Aesthetic Becoming as Becoming of Aesthetics

An Emerging Manifesto for Calling the Tune in Music Education

Abstract

This article presents a manifesto for music education based on the concept of aesthetic becoming as becoming of aesthetics: a process through which aesthetics emerges and evolves in relation to people, materials, and practices. Drawing on critical theory, posthumanist thinking, and music education research, the authors argue that ­ music education should be a space for transformation, cultural agency, and ethical reflection. The article explores how aesthetic experience and musical practice can be understood as world-making, and how the ­notion of aesthetic becoming contributes to a more inclusive and ­ pluralistic approach to music education. Through a range of theoretical perspectives and practical examples, six principles are proposed as a foundation for a new orientation in music education and research.