Abstract
We all encounter and deliberate over the opportunities presented to us in everyday life. The content of this publication, the third single-authored book by Stephanie Pitts, therefore has an ability to resonate with anyone who has experienced a degree of music education. The author explores the long-term impact of music education by evaluating its place among the many influences upon individuals’ engagement with music throughout their lives. Pitts identifies six aims of the book, which she acknowledges seem to be ‘ambitious,’ however, over the course of the book it is clear that each aim is addressed, with references to a vast array of publications ranging from press articles and empirical studies to philosophical works. The reader would benefit from a brief general introduction to life history research and a discussion of why the ‘narrative’ approach was employed (Cole & Knowles, 2001) as to help situate the book in a broader context outside of music education. Nevertheless, through the collection of ‘musical life histories’ (p. 9) and the author’s arguments, this book presents an in-depth insight about the meaning and impact of music education.
The book consists of seven chapters, 12 interludes and a postlude. The interludes are a selection of written narratives selected from the sample of respondents, providing ‘retrospective accounts of formative musical influences and opportunities from adults who had sustained an active interest in music throughout their lives’ (p. 9). It is clear from reading the interludes that they reflect the essence of life history research where respondents ‘speak for and about themselves’ (Atkinson, 1998, p. 5). The content of the interludes provides the basis for the themes discussed by the author in the book chapters, and adds to the character of the book. What strikes me most about the content of the book is that the five questions posed by Pitts to the respondents were sufficient to reveal a wealth of insightful and interesting data. There is an art to posing the right questions in order to obtain an insight into the phenomena of study, and without doubt, this flair for asking appropriate questions has been demonstrated by Pitts. The content of the interludes, which punctuate the majority of the chapters, reveal the thoughts, reflections and personality of respondents. Inclusion of the interludes contributes to the book’s style, which is engaging, personable and informative. The data collected from the respondents illustrates which themes are important when considering the impact of music education on individuals.
The self-selecting sample utilized as respondents could be seen as a limitation to the study. However, this is a common issue for anyone who conducts research in this and other fields. The author recognizes that there could be a danger of over-representation of the views of those whose principal interests lie within Classical Music. Pitts attempted to resolve this issue by collecting the musical life histories of individuals engaged in popular music and those of Italian respondents, in addition to the British informants who form the core of her study. These particular musical life histories reveal differences between the accessibility, learning experiences and structure of music education. There is a sense from the author that this study is ongoing and there is a need to collect more musical life histories given that, as the book demonstrates, the chances and opportunities offered to individuals are not the same and can be shaped by a range of factors.
Chapter 1 offers an overview and rationale for the approach taken to gather the musical life histories, explains how the book contributes to existing research on musical life histories, and outlines how it will further the understanding of the role of music education more generally. The content of Chapter 2 offers a generational perspective of the respondents’ engagement with music. Quantitative data is presented which provides a snapshot of the trend from lifelong learning being the highest-ranked musical influence observed within the musical life histories of those schooled in the 1930s to music outside the classroom in the 1990s (p. 37). This chronological investigation of the respondents’ recollection of formative musical experiences reveals that the personal attitudes of those involved with supporting musical engagement as well as social, cultural and technological changes can shape music education. From this, Pitts concludes that within the data collected there are challenges which remain longstanding and issues that are relevant to music education in the 21st century.
Chapter 3 focuses on the locations where musical learning occurs. Musical learning was not confined to certain locations and there were a range of influences which could be identified within the contexts of home and school. There were similar aspects of home and school learning which could yield effective environments for musical learning – resources, attitudes and opportunities which should be guided but flexible, with a role model potentially being beneficial. The importance of extra-curricular music-making for providing opportunities for musical development is articulated within this chapter. In this chapter, Pitts also refers to literature detailing the experiences of those whose music education was received in the United States and the interludes written by the sample of Italian respondents. This discussion highlights differences between the US approach and the Italian music education system which prioritizes specialist training, identifying gaps which can be created in society’s experience of music education from government policy. For example, for those who did not attend specialist music conservatoires, the onus appeared to be on parents and other influential adults to enthuse interest in music which in turn could also depend on their own personal interest in music. I was schooled in the UK and, personally, I found this chapter to be interesting in so much as it led me to ponder whether my own musical education would have had the same level of impact on me if it had not been provided by teachers in educational institutions.
Chapter 4 considers why individuals associated with the respondents’ music education become influential. Pitts discusses the roles of classroom teachers, instrumental teachers, parents, siblings, extended family, friends and respondents who themselves have become parents or teachers in order to determine how their attitudes, personality, enthusiasm, and encouragement fostered the respondents’ relationships with music. Chapter 5 focuses on the paths which music education may lead to, and from the respondents’ views it appears that the often narrow and somewhat presumed paths of experiencing music education and this leading to becoming a professional performer or teacher are expanded to include a broader scope of ways that respondents managed to sustain a lifelong interest in music, such as becoming adult learners, making music in a range of settings, i.e., not in traditional concert halls, and becoming listeners and concert-goers. From this, Pitts (p. 151) notes that a closer inspection of these activities are valuable and worthy of attention, something which other researchers could focus on in more depth in the future.
In Chapter 6, Pitts articulates her view that a more inclusive definition of ‘what it means to be musically successful’ (p. 160) could promote more extensive possibilities for adult involvement and interest in music. Pitts moves from reflecting on the issues raised by the respondents in their musical life histories to consider the ways that music education has been justified as being important for society. However, it is clear that Pitts’ opinion is that any effects or benefits that individuals may experience from their music education ought to be underpinned by the notion that music is valuable in and of itself. Pitts also reflects on schemes which have been introduced with the aim of making music accessible and from this highlights the importance of opportunity and engagement, as those who are not able to engage will be unable to form a considered appraisal of music education.
The last chapter is where Pitts contemplates three questions posed to stimulate thoughts about how the opportunities available to young people can be strengthened and supported. She draws on the musical life histories to propose some general principles which could guide future policy and research. In addition, she reflects on the method employed for this research and the limitations that her self-selecting sample may have imposed onto the research. However, this honest reflection of the challenges associated with researching the impact of music education indicates more general issues that are apparent with music education and music psychological research, such as the need to document the ‘non-impact’ of music education, and individuals whose musical involvement is not as an everyday listener or professional musician (p. 197).
This is a book which not only provides an academic discussion of music education’s impact on individuals, but also indirectly gives the reader an opportunity to reflect on their own musical education. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in fostering musical engagement. For me personally, it has led me to consider how my music education has impacted on me and I will write my own musical life history via the companion website (http://www.oup.com/us/chancesandchoices). The website is a facility for individuals to upload their own musical life history. However, the website could also function as an educational tool where the available data could aid students when practising qualitative analysis techniques. Additionally, further data analyses could be performed on this data, the results of which could contribute to larger scale research into specific topics such as musical identity. The possibility of the website being a repository for the storing of musical life histories is somewhat novel and if contribution is actively promoted actively could potentially be an important way for the historical, contextual and cultural documentation of the impact of music education globally.