The Ethics of Improvisation through the World Music Pedagogy Approach

Abstract In this chapter, the authors examine the role of improvisation within the World Music Pedagogy approach, focusing on how musical improvisation across global popular music can serve as conduits for developing critical consciousness. Drawing from World Music Pedagogy as one viable strategy for engaging with popular music expressions around the globe, they consider the ethical implications that arise through the act of improvisation. They suggest that improvising within global music expressions requires responsible agency in order for musicians to do justice to the musical cultures they are aiming to elevate. They also consider how global music can serve as an essential site for developing self- and other-knowledge toward a responsible praxis for social change. They argue that engaging in improvisation with culturally diverse musical expressions is one important way that musicians can move toward a critical consciousness of themselves, others, and the social world.