Connections to Research Music Education

The three primary themes that emerged from my discussions with Chris and Cody were the importance of critical thinking, collaboration, and role of culture. In this section I connect these themes to work often cited within the music education ecology.

Critical Thinking. Pogonowski (1987) writes that within the musical experience, critical thinkers engage in both cognitive and affective thought processes concurrently in dynamic and unique ways to music. She writes that “critical thinking is the result of experiential learning that embraces the learner’s affective and cognitive domains” (p. 34). To further stimulate critical thinking as an active endeavor in the music process, she emphasized the need to highlight experiences in musical expression to connect to making meaning. Pogonowski (1989) further states that the teacher has a critical role in fostering a critical thinking mindset in developing musicians.

The call to critical thinking extends into music education associations. For example, the National Association for Music Education has numerous references addressing critical thinking as an important part of the educative process for young people. Duong (2014) questions whether our current music education approach invites critical thinking, and whether we should reconsider teaching practices that enhance the autonomy and decision-making skills of students. Woodford (1996) also highlights the importance of critical thinking, but emphasizes that for critical thinking skills to be reinforced, teachers must make connections across disciplines to inspire students to engage dynamically and differently.

Woodford’s detailed description of the need to reinforce creative intentions across modalities was certainly mirrored in Chris’s approach to creative thinking. Chris described his approach as a curatorial overview that ran through his music, but more importantly through all of his interactions with the arts: design, architecture, cuisine, art, and more. For Cody, critical thinking was described as the important part of what allowed him to gain success as a producer and own his own label. Additionally, his hypercritical approach was noted in all facets of the music business, from songwriting to marketing.

Collaboration. Next, collaboration has been addressed by numerous music education researchers, with numerous studies conducted examining the role of collaboration in the creative process. Some academicians have focused on the ways students collaborate (Wood, 2010), while others have addressed the differences with composing in community or collaborative environments (Younker, 2003; Wiggins & Espeland, 2012). Gaunt and Westerlund (2013) describe the need for music educators to abandon the apprenticeship model of music education often modeled in university settings and call for a reframing of the music education approach that emphasizes collaboration as the most needed and utilized skill for performers and composers.

Chris and Cody consistently mentioned the importance of collaboration in their work insisting that fostering a group that works together is the most important thing you can do as a musician or producer. They both spurn the notion of the singular artist working toward creating a successful song and highlight that even the most talented musicians need mixing and masters so their work is received well.

Role of Culture and Identity. Chris’s description of his family and his connections to Trinidad are in line with one of the most popular research trends—identity research—in relation to music-making and understanding. Much of the identity research is explicated through a psychological or sociological lens and questions how one’s understanding or self-awareness of identity informs their musical selves (Hargreaves, Marshall, & North, 2003). Additionally, there has been extensive research into the role of family in creating and developing a young person’s approach to the musical experience (Hargreaves & North, 1999).

The various strands of one’s interpersonal and intrapersonal life and their relation to the ways they view themselves have become a cornerstone of identity research and are frequently cited throughout music education research literature (Macdonald et al., 2002). For Chris, his early exposure to Caribbean life and music had a profound impact on his value systems as a person and a musician. For Chris, leaving home at an early age and finding what he describes as his “chosen family” allowed him to create an identity with people believed and maintained similar values. For both men, cultures and identity are clearly paramount in their creative lives, and help ground them in every part of the decisionmaking. Last, this cultural assuredness is what has provided a sense of aesthetic that shapes their music into a sound that is received as authentic and marketable.

Notes:
1. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/07/music-theory-journal-criticized- symposium-supposed-white-supremacist-theorist
2. See https://nafme.org for resources connecting critical thinking and music education