ISSN: 1938-2065

The Application of Critical Theory to a Sixth Grade General Music Class

by
Frank Abrahams
Westminster Choir College of Rider University

This article looks at critical theory as a post-modern philosophical foundation for a sixth
grade general music curriculum. The author reviews the literature on critical theory,
discussing the origins of the theory in Frankfurt, Germany in the early 1920s and traces
the applications critical theory finds in American schools of the current era. The author
suggests that critical theory is appropriate for music education as it empowers
musicianship and enables music teachers to connect the music children experience in
school with the music they hear outside. The author describes how critical theory may
inform and transform the development of a sixth grade general music curriculum by
connecting the music of contemporary popular culture with the goals and objectives of
general music in the middle school. Specifically, the critical theory framework provided
opportunities for the music teacher to address individual aptitudes and potentials,
individual learning styles and a variety of teaching styles. The study confirmed research
which showed that students were capable of learning on their own and that they retained
knowledge when their learning was grounded in personal experience.

Music education is an ideal subject in which individuals can examine their own traditions
and practices, and in this way becomes independent, reflective and critical. Music
education, if it is going to be liberating, calls for an analysis of present traditions and
practices. If educators are not reflective and analytical, they limit students to reproducing
what has come before. On the other hand, creative experiences and outcomes are
boundless when music teachers realize that they are able to analyze and adapt,
manipulating the curriculum in an unlimited number of ways.

The purpose of this article is to report on applications of critical theory as the

philosophical foundations of a sixth grade music curriculum in a middle school music
classroom in Princeton, New Jersey. The article is in two sections. The first places the
study in the context of critical theory and reviews the contributions of the postmodernists
who developed that philosophy. In this section we also explore the literature on critical
theory in schools and applied specifically to music education. Then, the article discusses
critical theory as it was applied in the sixth grade general music curriculum at a middle
school in Princeton, New Jersey.

Abrahams, F. (2004). Application of critical theory to a sixth grade general music class. Visions
of Research in Music Education, 4. Retrieved from http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/
CRITICAL THEORY

Origins and History

One may trace the origins of critical theory to a group of German social theorists known

as the "inner circle" at the Institute for Social Research at Frankfurt Germany in 1923.

With roots in Freudian and Marxist philosophy, they represented expertise in economics,

psychology, history and philosophy and are known today as the Frankfurt School. Their

members included Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, Leo Lowenthal

and Frederick Pollack (Rose, 1990). Initially, these men responded to the changing

composition and direction of the European labor movement and the evolution of Soviet

communism and Western capitalism. Later, they expanded their focus to include the

decline of patriarchy in the nuclear family, the psycho-social dynamics underlying

authoritarian, anti-Semitic, and fascist tendencies, and the rising potential for totalitarian

mind control in the mass production and consumption of "culture" (Ingram & Simon-

Ingram, 1992 p. xix). They opposed the ideologies of empiricist objectivism and positivist

scientism-views that held knowledge to be a matter of sensory data reduced by statistics

to cause and effect and therefore the only true or positive knowledge (Regelski, 1998). To

that end, they framed a theory that integrated diverse philosophical approaches. For

example, their interest in the nature of reason, truth and beauty was inspired by German

idealistic thought. The concern with social transformation and exchange process was

inspired by Marxism. The notion of critique and knowledge came from Kant's

philosophical approach and the idea of an "emergence of spirit" came from the Hegelian

philosophy (Held, 1989). Embedded within the theory is the process of self-conscious
critique. It provides a basis to perceive the complex interactions that exist among the

individual, the school and society.

Critical theorists view culture as the expression of human consciousness shaped by

daily living (Rose, 1990, p. 8). Recognizing that humans are the architects of their own

destinies, the theory urges the development of a critical consciousness concerned "with

the phronesis of rational action that satisfies criteria of right results for the clients served,

our students" (Regelski, 1998, p. 16). In other words, it urges a transformation that

enables individuals to create new truths for both themselves and for society.

Issues of struggle, power, culture, hegemony and critical consciousness were

important to the members of the Frankfurt School and remain paramount to critical

theorists today. The reproduction of "oppressive social patterns and the viability of social

transformation" (Giroux, 1983a, p. 25) and particularly the role that schools play in that

agenda still appear in much of the writings. According to Meyer (1989) "habits of musical

culture and style are an outward expression of belief. Forming the basis for a musical

logic, they function as the 'rules of game,' thereby setting the standard against which

musical individuality is compared and assessed" (p. 244). As Meyer explains it, "musical

individuality is only possible in reference to some cultural or collective norm" (p. 244).

Critical theorists acknowledge the power and influence that 'popular' culture (or mass

culture) has to shape peoples' attitudes and behaviors. Horkheimer and Adorno (cited in

Rose, 1990) believe that the mass production of popular culture turns art into a

commodity, and produces a mechanical world filled with standardized, stereotyped and

false images of mass culture. This in turn reinforces the inequalities and injustices that
subvert aesthetics, imagination and intelligence, and denies the development of critical

consciousness and emancipation. Because dominant social classes control the media, they

are able to impose their values on other social classes by prescribing social behavior and

belief. For less privileged classes, then, "reality is thought of as a 'given' and essentially

independent of the vagaries of human volition, rather than being socially constructed"

(Woodford, 1997 p. 45 quoting Shepherd, p. 49-50).

Hegemony refers to the ways in which the dominant class controls, shapes and

manipulates the beliefs of subordinate groups to ensure that their views become common-

sense and taken for granted. This domination, according to Gramsci (1971), occurs not by

force or coercion, but through a process of passive, legitimate consent. In short, they are

accepted as right and natural by all classes (Gibson, 1986, p. 53). The result is that the

subordinated classes work to support the needs and interests of the dominant classes, and

in so doing, consent to their own oppression (Rose, 1990). Bourdieu (1977) furthers the

concept of hegemony by explaining how education favors the "cultural capital" including

the language, values, and meanings of the dominant culture and it is therefore confirmed,

legitimized and reproduced. In his view, schooling should transmit culture objectively and

justly, but instead it actually functions to legitimize and reinforce social and cultural

disadvantage (Rose, 1990, p. 16). Gramsci (1971) believed that hegemonic ideology is

incorporated into human consciousness by the shaping of social and cultural practices,

structures and beliefs through schooling, family and various other social and cultural

institutions. In other words, people are capable also of creating and transforming their

own culture because people are both the products and creators of their social world.
Hegemony is never complete as it is always in the process of being reimposed and is

therefore always capable of being revisited (Weiler, 1988; Rose, 1990).

Critical theory envisions a process of critique that is self-conscious, leading

participants to develop a discourse of social transformation and emancipation. In this

vein, critical theory raises our consciousness beyond the walls of the classroom and the

boundaries of the school to broader social and cultural concerns. These broad social and

cultural concerns connect well to education in general and for music education in

particular.

Critical Theory and Schools

Critical theorists (Kanpol, 1999; Kozol, 1967, 1985, 1991, 1995, 2000 and others) agree

that poverty, social class division, unequal distribution of labor, poor teacher working

conditions, poor student learning conditions, and gender and race divisions run rampant in

the United States. They believe that issues of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1977) and

hegemony (Gramsci, 1971) provide the social context for general education in this

country. And they call us to resist cultural reproduction (Giroux, 1983b), and the

production of culture (Apple, 1982) if it occurs within the domain of the dominant class.

Instead, they argue for a curriculum that provides the conditions in schools necessary to

affect transformation and conscientization (Freire, 1970; Schmidt, 2002b).

Central to critical theory in schools is the social shaping and reshaping of the

learning experience whereby schools assume a more prominent role in both the creation

and transmission of social reality. The dialectical nature of critical theory encourages
educators to search, question and reflect upon the individual's interconnectedness among

school, society and culture. It encourages educators to look to classrooms and schools not

only as sites of transmission and reproduction of knowledge and culture, but also as

arenas for resistance, transformation and cultural production (Rose, 1990).

Critical Theory and Music Education

From the perspective of critical theory, much of what we believe involves desires or needs

derived from the cultural milieu in which we were socialized. In the case of music

education, this includes the world of music, musicians, and music education (Regelski,

1998). Rose (1990) studied music education in relation to cultural reproduction

(Bourdieu, 1977; Bowles and Gintis, 1976), and the production of culture (Apple, 1982).

She also explored issues of hegemony (Gramsci, 1971) and found music education to be

objectified through packaging and categorization for the purpose of delivering certain

musical traditions and the underlying assumptions of these traditions.

Clearly, the school music program plays an important role as an agent of social and

cultural production and reproduction. For instance, through music education students and

teachers can overcome social barriers and inequalities by experiencing music as a

common language and a common expression (Rose, 1990). Gramsci (1971) calls for the

development of individuals' critical consciousness of who they are, as both historical

products and makers of history, to understand their own experience within a wider

construct of social and cultural hegemonic ideologies. Freire (1970, 1973, 1985, 1998)

expressed the belief in the power of individuals to come to a critical consciousness of

their own existence, through the process of conscientization. Necessary to the

development of a critical consciousness of music in education -one that addresses the

intrinsic and the extrinsic - is the exploration of music tradition within a socio-cultural

framework. Clearly, that does not happen in most school music classrooms. Schmidt

(2002a) points out that schools no longer provide (if they ever did) the tools for critical

thinking and transformative action. "Music education," he writes, "in its curricular and

philosophical conception adheres to the same practice, continuing to foster a modern

understanding of knowledge and its transmission" (p. 2).

Rose (1990) notes that music, like other school subjects, has been used for the subtle

domination of one group by another, noting that teachers generally have autonomy to

choose which music is studied and which is not. Conversely, students are usually

powerless to resist the selected music literature unless they can opt out of the music class

entirely. In other words, power relationships that inform and constitute dominant

ideologies and traditions also exist in the classroom. For example, since music teachers

control the curriculum, meaning all the experiences students have in the music program

(Eisner, 2002), the teacher determines which cultures and associated values receive

preference, understanding and priority (Schmidt, 2002b). Where the western canon

comprises the staples of the musical diet, music programs legitimize and reproduce that

diet. This may or may not reflect the interests, values and backgrounds of students.

Hence, the curriculum ignores certain or all individual and group intentions, and fosters

an unconscious acceptance of a culture that may be irrelevant and foreign to these

individuals and groups. This bias inhibits the development and evolution of the students'

social consciousness and transformation.

 Recognizing the interconnections among education and schooling, society, aesthetics

and culture, Gates (1999), Regelski (1998) and others suggested that critical theory might

be an appropriate framework to inform music education. To that end, they established the

MayDay group, an international think tank of music education philosophers, theorists and

practitioners. Meeting first in 1992, their goals (according to the MayDay website) are "to

apply critical theory and critical thinking to the purposes and practices of music education

and to affirm the central importance of musical participation in human life, and thus, the

value of music in the general education of all people

(http://www.nyu.edu/education/music/mayday/maydaygroup/index.htm). As Gates

explains, "Music, the person, the society and the culture are interlocked members of a

musical life, and therefore of music education theorizing (1999, p. 17).

Seven action ideals drive the agenda of the MayDay group. They are:

1. Critically reflective music-making is basic to music education

2. Consideration of music's social and cultural contexts is integral to good theory and
practice.
3. Music teachers can influence cultural change.
4. Schools, colleges and other musical institutions affect musical culture, but need
critical evaluation.
5. Research and study of music teaching and learning need an inter-disciplinary
approach.
6. The knowledge base of music educators should be both refined and broad.
7. Curriculum considerations are basic and should be guided by a critical,
philosophical approach. (Gates, 1999, pp. 23-24)

CRITICAL THEORY IN THE SIXTH GRADE GENERAL MUSIC PROGRAM

Applying the research on critical theory to music teaching and learning was the goal of

the music teacher at a middle school in Princeton, New Jersey. Unlike traditional

teaching, music lessons did not focus on a set of instructional objectives determined by
the teacher. Agreeing that the purpose of classroom music instruction was to empower

students to be musicians (Abrahams, Jenkins & Schmidt, 2002), pre-service music

education majors at Westminster Choir College, working in collaboration with their

professors, developed lessons which included experiences that honored the world of the

sixth grader and helped these youngsters to expand their sphere of understanding and

possibility.

For example, a lesson on Gregorian Chant began with students listening to rap. In

small groups the children created mind maps or webs that identified the characteristics of

the raps they heard. Students discovered that rap music offered a window into a particular

stratum of society and reflected the inner thoughts of the rapper. The rap was non-melodic

but focused instead on text set to a specific rhyme scheme. The students concluded that

there were rules for rap and that raps were meaningful modes of expression for the urban

hip-hop culture. After hearing Gregorian Chant, students were able to construe similarities

to the rap form, but noted that unlike rap, chant focused on melody to express the

meaning of the text. Like rap, however, chant had a very specific function for a very

specific stratum of society.

In this and all the other lessons presented to the sixth graders, concepts emerged

from the musical content, from singing and playing classroom instruments (performance)

through arranging, improvising and composing (creating). In the case of the rap/chant

lesson, children discovered that music has form, and expresses emotion in the context of a

particular historical and cultural situation. In other lessons, music indigenous to American

folk and contemporary popular culture was coupled with music from the classical western
canon or music of various parts of the world. Students and their teacher analyzed,

evaluated and assessed the music they heard, created and performed. For one particular

lesson, children shared the music of their particular cultural heritage by teaching a song to

the class that they learned aurally from a relative at home.

Consistent with Freire's notion of word and world (Freire, 1970), the experiences that

children enjoyed in music classes fostered connections to history and culture, to other

academic disciplines and to the students' world outside the classroom. The children

composed a new "Queen of the Night" aria for Madonna, working under the premise that

she was cast in a "re-make" of The Magic Flute. In another lesson, children wrestled with

the order of the sections in the final movement of Beethoven's ninth symphony. Their

problem was to defend Beethoven's choices against imaginary music critics who argued

that the fugue should come at the very end. Using technology, it was easy to re-order the

sections so that they could hear various options. Experiences in visual art, drama and

dance blended with other art forms and nurtured students' abilities to relate concepts

among various artistic disciplines. Lessons followed an expanded sonata form that was

freely adapted from McCarthy's 4MAT System (1987). Lessons began with an exposition

where children called upon their own "life" experiences to wrestle with a particular

musical problem or circumstance. Through dialogue (Freire, 1970; Schmidt, 2001),

children with their teacher processed this experience. Next, in the development section,

the teacher presented information children needed to improvise upon the lesson theme.

The lessons often included a formal presentation by the teacher followed by an activity

where children became composers or improvisers or engaged in some other kind of

creative challenge. In the recapitulation, children and their teacher assessed the activities

together. Again, dialogue led to discoveries about how the new musical learning

connected to their world and the world beyond the classroom. The teacher also had an

opportunity for reflection at this point. It was at this point in the lesson that

transformation, if it occurred, would present itself. For example, in the Beethoven lesson

described above, children came to the "Aha, now I understand" when they concluded that

Beethoven made the best choices. Important were the processes that lead to that

realization and the discussion in class was stimulating and revealing. Lessons concluded

with a musical performance or other activity to provide closure.

Through the development of a curriculum based on the principles of Critical Theory,

the music teacher and his students were able to meet the benchmarks of traditional

outcomes thorough a flexible curriculum, developed cooperatively by teacher and student.

Such a curriculum was more interesting to the students. The commitment to Critical

Theory supported a curriculum in which the making of music was liberating and

transforming because the curriculum was individualized. It provided opportunities where

the sixth graders were able to record their own experiences of "Aha, now I understand"

i.e., feelings of epiphany. Classroom teachers reported that their students looked forward

to music classes with enthusiasm. The music teacher reported similar feelings. When

presented with the opportunities, students and their teacher were excited to share their

music with each other. Students said they felt valued when the music teacher

acknowledged their music as important and worthwhile. The teacher confessed that he

learned much about his students and about music that was new to him. In short, while it is
hard to pinpoint "transformation," both students and their teacher believed that the general

music classes changed and enriched their interactions with each other. Because lessons

included making music, students acted as real musicians. This was a significant change

from previous years when students learned "about" music and performed the music of

others, often to the exclusion of music they could have created themselves. This research

and teaching process greatly informed the music teacher and the college music education

students who developed the lesson materials. Although writing lessons collaboratively

may not be practical or possible for most classroom music teachers, in this instance it

allowed the participants to consider a variety of points of view and biases. All recognized

that music teaching is a partnership among teachers and students. The curriculum

provided opportunities for individual aptitudes and potentials, individual learning styles

and teaching styles to flourish. Students enjoyed working cooperatively to solve problems

and were able to rise to the occasion when challenged to think, feel and act in a

sophisticated, critical manner. Students confirmed the research on constructivism when

they showed the teacher that they are capable of learning on their own and that they

retained knowledge when their learning was grounded in personal experience. The lessons

provided the sixth grade students and their teacher opportunities to engage in significant

and meaningful conversation, verbally and musically, confirming the success of dialogue

as a teaching strategy.

CONCLUSIONS

Clearly, this view of music education is a far cry from the exploratory nature of many

Middle School music programs. As Colwell (1999) reminds us, "exploratory music has no
merit in any philosophy or curriculum. Exploratory music is an appropriate activity for

two-year olds, not for [those] who are capable of serious study in knowledge and

performance" (p. 138). Rather, as Haack (1997) writes, " Music, and the arts in general,

are taught not because children have a living to make, but because they have a life to

make" (p. 87).

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