Teaching Songs of Musica Popular Brasileira: Cultural Perspectives and Pedagogical Guidelines

This research aims to investigate teaching and learning methods for singing contemporary songs of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB), examining the technical, aesthetic, and epistemic particularities involved in the repertoire, as well as its transmission processes (Queiroz, 2010). The literature review intersected the fields of singing, music education, and ethnomusicology. The theoretical framework draws on concepts such as ethnopedagogy (Dunbar-Hall, 2009), musical worlds (Arroyo, 2002), and the dynamics of oral tradition (Martins, 2003. Queiroz, 2017). Reflections from decolonial thought are incorporated to discuss the presence of non-hegemonic knowledge within Brazil’s popular songs, as well as to reconsider dogmas and structures of symbolic violence existing in vocal pedagogy. Ten guidelines for teaching songs of Música Popular Brasileira (Valle, 2023) were developed to assist teachers in implementing effective pedagogical practices within the singer's technical training, with a commitment to cultural diversity, as well as the repositioning and legitimization of voices and stories.

vocal pedagogy; popular song; musical education; música popular brasileira (MPB; music as culture