The Tanglewood Declaration: Tangled in Developments for Music Education

It’s the 1960’s. The United States is experiencing a whirlwind of changes, fueled by political conflict from Vietnam, advances in technology, and an overall drive for improvement. If one were to capture the zeitgeist of this decade, it would be characterized by an overwhelming concern to keep up with the reconstructions and innovations occurring in the nation. Everyone in society is attempting to adhere to the demanding needs of the world, and that certainly does not exclude music educators. It is the duty of intellectuals to reevaluate their profession as time advances and society plunges forward into a new era. This is why a select group of music educators convened at the Tanglewood Symposium in Tanglewood, Massachusetts in 1967 (Mark & Madura 2010, p.120).

At this symposium, an important declaration is decided upon. These bellwethers of music education declared that “music of all periods, styles, forms, and cultures belongs in the curriculum… for the first time, the profession blessed the adoption of jazz, folk music, popular music, and any and all ethnic musics” (Mark & Madura 2010, p.120).  They desire a greater emphasis on a student’s music education being not only more multi-faceted in terms of genre, but also more student-centric, more individualized. Instruction should also be omnipresent and non discriminatory; that means students of all ages, races, upbringings, and financial circumstances should receive this expanded experience.

Back to present day, 2019. What if these innovative music educators hadn’t met at Tanglewood in 1967 to assess and advance the state of music education? What would have become of music education as we know it today? The F. Ludwig Diehn School of Music most likely does not exist. Why not? There is not enough interest in Music or Music Education to warrant such a focused department. “Music” as we know it is for the few, rare students who revel in only classical music, who focus only on dated theory and immaculate performances of Baroque pieces, for example. Choral students are forced to learn only Gregorian chants and liturgical hymns. Instrumentalists solely focus on classical literature. All music education is pushed to the periphery behind STEM classes and organizations.  There is no connection in the classroom between music and the self. Music teachers don’t invest time on units covering jazz or folk music, and popular music ceases to exist, for lack of interest. Educators do not know to differentiate their instruction for all types of learners. Students don’t feel an attachment in their music class; they have been short-changed. They do not feel it is an outlet or a passion, and therefore the majority of them do not choose it as a profession like they would have, had their education been more applicable, more spirited, more entertaining, and ultimately more joyful.

Not only is music education affected by the lack of connection to students; organizations suffer or were never formed in the first place. Football stadiums do not ring with the echoes of marching bands, blasting stand tunes to pump up the team and entertain the fans, and the overall energy and atmosphere of the game is sterile, ringing only with the sound of the referee’s whistle and the ill-spirited fans’ arguments. Popular shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent simply do not exist, simply because the marrying of a classical musical education and one where students can apply the music to their everyday lives, to their ethnic backgrounds, ultimately to themselves, was never tangible. Actors don’t take the stage to belt ballads in a musical theater production. Sadly, organizations such as NAfME cease to exist, simply due to lack of interest. In a world with few music teachers, national support and networking seem superfluous and unnecessary. 

Eventually, and most tragic of all, Music Education loses all state and federal funding, is removed from public school curricula, and the arts as a whole, suffer. No one drives down the street blasting Otis Redding from their car speakers; no one dances in their bedroom to Billie Eilish;  no one walks in on their mother in the kitchen belting out songs by David Cassidy. These artists ended up being accountants and funeral home directors, not world-wide sensations. Quality of life decreases; the lackluster world fades to grey without music in our schools and in our lives.

Thank goodness for the passionate and hard-working music educators of 1967, revolutionizing the way students were to be educated for the rest of the century, and allowing children and adults to find tangible takeaways and personal connections in their music classes. Music is crucial to educating a well rounded human being. An enjoyment of the music classroom is critical to the morale of the students and the psyche of the growing learner. Not only should we be thankful for these thoughtful revolutionaries; we should learn from them as we continue to evolve teaching this fundamental academic subject. This is not to discredit formal, classical training. We must always look behind us and teach an appreciation of music history and classical literature as well. We owe it to our profession to continue to reflect on what is working in the classroom, how to expand, how to improve, how to integrate the ever-growing field of technology, and ultimately, how to make instruction relevant to our impressionable students.