An Historical Perspective on the Chinese Americans in American Music Education

Abstract

This study examines the music of Chinese American heritage, as portrayed in American music education from the late 19th century to the present. Specifically, representative music education materials, such as Music Supervisors Journal, Music Educators Journal, graded music series textbooks, and other available resource materials, were traced for analysis and discussion. Music education sources and publications of Chinese American heritage saw transformations from negative stereotypes to genuine concern for their inclusion as part of the diversified American fabric. Continued pursuit of quality recordings within textbook series and other publications along with increasing use of three types of texts for the lyrics—Chinese characters, Romanized Chinese, and English translations in the songs—showed the progression of American music education in adopting the philosophy of the multicultural agenda. The increasing inclusion of historical and cultural contexts in the explanation of songs also created fuller understanding and appreciation of the Chinese cultural tradition.