Heritage on stage : Music education lessons from folk musicians in Finland and Nepal

Abstract

This chapter discusses the educational complexities and opportunities involved in incorporating diverse musical traditions, considered as intangible cultural heritages, into formal music education. The study contributes to decolonising music education by illustrating Nepali and Finnish professional folk musicians’ aesthetic, ethical, and cultural navigation in learning particular musical traditions and recontextualising them as contemporary performances. Findings suggest that holistic immersion in musical traditions through musicking carries the potential for enriching music learning; however, ethical engagement must accompany the processes. Furthermore, the educational potential of musical heritages cannot be realised unless music educators understand the territorial nature of such heritages, and interrogate the intertwined political, ethical, and aesthetic valuations that shape music education practices and policies. Thus, decolonising the future of music education to create an ethically and socially just space for diverse musics entails problematising hegemonies and stretching our epistemological understandings.