Making string education culturally responsive: The musical lives of African American children

Theoretical framework

Teachers should be engaged in the critical evaluation of pedagogy if they hope to remain alert to the needs of students in a changing world. Abrahams (2005) states, “The goal of teaching and learning is to effect a change in the way that both students and their teachers perceive the world” (p. 3). My own perceptions about my students, which developed over the course of my first year teaching them, constituted my first awareness of the possibility of creating a dialectic relationship between students and teacher. “Conscientization,” a term coined by Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), means “learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (p. 17). Freire continues, “To no longer be prey to oppressive realities’ force, one must emerge from it and turn upon it. This can be done only by means of praxis: reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it” (p. 33). My experience at the elementary school altered how I perceive the world, taught me that education is largely political, and displayed the impacts of social, cultural and economic realities within the classroom.

Education and culture are linked. As Masemann (2003) suggests, education is more than information transfer. It contains a cultural component. Most cultural researchers would agree that education involves cultural transmission; the direction of the cultural transfer, however, is critical in terms of power relations between and among different cultural and ethnic groups. Paulo Freire, Michael Apple, Henry Giroux, Peter McLaren, and others argue that schools reproduce mainstream social beliefs and practices, and provide knowledge and skills that support the dominant political and economic powers. Critical educators believe in analyzing and transforming the school system, addressing inequalities in the system, curriculum, and its forms of knowledge. For such a transformation to happen, teachers need to review, confront, and challenge political issues connected to education. Critical theorists also believe that teachers should engage in constant dialogue with their students so that they can understand their problems in their communities and at school. Apple (1979) argues that teaching is a form of cultural transmission: “Educational institutions are usually the main agencies of transmission of an effective dominant culture, and this is now a major economic as well as cultural activity; indeed it is both in the same moment” (p. 6). Similarly, Bourdieu argues that “[T]he way in which the school legitimates the dominant culture, by presenting as a ‘natural’ form of pedagogy […] belongs, in fact, to only the dominant groups in society” (Gordon, 1984, p. 107). Children who are socialized within the dominant cultural values and norms at school will most likely be more successful than children who are not socialized within this culture, forcing us to think about knowledge as power (and specifically, whose knowledge as power) in cultural production.

Over the past several decades, ethnomusicologists and music educators have collaborated to produce materials on world music that foster culturally responsive pedagogy and question sources of power. Demographic changes in America have also impacted music education (Volk, 1998). For example, schools with high Latino populations, especially in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, involve mariachi band activities in curricular practices (Campbell, 2002). Allsup and Shieh (2012) report that

in many teacher preparation programs across North America, university music teacher educators are developing pedagogical strategies that move students outside of private passions and personal expertise and into exploring wider ways of experiencing the music of others. Some mostly classical musicians at the university level are engaged in popular music processes in an effort to democratize music education. (p. 51)

The work I did with my young students, which began with an exploration of their musical cultures and backgrounds, values and desires, through the interview process, is in the same spirit as these educators. Generating a music education classroom praxis begins with an effort to understand students’ lives; I believe this is true at any level of schooling, be it university or elementary.

Methodology

Hermeneutics constitutes the methodological approach of this study. Hermeneutics “derives from the Greek word hermeneuein, which means ‘to interpret’ or ‘to understand’” (Crotty, 1998, p. 88). Hermeneutics originated as a way of interpreting the Bible but has come to be a method for understanding and interpreting texts and experiences. From the very beginning, a main theme in hermeneutics has been that the meaning of a part can only be understood if it is related to the whole (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2000; Geertz 1979). Any meaningful action can be considered or read as a text. As Titon (1997) argues, a musical performance or a musical experience can be understood as the equivalent of a text.

Hermeneutics emphasizes the role of the interpreter in the process of interpretation. Understanding does not simply come from reading the text, but involves knowledge of the historical context of the text and interpreter. Authors, therefore, cannot be seen in isolation. They need to be placed in their social context, which can be further broadened to their whole historical background. In the current study, the “whole historical background” refers to the African American experience in America, especially from the Civil Rights movement forward and its impact on education. A reflective music researcher should explore the relationships among music and politics, economics, social structure, music events, and language, especially within the backdrop of the African-American historical experience.

The researcher remains cognizant of power issues during the data collection process and reflects on her data critically. Sometimes these reflections and interpretations might appear in the form of critiques of history, politics, schooling, and dominant systems and their relations to music education. In the hermeneutical method, understanding is “participative, conversational, and dialogic. It is always bound up with language and is achieved only through logic of question and answer,” and, it should be added, occurs in a cyclic process of understanding (Schwandt, 2000, p. 195). In addition, understanding is produced in a dialogue that is not merely discovered and reproduced by the interpreter through analysis; it is a shared, “real-time” discovery. According to Geertz (1979), the hermeneutical method is based on a cycle:

a continuous dialectical tacking between the most local of local detail and the most global of global structure in such a way as to bring both into view simultaneously… . Hopping back and forth between the whole conceived through the parts that actualize it and the parts conceived through the whole which motivates them, we seek to turn them, by a sort of intellectual perpetual motion, into explications of one another. (p. 239)

Working with this cycle helps the researcher pose critiques by putting data into a global and historical perspective, fostering a better understanding of the pieces of the experience (or phenomenon). It also helps to correct any misunderstanding or prejudgment held by the researcher, and hopefully leads to new understandings and meanings.

To illustrate this process of understanding from the hermeneutical method, the hermeneutical cycle was used to illustrate the researcher’s understanding. Knowing about African American violin students’ musical culture was a beginning. Through reviewing multicultural and culturally responsive music literature and interviewing students, the researcher’s understandings grew.

Results

The students are exposed to certain kinds of music that are unique to their cultural and home environments. As listeners, singers, players, and dancers, children internalize hip-hop, rap, R&B, and gospel as parts of their musical identities. The students also listen to jazz, blues, and classical/opera/violin music, even though the genres with which they are most familiar are rap, hip-hop, R&B, and gospel. The students’ favorite musics represent distinct genres that today’s African American youth enjoy. All of the musicians that they listen to are popular black musicians. The following example was typical in many responses:

The children who were interviewed listened to rap, hip-hop, and R&B most often. Listening to these songs, dancing with them, and learning their lyrics constitute important parts of their musical lives. Arica says,

When it’s raining I will put on some music [referring to R&B] and I lay on my bed, sing to myself […] get up, dance, jump around, jump on the bed. And for me, when I’m outside, they play outside, so it’s like for me to relax, I just get up and have fun. [132–134]

An additional example illustrates how children perceive their favorite music:

The children also described the musical attributes of rap, hip-hop, and R&B. The most common attribute stated by children is that these musics are fast. They also emphasized that these musics have not only “beat,” but “specific beats.” Arica called the particular beat “R&B beats” [428]. The songs in these genres contain speaking, singing, and rhyming. Dan said, “It’s like rhyming words [referring to the rap music] like a person who’s rhyming words, and then they’re just adding on a beat” [7–8]. Chloe described rap similarly:

The students described the attributes and differences of the various musical genres with similar language. For example, many students characterized violin music as “smooth” and rap as filled with “cuss words” or “a great beat.” All of the children search the Internet to find song lyrics. Many children distinguish rap, hip-hop and R&B from other genres because they have “cuss words,” which deal with “good stuff and bad stuff,” and talk about “guns.” This is clearly illustrated in the following example from Arica:

It’s mostly songs that have to do with s-e-x that we cannot listen to. They [referring to her parents] don’t want us to listen to that because they know that we have a young mind and that we might go around asking what that means, but it’s OK because there’s a disease out there in the world – HIV – and we should know a little bit but not a whole lot when it gets into our main brain that we should do it. So my mom doesn’t like us to listen to music about that. [108–115]

In the children’s experience, music tells stories and gives messages, especially rap, hip-hop and R&B songs, which talk about “gangster stuff, hustlin’, stuff like that” (Arica, 82). Dan said, “They are talking about life and there is a thug war out there […] they are talking about their life and how it’s a tough world out there outside” [230]. Another example shows how children pay close attention to the stories of rap, hip-hop and R&B songs:

The songs children listen to contain messages and tell stories about love, broken families, crime, guns, drugs, violence, and racial, social, and political issues. African American children often interact with those messages.

The music to which they are exposed is promoted at home, especially through watching music videos. For instance, all of the children stated that they watch the music channel BET daily. Music programs and videos (gospel, rap, hip-hop, and R&B) on BET provide certain musical examples and entertainment for these children. This is illustrated in the following excerpt:

Arica mistook R&B to mean “rap is for black,” so when I consider her statements about R&B, I consider that she is talking about rap music. She continued,

Whatever the confusion Arica spoke of, she was not confused about dominant perceptions of race and music, that rap, hip-hop, R&B, and gospel are black music. She also identified herself with these musics, which were created and popularized by her culture. She was eager to attain musical ownership for her culture so that she could secure her belonging to that specific culture and distance her culture’s music from others. Brenda exhibited her opinion on the issue of race and music by reflecting her historical understanding. In the past, white figures of power might have claimed that her music is actually white music. The struggles and problems that her race has faced are audible through the sounds and words of the music she listens to. This is why she tries to distance her music from others. If whites make her music, then it means they “act black.”

The data also suggested that the children try to negotiate their musical and religious identities. The church has a strong influence on children’s musical lives. Particular mediums expose the children to certain kinds of music. The music they listen to is learned and promoted at home. The church is the other important medium; it exposes children to gospel music. Children rarely discuss the music to which they are exposed at school. For all of the children, music is fun, especially when shared with others.

The violin program offers students opportunities to play an instrument, to gain exposure to different kinds of music, and to perform alongside others. Playing violin is their main musical activity in terms of learning an instrument, and the interviews suggest that these children are aware of this opportunity and are motivated to choose violin as their “major.” For instance, Chris wanted to choose violin as a major because, as he said,” I had picked it ‘cause I really wanted to get back into violin, since I was in it last year” [294]. The following excerpt also illustrates this:

Most of the students indicated that they were amazed by how they can learn particular skills and apply them on their instruments. Eddie remarked, “I’m just really surprised that I have learned all those songs. Most of the time I just really give up on stuff, but not this time” [333–334]. The following excerpt further illustrates this point:

Overall, the study provided detailed illustrations of the students’ interest in playing and studying familiar music on their violins. In several classes, the violin teacher let students explore options to add parallel rhythms and beats to what they already play. Arica, who was popular with stepping, volunteered. First, she listened to the player and grew familiar with the rhythms of the song. She then borrowed the rhythmic elements of the song and improvised further, finally creating patterns for particular songs. She produced the rhythms through stomping, clapping, the use of body percussion, and hand jives. At the same time, the rest of the students provided a loud, steady beat by stomping whenever Gerald and Arica performed. The children called the activities and performances “Stepping Violins.” The following excerpts illustrate the students’ interest in playing familiar music and their perceptions of “stepping violins:”

Felicia also wanted to play rap and gospel with her violin:

Arica described her own experience with “Stepping Violins:”

As the children’s answers indicated, they love the music they love (rap, hip-hop, R&B, and gospel) because it tells stories and contains beat. Playing violin opens unfamiliar territories for them. What matters to the children is not only receiving the opportunity to play such music (rap, hip-hop, R&B, and gospel) on their violins, but also using their instruments to generate beat. For children, violin music is music with no beat. Their desire is to go beyond that.

From culture to the classroom: Implications for string music pedagogy

In this study, African American students’ views of a violin program were examined for insights into how teachers can become more culturally responsive. Through documenting and analyzing the participants’ experiences, I arrived at the conclusion that there was a need for careful acknowledgement and integration of a student’s daily performance and listening habits into the violin classroom because their musical lives outside the classroom are rich. Music is a more significant part of their lives than I expected, and they experience it in multiple locations with multiple kinds of people. This multiplicity of musical experiences undoubtedly impacts their perceptions of violin at school. Teachers must find ways to put that rich multiplicity to work in the classroom. They can do so by establishing a dialogic and democratic teaching–learning environment, where they attempt to engage and build upon the musical knowledge that students already bring to the classroom. Culturally-responsive teaching is a way to do that and to empower these students.

In terms of culturally-responsive teaching, this study is consistent with previous research. Previous studies (Allen & Boykin, 1992; Allsup & Shieh, 2012; DeLorenzo, 2012; Fitzpatrick, 2012; Hoffman, 2012; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Lundquist & Sims, 1995; Shaw, 2012; Villegas, 1991) revealed that African American children bring particular cultural characteristics to the classroom that teachers should take into account. The cultural musical characteristics consistently mentioned in this study include: the children’s desire to use rhythm, movement, and percussion when they make music, their desire to play the musics they know and love, and their desire to consider music as a shared activity that occurs in particular sites. Practitioners who wish to build a culturally-responsive pedagogy should consider these factors. Although teachers might know little about rap, R&B, and hip-hop, they can learn these unfamiliar genres and put them into practice. As Allsup and Shieh (2012) assert,

to listen to our students is to allow them to enter our curriculum with us as agents of change. They are not in our classes only to learn musical skills or established traditions from us; they are in our classes to shape musical traditions and social traditions that live and breathe and transform the world in which we live. In other words, musical traditions are never more important than the people who are called on to realize them. While we strongly believe in the musical and social benefits of school-based large ensembles, like band and orchestra, or highly codified practices, like jazz, these are artistic forms that must be made relevant to immediate and future needs, even if it means altering a practice or pedagogy. (p. 50)

With the help of our conversations, I learned that the children liked listening to certain kinds of music unique to their cultural spheres. They experienced this music in particular locations. They also expressed their desire to play familiar music on their violins. As agents of change, they discovered the possibilities of re-shaping the playing tradition (limited to our classroom practice) and they constructed the “stepping violins” activity. In several classes, students found ways to add parallel rhythms and beats to what they already played. First, one student volunteered and listened to the player and grew familiar with the rhythms of the song. Then the student borrowed the rhythmic elements of the song and improvised further, finally creating patterns for particular songs. The student produced the rhythms through stomping, clapping, the use of body percussion, and hand jives. Adding those elements to the violin instruction was a valuable, relatively easy process. As Allsup (1997) reported in his own instrumental teaching experience in a Harlem school with predominantly African American students, using non-traditional methods such as teaching through rap, structuring lessons around the electronic keyboard (where a popular beat would accompany a simple melody), and establishing links to the community (like organizing concerts at churches) were useful ways to involve students in learning their instrument.

Further research should be done on the challenges facing professional music educators when they encounter diverse musical classrooms. For this researcher, reading extensive scholarship on culture and its role in education, the historical development of the civil rights movement and its impact on education, and the African American experience in America helped place local issues in a broader context. After all, valuable teaching in any field is dependent on bringing the larger social, cultural, and historical contexts into the discussion. The seemingly least significant teaching tool or student response often springs from a vast and rich set of contexts.