Traditional Music and World Music in Japanese School Education

Oshio Satomi. “Traditional Music and World Music in Japanese School Education.” Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and Folklore 203 (2019.3): 73-110.

小塩さとみ。〈日本學校教育中的傳統音樂及世界音樂〉。《民俗曲藝》203 (2019.3): 73-110。

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the state of traditional music and world music teaching in Japanese compulsory education, and examines the problems that must be solved to achieve better outcomes. It first reviews descriptions involving traditional and world music in the current guidelines for elementary and junior high school, and explores how those items are reflected in two different music textbooks. It is then established that traditional music and world music comprise an important part of the current curriculum guidelines and music textbooks.

Next, the article surveys the history of the official guidelines and highlights the significance of the 7th version implemented in 2002, which effectively promoted an expansion of traditional Japanese music practice in junior high school education. With the expectation that students should learn how to play at least one kind of traditional instrument, the guideline made teachers rethink the place of traditional music education as one of their responsibilities. Most students surveyed at my university learned at least one kind of traditional instrument, while on the contrary, world music does not seem to be taught widely, although the current guidelines for junior high school include the overall objective “to deepen understanding of music culture.”

The last part of the article discusses current problems in teaching traditional music and world music in school, focusing especially on class hours and teachers’ voluntary initiatives. Most music teachers have Western music backgrounds; thus, the cooperation of musicologists (including ethnomusicologists) is indispensable for a better educational practice that will contribute to widening the musical concept and perspectives of music teachers as well as young students.

本文呈現日本義務教育中的傳統音樂及世界音樂的教學概況，並且檢視其中為求更好成果必須解決的問題。本文首先審視現行的中小學教材中與傳統音樂及世界音樂有關的綱要，探究兩本不同的音樂教科書中如何反映這些綱要，從而證實傳統音樂及世界音樂構成了現行的課程綱要及音樂教科書的重要部分。

其次，本文調查過去的官方綱要，特別側重在2002年增補的第七版的重要性，在這一版中有效的促進了初級中學教育中的傳統日本音樂的實踐。綱要中包含預期學生們應該學會演奏至少一種傳統樂器，這也使得教師們重新思考將傳統音樂教育視為他們的責任。大部分在我的大學中接受調查的學生們都學過至少一種傳統樂器，然而，相對的，儘管現行的初級中學綱要也包含了「深化音樂文化」的全面目標，世界音樂似乎並沒有被廣為納入教學中。

本文的最後一部分討論到目前在學校裡教授傳統音樂及世界音樂的問題，特別聚焦於授課時數以及教師的主動提倡。大部分的音樂教師都有西方音樂的背景，因此，為了更完善的教學實作，以利於擴展音樂教師及年輕學生們的音樂概念及觀點，音樂學家（包括民族音樂學家）的參與合作是不可或缺的。