Keeping it real: addressing authenticity in classroom popular music pedagogy

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article provides theoretical understanding for a development project that is reported in a separately published item. We discuss the implications of authenticity in music pedagogy, especially as regards popular music in general music education. First we problematize authenticity in music classrooms through three themes: (1) how music sounds, (2) “glocal” music cultures, and (3) the role of mediation in framing the student’s freedom of choice. After that we argue that the authenticity gap between the classroom and the “real-world” can be narrowed if the classroom is understood as specific place for cultural production, in which the students can experiment on the use of technical tools guided by a variety of culturally specific psychological tools to construct their identity. Finally we vision what this could mean from the teacher’s perspective. Our article suggests that authenticity can be seen as a function of musical productivity that is meaningful both from the standpoint of the culture and from the standpoint of the individual learner. Keywords: authenticity, informal learning, popular music pedagogy, general music education