Decolonising new music begins with the way that music is introduced to groups of people. From the quote shown to us by George E. Lewis, I feel like the second point, give up meritocracy, is one of the most important ideals in the movement of decolonising music. In our current social system, we abide almost exclusively by the concept of meritocracy; appointing roles of power and influence to those based only on abilities and achievements. Creating true diversity in new music starts with seeking out new talents based on their socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. There is such a high concentration of cultures and their music that has not made their way across the world the way that Western influence has.
Because our society has been the one to infiltrate, not be infiltrated by other cultures, ignorance is the most common state of mind in Western cultures. I am not immune to the ignorance, and found that The Musicians’ Union and New Music USA provided the most useful explanations as to why decolonisation is necessary for our growing world, and an article from Classic FM showed me that decolonisation is entirely possible.
Bibliography:
The Musicians’ Union – (https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/decolonising-the-music-curriculum)
New Music USA – https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/decolonizing-our-music/#:~:text=decolonize%E2%80%9D%20our%20music.-,Decolonizing%20music%20involves%20a%20conscious%20decision%20to%20move%20away%20from,and%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%9Cdecolonized%E2%80%9D%20mentality.
Classic FM – https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/oxford-university-decolonising-music-syllabus/