Cross-cultural communication in the music studio

American Music Teacher, August-Sept, 2002 by Kenneth Williams

Howard Gardner, an American psychologist working at Harvard University, explored cultural differences in arts education and offered his observations in a book titled, Tb Open Minds: Chinese Clues to the Dilemma of Contemporary Education. (4) Gardner traveled to China several times during the 1980s seeking clues to the struggle within American education between progressive and traditional forces. In China, Gardner and his colleagues observed classes in painting, singing and academic subjects. He describes a humorous incident illustrating the fundamental attitude differences between Eastern and Western cultures toward education in general and arts education in particular.

Gardner's wife and one-year-old son, Benjamin, accompanied him on one of his Asian trips. Young Benjamin enjoyed playing with the hotel room key, which guests would deposit into a receptacle in the lobby when leaving the hotel each morning. The boy enjoyed the challenge of trying to insert the key and its bulky key ring into the narrow slot on the key receptacle, a difficult task for a child of eighteen months. He failed at most attempts because he lacked the necessary eye-hand coordination. But he liked to bang the key on the box anyway, and sometimes it even went into the slot. Benjamin's parents were satisfied that he entertained himself with this exploratory game. They noticed, however, that Chinese people working in the hotel or simply passing through the lobby would stop to help Benjamin place the key in the slot accurately. After this scene was repeated on several occasions, Gardner realized he was witnessing divergent attitudes between Chinese and American preferences for children's behavior and the culturally appropriate ways for adults to teach them. Gardner and his wife preferred to let Benjamin explore the key and the slot, developing his motor skills in the process of his own discovery and entertainment. The Chinese passersby, placing far more value on skill and accuracy, would not allow the child to repeat his futile attempts and felt compelled to demonstrate the correct solution.

Gardner identifies the relative value placed on skill and virtuosity as a fundamental issue in distinguishing Eastern and Western cultures and their approaches to arts education. Western societies tend to encourage innovation and creativity. The Chinese preference for mastering skills before exploring alternative strategies has made Chinese civilization one of the world's oldest and most enduring cultures. For generations, children have learned calligraphy by imitating models. The Chinese approach is straightforward: For Benjamin to place the key in the box, he needs to acquire basic skills. Adults know the most efficient way to do that and easily can demonstrate the "correct" solution. In Chinese societies, change occurs as a minor modification in a traditional process rather than an innovative solution to an ordinary problem.

The incident Gardner describes is relevant to every music lesson. Should teachers show students "the correct way" to do something, or should teachers encourage their students to explore a variety of possible solutions? Cultural values also would affect the likelihood of a student exploring solutions during practice sessions. In general, rote teaching tends to be the preferred approach in Eastern cultures; discovery learning is preferred by Western teachers. Teachers from both cultures can benefit by trying different instructional approaches. Regardless of how we develop them, a willingness to explore and the achievement of technical mastery are two essential components of all artistic experiences.