Retaining a frisson of the 'other

In Australia, the 1960s saw a broadening of music offerings from other cultures in school materials from the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). This is a useful indicator for changing perceptions. Since then, increasingly 'authentic' materials have become available but how far have we really come? Blacking (How musical is man? University of Washington Press, Seattle, Citation1973) identified the difficulty of acquiring and understanding, skill and authenticity in the music of another culture. He stressed that musical acquisition should occur in a cultural context. Removing music from one culture and presenting it in the symbolic gestures of another may strip its meaning. This is particularly true for musics from cultures removed from the Western paradigm. The further we move from our cultural norm, the harder it is to produce authentic experiences for students. By considering the African music resources offered to schools by the ABC, we can explore the attempts we have made to move from colonialism to multiculturalism

Assimilation (phonology · Education Systems and Policy · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Literacy, Media, and Education

• The Oxford History of the British Empire

  Andrew Porter, Wm Roger Louis•The nineteenth century•1999

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• Aboriginal Self-Determination in Australia

  Open Access•Scott A Reid, Helen N Gunter et al.•Human Communication Research•2005

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• How Musical Is Man

  Charles Keil, John Blacking•Contemporary Sociology A Journal…•1976

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• Ethnomusicology and the Teaching of World Music

  Bruno Nettl•International Journal of Music…•1992

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• Topics in West African History

  Gareth Austin, Adu Boahen et al.•The International Journal of…•1988

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• Cultures at work

  Chris Gibson•Social & Cultural Geography•2003

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