This article, based on research for an MA (December 2000), investigates the connections between the private teacher and music in the National Curriculum. In the process present perceptions and practice are explored to gain a clearer understanding of the situation as it is today. Various ways of improving communications between schools and private teachers are looked at, with a view to helping the pupil feel that school and private lessons are working in harmony. From the research it has been found that an awareness exists of the need to develop teaching philosophies that relate the private lesson to music in the National Curriculum.

Work such as that of John Cooksey on boys’ changing voices has influenced choral practice in the USA and in certain UK youth choirs, but has hitherto had little impact in UK schools where many teachers continue to believe that boys’ voices ‘break’. Different practices are found across the independent and maintained sectors of secondary education. The former draws on the choral tradition associated with cathedral music. The latter tends, with notable exceptions, to subscribe to the populist media view that ‘boys don't sing’ or that singing by boys is individualised and the exceptional result of ‘X Factor’ style talent shows. In neither case is there much evidence of a systematic attempt to apply research findings to develop a structured programme of vocal development for boys in early adolescence. The paper examines case studies of different choral practice in schools where boys do sing, but as the result of enthusiastic teachers working in isolation rather than a systematic, research-based approach to boys’ singing development.

This article reports on a case study in a Norwegian primary school where nearly 50 fifth-grade pupils took part in a creative music-making project. Facilitated by two professional artists, they created an original piece of music and performed their composition for an audience at the end of the project week. A substantial part of the data consisted of recorded sounds, notations, transcribed interviews and documentations of the process of music composition from the first ideas to the final performance. The analysis was conducted from a sociocultural perspective with a special focus on the mediating tools used in the community of creative musical practice. The findings suggest that the cultural tools used in the project were dynamic and interactive, employed by both the facilitators and the participants. The mediating tools found in the creative music making make up a complex toolbox the participants share and develop, consisting of both psychological and material tools. There were three main categories of mediating tools identified. First, the use of symbolic signs, such as graphic notation, was important from the initial stages when the participants developed musical ideas to the final performance. Second, the actions and interactions of music making, such as conducting gestures shared and developed through the project, were both founded on traditional conductor signs but also transformed and adapted to new ways of mediating musical meaning in this particular project. Third, the participants worked with ‘creative reworkings’ of experiences in this project. Through the transformation of previous experiences into the creation of new musical material, important mediating tools were identified as experiences and meaning in the creative musical practice.

The development of musicians and the continuity of the musical art should be the main thrust of music education. The institutions of education should therefore be equipped to mould the development of music in society and to make the strongest input into musical expressions that are fashionable, acceptable and available. Formal music education came to Nigeria by way of Western institutions, drawing from the cultural traditions of Western societies. On the other hand, the media and other agencies have brought in other types of music acceptable in Western societies outside their academic sectors. Musical and cultural contact has given birth to the contemporary popular music of Nigeria that integrates Nigerian and non-Nigerian elements. With the growth of city life, commerce, industry and communication, this music has grown in popularity, in some cases sweeping every other thing aside. The attendant ‘pop phenomenon’ also means that cultural intrusion from outside Nigeria has grown more menacing. Who controls the popular music in Nigeria today? This paper tries to answer this question and in addition presents some data on the prevailing perspectives in the hope that the Nigerian Government and all music educators should range plans and solutions against them.

Although there are many choices for teachers who are considering music technology in the classroom, care has to be taken not to be swayed by novelty value alone. What is required is software that can be linked directly to children's maturation as composers and instruments that make use of their existing playing skills. Sometimes it is difficult to make the right decision, as user friendliness can outweigh the educational value for the pupils. By looking at all that is available a more informed decision can be taken when purchases are made. This new dimension to music education offers an opportunity to reassess music learning and how thinking and working in groups can be developed in the music lesson.

The study and practice of improvisation in music departments of Australian colleges and universities tends to be dominated by jazz and other African-American styles. However, the School of Music of the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne has developed a course of study with a different focus. While rooted in the fundamentals of jazz performance, the philosophy of the course is that students at the end of the twentieth century should endeavour to develop their own musical ‘voice’. An important means of assisting this development is the encouragement for students to compose their own music as the basis for improvisation. In many cases personal concerns and events form the basis for these original pieces and allow performers to develop their own compositional concepts. This is also a significant means of allowing the music to reflect the era and culture of the performers. This article outlines an investigation of ten students conducted over the three years of their degree studies. The investigation aimed to ascertain the conditions under which a personal voice might be acquired and the extent to which composition was employed in the participants' major performances.

In this article the author attempts to briefly review styles of research and consider some implications for music education. It is argued that, although research constitutes a limitless range of activities, there are none the less certain essential conditions to be met. General areas for research are identified that seem central to music education. Note. This article first appeared in the International Journal of Music Education, No. 1 (May 1983), and is reprinted with permission of the editor and the International Society of Music Education.

The general aim of this article is to explore South Asian music and culture in an educational context. The fieldwork on which it is based mainly consists of semi-structured interviews with pupils of South Asian origin (aged 11–18) who attend a secondary school in Ilford, Essex. The learning methods of South Asian musicians are considered and a detailed investigation of the socio-cultural environment in which these learning methods are related is undertaken, focusing on the role that music plays in the formation of concepts of culture, ‘identity’ and ‘place’. The majority of the musical material is drawn from the South Asian genre of bhangra, concentrating on the improvisations and rhythms of dhol players.

Despite recent moves toward a more collaborative relationship between the academic pursuit of music analysis and the practical pursuit of music performance, there remains a gulf between the two disciplines. This is partly because attempts at collaboration have generally focused on the use of music performance as a way of teaching music analysis rather than the use of music analysis as a way of teaching aspects of music performance. This article describes the development of a resource for teaching musical awareness using analytical techniques and assesses how this relates to teachers' own concerns and practices.

This paper reports on the findings related to the possible selves of males who participate in choir. It focuses on the perceptions of participants’ past, present and future identities and the way these interact to influence decisions about choir. The paper is derived from a larger study, set in Australia, which investigated the perceptions of success, notions of masculinity and the impact of possible selves on male choral participation. Four choirs of different age groups were involved: junior school, secondary school, university and community. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, surveys and observational video analysis. Findings demonstrated that the strength of possible selves was influenced by past experience and present self-perception, which impacted future projections of self and subsequent decisions about choir. The research points to the importance of providing positive and fulfilling experiences of choir in school because of its positive impact on individual well being and the active pursuit of desired goals.

Primary school teachers have had to endure a great many changes in the profession over the last decade. Since the advent of the National Curriculum – the most significant change of all – there have been further alterations to the teaching programme. The first was a revision of the National Curriculum itself, followed by the election of a new Government, which rapidly introduced another major change: the prescriptive teaching of literacy and numeracy. To accommodate this, primary schools have had to juggle to maintain a broad and balanced curriculum of foundation subjects. As a result, the position of music has become precarious in some schools; in a study made last summer, evidence from ten respondents shows how it has survived in others. This paper looks at the way these respondents perceive music education, and how the literacy hour, in particular, has affected it. In September 2000, yet another revised curriculum will be introduced. The main problem facing teachers is pressure, but basic training is a key indicator of successful music teaching in primary schools. Since music is such a fundamental education – a belief expressed long ago by Plato, it is vital that we music educators maintain its position in the present-day curriculum.

In this article consideration is given to some of the issues raised in Malcolm Ross's provocative critique of music education and music educators (TJJME, 1995, 12, 185–201). Ross's claim that there is empirical evidence to support a view of school music as a failing arts subject requires closer examination and critical evaluation. Whilst his contention that the arts subjects cannot really be taught in schools is both interesting and challenging, teachers will question some of Ross's underlying pedagogical and aesthetic arguments. They are also likely to conclude that he pays insufficient attention to the many developments that have taken place in the theory and practice of music education.

This paper critiques a traditional approach to music theory pedagogy. It argues that music theory courses should draw on pedagogies that reflect the diversity and pluralism inherent in 21st century music making. It presents the findings of an action research project investigating the experiences of undergraduate students undertaking an innovative contemporary art music theory course. It describes the students’ struggle in coming to terms with a course that integrated composing, performing, listening and analysing coupled with what for many was their first exposure to the diversity of contemporary art music. The paper concludes with suggesting that the approach could be adopted more widely throughout music programs.

Ensemble playing is considered central in specialist higher music education, not least because of its collaborative nature. It is a subject in which students are expected to take significant responsibility for learning together during their many unsupervised ensemble rehearsals. This article reports from a qualitative case study investigating the ways three undergraduate student chamber ensembles negotiate musical problem-solving, emphasizing their listening efforts. Findings reveal four ways of interacting – complete, incomplete, personal and expert negotiations – and also suggest new ways of understanding aural awareness within ensembles. Working from a sociocultural perspective, the study proposes that listening is also a collective phenomenon.

Musical creativity is represented through the activity of “creation” in the curricula for music education in both Montenegrin and Slovenian primary schools. Starting from the assumption that this activity is insufficiently realised, a survey of the teaching practice of the specialist music teachers in the two countries was conducted (N = 154). The obtained results show that creative musical activities are moderately represented in teaching practice and that Slovenian teachers achieve programme-defined goals related to the activities through which pupils create their own music to a greater extent. The results also indicate the particular circumstances that, in real school conditions, make it difficult to systematically realise this activity within regular music classes.

What exactly is the relationship between notation and the music we hear? How has this relationship been affected by the development of first analogue and then digital recording of sound during the present century? This article looks at these issues from the point of view of a composer working with both traditional and unconventional notation and with recorded sound in the electronic music studio. The arguments present a very much condensed and simplified version of a discussion presented in the author's recently published book On Sonic Art.

The teaching of choral conducting does not feature widely within higher education in the UK (Durrant, 1994, 1997). However, in recent years interest has been shown by the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD) in the establishment of centres of choral conducting education in particular institutions around the country. Following recent research on the development of a model of effective choral conducting (Durrant, 1996; Apfelstadt, 1997), this article focuses on some of the key learning processes, methods and procedures that would be central to the development of a choral conducting curriculum in existing and potential higher education courses and programmes. The intention in the design and development of such courses is not primarily to create conductors of elite choral ensembles, but rather to ensure that those entering the teaching profession and directing amateur choral groups in churches and the community have the requisite choral conducting knowledge and skills to facilitate systematic and sustained improvement in the quality of choral activity at these levels.

This article examines a unique music curriculum and assessment environment through the findings of a practical action research project carried out in secondary schools. I address two current international educational issues: the relationship between formal and informal learning in music, and how individuals’ contributions in collaborative groups might be summatively assessed. Following this I present a model of group composing and explain how it was used as a pedagogical tool in secondary music classrooms. The purpose of this was to help students and their teacher to conceptualise collaborative composing, thereby leading to a clearer understanding and more valid assessment of the processes in which they were engaged.

Academic study has become a more significant part of a conservatoire education in recent times, but it has not always informed performance as effectively as it might. There is a need for further development of an academic curriculum that is specifically relevant to performers, in which the links between theory and practice are made explicit rather than expecting students to construct these for themselves. This article reports on research into the integration of theory and practice at Leeds College of Music, UK, using jazz improvisation as a case study. Pilot teaching sessions within two modules explored ways in which students can be encouraged to engage actively with an appropriate academic curriculum that is embedded within a holistic learning experience.