Music on Deaf Ears: Musical Meaning, Ideology, and Education

by Lucy Green

"Hooray! Professor Lucy Green's classic text is now available, in its second edition, to a new generation. The first edition contributed to the development of a new field, the sociology of music education. But the argument is of wider interest, and has been useful to me in better understanding the mechanics of the professional life as applicable to the working player." Robert Fripp, King Crimson RESPONSES TO THE FIRST EDITION OF MUSIC ON DEAF EARS: "This is a fine book indeed. The clarity of mind shining through the text is apparent, and the concern with music, musical experience and the development of children in our schools is self-evident. . Musicians and educators would do well to reflect upon these ideas and the inherent challenges to our comfortable but essentially problematic ways of thinking about and responding to music." Keith Swanwick, Music and Letters "The argument, necessarily simplified here, is powerfully and cogently made. It not only impinges on educational practice but is one of the best general discussions of musical meaning and ideology I have read." Richard Middleton, Popular Music "This analysis has considerable explanatory power, especially in regard to the response of school pupils to various musical styles. . I recommend this interesting and uncomfortable book not just to music teachers but to all those musicians and music lovers who think at all about the nature of their art." Christopher Small, British Journal of Music Education

Genres: Music

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Lucy Green (born 1957) is an Emerita Professor of Music Education at the UCL Institute of Education, UK. She had a key role in bringing the informal learning practices of popular and other vernacular musicians to the attention of music-educators, thus transforming classroom practice.

Reviews

[M.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.
Very dense writing. It felt like Lucy Green occasionally wrote in circles, repeating what she already stated. I do think the title is due for an update; using the term "deaf" in the title of a book about music can be misleading. The content, though, makes sense and was good to read about.
Biggest takeaways:
Music exists on many different planes (context of the time it was created; context of the time it is listened to; context of socioeconomic/political/historical influences; context of popular music; etc.) and through many different perspectives (composer, creator, educator, listener). The way Lucy Green explores these complexities contains sound and logical arguments.