe, 2015)
This article really resonated with me on a personal level beyond the use of technology in music education. I appreciate the fact that Bledsoe does address the need in our schools to teach current outlets of technology in music, but what I appreciate more so is his final statements about the indirect attitudes we express to students on the regular basis. I believe this can do more in the classroom than anything else. Let us say that a teacher does decide to incorporate electronic music into the curriculum. If that teacher does it, but has a negative attitude toward it, so will the students. But if a teacher instead addresses it with the attitude of everyone is a learner, and has the ability to understand all the tools this could offer, then the students will also see the benefits of working with that type of technology.
It is sad that our curriculum in music education does push toward the students who will more likely join band, orchestra, or choir someday. I believe we should not completely leave the idea of teaching in a large ensemble format, but as technology and digital music jobs are expanding, it is essential that music educators take the initiative to teach students the same curricular concepts they were teaching before, just instruct it on a variety of different platforms. As much as we are afraid of incorporating digital technology into the classroom for students to work with, we also have to remember Bledsoe's (2015) question he asks, "If technology is already changing the way our students think, what are we doing musically as music educators to attend to this?"
