Contributions to Music Education - Vol. 48 - 2023 Graduate Research Forum Review

Oct 15, 2026

Review of a 2023 Graduate Research Forum presented by Dr. Phillip Hash, featuring historical perspectives on popular music in U.S. P-12 schools. The session reports how popular music study spans from the 17th century to the present, while outlining five historical phenomena such as “lesser than” attitudes, attempts to suppress popular music for morality concerns, and student-driven inspiration despite limited institutional support. It also traces shifts from singing schools and shaped-note approaches to later public school adoption and contextual tensions with Western art music lenses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Graduate Research Forum (February 2023)

Historical perspectives and five phenomena

Singing schools and shaped-note singing

Popular music enters public school

Contributions to Music Education Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 193-201. Jacob Gibson Kent State University GRADUATE RESEARCH FORUM REVIEW 2023 Historical Perspectives on Popular Music in P-12 Schools of the United States Music educators and clinicians from Ohio and across the country gather annually for the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) professional development conference . Dr . Phillip Hash, professor and researcher from Illinois State University, was the featured keynote speaker of the Graduate Research Forum in February 2023 . Hash has presented on primary topics of music education history, instrumental music pedagogy, student teacher mentoring, and music teacher evaluation . Not only is he a notable scholar in the field, but also an accomplished arranger for band, strings, and small instrumental ensembles . The focus of this research forum centered on the historical development of popular music in the United States spanning from the 17th-century to present day, along with implications for practice in the music teaching and learning community . Keywords: popular music, history, music education, non-traditional music courses, United States The Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) welcomed music educators across the buckeye state to its annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, in February 2023. Attendants included a variety of in-service and pre-service music teachers, graduate students, K-12 ensemble performers, guest clinicians, music teacher educators, and more. The annual Graduate Research Forum featured Dr. Phillip Hashas the speaker. Hash is an associate professor and the coordinator for Music Education at Illinois State University. He currently serves as editorial board member for the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education and Journal of Band Research, and as chair-elect of the Executive Committee of the Society for Research in Music Education. In addition to his scholarly work in music education history, student teacher mentoring, and music teacher evaluation, he has been active in the arranging world, with multiple scores available from Grand Mesa Publishers and BRS Contributions to Music Education Music. After opening remarks and a warm welcome for the nearly 70 audience members of the forum, Hash presented his lecture, Historical Perspectives on Popular Music in P-12 Schools of the United States. Popular music education has been given more scholarly attention in the 21st century and, more specifically, in higher education settings, promoting classes such as progressive and vernacular methods and popular music methods. Hash made historical connections throughout American history pertaining to attitudesand perspectives on the development and fostering of popular music. The macro goal of the session was to demonstrate that popular music has been a field of study since the inception of American music education, and not mutually exclusive to the 21st century. He focused on five historical phenomena in this presentation: 1. Popular music has existed throughout American history in schools, with the caveat that it has been considered as a “lesser than” style of music compared to traditional Western art music. 2. Under the ruse of protecting student morality, some music educators have historically tried to eliminate or suppress the growth of popular music in education. 3. Despite a lack of support from teachers and administrators, popular music study has most often been inspired by students. 4. Even once a musical style becomes accepted into curricula, that style has already run its course of popularity within the zeitgeist of the United States macro-culture. 5. Even when music educators accept a new musical style, it is often still viewed through the lens of Western art music, which by nature contradicts the authenticity of musicing in such settings. Through discussion of the evolution of United States instrumental music in education, Hash demonstrated how each of the five histori

FAQs

What is the central focus of Dr. Phillip Hash’s forum presentation?

The forum centers on the historical development of popular music in U.S. P-12 schools and its implications for music teaching and learning.

What five historical phenomena does the presentation highlight?

It highlights five developments, including popular music’s longstanding presence in schools, historical suppression attempts under morality rationales, student-driven inspiration despite limited support, changing popularity cycles, and the continued interpretation through Western art music lenses.

How does the discussion begin chronologically in the presentation?

It begins with the early 18th-century singing schools in New England, describing how they provided both sacred-music focus and broader social benefits, alongside notable composers and repertoire effects.

Oct 15, 2026

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