Sociological

Foundations
of Music
Education

Ms. Ma. Francia C. Asis

It is a fundamental
assumption in the social
sciences that almost
everything human beings do
and know is learned after birth
 NATURE NURTURE
refers to all of the genes and refers to all the environmental variables
hereditary factors that influence who that impact who we are, including our
we are from our physical appearance early childhood experiences, how we
to our personality characteristics. were raised, our social relationships,
and our surrounding culture.
Nativism take the position that all or
most behaviors and characteristics are Empiricismtake the position that all or
the result of inheritance most behaviors and characteristics
result from learning
Plato and Descartes suggested that
certain things are inborn, or that they John B. Watsonbelieved that people
occur naturally regardless of could be trained to do and become
environmental influences anything, regardless of their genetic
background.
 The more important fact is that a child
may, depending on the environment in
which he or she is raised, turn out to
use his/her ability for something
constructive or something antisocial.
Perhaps heredity sets the potential,
but the social environment largely
determines the use to which that
potential is put.
 Whatever the truth may be
about the relative importance
of nature and nurture in
shaping human behavior, the
obligation for teacher is clear:
Teach each student as much
as possible.
 Music as Human Behavior
Music is a human behavior created by human
beings for human beings
Music is a social activity
Music depends on a consensus among people
in a society about what music is
Music is founded on a number of traditional
elements inherited from previous generations
Factors Affecting
Musical Behavior
1. Biological Factors
the makeup of the human body affects the
music
music must fall within the physical
capabilities of the performers and listeners
2. Social Factors
FUNCTIONS OF MUSIC
Emotional expression
Aesthetic enjoyment
Entertainment
Communication
Symbolic representation
FUNCTIONS OF MUSIC
Physical response
Enforcing conformity to social norms
Validation of social institutions and religious rituals
Contribution to the continuity and stability of culture
Contribution to the integration of society
The roles and functions of music have a number of
implications for music teachers
Teachers should be aware of the function of the music
that is being studied, because each knowledge should
affect how it is taught.
The students should be made aware of the different
functions of music.
When teaching music that has nonmusical
associations, teachers should include at least some
instruction on the nonmusical factors related to
music.
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
The mental construct of differing
levels within society, and its
effect on what people do.
These differences significantly
affect music preferences and the
use of music
Reasons for the differences in Musical Preferences:
Cultural reinforcement given within social group
Comfortableness

Implications:
- Need to be understanding of the differences among
the schools that contain predominantly one
socioeconomic status level of student
- Obligation
- Attempt to make students comfortable with music
- Attempt to get students recognize the value of music
that does not immediately fulfill expectancies.
AGE STRATIFICATION
phoniness-stuffiness-jeweled-dowager
syndrome (Jon Rieger, 1973) is the
largely inaccurate notion that art
music is for older people, represents
antiquity, is always conventional,
allows little room for individuality, and
has moralistic aroma.
Implications:
Teachers should try in imaginative and different ways to
break down the phoniness-stuffiness-jeweled-dowager
syndrome (Jon Rieger, 1973). Riegers specific suggestion for
a college-level music appreciation course is to establish a
beachhead by getting the students discover the parallels
between the music they jnow and the music they dont know.
Teach different listening attitudes and approaches for art and
popular music.
Music teachers should do what they can to relate music, and
especially art music, to their students.
PLURALISM
The concept that society is made up of many
different groups with different interests and
styles of life

Implications:
Teacher needs to remember that there is not now,
and will not be in the foreseeable future
Teachers must try to meet the need for diversity
within unity
3. Cultural Factors
Ethnocentrism
- the tendency of people to view things using
their own group as the standard
Cultural Standards
- the fact that such standards are largely
qualitative and cannot be defined in a rational
way
Mass taste
Interrelationships among the arts
3. Technological Factors
as technological knowledge
of acoustics and mechanics
increased, musical
instruments also changed