Listen to the tastemakers: Building an urban arts high school music curriculum

Abstract

In partnership with academics from McGill University and community arts partners, a high school in Montreal faced with significant challenges became an “urban arts school,” offering music and visual art programs centered in youth culture, as well as integrating arts into several academic subjects. The initiative was inspired by the school’s popular extra-curricular activities, which included a Hip Hop literacy club that ran beat making and rap writing workshops. Considering the popularity of these activities, the school decided to offer a music education program focused on musical skills through real-life music making activities that resemble those employed by popular musicians. This article chronicles the development of this music education program from the perspective of the music teacher, including the experience of continual adaptation to the needs and interests of students. The program is one of the first to combine Musical Futures, an approach to music education that promotes the combination of non-formal music teaching, informal music learning, and students’ interest in a formal school setting, with Hip Hop Based Music Education, predominantly located in community settings. This case study showed that students benefited from having an open-minded and committed educator with experience in popular musics. The co-teaching by professional Hip Hop artists also supported student progress and engagement by adding authenticity to the music making process. Furthermore, the alignment of the music program with the general school ethos contributed to its success. The paper also highlights the need to balance the development of musical skills with student engagement, and the informal music learning philosophy of Musical Futures with direct instruction associated with formal school settings.

Associations Between Major Depressive Episodes and School‐ or Community‐Based Activity Participation Among Adolescents Using Nationwide Representative Data

“…Educational professionals and schools should actively promote participation in athletics, choir, band, volunteering, student government, and clubs among adolescents of all demographics. Further, at the decision‐making levels, schools should prioritize the growth, maintenance, and retention of such extra‐curricular activities including offering activities that appeal to diverse student populations of varying backgrounds and cultures if possible (eg, urban art culture, Hip Hop literacy club, salsa dancing club) 36,37 . Previous literature supports the facilitation of equitable participation through culturally relevant programming and endorses adolescent participation in multiple activities throughout the academic year 36,37 .…”

Las preferencias musicales de los estudiantes: hacia un reconocimiento de sus identidades culturales

“…Desde una perspectiva más práctica, en Reino Unido se creó en 2003 el proyecto Musical Futures, en el marco de la fundación The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, para crear nuevos métodos de educación musical destinados a jóvenes entre 11 y 19 años (Gage, Low, y Reyes, 2019;Hallam, Creech y McQueen, 2017a;Price, 2005). Actualmente funciona como una organización sin ánimo de lucro que ofrece fundamentación pedagógica, formación permanente y recursos para docentes y centros educativos, no solo en Reino Unido, sino también en Norteamérica, Australia y el sureste asiático (Powell, Smith y D'Amore, 2017).…”

Experiences, Issues, and Challenges in Curriculum Implementation of a Music Training Institution

“…In terms of instruction, teachers are encouraged to experience and "share with students their own experiences of learning through failure" (Becker, 2019). Gage, et al (2019) found out that learners are at an advantage when taught by an "open-minded and committed" teacher, particularly in popular music.…”