Scottish composer James MacMillan recently wrote a scathing article about what he called the “dumbing down” of a new music syllabus in Scotland. In his discussion of “serious music” ,and “popular culture” he calls for a renewal of challenging the notion that “there is no meaningful difference between high art and low art”. An article written in response reiterated some of MacMillan’s ideas and offered other opinions on the syllabus.
The discussion of what is or is not “serious music, “elitist” “democratic”, and other similar thoughts comes very close to the discussions many of us have about the relationship between school music programs in the US and popular culture. While there has been some discussion of popular music and music education, our field has barely scratched the surface of the many issues surrounding this discussion. As uncomfortable as these conversations can be, we definitely could use more of them in reconciling the many issues involved and how they relate to our music programs. Where do you stand?
James MacMillan writes inclusively about music’s spiritual power as crucial aspect and expression of our humanity. This suggests that musicians and educators should treat all music, irrespective of genre, with respect. Such a position need not deprecate popular music, vernacular music, classical music, or any musical genre in order to espouse others. And it suggests that all genres are worthy of study. Since there are so many musics, music teachers must choose which musics they can include in their curricula. They can best do this taking into account their particular instructional situations, their own interests, and those of their students.@ejorgensen@bsky.social