This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/acceptedfor publication in the following source:

Davidson, Robert & Lupton, Mandy(2016)’It makes you think anything is possible’: Representing diversity in musictheory pedagogy.British Journal of Music Education, 33(02), pp. 175-189.

This file was downloaded from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/91620/

c© Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters

This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under aCreative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use andthat permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the docu-ment is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then referto the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recog-nise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe thatthis work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au

Notice: Please note that this document may not be the Version of Record(i.e. published version) of the work. Author manuscript versions (as Sub-mitted for peer review or as Accepted for publication after peer review) canbe identified by an absence of publisher branding and/or typeset appear-ance. If there is any doubt, please refer to the published source.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051716000115

1

 

“It makes you think anything is possible”: Representing diversity in music theory 

pedagogy 

RobertDavidsonandMandyLupton

Biography

RobertDavidsonisSeniorLecturerinCompositionattheUniversityofQueensland.AfterstudyingcompositionwithTerryRiley,heformedhisquintetTopology,residentattheBrisbanePowerhouse,withwhomheregularlytoursinternationallyandworkswithawiderangeofcollaboratorssuchastheBrodskyQuartet,KateMiller‐Heidke,KatieNoonan,TaikOzandTrichotomy.Hismusicisfocusedonstylisticpluralism,intersectionsbetweenmusicandlanguage,andimprovisation.

RobertDavidson,SchoolofMusic,UniversityofQueensland,StLuciaQld4072,Australia

MandyLuptonisaSeniorLecturerinEducationattheQueenslandUniversityofTechnology.Shehasanextensivebackgroundinhighereducationteachingandlearning.Herresearchinterestsincludethewaysinwhichuniversitystudentsuseinformationtocompose.Shehasdevelopedtheoreticalandexperientialmodelsforteachingandlearningmusiccompositionbasedonherresearch.

MandyLupton,SchoolofCulturalandProfessionalLearning,QueenslandUniversityofTechnology,VictoriaParkRoad,KelvinGroveQLD4059Australia

 

2

“It makes you think anything is possible”: Representing diversity in music theory 

pedagogy 

Abstract Thispapercritiquesatraditionalapproachtomusictheorypedagogy.Itarguesthatmusic

theorycoursesshoulddrawonpedagogiesthatreflectthediversityandpluralisminherentin

21stcenturymusicmaking.Itpresentsthefindingsofanactionresearchprojectinvestigating

theexperiencesofundergraduatestudentsundertakinganinnovativecontemporaryartmusic

theorycourse.Itdescribesthestudents’struggleincomingtotermswithacoursethat

integratedcomposing,performing,listeningandanalysingcoupledwithwhatformanywas

theirfirstexposuretothediversityofcontemporaryartmusic.Thepaperconcludeswith

suggestingthattheapproachcouldbeadoptedmorewidelythroughoutmusicprograms.

Keywords:contemporaryartmusic,pedagogy,curriculumdesign

 

Introduction 

Themostcharacteristicfeatureof21stcenturymusicisitsdiversity.TheInternet‐fuelled

explosioninmusiccommunicationhasresultedinunprecedentedpluralism.Academic

approachestomusichavealsobecomefarmoreinclusive,inthecontextofpostmodern

understandings,sothatthepurviewof“contemporarymusic”inuniversitiesisnowmuchwider

thaninpreviousgenerations,whenlargeareasofmusic(suchasthemajorityofpopularmusic)

wouldberoutinelyexcludedfromthedefinitionoftheterm(Monelle,1996).Suchexclusionis

difficulttomaintaininthecurrentcontextofpluralism,whichMellerslinkswithdemocracy:

Themostdistinctivecharacteristicoftheageweliveinmaybeitsextremepluralism,

whichisanindirectconsequenceofthetriumphofdemocraticprincipleandofthesheer

3

sizeoftheindustrialisedcommunitiesweinhabit.Whensocialgroupsremainrelatively

small,self‐contained,andregional,continuingcustomsandcodesofvaluemaybe

meaningful,whereasthisisvirtuallyimpossibleinthemultifariouscongregationsof

races,religions,creeds,castesandclassesspawnedbyourindustrialtechnocracies.A

globalvillageisacontradictioninterms,thoughthephraseispertinentto'thewaywe

livenow'.(Mellers,1998)

Teachingcontemporarymusictheory,then,presentsnewchallenges.Howdoesaneducator

accuratelyreflectthediversityofcurrentmusicwithoutoverwhelmingstudentsinanoceanof

complexity?Thispaperapproachesthequestionthroughcritiquingtraditionalmusictheory

pedagogyandexaminingstudentexperiencesofauniversitycoursedevotedto“contemporary

artmusic”theory.

Inthecourse,“contemporaryartmusic”istreatedasanenormouslydiversepocketofmusical

practice,butonlyoneofagreatnumberofco‐existingmusicsthatmakeup“contemporary

music”,definedasanymusicbeingmadenow.Contemporaryartmusic,then,isapproachedasa

subsetofcontemporarymusic.Contemporaryartmusicisnotoriouslydifficulttodefine,oreven

name.Variousterms,includingpostclassical,avant‐garde,“newmusic”andmanyothershave

beentried(Oteri,2005).Thisdifficultypresentsachallengeforthosedesigningandteaching

musictheorycourses.

Traditional and new curricula 

Inrecentyearstherehavebeendebatesinconservatoiresanduniversitymusicdepartments

overcurriculumdevelopmentandpedagogy.Somedebateshavebeenpromptedbytheexpense

oftheone‐to‐onestudioteachingmodel,whileothershavecritiquedtraditionalcurriculaas

beenarchaicandanachronistic(McKendry,2011a&b;Sarath,1995;Tregear,2014).Asa

4

consequence,somehighereducationmusicprogramsarecurrentlyundergoingradicalshiftsin

pedagogyandcontent,characterisedbyarejectionofthehierarchical‘mentor‐protégé’model

(Tregear,2014,p.26)infavourofademocraticandindependentlearningapproachaimedat

developingbroadskillsandcreativity(Sarath,1995;Tregear,2014).

Thenewcurriculumapproachesareunderpinnedbypostmodernisttheory(Elliott,2001).In

doingsotheycelebratepluralismandrejectthe‘tyrannyofcanon’(McKendry.2011,p.133).

Theyintegrateperforming,composing,arrangingandimprovisingwithmusictheory,aural

trainingandhistory(Elliott,2001;McKendry,2011;Tregear,2014)creatinga‘conservatoire

sansfrontiers’(Tregear,2014,p.32).Thesenewapproacheshaveobviousimplicationsfor

contemporaryartmusictheorycurriculumandpedagogy,accentuatedbydifficultiesin

diversityanddefinitionasmentionedabove.

Music theory pedagogy

Thescholarlyliteraturedealingwithmusictheorypedagogyhastendedtobypassdifficultiesin

definingcontemporaryartmusicinfocusingonearlyrepertoiresofWesternartmusicandon

approachesusingWesternstaffnotation(Rogers,1984).Wherelisteningisemphasised,the

focusisoftendirectedtowardsparticulardimensionsofmusicsalientinnotation,especially

patternsofpitch(Rogers,1984).Alongwithprivilegingstaffnotation,theliteratureisstrongly

focusedonthepast.Wheremorerecentmusicisincluded,itisoftenfocusedonasmallsubset

ofcontemporarymusic,namely“post‐tonal”music,whichappearstobeselectedforitsfocuson

structuresinpitchandrhythm,ratherthanonelementsthataremoreresistantto

representationinstaffnotation.

Intheseways,musictheorypedagogyfollowsitssourcediscipline,musictheory,whichhaslong

beencriticisedforoverlookingmusicaldimensionsthatmaybecentraltoparticularmusic

genres(McClary,1990;Middleton,1990).Criticsofthedisciplineofmusictheoryhave

examineditsfoundationalassumptions,includingautonomyofthework,aestheticuniversality,

5

andobjectivity.Theyarguethattheseassumptionsarenotuniversal,butinsteadsuitedtoa

limitedareaofmusic,namely“commonpractice”Westernartmusic(Green,1988;Shaw‐Miller,

1993;YouYoung,2006).

Musictheoryhasrespondedbybroadeningitsoutlook,bothinmethodologyandsubjectmatter.

Itisincreasinglycommonforthemajormusictheoryjournalstoincludescholarlyanalysesof

popularmusicgenressuchasheavymetal(Pieslak,2007),electronicdancemusic(Butler,

2005),popandrock(Capuzzo,2004),andsoul(Fink,2011).However,musictheorypedagogy,

atleastasreflectedinmanyundergraduatemusictheorycoursescontinuestofollow

universalisingassumptionsofearliermusictheory.

Wasonarguesthatmusictheorycourseshavetherebyavoidedcontemporarymusicandhave

retreatedtohistoricalapproaches:

Giventhelossofacommonlanguageofharmonictonalityinthetwentiethcentury,and

thefluxofcompetingmusicalstylesandlanguagesthatrushedintofillthevacuum,itis

littlewonderthatthemusictaughttostudentswasbyandlargemadeupofahistorical

canonofmusicalartworks;nolongerdidmusicteachersconveyaliving,vibrant

language,letalonecontributetothislanguagethemselvesascomposers.Perhapsthe

plethoraofco‐existingmusicalstylesthatcharacterizesourcontemporaryscene–

LeonardMeyer’s“dynamicsteady‐state”–makessuchacouplingbetween

contemporarycompositionandtheoryinstructionnolongerapracticalreality.Ifthisis

so,though,thestatusoftheprofessionalmusictheoryinstructorseemstohave

ironicallyreturnedatleastinparttothatofthespeculativemusicusofmedievallore–

whoisa“knower”butnotnecessarilya“doer”.Tothatextent,theacademizationof

musictheorymaybeseentohavecomeatacost.(Wason,2002)

Weareleftthenwithaseriousdisconnectionbetweenhighereducationmusicprogramsand

real‐worldmusicalpractice.Currentmusicalrealitycallsforareimaginingofmusicianship

6

(Hugill,2008),whichmaybetermed“multicoded”(Hugill,2008;Webb,2008),andthe

challengeistoincorporatethisnewunderstandingintohighereducation.

Thefollowingsectiondiscussesthecurriculumdesignofacontemporarymusictheorycoursein

anAustralianresearch‐intensiveuniversity.Thecoursehasbeendesignedwiththeaimsof

addressingthechallengesdescribedabove.

Curriculum design: course context 

Thecourse,MusicTechniques4,haslongbeenacorecourseintheBachelorofMusicand

BachelorofArts(Music)programs.Itisthefourthinasequenceofmusictheorycourses,which

followanhistoricalprogressionthroughWesternartmusicfromBaroquemusicto

contemporarymusic.Thefirstthreecoursesinthesequencetendtowardsatraditional

transmission‐learningmodel,focusingonastable,definedcorpusofmusicalknowledge.Before

beingredesigned,MusicTechniques4followedasimilarapproach,focusingonanalysisof

twelveprescribedcompositionsfromthecanonofmodernistEuropeanartmusic(including

workssuchasSchoenberg’sDreiKlavierstückeop.11,Boulez’sStructures,Webern’sop.22

QuartetandMessiaen’sCanteyodjaya).Learnersdemonstratedtheirunderstandingofa

predefinedsetofcompositionaltechniques,centredonmusicnotationandtheconceptionof

compositionsasautonomous,staticmusicalobjects.

Asdiscussedintheprevioussection,theprimarychallengeinredesigningthecoursewasto

reflectcurrentmusicalpracticemoreconsciouslywithoutsacrificingchallengeorrigour.

Multicodedmusicianshipskills(Webb,2008)andtheintegrationofcomposition,performance,

analysis,listeninganddiscussionwereseenasessential.Therewasalsoagoaltoexpand

conceptionsofmusicbeyondafocusonstaffnotation,inlinewiththeorientationofmuch

contemporarymusic.Thus,thecoursewasdesignedtoachievethelearningoutcomesvaluedby

amulticodedapproach,andapluralisticmusicculture,ratherthanatraditionalapproach.This

7

alsomeantthatthelearningoutcomeswereintentionallydifferentfromthoseachievedusinga

moretraditionalapproach.

Toaddressthisapproach,thefollowingcourseobjectivesweredeveloped:

Adoptcomposingapproachesandtechniquesforcreatingmusicofmanygenres

UnderstandstrategiesincomposingWesternartmusicofthe20thand21stcenturies

Workcollaborativelyindevelopingcreativemusicalperformances

Overall,therevisedcourseusedthe‘comprehensive/creative’curriculummodeloutlinedby

Sarath(1995p.32)thatdevelopscomprehensiveskills,isunderpinnedby‘hands‐oncreative

basedlearning’,‘approachestraditionasalivingsourceofcreativeandexpressivetools’and

‘transcendschronologicalandgeographicalboundaries’.

Thisconstructivist,learner‐centredapproach(Hanley&Montgomery2005)enabledstudentsto

experienceknowledgeasinternalandsubjectiveratherthanobjectiveandresidinginexperts.

Itinvolvedindependentlearningtoallowindividualpathwaysthroughtheknowledge.The

resultingspecialisedknowledgeofeachstudentwassharedwiththeclass,andusedin

collaborativework.

Design of the course 

Teachingactivitiesweredesignedtofostermulti‐codedmusicianship,integratingcomposition,

performance,analysis,listeninganddiscussion.Lectureswereusedprimarilytoprovidean

overviewandcontextofmusicaltechniques,exposingstudentstoabroadscopeofmusical

ideas.Forexample,thetechniqueofHocketmaybeexplainedandillustratedwithawiderange

ofexamplesincluding13thcenturyFrenchmusic,AkadindaperformancesinUganda,1950s

AmericanpopularsongssuchasMrSandman,contemporaryEuropeanorchestralmusicby

ThomasAdès,jazzbyHerbieHancock,vocalmusicbyMeredithMonk,Peruviansikuensembles,

heavymetalbyMeshuggahandcurrentindierockbyTheDirtyProjectors.Tutorialsfocusedon

discussionofthemusicalideasandtechniques,includingstudentpresentationsoftheir

8

researchintotechniques,andonworkshoppingofstudentcompositions.Studentsworked

independentlyonresearchingmusictechniquesinaselectedareaoffocus,andoncomposing

andarrangingmusic.

Thereweretwoassessmentitems:

1. Webpageandpresentation–eachstudentselectedanareaoffocustoinvestigate,

summariseandsharewiththeclassthroughaseminarpresentationandwebpage

2. Performancesoforiginalandcollaborativecompositions.Twoindividualcompositions

focusedonaspecifictechnique,andacollaborativecompositionfocusedonintegration

ofmultipletechniques.Allwereperformedinclassandreceivedpeercommentary.

Assessmentfocusedonperformance,compositionaluseoftechniques,andcritical

engagementwithotherstudents’work.

Itwasrecognisedthatitwouldbeparticularlyimportanttoevaluatetheredesignedcoursedue

totheinnovationsabove.Thus,anactionresearchprojectwasinitiatedtoinvestigatestudents’

experiencesinthecourse.Thispaperreportsthefirstcycleoftheresearch,andreportsbriefly

onsubsequentiterations.Inthenextsectionwedescribethemethodologyforthestudy,

followedbyareportonthestudents’experienceinthecourse.

Methodology 

Thisstudytookaqualitative,interpretiveresearchapproach.Thisapproachwaschosentobe

consistentwiththeconstructivistnatureofthecourseandwithouraimsofinvestigatingthe

livedexperiencefromtheperspectiveofthestudents.Thiswasparticularlyimportantdueto

thenewdesignofthecourse,which,asdescribedabovewasaradicaldeparturefromthe

traditionalcurriculum.

Thedatacollectionconsistedofsemi‐structuredinterviewswith11students(5male,6female).

Thestudentswerevolunteersfromaclassof65students.Theinterviewsrangedinlengthfrom

30‐60minutesandwereconductedshortlyafterthesemesterfinishedbythesecondauthor,an

9

educationalresearcherwhowasnotonthecourseteachingteam.Theinterviewquestionswere

designedtoexplorethelearningoutcomesofthecourse:

1. Whathaveyoulearnedaboutcreatingmusicthroughdoingthecourse?

2. Whattechniqueshaveyoulearnedinthecoursethatyouthinkhaveallowedyouto

becomemoreexpressive?

3. Whatwaysdoyouthinkdidthecoursehelpeddevelopyourmusicalcreativity?

4. Whatitwasliketocollaborateonacomposition?

5. Howwouldyoudescribethecoursetoafriendwhowasconsideringenrollinginit?

Theinterviewsweretranscribedverbatimandanalysedthematicallylookingforaspectsof

similarityanddifference.FollowingNorton(2009),anumberofiterationswereundertaken,

involving:immersion,generatingcategories,deletingcategories,mergingcategoriesinto

themes,checkingthemesandlinkingthemes.Immersionconsistedofrepeatedreadingsand

summarisationofeachstudent’sreportedexperience.Categoriesweregeneratedfromeach

transcriptdescribingthestudents’descriptionoftheirlearningandwhattheythoughthe

coursewasabout.Thecategorieswerethenpooled,andsomecategorieswereamalgamated.

Themeswerecreatedbydrawingontheprominentsimilaritiesanddifferencesdescribedinthe

categories.Thethemeswerethenillustratedusingquotationsfromthetranscripts.

Results 

Inthissection,wepresentthethemesillustratingthedominantwaysinwhichthestudents

respondedtotheredesignedcourse.Itshouldbenotedthatitwasapparentfromtheoutsetthat

studentsexpectedtheMusicTechniques4coursetocontinueinthesamemannerasthe

previousMusicTechniquescourses.Furthermore,itwasclearthatthenatureof20thand21st

centuryWesternartmusicandtheemphasisonpluralismandmulti‐codedmusicianshipwasa

departurefromstudents’previousmusicalexperiences.

10

Accordingly,themes1‐5reflectstrongaffectasstudentsreflectedupontheirexperienceinthe

course.Theme1describestheconfusionovertheintegrationofcomposition,performanceand

musictheory.Theme2illustratestherangeofstrongpositiveandnegativefeelingsstudents

experienced.Theme3describesthewaysthestudentsrespondedtoindependentandpeer

learningapproaches.Theme4isatransformationaltheme,wherestudentsdescribelearningto

becomemoreexpressiveinbroadeningtheirthinkingandunderstanding.Theme5describes

someofthecompositionalskillsstudentsreporteddevelopingthatledtoafeelingofliberation

andasenseoffreedom.Finally,theme6doesnothighlightaffect,ratheritdescribesthetypesof

compositionalandtheoryskillsandknowledgestudentsreportedlearninginthecourse.Aswill

beseenthethemesarerelated.Takentogethertheyrepresentthejourneythatstudents

undertookinundertakingacoursethatchallengedtheirassumptionsthroughtheuseof

innovativepedagogyandcontent.

Theme1–Theintegrationofcomposition,performanceandmusictheory

Studentsdescribedthecourseasbeingaboutperformanceandcompositionaswellasmusic

theory.

Atheorycoursebasedoncomposition.(S5)

Theoriesofcompositionwithperformanceaspects.(S9)

Aperformance‐basedtheorycourse.(S8)

Learntocomposebetter,andplaybetter…learntoapplyinyourperformanceandcomposition.

(S7)

Ingeneral,theintegrationofcomposition,performanceandmusictheorycausedstudents

confusionandanxiety.Studentshadexpectedatraditionalmusictheorycourse,alongthelines

oftheirpreviousexperiencei.e.beinggivenexplanationsandwrittenexercisestodemonstrate

applicationofmusictheory.

11

ThisiscompletelydifferenttothepreviousMusicTechniquescourseswe'vedone….Withthis

one,weturneduporwereadthecourseprofilewhenitbecameavailable,andallofusjustwent,

"What!Thisisn'twhatwesignedupfor!"[laughs]…Ididlearnalotfromit,asmuchasitwasa

shockatthebeginning.(S11)

ThepreviousTechniquescourses,theypresenteduswithinformation,and“Youhavetoknow

this.”And“Nowyou’regoingtodemonstratethatyouknowthis”andwe’ddoassignmentsevery

secondweekorsomething.And,youknow,demonstratethatyoucanwriteathree‐partfugue,

demonstratethatyoucanwriteintwo‐to‐onecounterpoint.Demonstratethatyoucanwritea

chordprogression,writeinfour‐partharmony.Thiscoursedidn’treallydothat.(S8)

Therequirementtoperformacross‐genreadaptationofaMichaelJacksonsongwas

particularlyconfrontingtotheclass.

He[thelecturer]certainlydidthingsverydifferently.Iwasabitscepticalatthestart.Especially

whenhewaslike,“DoaMichaelJacksoncoversong.”Idon’tknowmuchaboutMichaelJackson,I

neverlistenedtomuchMichaelJacksonatall,butitwasfine,becauseyoujustlistentoitalot,

andfigureouthowitworks.(S6)

AtthebeginningofthesemesterIthoughtitwasreallyridiculoustowriteaMichaelJackson

song.Ithinkalotofusfoundthatwasreallystrange.Asthecoursewentonwerealizedthatit

probablyfittedwhatwastaughtreallywell.(S5)

Theme2–Musicalcontent

Thecontentofthecoursewasalsochallenging.Formanystudentsitwastheirfirstintroduction

tocontemporaryartmusic.

Halfthestuffhe[thelecturer]wasshowingusIdidn’tthinkwasmusic.Itdidn’tconstitute

music…Maybeit’snoise.Organisednoise.(S8)

AtfirstIwasalittlebitlike“Ohwhyareweevendoingthisfor?”butthen,onceyoutryandget

yourheadaroundit,itisactuallyreallyinteresting.(S1)

12

Studentsdescribedcontemporaryartmusicas‘wacky’,‘weird’,‘crazy’and‘outthere’.For

instance,student8foundthe‘freethinking’approachveryconfronting.Shesaid:

ItwasverynewandsonewthatIcouldn’treallykeepitinmyheadanduseit.Becauseitwasso

muchweird,crazystuff.Thatitwasjustlotsofnewstuff.Becausealotofthesetechniquesareso

outthere.Becauseoftheperiodweliveineverybody’ssofreethinking,it’slike“Let’strythis”.If

somecrazypersonhadtriedtodothatintheeighteencenturyitwouldhavebeenlike,“Youcan’t

dothat.That’snothowitworks.”Butyoucandowhateveryouwantnow.Experimentwith

musicalinstruments.Let’sgetasaxophonemouthpieceandstickitinacarrot!(S8)

Theme3–Affect

Theaffectiveimpactofthecoursewasconsiderable,bothpositiveandnegative.Students

describedbeing‘scared’,and‘shocked’withthedifferentapproach,andalsoconfrontedatthe

thoughtofcomposingandperforminginfrontoftheirpeers.

Itwaskindofscarytohaveotherpeoplehearsomethingthatyou’vecomposed.JustbecauseI’ve

neverdonethatbefore,soIwasveryinhibited,butwhenyouhavetodoityourealisethatit’snot

suchanimpossiblething.Itwasgood.(S11)

I’mreallygladwepushedoutofourcomfortzoneswithanewteacherandanewwayof

teaching...quiteasignificantpartoftheclassreallydislikeditinthebeginning.Ittookusquitea

whiletowarmuptotheideathatit’snotareallybadideaafterall.(S5)

Studentsalsodescribedthecourseas,‘fun’and‘enjoyable’(S1,S3,S4,S7,S9,S10).Thispositive

affectwasrelatedtoboththegroupworkandthe‘liberating’feelingofhavingthesortof

‘freedom’and‘expression’thatthecourseallowed.Itwasalsorelatedtotheindependent

learningaspectsofthecourse.Bycontrast,theprevioustheorycoursesandtheAustralian

MusicExaminationBoardsyllabus(whichwasmentionedinmanyresponses)weretaught

traditionally.

Before[intheprevioustheorycourses],weneverreallyhadthefreedomtodoanythinglikethat,

becausethey'dalwaysgiveyoualineandyou'dhavetoharmonizetothatinthestyle,or

13

whatever.Youwouldn'tevergetyourownfreecreativitytodo…Ithoughtit[thiscourse]was

scary,butstillatthesametimefun,becauseyougottodoyourownthing.(S9)

Therewasalotmorefreedominthiscourse.(S3)

I’mreallygladwepushedoutofourcomfortzoneswith…anewwayofteaching.(S5)

Iwouldsayitwasfun,greatanddifferent.Because,asIsaidbefore,weteachourselves,rather

thanlisteningto[the]lecturers.(S7)

Itwasfunusingthem[thetechniques],becauseIhadneverusedthembefore…[theMichael

Jacksongroupcomposition]wasfun,too,becausewecouldbeasexpressiveaswewanted.(S7)

[Collaborating]wasactuallyalotoffun…Ifindthateveryonehassomanyideasandthereare

oftenthingsyouhaven’tthoughtofyourself,andyoujustopenotherdoorsfromtheirpointof

view.Sothat’salotoffunandit’sreallyinteresting.(S1)

Itwas,Iwanttosay,fun…it’ssomethingentirelyyourown,andthenyougetagroupofpeople

togethertoperformit.Itwasareallyenjoyableexperience.(S10)

Partofthepositiveaffectwastheconfidencestudentsdevelopedbycomposingandperforming

theircompositions.Studentsweresurprisedthattheircompositionsturnedoutsowell.

Ididn’treallyrealiseIcouldwritedecentmusic.(S5)

IthascertainlymademerealisethatI’mbetteratthisthanIliketogivemyselfcreditfor…you

sometimessurpriseyourselfhowwellitworks…thepeopleinthegroupthoughtitsounded

reallycool.(S6)

Idon’thavemuchfaithinmyabilitytocompose.Whichiswhatwasgoodaboutthesubject,

becauseitkindofopenedthatup.(S10)

Theme4‐Independentandpeerlearning

Independentandpeerlearningwerenotedasdistinctivefeaturesinthecourse,departingfrom

expectationsofhaving‘everythinglaidout’(S11),withinclearboundaries.Independent

14

learningfeaturedinalltheassessment.Forinstance,studentsneededtochooseatechnique,

researchitandpresenttheresultsoftheirresearchtotheclass.IntheMichaelJackson

assignment,studentsalsoneededtochoosethesong,andmakeallthearrangingdecisions.

Studentsdescribedthisas‘teachingthemselves’.

Peopledon’trealisethepotentialofthecoursejustbecausealotofitisleftuptothem.(S6)

Wewereteachingourselvesreally.(S7)

His[thelecturer’s]approachisverymuchthatweteachourselves,throughdoingthewikisand

everything.Thatsortofleftustochoosewhatwewantedtofocusonreally.IchosetopicsthatI

foundeasy,thatIdidn’thavetodoalotofworkon.BecauseI’mabitlazylikethat.(S8)

Wehadtobecreativeandrelyonourselvesmore,ratherthanhavingeverythinglaidoutforus.I

thinkthatwasgood,becausewehadtobealittlemoreindependentwithourlearningstyles,and

alsowithteachingeachotherandhelpingeachother.(S11)

Learningfromother’spresentationswasincontrasttoatraditionalapproachfocusedon

teacher‐directedtransmissionofinformation.

Youcometoclassandyouhearsomeone’sperformanceandyouthink‘Well,OK,Ididn’tthinkof

that.’You’realwayssortoflearningsomething,it’snotjustrepeatedknowledge.(S9)

[Thelecturer]getseveryoneinvolvedandasksforpeople’sopinions,whereaspreviouslywe

wouldsittherefortwohoursandsomeonewouldtalk.(S10)

Studentswererequiredtoworkcollaborativelyinordertoperformthetwocomposition

assignments.Theseconsistedof1)workingwithatriotopresentasix‐to‐tenminutesetof

compositionsillustratingtheuseofcontemporaryartmusictechniques,and2)workingwitha

quartetorquintettopresentacross‐genrearrangementofaMichaelJacksonsong,makinguse

ofcontemporaryartmusictechniques.

Studentscommentedonarangeofaspectsinrelationtotheirgroupexperience.Asdiscussed

above,aprimarythemewasoneoffun,whileanotherwasthepositivecontributionofgroup

15

members.Therewasverylittlenegativityassociatedwiththegroupprocessandoutcome.

Studentsreportedlearningfromtheirpeersintermsofhavingarangeofopinionand

knowledgetodrawfrom.

Everyonehassomanyideasandthereareoftenthingsyouhaven’tthoughtofyourself.Andyou

justopenotherdoorsfromtheirpointofview…[Itshowedme]howit’spossibletouseeveryone

tocreatesomething…Justworkingwithareallysolidgrouptowardsacommongoal.(S1)

Openedupmoreideas–whenyouworkonyourown,youknowwhat’sgoingtohappen.(S6)

Theyoffersuggestionsaswellastheymakesurethatyourmusicmostlikelymakessense,your

technique.Becauseeachmembertheyofferdifferentopinionsaswellasknowledge.(S2)

Theme5–Becomingmoreexpressive

Studentsreportedthatthecourseallowedthemtothinkdifferentlyaboutperformingand

generallybefreerinthewaytheyapproachedtheirmusicmaking.Forinstance,studentssaid

thatlearningcontemporarytechniqueshelpedthemtounderstandcontemporarymusic,and

thushavemoreinsightsintoperformingcontemporaryworks.

[Learningthetechniqueshas]helpedmethinkabout‘whatisthecomposertryingtodohere?’

[It]helpsyougetthecharacterofthepiece...helpspointyoutowardswhatthepurposemight

havebeen...helpsyouperformwithmoreinsights.Andratherthancreatinganarbitrary

characteronwhatyouthinkishappeninginthepiece,ithelpsmakethecharacterpossiblymore

whatthecomposer’sintentionmighthavebeen.(S1)

IfIevergetapiecelikethat[usingserialism],Icangothroughandworkouthowitworks.It’ll

makeiteasiertoplay,maybe.(S8)

Student11hadpreviouslyfoundcontemporaryartmusicrepertoiredaunting.Herexperience

inthecoursehasde‐mystifiedthismusicforher.

[Thecourse]mademetryit[performingcontemporaryartmusic]…It’sgivenmeabetter

understandingofthetechniquesthatthecomposershaveused.SowhenIlookatitnow,Idon’t

16

justthink“Ohthat’shorrible,thatdoessoundterrible”.Icansay“Oh,butthey’veusedthis

technique,andthereforethisisprobablywhattheywereaimingfor”.Ordosomeresearchto

reallyfindoutwhattheywereaimingfor.Sothat’sbeenhelpful,becausethat’sbeenmygeneral

thingwith20thcenturymusic,tolookatitandgo“Oh,no,notthat!Itlooksterrible!”(S11)

Likewise,Student5describedcreatingmoremeaningfromcontemporaryartmusicthat

previouslyshehadconsideredas‘noise’.

Itusedtobetome,“thisisjustnoise.”Likemodernmusicisjustnoise.Ineverreallyunderstood

that.AndnowwhenIlistentoit,andIthinkofideastocompose,Icomeupwithunderstanding

there’sareasonbehindthat,saydrawingontheinfluenceoftribalrhythms.Ithinkrhythmin

modernmusicisalotmorecommonthaninpreviousperiods.I’mreallyinterestedinthat.(S5)

Thetheatricalityofmanyofthestudentperformancesmadesomestudentsrealisethatthey

couldbemoreuninhibitedwhileperforming.

Inmyperformanceitcouldbeinfluentialinopeningupmoretheatricality...Ifoundthatalotofit

hadverydramatictendencies.(S10)

Performance‐wiseIthinkI’dprobablybemoreextravert...they’resointoit,itmakesyoujust

wanttowatchthem.(S9)

Beingexposedtocontemporaryartmusicandusingthetechniquesincomposingallowed

studentstobefreerintheirapproach.Studentsreportedbroadeningtheirmind,realisingthat

thereare‘limitless’possibilities,andbeinggiventhefreedomto‘thinkoutsidethesquare’.

[It]openedmymindup...openedmyeyesthatthere’sotherwaystodoit…there’sabigworldout

there.(S3)

Broadeningwhatyouhadpreviouslythoughtandbeentaughtaboutmusic.(S10)

Thiscoursehasgivenmetheopportunitytobecreativeandtoexploremyowncreativebounds

ratherthanactuallyteachingmeanythingparticularlymaterialaboutbeingcreativeorhowI

shouldbecreative...It’sjustallowedmetoexpressmyself...beinggiventhefreedomtodo

17

completelywhackythingswithoutbeingpenalisedforit…givenmethechancetofindoutwhatI

cando.(S6)

[It]makesyouthinkanythingispossible.Whatyouthinkisaboundarymaynotactuallybea

boundary…Youshouldn’tlimityourcreativitytowhatyouthinkisaboundary.Tryandthink

outsidethesquare…Ithinkitjustopensyourmindtothingsthatyoudidn’tthinkwerepossible

before…thinkingoutsidetheboxisoneofthethingsI’velearned.(S9)

Studentssaidthatnotbeingboundedbytheparameterstheywereusedtoinpreviouscourses

‘liberated’them.Thisincludednotbeingrequiredtonotatetheircompositions.

IfeltreallyliberatedinwritingthatbecauseIdidnothavetonotateit.(S5)

I’dsayfrommysecondaryschooltonow,whenIcomposeeverythingisveryharmonious,andit

hastofollowalltherules,mostlyfromBaroque.Butmodernismcompelsyoutothinkoutside

thatBaroqueera…modernismputsmeoutsideandletsmedoothersortsoftechniques,tryto

testthemout.Intheendtheysoundwonderful.Theydo…Itjustoffersmealotofoptionstowrite

asong.Itdoesn’thavetobeverystiff.It’sfreestyle.(S2)

Before,weneverreallyhadthefreedomtodoanythinglikethat,because[inpreviouscourses]

they’dalwaysgiveyoualineandyou’dhavetoharmonisetothatinthestyle,orwhatever.You

wouldn’tevergetyourownfreecreativity.(S9)

Theme6–Learningthroughcomposing

Formanystudents,thecourseenabledthemtodeveloptheircompositionskillsbeyondthose

requiredbyatraditionaltheorycoursewherecompositionstypicallytaketheformofshort

exercisestopracticeusingaparticulartechniquesuchasfugue,voiceleading,modulationetc.In

thosemoretraditionalapproaches,studentswouldbegivenarangeofparameterssuchasthe

lengthoftheexercise.Asstudent11comments:

They’dsetusatask.We’dbeworkingonimpressionism,forexample,andthenthey’dsay,“OK,

withthesecharacteristics,composea20‐barpieceinanimpressioniststyle.”(S11)

18

Student11alsoexplainedthatsheapproachedcomposingdifferentlyinthecourse,usingtrial

anderror.Herusualapproachwastostartwithanideaofhowshewantedthepiecetosound.

Butinthiscourse,shewasn’tfamiliarwiththesoundsthatwerepossiblesoshehadtostart

withexperimentation.

IthinkIdiditbackwardstowhatInormallydointhatIwasjustexperimenting.Thenif

somethingworked,thenI’dkeepthatandthenexperimentagaintillIfoundsomethingthat

workedandkeepthat…ratherthanstartingwithwhatIwantedittosoundlike.(S11)

Anotherpointofdifferencewasthattheperformanceaspectofthecourseallowedstudentsto

actuallyheartheircompositions.

Ineverknewhowmycompositionssoundlike.[Inthepreviouscourses]weweremadetowrite

fuguesorfour‐partharmony…youdon’treallyhaveanideaofhowitsoundslike.(S5)

Severalstudentsmentionedthatthecourseenabledthemtolearntowriteforarangeof

instruments,andtolearnaboutthecharacteristicsofinstruments,forexamplerangeand

timbre.Onestudentmentionedaskinghergroupmemberstobecarefulwhenwritingfor

clarinetacrossthebreak(S11),whileotherssaid:

Ilearnedabouttheirrange.Andcertainlythatthetenorsaxophoneisveryloudandhardtoplay

softly.Youhavetowritetheirdynamicsdownalittle.Otherwisetheyburyeverythingelse.(S8)

Ilearnedalotfromthem[mygroup].Liketheviolin,violarange.Thesounds,youhearthe

soundsfromtheothercompositions.(S4)

YoulearntowritethingspeoplecanplaybecausetherewasonepiecethatIwrotethatwasfor

voiceinsopranoandIhadalternatingquaversthroughoutthepiecetoimitateatapeloopandI

thinkshealmostdiedsingingit.(S5)

Forsomeitwasthefirsttimetheyhadwrittenanextendedcompositionbeyondshortexercises.

IthinkImighthavelearnedtorespectcompositionsmore.Iknowthatsoundskindofsilly,but

before[inpreviouscourses]Iwaslike“Ohno,IhavetoactuallywritemysixthgradeAMEB

19

[AustralianMusicExaminationsBoard].I’lljustdosomeniceharmonieshere.”AndnowIhaveto

actuallyputthatthoughtprocessin.Youhavetothinkofanideaandmakeitgolongenoughto

actuallybecountedasafull‐lengthperformance.Itjustmademereallysitdownandthink“Wow,

itreallytakesalottocomposesomethingyourself.(S9)

Discussion 

Thefindingsillustratethechangefroma‘conventional’toa‘comprehensive/creative’model

(Sarath,2010,p.32)atasinglecourselevelpresentedopportunitiesandbarriers.The

opportunitiesincludedthefreedomofcreativeexpressionthroughapluralist,multicoded

approach,whereasthebarriersincludedstudentresistanceduetothenon‐traditionaland

unfamiliarapproach.

Thestrongaffectthatcharacterisedstudents’experiencesindicatedthattherewere

opportunitiestoengagewiththeiremotionsandthatmoreneededtobemanagedthansimply

musicaltechniques.Whenmovingoutsideexpectedteachingdirections,itiscrucialtotake

accountofhowthisislikelytobeconfrontingandstressful.However,thisdoesnotmeanwe

shouldavoidconfrontation.Studentswhoexperiencedthecourseastransformativereported

feelingsofliberationandfreedom,whilestudentswhoreportedmorenegativeresponses(a

muchsmallernumber)neverthelessrecogniseditasapowerfullearningexperience.

Thecoursewasredesignedinsubsequentiterationstopromoteclearercommunicationofthe

goalsandobjectives.Thisincludeddiscussionsofhowthecoursedifferedfromprevioustheory

courses,clarificationofthescheduleandexpectations,andmorefrequentfeedbackand

guidance,particularlyintheearlyweeks.Briefanalyticaltaskswerealsointroducedin

conjunctionwithmoremusicalexamplesdiscussedinclass,sothattechniquescouldbeseenin

diversesettingsbeforebeingusedcreatively.Beforecomposingwasattempted,studentswere

guidedinimprovisationexercisesasawaytoreducecreativeinhibitionsanddemonstrateto

20

themselvesthattheywereabletoinventmusicmuchastheyinventspokenutterances.Thefirst

analysisanddiscussionactivitieswerecentredonrecordingsofclassimprovisations,

convincingthestudentsthattheyhadcreativeabilitythatsimplyneededreleasingandrefining

inthesubsequentcompositionalactivities.

Theeffectivenessofthesechangesissuggestedbyincreasinglypositivefeedbackfromstudents.

However,thereisperhapsanunnecessarilylargeburdenofchallengeplacedonthiscourse,as

studentsarerequiredtonegotiatenotonlynewmusicaltechniques,butalsounfamiliarwaysof

learning.Thiscouldbeavoidedbyamorewidespreadusethroughoutthemusicprogramof

learningmethodsfocusedonindependence,pluralismandpeerlearning.Notably,aftertaking

thiscourse,studentshavefrequentlyrequestedmoreopportunitiesforsimilarlearning

approachesinothercourses.Thereisnoreasonwhysuchapproachescannotbemore

thoroughlyintegratedintomoretraditionalmusiclearning.

Conclusion 

Theexperienceofstudentsinthiscourseillustratestherisksandopportunitiesintakinga

postmodernapproach.AsElliott(p.33)argues‘ononehand,today’spluralityofperspectives

holdsenormouspotentialforindividualgrowth,collaborativeresearchanddemocratic

development;ontheotherhand,thepluralismandambiguityofourpostmodernsituation

meansbewilderment,frustrationandconflictformany.’ Asthedesignofthiscourseshows,

musictheorycanbetaughtwithafocusonpresent‐daymusicmakingwithoutshyingaway

fromitspluralisticcomplexity.Itcanbetaughtbyintegratingcomposing,performing,listening

andanalysing.Thisapproachtoteachingcanbeappliedbeyondmusictheoryintootherareasof

musiceducation.Thediversitiesinmusichistory,forexample,canbeteasedoutby

independentexplorationsofcompositionalactivitiesledbystudents.Andteachingofmusic

theoryfromearlierperiodsneednotexcludeautonomyandpluralismasstudentsexplore

diverseemphases.Bythesemeans,awholeprogramofmusiceducationcanbedeveloped

21

focusedonpluralisticlearning,preparingstudentsforthemusicalrealitythatawaitsthemon

graduation.

References 

Butler, M. (2005) Hearing Kaleidoscopes: Embedded Grouping Dissonance in Electronic Dance Music. twentieth-century music, 2, 02, 221-43.

Capuzzo, G. C. (2004) Neo-Riemannian Theory and the Analysis of Pop-Rock Music. Music Theory Spectrum, 26, 2, 177-200.

Elliott, D. (2001) Modernity, postmodernity and music education philosophy. Research Studies in Music Education, 17, 32-41.

Fink, R. (2011) Goal-Directed Soul? Analyzing Rhythmic Teleology in African American Popular Music. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 64, 1, 179--237,75.

Green, L. (1988) Music on deaf ears : musical meaning, ideology, education, Manchester, ; New York, N.Y. :, Manchester University Press.

Hanley, B. and Montgomery, J. 2005, 'Challenges to music education: Curriculum reconceptualized' Music Educators Journal, vol., no.March: 17-20.

Hugill, A. (2008) The digital musician, New York, Routledge. McClary, S. (1990) 'Start Making Sense! Musicology wrestles with rock.'. In Frith, S. & Goodwin, A.

(Eds), On record : rock, pop, and the written word, pp. 277-92. London :, Routledge. McKendry, T. (2011) 'Redefining ‘Talent’ and Democratising Composition: Overcoming Challenges

to Teaching Composition to Large Cohorts in the University Sector'. In Mackinlay, E. & Forrest, D. (Eds), Redefining the musical landscape: Inspired learning and innovation in music education - XIX National Conference Proceedings, pp. 132-7. Gold Coast, Australia, 2-5 July, 2011, Australian Society for Music Education.

Mellers, W. (1998) Review: The perils of pluralism. The Musical Times, 139, 1865, 60-2. Middleton, R. (1990) Studying popular music, Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Monelle, R. (1996) 'The postmodern project in music theory'. In Eero Tarasti, P. F. a. R. L. (Ed),

Musical semiotics in growth, pp. 37-56. Indiana, Indiana University Press. Norton, L. (2009) Action research in teaching and learning: A practical guide to conducting

pedagogical research in universities, Oxford, Routledge. Oteri, F. (2005) 'Naming names'. New Music Box, Vol. 2013. Pieslak, J. (2007) Re-casting Metal: Rhythm and Meter in the Music of Meshuggah. Music Theory

Spectrum, 29, 2, 219-45. Rogers, M. R. (1984) Teaching approaches in music theory : an overview of pedagogical

philosophies, Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press. Rogers, M. R. (2004) Teaching approaches in music theory : an overview of pedagogical

philosophies, Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press. Sarath, E. (1995) Is the paradigm shifting without Us? The need for fundamental reform in

contemporary musical training in the USA. International Journal of Music Education, 25, 29-37.

Sarath, E. (2010) Music theory through improvisation : a new approach to musicianship training, New York, Routledge.

Shaw-Miller, S. (1993) The last post : music after modernism, Manchester, Manchester University Press.

Tregear, P. (2014), Enlightenment or entitlement? Reflections on tertiary music education in Australia. Platform Papers, Currency House. 38: 1-62.

Wason, R. W. (2002) 'Musica practica: music theory as pedagogy'. In Christensen, T. S. (Ed), The Cambridge history of Western music theory, pp. 46-77. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

22

Webb, M. (2008) Gilles Apap's Mozart cadenza and expanding musical competences of twenty-first-century musicians and music educators. Music Education Research, 10, 1, 15-39.

You Young, K. (2006) Defending Music Theory in a Multicultural Curriculum. College Music Symposium, 46, Journal Article, 45-63.