Informal pedagogy is closely associated with popular music practices, its methods known to engage students in authentic music learning that develops critical and independent thinking skills, social skills, creativity and self-identity, among others. However, formal and non-formal pedagogies also have relevant roles to play in popular music learning in the classroom, though their roles and interactions with informal pedagogy may require exploration. A recent survey conducted in Singapore schools suggests that a significant number of music teachers have never engaged their students in popular music practices, and they have no confidence in adopting appropriate pedagogies to effectively enable popular music learning. This article seeks to address the issue by reviewing relevant pedagogies and how they are employed in popular music programmes in two Singapore secondary schools. I will first examine the current discussion on formal, non-formal and informal pedagogies and their implications for music teaching and learning. Secondly, I will relate the discussion to two empirical case studies which adopt these learning approaches in popular music classes to examine their applications and how they interact in actual classroom situations. Based on this, I will suggest that a synthesis of these pedagogies in constant, complementary dialogue within and beyond the classroom paves the way towards a complete and holistic curriculum and learner experience.
In this exploratory case study, I examined how preservice music teachers (PMTs) developed collective free music improvisation (CFMI) competencies in a teacher training program in Singapore. Nine PMTs participated in the 6-week course, where they acquired CFMI skills following a curriculum derived from improvisation and free improvisation literature. Data obtained through video recordings of course proceedings, field notes, interviews, and surveys were analyzed through the constant comparative method of analysis. Findings revealed PMTs’ learning processes as a 3-part journey based on recurring behavioral traits in each segment. Over weeks of performances, PMTs transitioned from a conservative behavioral state to an increasingly volatile one that challenged socio-musical boundaries, finally establishing unique group identities at the end of their journey. Based on their learning experiences, I provide suggestions to scaffold CFMI training.
This article is a review of literature that conceptualizes the practice of collective free music improvisation as a sociocommunicative endeavor, with its appended value and implications to musicians and music learners. Researchers have revealed that this conceptualization breaks down cultural and stylistic music boundaries to establish understanding and empathy among diverse and unique performers—through live music interactions and communication on an egalitarian and evolving platform that is negotiated by all participants. To enable collective free music improvisation pedagogically, researchers have highlighted the importance and ways of approaching it as a form of social interactionism, developing a personal music language to converse fluently and meaningfully, and establishing shared understanding among fellow improvisers as the foundation for music interaction. Together, these pedagogical implications may be synergized to inform ways in which classroom free improvisational practices may nurture expressive and confident improvisers rooted in the reality of the moment, as well as in the music conversations with one’s self and others.
The pervasiveness of popular music and its associated practices in current youth cultures brings into question the relevance and effectiveness of more traditional music pedagogies, and propels a search for a more current and engaging music pedagogy informed by popular music practices. With this as the basis, this study seeks to explore factors that may enable the success and effectiveness of popular music programmes in public schools through the lenses of three Singapore secondary school teachers as they conducted their popular music lessons over seven to ten weeks. In the process, the study also describes how these teachers pragmatically negotiated the execution of these programmes within Singapore's unique educational context. The findings may serve to inform music teachers and school leaders keen to establish similar programmes as a matter of on-going dialogue.
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