Multicultural Choral Music Pedagogy Based on the Facets Model

Abstract

Multicultural choral music has distinct characteristics in that indigenous folk elements are frequently incorporated into a Western European tonal system. Because of this, multicultural choral music is often taught using Western styles (e.g., bel canto) rather than through traditional singing techniques from their cultures of origin. One of the most important purposes of teaching multicultural music is to increase understanding of and acceptance toward different cultures and enrich musical experiences. This article details eight instructional strategies to help students learn multicultural choral music from alternative perspectives that enrich their musical skills, cultural understandings, and performances of multicultural music.

Keywords

choir choral culture Facets Model multicultural music strategies traditional vocal music

How can choral teachers enhance student understanding and acceptance of choral music and performance styles of other cultures? Here are eight strategies.

As the United States becomes more culturally diverse, music educators have acknowledged the necessity of including music from different cultures in school curricula. Documented as early as the 1967 Tanglewood Symposium¹ and restated in the Housewright Declaration of 2000,² the importance of learning music from all cultures has been firmly established. Additionally, the National Standards for Music Education (1994, 2014) also support the inclusion of music from different cultures.³ In choral music, when the American Choral Directors Association Convention (ACDA) founded the National Committee on Ethnic Music and Minority Concerns (1979), its primary aim was to provide minority groups with opportunities to perform at ACDA conventions. In 1992, the committee’s name was changed to the National Committee on Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives, which led to the inclusion of multicultural music sessions and performances at these conventions.⁴ Consequently, American choirs have recently incorporated repertoires from other cultures into concerts and curricula (e.g., songs of various cultures in South America, Serbia, Kenya, and Japan).⁵ Many scholars agree that embedding multicultural music in the school music curriculum is beneficial to students because it can help broaden students’ musical and cultural experiences, increase the value they place on unfamiliar music, promote deeper cultural understanding, and cultivate open-mindedness.⁶

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Even though a multicultural approach to music education has been recommended in the United States, there can be little doubt that monocultural practice is still pervasive in American music education.⁷ From a monocultural perspective, the dominant culture (in most cases Western classical music culture) is regarded as the superior or best culture, and other musics and approaches to music are marginalized.”⁸ This idea seems outdated but still seems to be “the underlying philosophy of most programs and methods throughout the Western world in terms of content and approach.⁹ Cambridge (England) University music professor Nicholas Cook also states that a monocultural perspective implicitly associates “such a scheme of non-Western cultures with beginnings (inferior or exotic) and of Western culture with progress.” However, music education philosopher David Elliot, the author of Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education, claims that there are thousands of musics¹⁰ around the world and that Western classical music is only one type.¹¹ That is, even as we value the Western approach to music and music education, we should also equally value other musics and musical approaches from different cultures.

When teaching songs from different cultures, choral teachers should not overlook the cultural characteristics distinctive to the multicultural music being studied and performed. In light of this information, the author became interested in the common characteristics of multicultural choral music. The term multicultural music as used in this article refers to musics from different cultures, and multicultural choral music means songs from different cultures written in part-singing forms (e.g., SSA, TTBB, SATB). It is my goal to provide choral teachers with ideas for helping students experience multicultural choral music in more traditional ways and to incorporate plans for enhancing their understanding of unique musical styles and cultures. This article includes eight strategies that educators can use to teach multicultural choral music. These strategies are based on the Facets Model designed by three music educators—Janet R. Barrett, Claire W. McCoy, and Kari K. Veblen.¹²

Nationalism and Multicultural Choral Music

Singing as a group activity has existed around the world as a vehicle for group communications, religious rituals, warfare, and wedding, childbirth, and funeral ceremonies. Even though this kind of group singing existed in part-singing forms such as responsorial, antiphonal chanting or singing, and parallel intervallic singing, it was not structured like Western choral music (the organized singing of musical parts).¹³ Western choral music did not exist in many indigenous civilizations outside Europe prior to Western influences (e.g., colonization, Christianization).¹⁴ During colonial periods, European musical traditions were introduced to non-European countries, and European musical traditions gradually came to dominate indigenous musical traditions. Colonization also had an impact on the erasure of indigenous or culturally relevant approaches to singing.¹⁵ Huib Schippers, the author of Facing the Music: Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective, stated that he “felt sad to witness how the idea of the superiority of Western European classical music appeared to have outlived colonial rule by decades in many parts of the world.”¹⁶ In addition to European music traditions, schools were established using the structure of the European education system in numerous colonized counties. Consequently, composers educated under this system began to write music using exclusively Western European compositional idioms.¹⁷

European nationalist movements in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries encouraged composers to use their native languages, folk rhythms, and songs as inspirations for composing works in national music styles. During the first quarter and middle of the twentieth century, nationalist movements transformed choral music to make it a means of expressing patriotism and protecting indigenous musical traditions from the dominance of Western classical traditions. Since then, numerous composers in many countries have composed multicultural choral music.¹⁸

One common characteristic of multicultural choral work is that they include indigenous musical idioms rooted in cultural traditions while also using Western-style harmonies and musical notations. Atkin Euba, a leading Nigerian composer of African art music, argues that this music is “intercultural music” because it combines elements from two cultures (indigenous and Western classical music).¹⁹ He also states that “[f]olk tunes and melodies used in this type of art music, especially if used in their authentic state, is a vital channel for preserving indigenous musical tradition and expressing nationality.”²⁰

Regarding traditional singing techniques, some countries require throaty vocal sounds and unique timbres that add various ornamentations to existing notes, some of which are unfamiliar to American choirs because they are difficult to blend with choral sounds. Consequently, many choirs often sing multicultural choral music using traditional Western classical vocal timbre, and the resultant sound is unlike the original timbre. The International Society of Music Education (ISME) has warned music educators about some of the problems associated with conforming to musical styles that alter or impair a song’s original character.²¹

However, attaining absolute authenticity when performing multicultural choral music is not possible²² because this type of music is essentially hybridized in that two musical styles from two cultures are combined. Additionally, the power dynamics created by musical colonization might prevent authenticity because Western composers usually cannot avoid appropriating the musical styles of indigenous cultures. Nevertheless, music teachers should still strive to create culturally valid musical experiences for students.²³ To help teachers enhance cultural validity, Carlos Abril suggested several guidelines in his article Music That Represents Culture: Selecting Music with Integrity. For instance, teachers should look for publishers (multicultural music and materials) who are reputable and reliable, and they should teach multicultural music in historical and cultural context.

One possible way to prevent cultural stereotyping is by inviting or working with guest artists or scholars who are culture-bearers of that particular culture. Ultimately, music teachers need to go beyond their comfort zones and train themselves to create culturally valid musical experiences for students when teaching multicultural music.²⁴ David Elliott argues that “music is a major means of distinguishing, identifying, and expressing differences.”²⁵ Therefore, those educators who teach music from different ethnicities and cultures should attend to unique (rather than universal) cultural and stylistic components.

The Eight Strategies

Janet R. Barrett, Claire W. McCoy, and Kari K. Veblen designed the Facets Model (1977), which includes eight essential questions about a musical piece (see Figure 1). The Facets Model promotes the comprehensive study of musical pieces, helps students experience musical work from many different perspectives, and enhances their musical understanding and performances. Based on this Facets Model, here are eight instructional strategies to help students experience multicultural choral music from various perspectives. Specifically, the eight strategies can help students learn multicultural choral music in more traditional ways in hopes of broadening their knowledge of musical styles and cultures. Students who learn about multicultural choral music from various perspectives and through different activities are likely to acquire multidimensional skills that they can use when performing this music. Moreover, with a better understanding of the music’s original context, students may come to value multicultural music and their cultures more deeply.

1. Sing multicultural choral music using a traditional singing style. Even though the desired choral sound can vary according to a conductor’s preference, “the choral ensemble will likely use traditional Western choral intonation, tone quality, and blend.”²⁶ Regardless of choral repertoire, whether it be Western European music or multicultural music, the choral ensemble often adjusts its vocal timbre to fit the bel canto style of singing. Since the baroque era, bel canto has been the desired singing technique, and many believe that the traditional Western tone quality is a good tone from a universal perspective.²⁷ Therefore, choral conductors might be reluctant to use the chest voice throughout performance because they are concerned that singing in styles other than the Western classical tradition may result in vocal damage.²⁸ However, the beauty of the singing tone can be varied, and singers in diverse cultures have enjoyed different vocal tones for a long time.²⁹ Vocal tone used in indigenous styles varies widely when compared to that of Western choral tones. For instance, the unique vocal techniques of African American musicians produce shouting, moaning, and a throaty quality; Indian vocal music has often been described as a more nasal tone with less vibrato that Western classical music; and Chinese singing tends to have a higher, shriller, more nasal tone.

Figure 1

Facets Model by Barrett, McCoy, and Veblen (1997)

In their book, Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, William Anderson and Patricia Shehan Campbell described singing tone production, rhythmic patterns, and traditional instruments from different cultures in more detail.³⁰ Choral teachers should be mindful of the traditional singing style for multicultural music and allow students to sing a portion of these pieces in that style during rehearsal. In doing so, students can “enhance a cultural sensitivity to vocal nuance,”³¹ become “more receptive of other styles,”³² and experience as well as appreciate the qualities that distinguish such music from Western styles.

To work against Western arrangements of multicultural music and help bring students closer to their traditional sounds, the teacher should understand the unique characteristics of the songs beyond vocal production. For instance, the appropriate articulations, syllabic stress, phrases, or other unique musical elements can help performers retain the distinguishing characteristics of multicultural songs and may provide new and different sounds for audiences. Also, students can perform music representing diverse genres and cultures with appropriate expression by learning these musical traits.

2. Accompany the piece using traditional instruments. The teacher should consider what traditional instruments are most suitable for accompanying multicultural music. Try using traditional instruments rather than Western instruments to enhance the musical idioms in multicultural music.³³ However, many multicultural music includes a piano part; if the teachers want to include the piano, the addition of traditional instruments to the existing piano accompaniment is highly recommended. Some multicultural music might feature drums or other percussion instruments that help create unique rhythms. These rhythms are often important because they allow singers to feel and express the song in a traditional way.

It is also valuable to isolate the representative rhythmic patterns from the song for students to play using body percussion. Teachers can learn the simple instrumental parts (or accompaniment parts) suitable for the piece and borrow authentic instruments from the student union at local universities or schools where immigrant children usually learn their culture, language, and traditional music.³⁴ Teachers can also invite ethnic performing artists to rehearsals or concerts. If you are not able to use local universities and community members, select music representing the student population. There might be students (and possibly family members and friends) who can play instruments from different cultures (e.g., Asian Indian, African, or Central or South American instruments).

3. Incorporate folk dance into rehearsals and performances of the piece. David Elliot has stated that “many non-Western definitions of musical practice include stylized movement.”³⁵ In other words, there is often an interdisciplinary connection between folk music and folk dance in non-Western countries (e.g., those in Africa and Asia). Many folk songs are performed with group folk movements; this provides students the ability to experience various musical traditions by incorporating these folk-dance movements. Also, adding movement can free singers’ voices and immerse them in a unique cultural experience. In this process, the teacher should encourage students to perform the dance style that most resembles the indigenous style. On the other hand, the teacher should also be able to recognize the need for a balance between traditional folk dance and aspects of Westernized choral music. If too much dancing is added to the song’s performance, singers might struggle to control their voice while their bodies are moving. Teachers can learn traditional folk dances through performances and classes at a local university, community center, or international school, where traditional music and dances are often taught. If this is not possible, select music representing the student population. There might be students or family members who can perform traditional dances from their original homeland’s culture.

4. Learn the music aurally. Oral and aural transmission should be used to teach your students if the music is transmitted aurally in the culture of origin.³⁶ Ohio State University’s Julia Shaw, who has worked with a number of large children’s choirs, states that “using a score might reduce the cultural validity of the experience.”³⁷ If teachers take authenticity seriously, they need to try to adopt as much of the teaching style of those cultures as possible.

Once notation systems were developed, Western music began to rely on the notation. However, some music from African and Asian cultures have been transmitted through oral and aural transmission as a means of teaching and learning music, primarily folk music.³⁸ By adopting oral and aural transmission as part of their pedagogy, teachers can not only introduce songs from different countries to students but also incorporate the teaching methods of that music’s culture or period of origin.

5. Consider musical idioms understood in the context of a particular culture. Multicultural music experts Patricia Shehan Campbell and William M. Anderson are two advocates for including multicultural music composition activities in music classes. According to Shehan Campbell, “engaging in creative activities guided by teachers with a sense of how musical pieces each have their own architectural shape, students can bring about understanding of smaller and larger musical structures.”³⁹ Through multicultural music composition, students can build their awareness, understanding, and appreciation for multicultural traditions and expand their expressive musical vocabulary.

To help students experience composition in different cultural styles, the teacher should first understand culturally specific musical elements, such as the melodic modes and patterns, rhythms, and meters used in the piece being taught. These aspects form the framework through which composition can be practiced. For example, many Korean folk songs are written in a compound triple meter (e.g., 9/8 or 12/8) using an apentatonic scale and a call-and-response form. At the beginning of the lesson, students are guided in listening to two or three examples of folk songs related to the piece being taught, and they learn about and discuss how the music typically sounds. Then, the teacher provides students with contextual information about these musical elements and structure, such as aspects of melodic modes and patterns and the rhythm and ornamentation used in the piece. An example of composition lesson plans (both rhythmic and melodic compositions) can be found on the website http://koreanfolkmusic.weebly.com/improvising.html. The teacher should give students enough time to complete and practice their compositions to promote creative musical growth. Since native musical characteristics vary widely across the world, I recommend that readers modify the suggested lesson plan to their specific needs. To ensure the cultural validity of creative world music experiences, teachers should seek out information from culture-bearers at local universities, international schools, and cultural centers or through reputable electronic resources such as Smithsonian Folkways, found at http://www.folkways.si.edu/.

6. Discuss the differences between the original and an arranged version of the piece. Initially, students would be encouraged to listen to the folk song they would perform and then identify musical elements (e.g., melody, rhythm, timbre, texture, dynamics, and form) that are different from those in Western songs. Identifying different musical elements is an important initial step toward developing an individual’s musical sensitivity and awareness of diverse instruments, styles, or genres. As mentioned earlier, many multicultural choral pieces published in the United States are Westernized arrangements of a work’s original version. When a music teacher brings a form of arranged music to the classroom, it is imperative that students be allowed to listen to the recordings of the original version to discern what has been changed and how that transformation may have altered the music’s meaning. Otherwise, students will misunderstand that the arranged versions are the original sounds of the authentic version.⁴⁰ Students need to listen to and critically compare an authentic version of a piece of multicultural music to a Westernized version of the same piece of music.⁴¹ Before asking students to evaluate these two versions, the teacher should develop a series of questions that prompt students to discuss the differences between two versions of the same piece.

7. Teach the piece’s historical and cultural background. Many teachers are aware of the importance of providing students with content from different cultural backgrounds.⁴² This is because music is a part of culture, and culture often influences music. Ethnomusicolgist Peter Dunbar-Hall has stated that all music should be studied as cultural practice rather than focusing only on musical concepts.⁴³ Thus, when teaching culturally unfamiliar musical works, teachers should aid students in understanding the music’s historical and cultural contexts by providing background information about the piece (e.g., translation, circumstances of traditional performance, and musical tradition) and describing the distinct characteristics of the music genres and styles.⁴⁴ Knowing what the song or text was used for and where it has been performed will help make the performance more meaningful for students. Choral publishers have recently included more of this information in their editions and arrangements, but conductors need to consider more carefully the cultural backdrop to enrich their students’ understanding of the music’s context.

8. Experience the audience behaviors associated with the piece. Often, choral directors might not consider the various audience behaviors appropriate to the music being performed. For example, in the Western classical tradition, audiences are usually asked to keep silent during performance and applaud at the end of music. In contrast, audiences of Korean folk music are allowed to partially participate in the performance. This can happen when audiences give a singer chuimsae (verbal sounds like “yes,” “bravo,” “I agree,” etc.) to encourage his or her expression during a performance. Finally, in some African traditions, audiences are part of the performance: Performers and audiences all sing and dance together. Thus, audience behavior is an integral part of the music and the culture of some human groups. Therefore, if students experience different audience behaviors for the context and style of the music performed, they will also have a better understanding of music and performance styles from various cultures.

Fostering Understanding

Choral music of many cultures has common characteristics and often relates to nationalist movements. Music educators can help their students experience multicultural choral music in traditional ways and enhance their understanding of unique musical styles and cultures. Parr states, “One of the primary goals in instructing or performing multicultural music is to increase understanding that involves the character of the culture.”⁴⁵

To help choir singers deepen their understanding of different cultures’ musical styles, various practices suggested in the eight strategies for teaching multicultural choral music should be considered in choral rehearsals. By using these eight strategies in choral rehearsals, teachers can provide students with an in-depth understanding of musical pieces and the cultures from which they originate as well as foster positive student engagement with these pieces.