The legitimacy problem of arranging in academic music education in Türkiye: An analysis based on Bourdieu’s theory of culture and capital

Abstract

This study aims to examine the insufficient recognition of arranging as an independent field of specialization within academic music education in Türkiye through the social and educational dimensions of Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital, field, and symbolic violence. In this qualitative study ocument analysis and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection methods. Within the scope of the document analysis, courses related to arranging, contemporary writing, orchestration, production, and music technology in the Contemporary Writing and Production program at Berklee College of Music in the United States were examined, and the position of arranging within the curricula of academic music education programs in Turkey was comparatively evaluated. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five expert academics/academic arrangers. The interview form consisted of four open-ended questions aimed at identifying the current position of arranging in academic music education in Türkiye, its legitimacy problem, its relationship with curricula, sectoral needs, and possible solution proposals.The findings obtained from the document analysis demonstrated that, in the case of Berklee College of Music in the United States, arranging education is integrated into an academic structure through courses on contemporary writing, harmony, orchestration, production, and technology, whereas in Türkiye arranging occupies a limited, indirect, and often secondary position within music curricula. Findings derived from expert interviews revealed themes such as the lack of academic and institutional legitimacy of arranging, curricular inadequacies, the neglect of its creative nature, conceptual and terminological ambiguities, and the insufficient recognition of the field’s contemporary and multidisciplinary character. Participants also emphasized the necessity of establishing independent academic programs, revising curricula, incorporating technology- and production-oriented courses, and strengthening cooperation between academia and the music industry in order to institutionalize arranging within academic contexts. 

Keywords

• Academic legitimacy
• Academic music education
• Arranging
• Cultural capital
• Music industry

Ethical Statement

Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the Social and Human Sciences Research Ethics Committee of Yıldız Technical University with decision no. 2026.02 dated 05.02.2026. Participants were informed about the purpose and scope of the study as well as the voluntary nature of participation, and their opinions were collected in written form through electronic communication. In order to ensure participant confidentiality, the data were coded and used anonymously throughout the research process, and all stages of the study were conducted in accordance with ethical principles.

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