Description:
This book provides a manuscript-megaphone for a variety of perspectives on popular music education, including those we do not usually hear from, but who are doing far and away the coolest, most relevant and most interesting things.
It includes rants, manifestos, and pieces that are pithy and punchy and poignant, which have resulted in a wide tonal variety among chapters, from more traditionally scholarly pieces replete with citations and references, through descriptions of practice, to straight-up polemics. It is more about beliefs, experiences and motivation, about frustrations, aspirations and celebrations. The chapters are intended to whet appetites, prime pumps, open eyes, and keep cogs turning. This book is organized into four parts: Beyond the Classroom, Identity and Purpose, Higher Education and Politics and Ideology. This book is intended for academics of all ages and stages, but the writing is often deliberately non-academic in tone.
The book will appeal to those working in popular music studies, communication studies, education research, and should be of interest to those involved in policy decisions at national and regional levels. It is also directly relevant to researchers looking music industry and music ecosystems nationally, regionally and internationally, as education and popular music industry, DIY and community sectors continue to enmesh in complex and evolving ways.
Brief description: Gareth Dylan Smith is assistant professor of music and music education at Boston University.