Veblen, K.K. (2012).

Community music making: Challenging the

stereotypes of traditional music education. In C.A. Beynon & K.K.
Veblen (Eds.). Critical perspectives in Canadian music education.
Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
In this article Dr. Veblen discusses the impact of community
music on music education, as well as its many uses and forms.
Education can occur in formal and informal settings, and community
music is a good example of an informal music education. Music
education needs to be presented through a variety of mediums to be
most effective, and outside of the classroom, community music allows
for students to partake in a different group dynamic that enriches their
education. As marginalized populations generally do not, or cannot,
participate in arts education as frequently and consistently as those
who are in a majority, community music allows for a more targeted
demographic. In doing this children in minority families are given the
ability to exercise their right to music education. Community music
can even take place in hospitals or prisons to help disadvantaged
populations. Although the mission of community music is to make
music accessible to all, it is mostly run through non-profit organizations
and relying on volunteers to act as the backbone of the group. This
can prove challenging to provide a quality education and experience
without the help of government grants, or fundraising initiatives.
I addition to these organizations struggling financially, the artistic
qualification of community music can be questioned. People can be
skeptical of community music and associate it with not-so-good
music, or misread a legitimate organization for being a backyard
project. What Dr. Veblen wants for people to keep in mind, is that the
worth of community music should not be judged solely on its artistic
achievement, or even the quality of the music. The worth of

community music should be judged on how it is helping the targeted

community, and that it is making music something that is hugely
important to all of us more accessible to the general public.
Community music is a valuable resource, but it is no replacement
for music education in schools, conservatories and private studios.
Although it is a great supplement, the limitations put on community
music due to lack of funding, and reliance on volunteers make it a less
reliable source of education. If a budding musician were to study
music at school, take private lessons and join a community band or
orchestra, their music education would be very well rounded. This
would serve them well when heading into a higher level of education to
become a profession al musician.