Issues and Challenges in Music Pedagogy

In last one-and a-half century, we have seen many forms of teaching and learning music right from traditional guru-shishya tradition to music being taught in schools and then in universities as an independent subject. The performing art becoming a curricular discipline brought many transformative changes including a heavy input of theoretical content, number of ragas or genres to be learnt in a given time and practical knowledge to be imparted to a large group in a classroom situation. Research and specialization also became very important in the university set up. Many deemed universities sprang up in order to confer degrees to learners in music also. Although CBSE and other state education boards have their respective syllabi for both vocal and instrumental music yet in schools, it is generally taken as a hobby kind of a subject and the situation has not changed even after the introduction of Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation System. In schools, music also becomes the vehicle of promoting certain values– patriotism, small and nuclear family, environmentalism etc. Traditional one-to-one way of learning music still has its own hold off-course, with its new incarnation as Ee-guru. Now, it is not only classical music which is learnt and taught; it is light music with Casio which is equally popular. Moreover, in this Global scenario, when genres are blurring music pedagogy is undoubtedly changing. Therefore, the music education is to be looked at with a wider perspective including both formal and informal set ups with all the stakeholders involved–learners, teachers, ustads/pundits, parents, institutions, curriculum planners, policy makers, entertainment industry etc. It needs to be researched from historical, sociological, psychological, monetary, policy and many other angles as well.

Naadnartan intends to take cognizance of these and other issues of music education in the form of a seminar, to be held on December 9^th-10^th, 2016. It would not only bring out a proceeding of the papers presented but we are also thinking of what policy interventions we can plan for. Kindly send your abstract, not exceeding five hundred words in English or Hindi by August 15^th, 2016. Abstracts received after that will not be entertained. The approval of abstracts would be intimated around August 31^st, 2016.

The paper may be related to any of the themes given below and even beyond:

1.      Music in schools:

1.1.Subject/hobby

1.2.Inculcation of values/quest for self expression and liberation

2.      Music in Universities:

2.1.Creative choice/dying subject

2.2.Classroom challenges and administrative hassles

2.3.Curriculum and content: Theory-Practical balance

2.4.Issues in music research

2.5.Education of dance forms in Universities

2.6.Music beyond formal pedagogy/ECA (Extra Curricular Activity), Inter-college, Inter-universities competitions/youth festivals

3.      Music catering to specific demands:

3.1.Genres other then classical music-Gurmat sangeet, Sufi sangeet, Rock music, Fusion, Fol etck in terms of pedagogy

3.2.Music accompaniment and other skill based curricula

4.      Looking at instrumental music from school to universities

5.      E-guru from e-pathshala to re-incarnation of gurukul through internet

6.      Issues related to deemed universities

7.      Private tutoring and commercialization: from classical to casio 

 

Kindly send your abstracts through E-mail: naadnartanjdm@gmail.com