In this paper the role of spirituality in learning music for North American adult students is explored by examining the case of shakuhachi music. One distinctive character of engaging in music through the shakuhachi is that it facilitates the attainment of an ‘optimal relationship’ between the practitioners’ musical pursuit and self-cultivation through a ‘simple’ media, such as a single tone. The findings indicate that spirituality could be experienced regardless of one's musical skills or the level of outward expression. A second characteristic is that both experienced players and beginners could experience what the spirituality of music means through certain forms of music practice, including the shakuhachi practice, which followed the principle of ‘less is more’.

Selecting repertoire that adult piano students find motivating and musically satisfying is more complex than simply finding pieces that are aurally pleasing. Drawing on theories of motivation, adult learning and transformative pedagogy, this practitioner-based study describes how the author learned to involve her students in the selection process, to align repertoire with their tastes and goals, and to understand the impact of students’ values, expectations and perceptions of learning on their engagement with repertoire learned. It is hoped that the experiences and theories shared herein inspire teachers to reflect on their own pedagogical choices regarding repertoire selection.

This article describes the aims, structure, content and activities of the innovatory project in ‘Music Performance and Communication Skills’ at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. It outlines the skills, attitudes and outlook needed by musicians if they are to respond to the rapidly changing needs of society. Having analysed the response of students to the Project, it shows the ways in which the conservatoire can reach out into the community. It is hoped that the article will make a positive contribution towards the thinking underlying the reform of the education and training of professional musicians.

The role of the subject leader, or co-ordinator, in the primary school has evolved considerably over recent years. Ultimately, responsibility for individual subjects remains with the headteacher and governors, but much work has been increasingly devolved, at least theoretically, to subject leaders. In this role they need to demonstrate the ability to be both leaders and managers. Whilst some aspects of leadership and management are generic, others may be specific to the subject and type of school. Through interviews with three subject leaders in schools where music is judged to be successful, this article examines their roles from a leadership and management perspective within the context of the existing primary school (3–11 years) structure. The tentative conclusion is that music is different and may need special considerations in equipping subject leaders to work effectively within this type of school.

This paper explores the concept of instrumental/vocal learning when studying the same instrument or voice with more than one concurrent teacher. In this context, teachers may be working as a team, or one or both teachers may not know of the other's contribution to a student's learning. Qualitative data from music students and teachers at the University of York sheds some light on this often hidden learning context. This paper examines students’ reasons for studying with more than one teacher; their views on negotiating teacher demands; teacher–student–teacher dynamics; and assessment of the success of this context for learning. Teachers’ views are considered through discussion of their attitudes to this context, and their evaluation of its effect on their teaching. Findings suggest that although there may be problems for students regarding issues of teacher loyalty and dealing with conflicting advice, there are also many benefits including exposure to a greater range of musical and technical ideas and added pedagogical insight. There are also potential benefits for teachers if they are working as a team.

The purpose of this article is to analyse three case study examples of musical folkbildning in Sweden. The first case study is from the establishment of the state-funded Framnäs Folk High Music School in the middle of the last century. The second case study, Hagström's music education, is from the same time but describes a music school run by a private company. The third case study concerns a contemporary expression of folkbildning, namely hip-hop. The theoretical framework that inspired this article stems from the work of Pierre Bourdieu. The double feature of folkbildning appears in terms of: elitist and democratic tendencies, high and low taste agendas, control and freedom.

The purpose of this study was to explore music performance anxiety (MPA) from music teachers’ perspectives by identifying and describing common coping strategies teachers use to support students with MPA. A quantitative content analysis of scientific and non-scientific MPA literature identified preparation, open communication, realistic expectations, exposure therapy and deep breathing as the five most common coping strategies mentioned in the literature. Qualitative thematic analyses of existing literature and interview transcripts from five piano teacher participants provided descriptions of the five commonly identified coping strategies. A comparison of literature and interview results suggests a gap between research knowledge of MPA and practical teaching application. While music teachers employ a variety of strategies to help students cope with MPA, they may also benefit from formal MPA training opportunities grounded in research to provide additional resources for effectively managing students with MPA.

This study is the result of a two-year experimental collaboration with children from my piano class. Together, the children and I designed a method that uses visual expression as a starting point for composing and visualising music-theoretical concepts. In this method various dimensions of musicality such as listening, creating, noting down and performing are interrelated. The article goes on to compare this method with other piano methods in which visual expression is part of the learning process. The findings indicate that, by using their visual capacity, children can acquire a deeper insight of what music means as structured material and a better understanding of the music terminology.

This article examines the debate over issues of musical intelligence, largely in a Scottish context, although it draws on recent international research in its discussion. It examines different perceptions of musical gift, and will relate these to factors which either release it, or constrict the release in different ways. Musical intelligence is then examined within the context of the multiple intelligences proposed by Howard Gardner, and is related to practical aspects of musical education.

This article is based on a case study of how the Rocksmith entertainment music video game can be used in the context of studying electric guitar and bass as part of music teacher training. In empirical terms, we were interested in how music teachers’ knowledge becomes articulated in the pedagogical discourse of our participants. As conceptual points of departure, we used play theory, game studies, and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model of teacher's knowledge. Four ways of approaching the potential role of Rocksmith in music teacher education stand out as a result. In the discussion, we suggest that music gaming can be conceptualised as an activity that expands the reach of what can be considered as ‘playful’ and ‘serious’ in music teacher studies. Such an approach can guide our thinking about how different areas of music teachers’ knowledge merge into multidimensional competence, paving the way for further discussion about how ‘music educatorship’ can be constructed in the digital era.

This article describes an experiment in the assessment of composition by group consensus. It was designed to prove that small groups of assessors confronted with only aural evidence of particular compositions could, when using suitable criteria, under certain working conditions, come to similar enough judgements on these compositions to prove the method reliable. The method itself was based on the sessions in assessment held at the University of York in 1977 under the chairmanship of Robert Bunting, but, whereas the results in the York session were quite promising and pointed to the reliability of this method, the present experiment has exposed great flaws in a procedure that is advocated by at least one G.C.S.E. group as being suitable for the moderation of students' compositions.

The writer and ten primary school teachers conducted a survey aiming to find out the extent of parental interest in musical activity in schools of contrasting location and character. Parents' interests and tastes in music were canvassed, together with the interest shown by children at home. They were also asked their opinions about various types of school musical activity. Results showed no lack of interest amongst parents, and strongest support for singing, moving/dancing, listening, and playing ‘school’ instruments. They also, overwhelmingly, would have liked their children to have had the chance of learning orchestral /band instruments. The survey was useful and encouraging, but improvements could follow in any future ones. Parents' views on educational concerns were illuminating and thought-provoking for teachers.

During the academic year 1992–93 HM Inspectors of Schools (HMI) inspected 1208 class music lessons in maintained schools in England. These included almost 400 lessons attended by pupils in their first, third or seventh year of statutory schooling, that is pupils to whom the National Curriculum applies. HMI found a wide range in the quality of the practice in both primary and secondary schools. However, the proportion of lessons which HMI judged to be satisfactory or better in at least one of three important dimensions was substantially higher in primary schools. Primary class teachers often under-rated the quality of their music teaching. Some principles for developing good practice were identified.

Music curriculum courses for generalist primary and early childhood teacher education students have tended traditionally to be heavily skill-intensive and instruction-based and reflective of the pedagogical methods of prominent music educators. In such learning experiences emphasis is generally placed upon the acquisition of skills dealing with notational and historical precedents and the development of some expertise in the areas of singing, playing and listening. Whilst these experiences provide students with valuable insights into traditional music education pedagogy, students who have a limited formal knowledge of music and who do not consider themselves to be musically articulate or literate frequently find such experiences alienating. Furthermore the teaching practices modelled through such programs tend to conflict with those advocated in other curriculum areas.

In an attempt to redress this situation an action research study was undertaken in which compulsory music curriculum units for generalist primary and early childhood teacher education students were re-developed to place compositional experience at the heart of the music education enterprise. In developing a theoretical and philosophical base for the pre-service music education units a number of educational strategies common in other curriculum areas were examined and adapted for use in the music education classroom.

Qualitative evaluation of the units has indicated that participating students whilst developing skills and knowledge in music and understanding of a range of teaching and learning strategies also perceive themselves to be more capable and confident as musicians.

Existing classifications of West African musics seem to have a limited applicability as models for music education in schools and colleges. Hence, a more comprehensive classification, highlighting a range of syncretic forms, is merged with a structure in Ghanaian drum ensembles to yield a sequential, two dimensional, model. It is then argued that the model can be used as a framework for teaching West African musics in primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions. A more general discussion is followed by an integrated arts application; finally, a musical perspective, including compositions by the present writer, is presented.

Do high levels of resourcing improve pupils' attainment across any or all areas of the music curriculum; and do pupils make greater progress in their learning where there are significant levels of music technology resourcing? Are there specific outcomes for teachers in terms of teaching styles, INSET, and finance; and what are the most useful items of music technology in the modem classroom? Perceptions of these issues suggest positive developments in key areas, with clear implications for teachers and managers of schools.

Free improvisation has two sources in the avant garde jazz, and experimental classical practices of the 1960s. Appeals to freedom, musical or otherwise, often result in more limitations. Sessions at Thames Valley University are managed by the students, and involve intense debate concerning how best to maximise collective musical freedom. Performances are triggered by individually prepared plans, which take the form of intervallic and rhythmic cells, registrally distinct roles, formal markers, dynamic processes, and even evocative poetics. Free collective improvisation in the classroom rewards sensitivity and sustained, intense concentration with a confrontational and convivial, ethical and musical, experience.

In the last few years expressions like European convergence, European Higher Education Area, European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System and others have become more and more usual not only in academic circles but also even in the mass media. But to what extent are these expressions valid for all knowledge areas in all EU countries? After analysing the curricula for Music Teaching Training in Spain (through the lens of J. Butler and J. Derrida) I will show the situation of precarity of this knowledge area under a postmodern perspective and how the expressions above have become non-neutral expressions sous rature that manage to preserve the rights of the already consolidated knowledge areas to the detriment of the non-consolidated ones.

This paper examines teacher confidence in teaching music within the context of the introduction of a Foundation Phase ‘curriculum’ in Wales for pupils aged 3–7 years. This involved a move away from music as a single subject to being part of creative development. The findings are based on a small-scale study of 12 teachers from four primary schools in south Wales. The findings illustrate that teacher confidence has improved since the Foundation Phase was introduced. The language used in the new documentation was a contributory factor as teachers found it more straightforward to understand what they were expected to do, and being able to combine music with other topics made it easier and more enjoyable to teach music. As a result, music (both indoors and outdoors) is a more regular occurrence and has become liberated from its perceived single subject status with the associated confidence issues.

This article reports an investigation into the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of Dutch specialist preschool music teachers with regard to teaching and learning rhythm skills from an embodied cognition perspective. An embodied cognition perspective stresses the intimate relationship between body, mind and environment. Through stimulated recall interviews, video analysis tasks, notebooks and semi-structured interviews, the PCK of six music teachers was explored. Regarding the content, a new form of bodily based PCK was found in the data: instructional gestures, representational gestures and guiding gestures that facilitate the learning of rhythm skills of preschoolers. Regarding its nature, this study demonstrated that the music teacher’s PCK presents itself as a multimodal form of knowing, distributed over language, sound, gestures, body positioning and physical actions. This study raises the question whether the body is marginalised in current conceptualisations of PCK.