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A Survey of Unpublished Materials Focusing on the Pedagogy of Afro-American Music inGeneral Music EducationAuthor(s): Rosita M. SandsSource: Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 237-248Published by: Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press

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A SURVEY OF UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS

FOCUSING ON THE PEDAGOGY OF AFRO-

AMERICAN MUSIC IN GENERAL MUSIC EDUCATION

ROSITAM. SANDS

The documents cited in this article-dissertations and theses are un-

published and not widely circulated.Therefore,music educators may

not be aware of theirexistence.It is hoped that this article will assist inincreasingawarenessof these materials and will identify areas of defi-

ciency in the researchliteraturethat focuses specificallyon the peda-gogy of Afro-Americanmusic. The works cited here address all levels ofmusic education,fromelementaryto college, and provide a varied sam-

ple of curriculummaterials,including methodologies, course outlines,lesson plans, syllabi, and curriculumguides. The works cover a wide

varietyof topics,discussingthe teachingof Afro-Americanmusic from abroad spectrumin addition to providing a body of practicalteachingaids.

Works that treatAfro-Americanmusic in generalare cited, alongwith works dealing with individual genres such as gospel music, spiri-tuals, Afro-American olk music, and jazz. Two of the works cited areconcerned with the development of courses designed to acquaintpro-spective teachersof music with the music of Afro-Americans.The Per-sonalizedSystemof Instruction PSI)and the Kodalymethod, two well-known methodologies, are applied to jazz and Afro-Americanfolk

music,respectively, n two of the works.The discussion in this article begins with a general overview of

graduate-levelresearchin

the area of Afro-Americanmusic and pro-ceeds with a survey of recent theses and dissertations that have ad-dressed the pedagogy of this music in generalmusic educationcourses.The works discussed were selectedbecausethey areappropriate or usein non-specialistmusic education with general students or non-music

majors.The materialsinclude works that provide general informationof relevance to all students or works that deal with pedagogy of Afro-Americanmusic in generalmusic classes or music appreciationcourses.

ROSITAM. SANDSs an assistantprofessor

music at BereaCollege. Among

heraccomplish-ments is her "Database of Theses and Dissertations on the Subject of Black American Mu-

sic," which can be accessed online at the Center for Black Music Research.

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Works of a technical or specialized subjectmatter,designed solely for

use in courses that exist outside the area of generalmusic education,arenot included in this article.In all cases the decision for the inclusionof asource was based on the following criteria: 1) the work focuses on somearea of Afro-Americanmusic;(2) the work places an emphasis on or re-lates in some substantial manner to instructionalor pedagogical con-

cerns;and (3) the work is suitable for use with a general population ofstudents.

HistoricalBackground

Scholarlyresearch n the formsof theses and dissertationson the sub-ject of Afro-Americanmusic began to appear in 1909 with the comple-tion of a doctoral dissertation entitled "Religious Folksongs of theSouthernNegroes"by Howard W. Odum. During the 1920s and 1930s,several theses focusing on the topic of Afro-American olk music werewritten.This writer has verified the existence of twenty-one theses writ-ten between the years 1920 and 1939 on the subjectof Negro folk music.In 1940 a master's thesis, entitled "The Use of Negro Music in NegroSchools,"was writtenby RosaL. Carpenter. n 1943a master's thesis by

CharlesF. Keys, entitled "TheDevelopmentand Significanceof a Col-lection of Negro Folk Songs for Use in JuniorHigh Schools,"was com-

pleted. A thirdthesis, by KennethBillips,entitled "TheInclusionof Ne-

gro Music as a Courseof Study in the SchoolCurriculum,"was writtenin 1947. As their titles show, these works all reporton educational orcurricularaspectsof Afro-Americanmusic, then known as Negro music.

Clearly,an early concern of academicallybased, scholarly researchinthe field of Afro-Americanmusic was relatedto education.

One of the earliest and most comprehensivedoctoral dissertationson

the subject of Afro-Americanmusic was written by Zelma WatsonGeorge in 1953. George's study, "A Guide to Negro Music:An Anno-tated Bibliographyof Negro Folk Music and Art Musicby Negro Com-

posers or Based on Negro Thematic Material," is largely a catalog of the

researchstudies, literaryworks,and printedmusic relatedto the subjectof Negro music of all types-folk music, artmusic, and music identified

by the author as based on Negro thematic material-housed in theHoward University Library.Although this dissertationwas completedthirty-five years ago, its importanceshould not be overlooked. As the

author statedin the abstractof herdissertation, ts listings representthe first scientificallycompiled comprehensivebibliographyof and about

Negro music. The dissertation s the firstcomprehensivecriticalanalysisof

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A Survey of Unpublished Materials

the literatureaboutthe variousaspectsof Negro musicand the problemsof

Negromusic research from the

historico-ethno-socio-musicologicalp-proach (George1953,3).

George's dissertation includes a section that is practically a standard

entry in doctoral dissertations: a summary that includes "Implicationsfor Education." However, she makes no attempt here to relate her dis-

cussion particularly to music education. The implications for education

she includes in this section seem rather to relate generally to the use of

her study for further research and for pedagogical purposes. The author

summarizes the deficiencies that exist in the area of Negro music re-

search, relating her discussion to several disciplines, including musicol-ogy, religion, and sociology. She also calls for an interdisciplinary ap-

proach in the attempt to define and elucidate certain aspects of the

music.

From the period 1954 to 1965, dissertations of several types and on

various topics in Afro-American music began to appear. One such typeis the ethnomusicological study, of which an early example is GeorgeRicks's dissertation, "Some Aspects of the Religious Music of the United

States Negro: An Ethnomusicological Study with Special Emphasis on

the Gospel Tradition," written in 1960. In this dissertation Negro reli-gious music, gospel in particular, is analyzed and placed within a socio-

logical context. Cecil Patterson's 1961 dissertation, "A Different Drum:

The Image of the Negro in the Nineteenth Century Popular SongBooks," also utilizes a sociological approach. While the latter study does

not treat the music directly, it looks at the image of the Negro as por-

trayed in songs found in nineteenth-century song collections.

Another type of dissertation that appeared was the original musical

composition based on a particular style of Afro-American music or an

aspect of Afro-American culture. James Gordon Myers's dissertation,"God's Trombones," written in 1965, was an original composition based

on the text of James Weldon Johnson's 1927 collection of poems by the

same name. Although Myers pointed out in the abstract to his disserta-

tion that he "did not set out to write a piece of Negro music . . .," the

work incorporates, at least in part, the style of the Negro spiritual and is

based on a text that is an Afro-American literary work (Myers 1965, 2).In the latter half of the 1960s two dissertations were written that relate

specifically to the pedagogy of Afro-American music. The first, "Classifi-

cation of the Vocal Works of Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) and SomeSuggestions for Their Use in Teaching Diction in Music," was completedin 1966 by Roland L. Allison. It examines the vocal works of an Afro-

American composer and includes specific pedagogical uses of the

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A Surveyof UnpublishedMaterials

AnnotatedBibliography

The documents surveyed in this article,all of which focus on peda-gogical concerns,are considered here in two main categories:those thattreat Afro-American music in general, but not a particular style or

genre;and those that treat the subjectsof Afro-Americanreligious mu-

sic, folk music, or jazz. The general treatmentsare subdivided into two

categories:those that present a discussion of materials for the teachingof Afro-Americanmusic and those that discuss a syllabus or curriculumfor the study of Afro-American music. The works that deal with the

teachingof a

particulargenreof music are

presentedby subjectmatter.

Of the seventeen documentssurveyed, sixteenare doctoraldissertations,while one is a master's thesis. Capsule summaries of the contents with

particularattentionfocused on those features that relate most directlyto

pedagogical concerns are given for each document. In addition, com-

plete bibliographic nformation s provided.

GeneralDiscussionofMaterialsforTeaching

Four of the dissertations selected for discussion in this articledevel-

oped new materials for the teaching of Afro-Americanmusic or dis-cussed existingmaterials.

Lewis, EllistineP. 1978. The E. Azalia Hackley MemorialCollection of

Negro Music, Dance and Drama: A Catalogue of Selected Afro-AmericanMaterials.Ph.D.diss., Universityof Michigan.This dissertationpresents a catalogueof 1,120titles of printed music,book materials, and sound recordings, with occasional annotations.The use of these works in generalmusic, performancegroups, interre-

lated artsprograms,and multi-culturalprograms s discussed.

James,JaniceL. 1976. The Music of Afro-Americans n ElementaryMu-sic Series Books: An Investigation of Changing Textbook Content,1864 to 1970.Ph.D.diss., Universityof SouthernMississippi.

James's dissertation presents a discussion of the specific types and

styles of Afro-Americanmusic that were found in the textbooks;the

types of suggestions that were made in the textbooksfor introducingthis music; the use of illustrations;and the names of Afro-American

composers that were included. Also presented are suggestions forusing materials from other arts disciplines to help in the presentationof the music.

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Lundquist,BarbaraR. 1973.The Development of an InterculturalBase

for Broadeningthe Conceptual Frameworkof Music. D.M.A. diss.,Universityof Washington.This work presentsinstructionalmaterialsin the form of performing,listening,and creative activitiesfor teachingAfro-Americanmusic idi-

oms;goals and objectives;nformationon classroomorganization;anda bibliography.

Criner,Clyde, III.1981. Black Music: Three InstructionalModules andResource Materials for Urban Education. Ed.D. diss., University of

Massachusetts.Included are narrativediscussions of the distinctive uses of rhythm,melody, and harmony in black music; instructional modules incor-

poratingmusical examples preparedon cassette tape;a bibliographyof referenceand resourcematerials;a discography;and a list of film

materials.

Syllabus r Curriculum iscussion

The fourremaining

dissertationson thesubject

of Afro-Americanmu-

sic in general discuss a syllabus or curriculumfor the teaching of themusic.

Jones, Thomas M. 1972. The Development and Evaluation of a BlackMusic Syllabus for ElementaryMusic Education. D.Mus.Ed. diss.,

Universityof Oklahoma.

The syllabus developed here is for use in a music methods course for

elementaryeducation majors.This syllabus is organized chronologi-

cally, including discussions of African music, spirituals, the shout,blues, worksongs, jazz, and rock-soul.The work contains objectives,lesson plans with music examples, a final examination (post-test),evaluativedata,a bibliography,and a briefdiscography.

Taylor,FrederickJ. 1981. The Development and Evaluationof a Black

Music Course of Study Designed for JuniorHigh Students. D.M.A.

diss., TempleUniversity.

This syllabus for the teaching of Afro-Americanmusic at the junior

high level is composedof eighteenlesson planscoveringWest Africanmusic to contemporaryblack music styles. Also included are guided

listening experiencesand singing, performing,and composing activi-ties. The syllabus, which was tested with eighth-gradestudents, con-

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tains behavioral objectives,materials lists, and teacher and student

procedures.

Lampkins,Ernest H. 1976. The Understandingand Teaching of Afro-AmericanMusic:A CaseStudyof the LakesideSchool of Music. Ph.D.

diss., Universityof Pittsburgh.

Lampkinspresentsa discussion of the history, development,and pro-gramof instructionof a privateschool of music in Shreveport,Louisi-ana.The school's specialprogram s one that integrally nvolves Afro-Americanmusic in the teaching of basic fundamentals of music. In-

cluded are discussions of the history of Afro-Americanmusic fromAfrican music to soul music, examplesof teaching techniques,a bibli-

ography,and a schoolbulletin.

Burgett,PaulJ.1976. Aesthetics of the Music of Afro-Americans-A Cri-tical Analysisof the Writingsof SelectedBlackScholarswith Implica-tions for Black Music Studies and for Music Education.Ph.D. diss.,

Universityof Rochester,EastmanSchool of Music.

This dissertationpresents a discussion of the role of black aesthetic

philosophies in developing a curriculum n Afro-Americanmusic andpresents course outlines based on two diverse philosophies of black

thought.It includes recommendationsand guidelines for the develop-ment of Afro-Americancurricula at various educational levels andtwo courseoutlines: one treatingtraditionalperspectivesof blackmu-sic (based on the aesthetic theory of Alain Locke),and one treatingradicalperspectivesof black music (based on the aesthetic theory ofImamu Amiri Baraka).Also included are a discography, a bibliog-raphy of discographies, and specific procedures for use with the

courseoutlines.

ReligiousMusic

The majorityof the studies on Afro-Americanreligious music haveaddressed either gospel music, Negro spirituals,or a combination ofthese styles as manifested in the music of the black church.Althoughmost of these works present historical and analytical discussions of the

music,a smallpercentagehas related to educationalconcerns.

Evans,ArthurL. 1972. The Developmentof the Negro Spiritualas Cho-ral ArtMusicby Afro-AmericanComposerswith an AnnotatedGuide

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to the Performanceof Selected Spirituals.Ph.D. diss., University of

Miami.This work discusses the evolvement of the spiritual into choral artmusic and provides annotations for a selected group of choralarran-

gements of spirituals. Descriptive and interpretive annotations are

given for approximatelyone hundred spiritual arrangementsby a se-lected group of sixteen black composers and arrangers.The annota-tions include number of voice parts, graded level of difficulty, timeand key signatures, length of composition, publisher, and catalognumber.

Carratello,JohnD. 1976.An EclecticChoralMethodologyand Its Effecton the Understanding,Interpretation, nd Performanceof BlackSpir-ituals. M.A.thesis,CaliforniaStateUniversity.Presentedin this thesis is a methodology incorporatingmusic, litera-

ture,and drama for the teachingof spirituals.The work discusses the

history of spirituals, musical characteristics,and performanceprac-tices. Carratellosuggests the use of slave narratives o assist in the un-

derstandingof spiritualsand presentsa dramaticscriptwith selected

spiritualsand rehearsalexercises.

Brown,MarianT. 1974.A Resource Manual on the Music of the South-ernFundamentalistBlackChurch.Ph.D.diss., IndianaUniversity.

Brown'sdissertationdiscusses the developmentand evaluationof syl-labus materialsfor the teachingof a unit on black religious music atthe juniorcollege level. It includes discussion of origins and charac-

teristicsof the music of the blackchurch;discussionof the "fieldtrial"

(testing of syllabus materials);syllabus;lesson plans; pre- and post-tests;and an annotateddiscography.

Baker,BarbaraW. 1978. BlackGospel MusicStyles, 1942-1975:Analysisand Implications for Music Education. Ph.D. diss., University of

Maryland.Presented here is a detailed model for the analysis of gospel musicand the identification of style periods in gospel. Also presented is adiscussion of the inclusion of gospel music in the secondary music

curriculum,a discussion of the origins and historicaldevelopment of

gospel music, stylisticanalysisof fifty-sevengospel recordings,and adiscography.

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or attemptto analyze various aspects of the music. The informationob-

tained from these sources should be used in the development of peda-gogical methodologies. In the area of jazz, the research has been sub-stantialand varied, including a plethoraof works that have focused onone aspect of jazz pedagogy-the development of performanceskills,

specifically, improvisation.There is a need in this area, therefore,formore research directed toward the education of the general, non-per-formingstudent.

Expandedresearchfocusing on such pedagogical concernsas design-ing methodologies and developing instructionalmaterialscan be an im-

portant wayto

bringAfro-Americanmusic into the core of the

generalmusic education curriculum.The availabilityof materials of this sort,

addressing all styles of Afro-Americanmusic, would assist music edu-cators in the teachingof this music at all levels of education. The em-

phasis in this listing has been placed on general music, for it is onlythrough the inclusion of Afro-Americanmusic in generalmusic classes,in music history and music appreciationclasses-courses that have the

potential of reachingall students-that Afro-Americanmusic will have

truly achieved more than a token acceptance by American musiceducators.

REFERENCES

Allison, Roland L. 1966. Classification of the vocal works of Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949)and some suggestions for their use in teaching diction in music. Ph.D. diss., Indiana

University.

Billips, Kenneth. 1947. The inclusion of Negro music as a course of study in the school cur-

riculum. M.A. thesis, Northwestern University.

Carpenter, Rosa L. 1940. The use of Negro music in Negro schools. M.A. thesis, North-western University.

Dissertation AbstractsInternational.1938-. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International.

Flansburg, Sundra Cee, ed. n.d. Music-A catalog of selected doctoraldissertation research.

Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International.

George, Zelma Watson. 1953. A guide to Negro music: An annotated bibliography of Ne-

gro folk music and art music by Negro composers or based on Negro thematic material.

Ed.D. diss., New York University.Johnson, James Weldon. 1927. God'strombones.New York: The Viking Press.

Keys, Charles F. 1943. The development and significance of a collection of Negro folk

songs for use in junior high schools. M.A. thesis, University of Cincinnati.

Konowitz, Bertram L. 1969. Jazz improvisation at the piano-A textbook for teachers.Ed.D. diss., Columbia University, Teachers College.

Long, Kay, ed. n.d. Music-A dissertationbibliography.Ann Arbor: University MicrofilmsInternational.

MastersAbstracts.1962-. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International.

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248 BMRJournal

Meadows, Eddie S. 1980. Thesesand dissertations n blackAmericanmusic.Beverly Hills,Calif.:TheodoreFrontMusicalLiterature.

Myers,JamesG. 1965. God's trombones.Ed.D.diss., ColumbiaUniversity,TeachersCol-lege.

Odum,Howard W. 1909.Religious folk-songsof the southernNegroes. Ph.D.diss., Clark

University.Patterson,Cecil. 1961.A differentdrum:Theimageof theNegro in the nineteenthcentury

popularsong books.Ph.D.diss.,TheUniversityof Pennsylvania.Peebles,JoanB., ed. n.d. Black tudies-A dissertationibliography.nn Arbor:University

Microfilms nternational.. ed. n.d. Black tudiesI,a dissertationbibliography.nn Arbor:UniversityMicrofilms

International.

Ricks,George.1960.Some aspectsof the religiousmusic of the United StatesNegro: An

ethnomusicalstudy with special emphasison the gospel tradition.Ph.D. diss., North-westernUniversity.West, EarleH. ed. 1969. A bibliographyf doctoral esearch n the Negro1933-1966.Ann

Arbor:UniversityMicrofilms.

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