MUSIC, METAPHOR, AND IDEOLOGY: TOWARD A CRITICAL THEORY OF FORMS IN MUSIC EDUCATION (Spine Title: Music, Metaphor, and Ideology) (Thesis Format: Monograph) by Joseph Paul Louth Graduate Program in Music A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Graduate Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Joseph Paul Louth 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-39299-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-39299-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners Dr. Paul Woodford Dr. Susan O'Neill Joint-Supervisor Dr. Jay Hodgson Dr. Kevin Mooney Dr. Teresa VanDeven Supervisory Committee Dr. Estelle Jorgensen Dr. Norma Coates The thesis by Joseph Paul Louth entitled: Music, Metaphor, and Ideology: Toward a Critical Theory of Forms in Music Education is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract This theoretical study is concerned with the problem of ideology in music education. Building on a Critical Theory framework, the author maintains that systematic musical and educational thought, when allowed to "harden" through reification to the point where it is accepted as a true (or "given") representation of reality, becomes inimical to critical thought and can become a means by which the ideological representations of others may come to dominate one's thinking. Examples of this problem in music and music education are examined in some detail. Negative dialectics, through its endless cycle of negation, provides an appropriate model for understanding the paradoxical nature of reification, which is an inescapable part of consciousness and, by extension, learning. An awareness of the inescapability of reification enables one to avoid extreme subjectivism, or the belief that the objedification of knowledge can somehow be transcended and the cycle of reification broken. Adorno's form/content dialectic is presented as a key way of thinking about phenomena that may allow music educators to explain the process of reification, with the hope that students might find such insights applicable to their experiences of the world in general. Specifically, forms are explained as the historical sedimentation of socially constructed ideas. Consequently, critical music educators should turn their attention to forms of all kind, not only musical forms but the forms of music instruction, especially those whose systematization makes them appear natural or unassailable. The notion of the frozen metaphor is advanced as a particularly helpful concept for understanding the ways in which forms of musical understanding become reified. In order that the processes through which their social contingency is constantly masked iii might be revealed, these forms, and by extension all musical subject matter, should be taught from a historical perspective whenever possible. Specific examples of reified forms in music education (theoretical systems, tonal hierarchies, historical or repertory canons, linguistic frameworks, and theories and methods of music education) are examined. And numerous suggestions as to how they might be interrogated and historicized are offered. The study concludes by discussing the potential challenges to critical practice facing music educators. Keywords: music education, critical pedagogy, Critical Theory, ideology, dialectics, metaphor theory, critical music education, ideology critique, music education philosophy. IV Acknowledgments I must first of all acknowledge the crucial assistance of my advisors, Dr. Paul Woodford and Dr. Kevin Mooney, who are both truly critical thinking individuals in the best possible sense of the word. Dr. Mooney has helped me to negotiate the perilous waters of Critical Theory for two years leading up to this project and during the two years I spent searching for the right words, and hopefully asking the right questions. He has enabled me to foster a much healthier appreciation for nuanced ideas. And Dr. Woodford, who has constantly provided me with guidance and support over the past six years, has taught me the importance of trying to make nuanced ideas accessible to as many people as possible. I also wish to thank my parents, Joseph and Christina, without whose love and support I would never have been in a position to undertake graduate studies. And finally, I thank my wife, Melanie, who provided me with constant encouragement and critique, and who has lived with this project for as long as I have. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of Examination ii Abstract iii Acknowledgments v Table of Contents vi Chapter 1: Introduction to the Problem and Review of Literature 1 Critical (Social) Theory: A Historical Overview 8 Distinguishing Critical Theory from Radical Poststructuralism 12 The Culture Industry Argument 16 Intersecting Voices: The Work of Gramsci & Bourdieu 17 The Emergence of Critical Pedagogy 19 Relevant Music Education Literature 24 Rationale and Delimitations 39 Overview 44 Chapter 2: Theoretical Foundations 47 Adorno and the Culture Industry 48 Negative Dialectics 57 The Double Meaning of Autonomy 60 The Culture Industry Argument in Context 64 The Dialectic of Art: Against the High/Low Dichotomy 66 The Dialectic of Form and Content 68 Toward a Critique of "Objective" Musical Forms 75 The Emancipatory Potential of Adorno's Theory of Form 82 The Role of Immanent Critique in Critical Music Education 84 Some Implications 89 Chapter 3: The Perpetual Cycle of Reification: Music, Education, And Frozen Metaphors 95 The Inescapability of Reification 96 School as the New Culture Industry 98 Metaphor Theory and Reified Linguistic Frameworks 106 Frozen Metaphors and Music Education Discourse 115 Two Cases of Structural Metaphor & Their Importance to Music Education 116 Metonym and Synecdoche 126 Music as Frozen Metaphor: A Brief Overview of Musical Reification 128 An Illustrative Example: Jazz & the Perpetual Cycle of Reification 143 vi Chapter 4: Toward a Critique of Forms in Music Education The Assessment Paradox 159 Part I: Critiquing the Discourse of Music Education 162 Applying Critical Discourse Analysis 162 "Hearing As" 167 Technologized Discourse: Recognizing the Danger of Standardized Speech 171 Problematizing the Authority of Texts 174 Part II: Problematizing Musical Forms as "Given" 177 Teaching Music History as "Fractured" 178 Discussing the Socially Constructed Nature of Performance Ideals 187 Approaching Improvisation Pedagogy Critically 191 Depicting Music Theory as Dynamic 204 Analyzing "the Gaps" for Concretization 214 Exploring the Limits of Notation 220 Chapter 5: Problematizing Method in Music Education 224 I. Overview: The Method of Theory 227 II. Avoiding Totalized Theoretical Views of Music Education 232 MEAE and Praxialism: A Case Study 233 Attempts to Historicize the Polemic 238 Music Education Theories and Dominant Paradigms 244 III. Methods of Music Instruction as Reified Forms 247 Gordon's Music Learning Sequences 248 The Kodaly Method 253 Summary 257 IV. Music Education and the Reification of Technology 258 Questioning the Technological Imperative 260 Prescriptive versus Holistic Technologies 261 Public Music Education and Private Interests 267 Underlying Causes of the Technological Imperative 270 The Secondary Effects of Technology 275 Toward a More Critical Stance 277 V. Conclusion: Why Are We Not Teaching the Conflicts? 279 A Place for Authority 292 In Defense of "Critical Formalism" 294 Bibliography 296 Vita 317 vii 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction to the Problem