Seizing the “Both/And” Moment

In Remixing the Classroom: Toward an Open Philosophy of Music Education (2016), Randall Allsup expresses a sincere longing for an open approach to music education, rooted in exploration, creation, and student agency. Allsup’s philosophy centers on the distinction between open and closed forms, the latter of which he describes as the dominant form, and he explicitly calls for a transformation of music education. Though he makes several clear assertions regarding the need for both open and closed forms, Allsup often implicitly advocates for abandoning closed forms, describing their practices as oppressive. In this paper, the authors draw upon Jorgensen’s (2003) images of transformation to consider Allsup’s call to action, highlighting the contradictory nature of his argument and providing vignettes from their personal experiences as music educators to illustrate their belief that both closed and open forms are essential for the transformation of music education.