Public Music Theory’s Neoliberal Learning Outcomes

Abstract

Recent years have seen a growing interest in integrating “public music theory” (PMT) into the classroom. While proponents argue that PMT-related class projects enhance traditional learning outcomes, some advocate for PMT assignments that focus explicitly on job training, thus aligning the learning outcomes of the music theory class with those of music entrepreneurship programs—students learn to “market themselves, fundraise, and interact with the broader public beyond traditional concert performances” (Belcher and Grant 2019). We argue that such discourse reflects a neoliberal frame that encourages a marketized view of music theory pedagogy—how music theory mastery can be sold to our students as a boost to their careers. PMT, with its emphasis on practical skills and interaction with a (potentially paying) public, is particularly susceptible to this framing. Building on Moore’s (2016) critique of musical entrepreneurship programs and Ritchey’s (2019) examination of neoliberalism’s effects on classical music, we analyze the role neoliberal values play in theorists’ decisions to bring PMT into the classroom and publish PMT themselves. We elucidate the neoliberal frame in several examples drawn from our own teaching experiences and from others. In our critique, we identify covert learning outcomes promoting a neoliberal perspective and engage with the following questions: How are music theory faculty, like all university instructors, under a particular “pressure to embody and transmit the values of power” (Bousquet 2008, 93)? And, in light of this pressure, how can we negotiate differences between our economic realities and societal ideals in our teaching?