Scaling up: changes to ABSRM’s singing repertoire

English Dance and Song August 2024

This news item is based on articles in English Dance and Song, the magazine of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The world’s oldest magazine for folk music and dance, EDS was first published in 1936 and is essential reading for anyone with a passion for folk arts.

Music award organisation ABRSM carried out an audit of their singing syllabuses to review the suitability and appropriateness of the songs in the repertoire lists. Teresa Manese, ABRSM’s Music Development Executive, shares an insight into the process and the outcomes

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) aims to inspire a lifelong love of music for everyone, and we have an organisation-wide commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. We want people to be able to explore a broad musical landscape where they feel inspired to play, create and teach music from a rich variety of traditions and styles. We believe this helps people to develop a strong sense of their individual musical identities.

The music in our syllabuses has a worldwide reach and we recognise that we still have work to do to reflect the breadth and diversity of the musical canon appropriately. We now have a system and dedicated team in place to make sure our syllabuses include a wide variety of repertoire and offer high quality teaching material that learners will enjoy.

We’ve recently carried out an audit of our Singing syllabus, informed by our aim to make our syllabuses more inclusive. We reviewed every song for suitability and appropriateness, being mindful of different social and cultural contexts, and changes in society over time. This included looking at the title, lyrics, themes and content,
alongside detailed evaluation and research in consultation with diversity experts and teachers.

As a result, we removed ten songs and added content warnings for 15 others which may have the potential to cause ojence to learners, parents, teachers or examiners. The music we select for our syllabuses is there for valid musical and educational reasons. It also reflects a wide range of experiences, so it’s important to be aware that some lyrics or song content can trigger some strong emotions, especially if they connect with someone’s personal experience.

Case Study 1: Slavery
Ol’ Man River from Show Boat (Kern & Hammerstein) is sung by the character Joe, an African-American dock worker on the Mississippi River. It reflects his experience of the hardships that many African Americans faced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and comments on the injustice and inequality of the times.

Songs that address topics relating to slavery can be powerful in expressing historical narratives and showing the resilience of enslaved people. Think of traditional African American spirituals. They have a deep emotional context, and we can hear the expression of suffering, longing for freedom and endurance.

Show Boat portrays poignant racial issues, themes and attitudes of the era it represents. It’s important to acknowledge that these songs may trigger painful emotions and trauma for those affected by this history. We left this song in the syllabus because of its educational value and because it speaks of an important part of history, but we added a warning sign.

Case Study 2: Western arrangers
The audit highlighted some traditional songs from around the world as being potentially problematic because they have been arranged by Western musicians. For example, Jasmine Flower – Trad. Chinese arr. Wagner and Pōkarekare Ana – Trad. Maori arr. Bullard.

Arrangers, no matter where they’re from, can hold an important role in introducing music from around the world to a broader audience – making it more accessible – and preserving a tradition or heritage. The problem is when people appropriate music without respect, proper understanding or acknowledgment of cultural origins, because this leads to misrepresentation.

It can be difficult to find the origin of songs, but it’s important to do this where possible. In the case of Jasmine Flower and Pōkarekare Ana, the composers respected and preserved their origins, and in the syllabus listings, we clearly specify where they come from – for example, saying Trad. Chinese instead of something like Trad. Asian. We left these songs on the syllabus as they are.

Case Study 3: Terminology
In some songs, there were words that could be seen as offensive.

For example, in The Christmas Song – Wells & Tormé the word Eskimo is used. Following research into the term, looking at articles and discussions in forums, we found that Eskimo is a word that some people find outdated and problematic, with colonial and derogatory connotations. More importantly, it’s not a term that all communities would use to describe themselves. Instead, it’s more respectful to refer to Arctic indigenous people as Inuit. Other more specific terms include Iglulingmiut or Innuinait.

Orient is a word in Westering Home – Roberton that can be received both negatively and positively depending on a person’s personal preference and lived experience. After discussing this word with people with Asian roots, reading many forums and articles, and learning about the term oriental being banned from US federal law, we decided to remove this song. We also removed songs that included other potentially offensive terms.

It’s vital to look critically at each piece of music and its context, and to do this with empathy. There will be some things that we don’t find problematic personally that might be offensive to someone else. It’s also essential to bear in mind that these songs will often be sung by young learners in exams. So, there are songs that refer to drinking or shooting that we’ve removed, for example. Our advice to teachers would always be to think carefully about the material in the song. Are the conversations and themes suitable for the learner’s age and life experience? Are they compatible with the family’s background and values? We hope these case studies and this insight into the recent review of our Singing syllabuses helps you to make your own decisions with the music you use.

Read ABRSM’s Reviewing our Singing Syllabuses blog post, and visit the Diversity and Inclusion page at abrsm.org