Book Review: Developing the Musician: Contemporary Perspectives on Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Karnatic repertoire in which some performers and pedagogues specialize (18). Here, Subramanian’s warnings could be applied to the standardization of any musical practice in a classroom setting, a trend which many ethnomusicologists and music educators have previously addressed. For example, consider the rising, yet challenging, standardization of “hip hop pedagogy” in US music classrooms. Subramanian supplies ample and detailed cultural context for Karnatic music performance and pedagogy. She successfully provides clear reminders that Karnatic music may not be separated from its moral function and the moral aims of its practitioners (19). Despite its rootedness as a socio-political study, Subramanian might supplement the key themes of the book with a centralized case study of influential Karnatic educators and their impact on the movements and policies explained therein. Discussions of privilege and access to music are essential in the context of Karnatic teaching and learning but equally essential wherever classical music is taught in a global context. Music educators in the U.S. who wish to learn about, demonstrate, or teach Karnatic music have the responsibility to become as informed as possible about the social, historical, and political context of this music. To this end, Lakshmi Subramanian’s book provides a compact and thorough background into relevant contexts of Karnatic music, offering any interested music educators a valuable “starting point” towards developing culturally situated and appropriate methodology. This book will be useful for students and teachers of South Indian music, ethnomusicology, South Asian studies, and any general reader interested in the directions and institutionalization of art music traditions. Historians of music pedagogy will also be pleased to note that Subramanian’s book includes a compact timeline of the development of Karnatic music from court practice during the reign of Serfoji II to contemporary teaching and learning taking place at theMadrasMusic Academy in Chennai. Given these considerations, this book is a valuable reference for educators preparing to teach “world music” survey courses and related activities, host guest artists and musicians, or designing immersive curricula for students of regional South Asian music.