Music as Liberal Art: the Continuing Relevance of Medieval Music Pedagogy in Teacher Education

Abstract

The concepts and ideas of the medieval liberal arts continue to have important relevance in modern training music teachers. The division between a theoretical knowledge about music and a practical experience of musical activities (divisions that might be described as musica speculativa and musica practica) is also being played out in the training of public school teachers in debates regarding the concept of ‘praxialism’ in music education as can be seen in four specific areas: (1) textbooks for courses on the history of music education, (2) resources used in teaching the philosophy of music education, (3) examples of medieval music in contemporary K-12 education, and (4) the scholarship on teaching and learning as applied to music of the Middle Ages. Extending the concept of ‘praxialism’ broadly to include how we teach early music at the college level to future public school teachers may further the discussion of the relevance of medieval music in a positive direction.