1

Caleb Warnar
Professor Kari K Veblen
Music 1800
October 4, 2015

Bowman, W. D. (2004). "Pop" goes . . . ? Taking popular music seriously In Rodrigues, C. (Ed.).
Bridging the gap: Popular music and music education. US: MENC.


In this article, Bowman discusses the need for popular music to be taken seriously in the

education system. He states that most young adults have little interest in participating in
classical music education, despite that popular music plays a crucial part in their lives. Due to
the relevance of popular music in todays society, Bowman argues that it should be integrated
into music education alongside classical music education.

I found it interesting that popular music replaces qualitative concerns with quantitative

ones (pg. 31). If this is the case, then where does the true educational value of popular music
lie? I find that this statement nearly contradicts itself, because in order for popular music to
have quantitative value, it must first be recognized to have qualitative value by the vast number
of individuals that choose to listen to it. So then I ask, what value does popular music hold in
the eyes of todays society? And as Bowman states, will popular music stand the test of time like
classical and jazz music? In all, the true value that I have come to recognize that popular music
education holds is that individuals of all ages may be able to become more involved with music,
while not turning away from a form of music education that they do not identify with.

Bowmans description of popular music surprised me, since his words usually held a very

negative connotation to them. For example: its products are not creative or original, but
trendy and derivative, Popular music is music of the herd music that numbs individual and
critical awareness, It all sounds the same: formulaic, predictable, rhythmic, and obvious. It is
designed to pander to the lowest common denominator of human taste (pg. 34). What
frustrates me about these comments is that they are not only biased and insulting to the
majority of individuals that enjoy popular music, but these statements contradict all reasoning
that popular music should be integrated into music education. Why bother educating young
students in a style of music that caters to the lowest common denominator of human taste?
Perhaps then, it would be of more importance to find ways that popular music and classical
forms of music education can co-exist. I know for myself, some of the most interesting popular
music I have heard consists of multiple musical styles being combined with each other. For
example, The Piano Guys are musicians that re-create pop songs through a classical focus.

As a comment to the author, I found that Bowman often would contradict himself

throughout his article. He would argue that popular music education is vital in order to remain
relevant in todays society, but then he would later state that popular music is beneath other
forms of music. In general, I found that by doing this he greatly weakened his argument of
integrating popular music into the education system.