Skip to Content

The role of folk, popular and improvisatory music in the lives of marginalised youth: rethinking music education for Canadian Inuit

David Lane

Published: 2011-03-23

David Lane, building on his own experiences as a pedagogue in the Inuit school system, explores the musical traditions of the Inuit and how the values of folk, popular and improvisatory music might provide a valuable
educational context for the mitigation of some of the socio-cultural challenges faced by Inuit youth. The propensity for music to develop cultural identity and to encourage non-coerced, creative communication is explored. The paper suggests that a renewed devotion in music education to folk, pop and improvised musical traditions could serve as an important way forward for youth among rural ethnic minorities, in particular for
Canadian Inuit.

Available Files

  • David_Lane_improv_inuit_youth_education.pdf

    169 KB | application/pdf

    Download

...partly because I know that’s the only way that we could solve a creative problem [using improvisation with children ranging in abilities] and what doesn’t work is trying to impose a template on the students who are not able to respond to that template.

– Pauline Oliveros (in working with Abilities First)