Sidnee McLeod

Dr. Veblen
Music 1800A
October 13th, 2015
Reading: Veblen
Veblen, K.K. (2012). Community music making: Challenging the stereotypes of
traditional music

education. In C.A. Beynon & K.K. Veblen (Eds.). Critical

perspectives in Canadian music education. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University

Press.
This article writes about the upcoming dangers of Music Education- either it
needs to undergo some transformations or else it will be at risk. With this
circumstance, the article talks about formal and informal interactions with Music
Education. Specifically, Community Music: Music education at its most diverse. The
article defines and writes about the many different types of examples of Community
Music. It is also a beneficial experience; there are opportunities to hear and make
music, and to bring people together, an example may be a volunteer-based
orchestra. This article also writes about the accommodations that Community
Music makes to many diversities, including ages, culture, religion, ecocircumstances, and politics. The important message that this article delivers is that
there is a lot of music (and people who encourage music) outside of just school
settings.
The part of this article that interested me was about the different programs
for specific purposes. I really enjoyed the fact that there was a program for pregnant
women, and that they were trying to encourage music into the womb by listening to
classical music. As well, they encouraged parental interaction with children, which I

really liked, because bonding can occur. The same applies to all Community Music
opportunities. They allow for communities to build and connect with each other,
which is so important because technology sometimes disconnects us. Another
interesting thing was how Community Music uses technology to bring others
together. One of the examples reminded me of one of my favourite all-female
barbershop quartets. They first began making music together by using Skype, and
then they made it to some national competitions together. It interested me that this
was becoming a popular method of Community Music.
What surprised me was how much diversity there was to these Community
Music groups. One of my favourite groups and most surprising groups that I heard
about was The Raging Grannies. Their specific purpose was to protest the nuclear
warfare years ago, and the group has survived since then. I just thought that it was
so surprising that such a unique group with a specific purpose could last so long. For
some reason it is just surprising that a group like that would stay strong, and I am
over-joyed. I would want to join that group someday.
The only thing that was frustrating to me was the fact that it is sometimes
hard to join these Community Music Groups, because of money issues. These
money issues could be easily solved by government funding, but they are not really
supportive of these programs. I think that the government needs to understand that
these Community Music groups are not trying to force people to like Art, or just
make it available to everyone, but to Make Art meaningful to everyone. Like a
gift.
If I were to ask the author anything, I would ask if there was a way we could
incorporate this Community Music environment into our schools more. Even if its
not completely connecting Community Music directly into the system, we should be

able to provide projects, suggestions, or even extra credit in relation to Community

Music. I was just wondering if that was a possibility.