Open AccessStepping Out: The Case for Free Jazz
Author(s) -
Michael Bruschi
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
engaging students
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2689-2871
DOI - 10.18061/es.v8i0.7748
Subject(s) - jazz , eurocentrism , musical , value (mathematics) , sociology , epistemology , art , aesthetics , visual arts , philosophy , computer science , machine learning , anthropology
This article considers the pedagogical value of teaching free jazz in the undergraduate music theory classroom. It argues that free jazz challenges several foundational premises of Western musical thought, making it an effective tool to challenge music theory's longstanding Eurocentrism. I discuss how I have used certain recordings by Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra in the classroom for this purpose.