Sunday, January 25, 2009
Early 20th Century Expansion
The first part of the 20th century showed an expansion of music education in public schools, particularly secondary schools. There were many factors that led to this expansion, including shifts in educational philosophy, World War I, the changing role of high schools and the Depression. This expansion primarily took the form of group instrumental instruction.
As John Dewey’s philosophy of educating the “whole child” gained popularity in the early 1900s, educators came to believe that the arts should be part of this “total school experience” (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 16-17). Class instrumental instruction expanded partially due to Albert F. Mitchell (a music supervisor in the Boston public schools) publishing Mitchell Class Method for violin; other educators followed his lead and published books for orchestra, band and piano group instruction (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 17).
After World War I, the American public had an increased interest in band music, and men returning from the army who had played in military bands were employed by schools to start up instrumental programs. Patrons such as George Eastman (founder of Eastman Kodak) purchased large amounts of instruments for public schools, which in turn were able to hire instrumental teachers (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 17).
Between 1910 and 1940, the chances of children in the United States attending high school increased from 10 percent to 75 percent (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 18). As secondary schools expanded, so did their curricular emphasis: a higher percentage of students did not plan to attend college, so an increase in technical emphasis led to increased numbers of students graduating high school with professional-level musical skills. This rapid expansion resulted in a shortage of qualified teachers, leading schools to employ professional musicians who taught in a rehearsal-style.
The Great Depression also led to secondary school music being taught by professional musicians rather than trained school music teachers. Communities did not feel they could afford to support local orchestras, and “talking pictures” began to use recorded accompaniments rather than live musicians. Though this could be seen as positive for the expansion of instrumental music education in the secondary schools, the government helped further by forming the Works Progress Administration. The WPA supplied funds necessary to employ performing artists, offer low-cost or free performances to the public, and employ teachers (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 19).
Though changes in the middle and late 20th century continued to alter the landscape of American music education, the advances in the early 20th century account for much of the country’s heavy emphasis on instrumental programs in the secondary schools today.
Abeles, Harold F., Charles R. Hoffer, and Robert H. Klotman. Foundations of Music Education, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomas Higher Education, 1995.
As John Dewey’s philosophy of educating the “whole child” gained popularity in the early 1900s, educators came to believe that the arts should be part of this “total school experience” (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 16-17). Class instrumental instruction expanded partially due to Albert F. Mitchell (a music supervisor in the Boston public schools) publishing Mitchell Class Method for violin; other educators followed his lead and published books for orchestra, band and piano group instruction (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 17).
After World War I, the American public had an increased interest in band music, and men returning from the army who had played in military bands were employed by schools to start up instrumental programs. Patrons such as George Eastman (founder of Eastman Kodak) purchased large amounts of instruments for public schools, which in turn were able to hire instrumental teachers (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 17).
Between 1910 and 1940, the chances of children in the United States attending high school increased from 10 percent to 75 percent (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 18). As secondary schools expanded, so did their curricular emphasis: a higher percentage of students did not plan to attend college, so an increase in technical emphasis led to increased numbers of students graduating high school with professional-level musical skills. This rapid expansion resulted in a shortage of qualified teachers, leading schools to employ professional musicians who taught in a rehearsal-style.
The Great Depression also led to secondary school music being taught by professional musicians rather than trained school music teachers. Communities did not feel they could afford to support local orchestras, and “talking pictures” began to use recorded accompaniments rather than live musicians. Though this could be seen as positive for the expansion of instrumental music education in the secondary schools, the government helped further by forming the Works Progress Administration. The WPA supplied funds necessary to employ performing artists, offer low-cost or free performances to the public, and employ teachers (Abeles, Hoffer, and Klotman 1995, 19).
Though changes in the middle and late 20th century continued to alter the landscape of American music education, the advances in the early 20th century account for much of the country’s heavy emphasis on instrumental programs in the secondary schools today.
Abeles, Harold F., Charles R. Hoffer, and Robert H. Klotman. Foundations of Music Education, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomas Higher Education, 1995.
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