Talk:Gordon music learning theory

Gordon Music Learning Theory vs Music Learning Theory

Hello! Music ed graduate researcher here; The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians lists the subject as "Music Learning Theory" rather than "Gordon Music Learning Theory" as there is no other such theory (to my knowledge!). I would guess Gordon trademarked the term Music Learning Theory, too, so adding 'Gordon' might be inacccurate? Thoughts? Thanks! FreelanceLlamaHerder (talk) 16:36, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Hi FreelanceLlamaHerder. There are other theories of music learning, not simply his. I would be very reluctant to move it to a title which implies to the general reader that Gordon's is the only one, even if that's what Gordon calls it. In books about it (as opposed to books by Gordon), e.g. [1], it is referred to as "Gordon's music learning theory". Can you please give me the full citation for the Grove article—author, exact title, etc. Is it a stand-alone entry or a subsection of an article on Gordon? I'd like to check that out. Voceditenore (talk) 17:11, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

The (very short) Grove article is "Music Learning Theory, with only references being Gerhardstein and Gordon himself (R.C. Gerhardstein: A Biographical and Historical Account of an American Music Educator and Researcher (diss., Temple U., 2001), 200–259 and E.E. Gordon: Learning Sequences in Music: a Contemporary Music Learning Theory (Chicago, 2007)) http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezp.lib.rochester.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2267268?q=Music+Learning+Theory&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit The article is edited by Jere T. Humphreys.

I'm trying to locate other authors unrelated to Gordon who have used the term "music learning theory" but I am drawing up a blank. I'm also wary of over-citing Gordon, as the language on his foundation's website is rather preachy. Curiously Gordon himself doesn't have a Grove Article (or a Wiki article for that matter; his research seems more notable than the man himself, ironically.) FreelanceLlamaHerder (talk) 17:25, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Ahah, I found a source that acknowledges other earlier authors into developing a 'music learning theory.' I guess this is a page that should also be created separately from this one, then. Direct link to Article PDF: Learning Theories as Roots of Current Musical Practice and Reserach by Laurie Taetle and Robert Cutietta I'll be parsing through this and adding relevant details as I come across them! This article is indeed best under Gordon's name, then. FreelanceLlamaHerder (talk) 17:39, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Actually, http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2267268 is a better link. Only people at Rochester University can use yours. Even so, I do think that the current name is better than simply Music Learning Theory given the general readership of Wikipedia. Another good source to use more extensively is:

• Woodford, Paul (1996). "Evaluating Edwin Gordon's Music Learning Theory from a Critical Thinking Perspective". Philosophy of Music Education Review Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 83-95.

Note that Woodford also refers to it in the text as "Gordon's music learning theory" (no caps). Voceditenore (talk) 17:52, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Good call! It seems silly that Gordon is trying to trademark the term as his own. I went ahead and created Music Learning Theory as the larger topic, as well. Currently just a stub, obviously. Thanks, FreelanceLlamaHerder (talk) 18:04, 29 September 2015 (UTC)