The History of Multicultural Music Education and Its Prospects

This article examines how American perspectives about world music have evolved based on the controversial discussion of “music is the universal language.” At earlier periods, scholars showed their interest in musics of other cultures from the ethnocentric standpoint. Gradually, scholars came to value the music differences of cultures, which generated the antithetical discussion of “music is not the universal language.” These past discussions contributed to the awareness of cultural differences of musics. However, we should go beyond mere awareness, until we reach the degree to which world music is actually learned and taught maintaining the sound balance of the two extreme aspects of music. Technology can promote the quality of both music class and music teacher education by offering real opportunities for engaging and exploring world musics.