bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Refraining curriculum design
Authors: Major Angela
Published: December 2008

Many music teachers in Secondary Schools, when designing schemes of work, use music elements, concepts and musical devices as a focus for choosing holistic practical activities. The idea behind such a practice appears to be to enable pupils to understand more clearly these concepts through reinforcement in listening and performing activities and through the application of the device to their composing tasks. While still retaining an important place in the curriculum for concepts/music elements, it is suggested that curriculum schemes might be built around the mastery of a wide range of skills. A new way of thinking about curriculum design in music is sought, to enable a more effective musical experience for pupils.
‘How strange the change from major to minor’: musical discourse and musical development
Authors: Hughes Jenny
Published: December 2008

The chief, but by no means the only, means of communication in the classroom is language. Simply because the range of activities in the music lesson are so varied, it follows that teachers and pupils will use language and communication skills in a multiplicity of different ways. This article is an attempt to highlight some of the ways in which language is used in music teaching at different ages and stages, and in different educational settings.
General Practitioners in Music: Monitoring Musicianship Skills Among Intending Secondary Teachers
Authors: Priest Philip
Published: December 2008

Music graduates choosing secondary school teaching as a career and training through one-year post-graduate courses are drawn from an increasingly wide range of degree studies in music and embark on their training year with diverse specialisms and music skills. Yet these students will need to operate as generalists in schools with an ever-widening music curriculum. In this account of procedure in one institution, a view is given of the applied musicianship needed by new teachers and discussion of this invited from all providers of post-school music education and training. Data collected from students who may soon be responsible for music in a school indicate a trend towards improvement in only some areas of musicianship.
A-level Music: a survey of opinions from music lecturers in higher education
Authors: Hurry Pamela
Published: December 2008

This article discusses the results of a nation-wide survey of the extent to which A-level music is valued as a preparation for higher education and for employment in the music industry. The survey was carried out with music lecturers in higher education, personnel in the music industry, and present A-level and undergraduate music students. The investigation revealed a mismatch between what is looked for in a music education at A-level and what is being studied and achieved at this stage. This raises questions about the core of A-level music in relation to our changing social, cultural, economic and educational climate.
Musical education in Russian secondary schools
Authors: Blackford Lena
Published: December 2008

This paper reviews the traditions of teaching school music in Russia and focuses on the music curriculum for comprehensive schools elaborated by the Russian Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. New teaching methods continue to be developed and, despite economic difficulties in Russia, the number of institutes of higher music education remains high compared to that in other countries. As a result Russia has, perhaps, a greater number of highly-qualified musicians, teachers and performers than any other country in the world.
The Experiences, Attitudes and Expectations of Music Students from a Feminist Perspective
Authors: Maidlow Sarah
Published: December 2008

Attempting to explain the mis-match between women's low profile in most music professions and females' success in formal music education, I looked for differences in the attitudes, experiences and expectations of music students. This was done by using repertory grids with relatively small numbers of A-level and undergraduate music students, and postgraduate student teachers with music degrees. Constructivist psychology, of which repertory grid technique is a practical example, offers approaches in harmony with feminist preferences for the meaning people attach to their situation and the usefulness of their interpretation over notions of truth. Thus participants' responses dictate any groupings to emanate from analysis, rather than their being placed in pre-determined categories.

The outcomes of the study suggested, however, that little differentiates female and male musicians, as represented by these music students. Conversely, the results implied that the sexes are inclined to think similarly, insofar as likenesses in their attitudes could be associated with their instrument, and, crucially, that each sex tended to look to mo dels I mentors who reflected their sex as well as instrument. The sexes' inconsistency of achievement might then be explained by differences between sex-role models.
A Holistic Approach to Music Education
Authors: Wright Ruth
Published: December 2008

This paper originates from a research project investigating the effects of a ‘holistic’ approach to music education in the secondary school. It is based upon a case study involving the work of one secondary school music department where a ‘holistic’ approach to the music programme is adopted in that the work in the curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 is used as the basis for extended curricular work. It is concluded that the holistic approach offers an interesting and in many ways educationally beneficial alternative to the more traditional separatist approach to the curriculum and extended curriculum.
Adolescence, Singing Development and National Curricula Design
Authors: Cooksey John M. , Welch Graham F.
Published: December 2008

Adolescence is characterised by a distinctive phase of vocal development which bridges childhood and adulthood. Various research studies over the past twenty years have demonstrated that the physical maturation of the adolescent voice mechanism produces a systematic change in both the male and female singing voice. Longitudinal research data indicate that there are distinctive features to each stage of adolescent voice change and that, with an appropriate matching of repertoire, it is possible for all young people to continue to sing successfully throughout this period. The traditional and stereotypical notion that adolescent male voices ‘break’ is untenable in the light of this research evidence and it is suggested that a concept of adolescent singing voice ‘transformation’ or ‘change’ is a more accurate representation of the physiological reality. It is a weakness of the revised National Curriculum for Music (1995) that it makes no appropriate reference to this unique period of adolescent voice change and, as a result, teachers receive inadequate statutory guidance on the development of singing at Key Stage 3.
Missing solemnis: reforming music in schools
Authors: Ross Malcolm
Published: December 2008

This paper is intended as a sequel to my earlier paper, ‘What's Wrong with School Music? (BJME 1995, 12, 185-201). It carries an account of recent research into the arts in secondary schools which suggests that, despite National Curriculum reforms and innovations, music still lags behind the other arts in the general esteem of students. The paper proposes that the trouble with music in schools is that it has failed to modernise, that is, that it has somehow been impervious to the creative developments in classical and popular music. Robert Witkin's Art and Social Structure (1995) provides a theoretical account of modernism. The baleful influence of Hymns Ancient and Modern on generations of music teachers is condemned. Cited by way of contrast are two examples of a fully modem music education discovered at the Dartington International Summer School of Music. These, it is argued, capture the participatory ethos promoted in the Anthony Everitt's recent Gulbenkian publication Joining In.
My First Year of Teaching
Authors: Elliott David
Published: December 2008

Looking back now at my first year of teaching I am amazed at the wide diversity of activities on which I was launched. As well as teaching the 11–18 age group, I was also organising visits, arranging musical performances both in and out of school, serving on a local committee of the Schools Music Association, organising and accompanying Associated Board practical exams, helping with the day-to-day running of the department when the head left for another job, and still trying to increase my own abilities as a musician. My overwhelming impression is that I was always tremendously busy and nearly always under pressure as the days sped by bringing exams and concerts nearer and nearer.
Jazz in the Classroom
Authors: Spencer Piers
Published: December 2008

Music as a whole is richer for the coming of jazz. Although its natural performing habitat is the night-club rather than the concert-hall, the fact that many recordings have endured in the public consciousness over several decades, and that jazz-lovers return to these recordings again and again to find new and life-enhancing things expressed in their sounds, would seem to indicate that jazz is more than just ‘entertainment’, although, like the music of Haydn, agreat deal of it is very entertaining. Jazz has openedup new realms of expression, and is capable of conveying deep feeling in the subtlest shades. It has also made a major contribution to the language of music, in giving us new approaches to melody, harmony and rhythm, and extending the range of tonal colours for both instruments and the voice. Its extensions of instrumental virtuosity have formed one of its most impressive achievements. Some instruments, the saxophone for example, had to wait for the emergence of jazz before their full potential could be realised. But the repertoires of established instruments such as the trumpet and the piano have also been greatly stimulated by their encounter with jazz. The theoretical side of jazz is rich in new concepts, or new ways of looking at traditional things such as harmony and scale-patterns. These techniques, together with the individualistic ethos of the jazz performing tradition, have had a profound influence on the popular music enjoyed by huge numbers of young people. The musical language of pop music, of rock, reggae, soul, and other styles, is steeped in the grammar and structures originally developed by jazz musicians.
Gifted instrumentalists: how can we recognise them?
Authors: Mills Janet
Published: December 2008

The popular view that ‘the gifted can look after themselves’ is considered with reference to the identification of gifted orchestral instrumentalists. Among agroup of professional orchestral musicians, a substantial number are found to have started lessons on their principal instrument not on their own initiative, but on that of their school. The absence of a ‘method’ for the identification of gifted instrumentalists is considered, and some ways whereby the music teacher may develop an environment in which more gifted instrumentalists identify themselves are suggested.
Traditional Harmony Reassessed
Authors: Pratt George
Published: December 2008

This article begins with a defence of the study of traditional harmony in schools, colleges and universities, despite the welcome and invigorating competition from expanding conceptions of the role and content of music in education, and in society as a whole. But if this study is to retain a place in our curricula it must be taught quickly and effectively. It must limit its demands on teaching time while expanding the techniques for developing facility both in sound and in the symbols used to notate it.
Music as Therapy: Towards an Integrated Experience
Authors: Pavlicevic Mercédès
Published: December 2008

An integrated musical experience is an elusive event whose occurrence is acknowledged – consciously or unconsciously – by all human beings. It comprises numerous interactive factors, any of which can impede or facilitate the move towards musical integration.

The implications exist that all human beings are inherently music-beings, that music is inherently therapeutic and that musical and self-integration are reciprocal. Thus changes in either will be reflected in the other, and when used in a specifically therapeutic way, music will promote self-integration. Acknowledging these implications broadens and enriches the concepts of healing, of teaching, and of music making, so that all who participate in these events can potentially be profoundly moved towards a more integrated creative experience.
The Place of Improvisation in Music Education
Authors: Peggie Andrew
Published: December 2008

‘Improvisation’ is a provocative word. For some the word is synonymous with lack of discipline, absence of intellectual rigour and anti-musical randomness; for others, it embodies life-giving qualities of freedom, spontaneity and natural expression. The polarisation is equally evident in music education circles: those who regard the process in terms of training and appreciation perhaps favouring the former view, while those who tend towards the notion of education through music doubtless endorsing the latter.
A West African Folktale in the Classroom
Authors: Kwami Robert
Published: December 2008

The author describes an investigation into the use of West African folklore in the school curriculum by means of an African folktale which became the basis for a project in the class music lessons. Starting with research into West African folklore, particularly children's stories and songs, in Ghana and Nigeria between 1979 and 1983, music was composed in a basically African style to go with an adaptation of one of the stories.

The practical work in a London primary school investigated ways of minimising the apparent dichotomy between African and Western musics in the curriculum.
Towards the Changing Face of the Conservatoire Curriculum
Authors: Renshaw Peter
Published: December 2008

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.
European Musicians in Conference, Strasbourg 1985
Authors: Chatburn Thomas Edward
Published: December 2008

As musicians from no less than twenty-two European states gathered at Strasbourg in September to discuss Contemporary Music, one began to realise that Europe, in 1985, had already moved beyond the familiar concept of a political and commercial federation. Historically, however, and motivated only by musical opportunity, musicians had for centuries largely regarded Europe as one patch ever since it became possible to travel. But in recent times it has become clear that the new Europe and European organisations which have emerged may, one day, have far-reaching effects upon many aspects of musical life which have hitherto evolved locally or nationally at different paces and in response to widely differing circumstances. By means of this and other conferences, therefore, Europe is beginning to give expression to corporate artistic concerns, and attempting to do so with a single voice as independent nations are gradually transformed into member states and ultimately, one might anticipate, into regions. This process and the means by which it is accompanished (e.g. the organisation of large European conferences) is also viewed cynically by some as political inevitability being transformed into desirability.
Two! Four! Six! Eight! How do we Appreciate? Music Appreciation – Perceiving it, Understanding it
Authors: Mehr Norman , Elrod Lu
Published: December 2008

An accountable program of elementary classroom music must have an educational function. In other words, it must perform an educational service. This involves more than the singing of songs or the attempt to hold the interest of children with ‘fun’ activities.

The educational assumption behind most elementary classroom music programs is that the children through their musical experiences in the classroom will somehow learn to ‘appreciate’ music. The term ‘appreciate’, however, is vague and means different things to different people. Does it mean that children will learn to love the music of the masters by listening to great music on recordings and being told stories about the meaning of the music and the lives of composers? Does appreciating music mean identifying instruments and labeling the form? Does it mean identifying the composer and the period of the music from hearing it? Does it mean naming a certain number of composers and a certain number of the works of each? Does it have anything to do with preference for and liking of the music of the masters?
Applied Ethnomusicology: The Use of Balinese Gamelan in Recreational and Educational Music Therapy
Authors: Sanger Annette , Kippen James
Published: December 2008

As an experiment, a Balinese gamelan was integrated with a summer music course for the physically handicapped. Two ethnomusicologists were invited to demonstrate playing techniques and to teach pieces of gamelan music which were later performed. This article documents the success of the experiment and describes the very considerable potential of the gamelan in general recreational and educational music therapy. More particularly, the essentially non-Western methods of learning and practising adopted on the course encouraged and engendered a broad range of skills in those with little or no previous musical experience, and significantly extended the abilities of the musically trained. The results of this experiment suggest that both music therapists and music educators may be able to extend the range of their work by drawing on certain non-Western musical traditions.
Assessing Musical Performance
Authors: Elliott David
Published: December 2008

The arts pose some particular problems in the field of assessment. In the study reported here, we examined some of the problems performance presents to assessors especially in the context of the GCSE examination, and with reference to the model for assessment given in the APU Report on Aesthetic Development.

A small-scale experiment was devised with the aim of investigating the reliability and different perceptions of judges of musical performances. As well as assessment by professional musicians, we investigated self assessment and assessment by peer-group members. There was a generally high measure of agreement between judges, both in terms of their individual comments and the rank order they each devised. This suggests that there were some objective criteria at work in their assessments. Self-assessments proved very realistic, although those of the peer-group were slightly less so.
The Economic Accountability of Music Education
Authors: Oehrle Elizabeth
Published: December 2008

Music education struggles to survive in countries such as England, United States and South Africa because of the lack of financial support, particularly during economic recessions. To counter this unfortunate situation, well-written books and articles have been appeared over the years, propounding the truth that the arts do have an essential place in the balanced education of children, but these well-founded and constructed arguments continually fall on deaf ears. During economic recessions government planners and educational authorities rationalise that they can afford to do away with the arts because these subjects make little or no difference to the economic welfare of the country.

Information from the best-seller by Peters & Waterman, In Search of Excellence, reveals that the principle characteristics of the managers of excellent companies in the United States are characteristics that concern the creative process of thinking, creative aspects of personality, creative products and environmental conditions. These companies have a positive effect on the United States economy. As the aspect of education which is best equipped to nurture these characteristics is the arts, then it is reasonable to argue that we can not afford to ‘phase out’ music education.

Because education in the United States, England and South Africa is closely linked to the economy, music educators in capitalist countries should begin to argue for the arts from an economic standpoint, as capitalistic societies are orientated primarily toward capital gain. Failing this, we shall have to argue for more fundamental changes in political and economic systems.
Danish Music Education – A Crafts Museum?
Authors: Ketting Knud
Published: December 2008

Evidence suggests that only a very small number of music teachers in Denmark make use of modern compositions; and this in spite of very considerable efforts made by the Danish Music Information Centre to disseminate annotated lists of contemporary works suitable for schools and for private instrumental teaching. The author argues that there is now no excuse for not recognising the importance of the work of living composers; all that we need to do is to play their music!
Music in Use: Responsive Music Listening in the Primary School
Authors: Espeland Magne
Published: December 2008

The author invites us to re-examine the case for ‘music appreciation’ teaching. In a two-year project, ‘Music in Use,’ conducted in Norwegian primary schools, Magne Espeland and his colleagues developed new principles and methods for encouraging children to listen to music of many different styles – including modern instrumental and orchestral music, pop and jazz. Working from the belief that response on the part of the listener is crucial in musical understanding, the project group involved the children with a variety of activities which, while primarily related to the music itself, engaged also with experiences in verbal, visual and kinetic expression.
Music Appreciation through Participation
Authors: Strauss Batia
Published: December 2008

A teaching method is described which is based on activity and participation in relation to recorded musical performances. The principles of repertoire choice are that it should represent various styles; that the expressive content should be in the realm of the emotional world of children; that there should be at least one compositional device in the music which is perceivable from the point of view of students. The relationship of participation and listening is explored through practical illustrations.
Tertiary Music Education in Australia
Authors: Silsbury Elizabeth
Published: December 2008

During the Whitlam years, tertiary education burgeoned in Australia. Colleges of Advanced Education, most of them transformed Teachers' Colleges and unconvinced that their coaches would not turn out to be pumpkins after all, sprang up and/or expanded in city and country districts in all states. A national study carried out in 1977 showed that tertiary music and music education was everywhere healthy and in some places flourishing. In 1980 the Razor Gang went on a surgical rampage, perpetrating amalgamations in the name of economy on the GAEs, and forcing many of them into alliances as unwieldy as they were unholy. In 1987 a national review involving universities as well as GAEs was launched.

Elizabeth Silsbury's article traces those changes, describes their effect on music and takes a punt on what might happen when the dust settles for the third time in less than 20 years.
The Contemporary Instrumentalist
Authors: Wilks John
Published: December 2008

The study of avant-garde music has been largely neglected by instrumental tuition. Yet such work is not necessarily difficult on either the ears or the fingers – provided it is begun at the earliest stages of study. Indeed, it is the delayed introduction that is the cause of many of the problems seen in accepting and enjoying contemporary music. There is need for systematisation and for the composition of suitable music.
Music with Emotionally Disturbed Children
Authors: Packer Yvonne
Published: December 2008

The writers highlights the difficulties relating to the provision of music education in schools for the emotionally and behaviourally disturbed – formerly labelled maladjusted. Often considered un-teachable within junior and secondary schools, such children are assigned to EBD schools or units where, musically speaking, they seem to fall between the two stools of mainstream and special education, unable to reap the benefits of either. The case is argued for the inclusion of music within a programme of therapeutic education based on the writers research within these schools, and recommendations are made as to how music may be made more accessible within this context.
The Value of Music to the Deaf
Authors: Williams Helen
Published: December 2008

This study discusses the deaf person's physical potential to perceive music, and also looks at the technical aids that can increase this capacity. A survey of educational approaches, ranging from preschool to adult education, reveals that the initial step of enjoyable noise-making links them all. Non-musical benefits gained from musical involvement are outlined, and finally the issue of aesthetic appreciation is addressed. How much can music mean to a deaf person?
The Generalist Primary Teacher of Music: a Problem of Confidence
Authors: Mills Janet
Published: December 2008

Why don't more primary teachers teach music? This article describes a study of forty non-specialist primary B.Ed. students over their year-long professional music course. Initially, most students have little confidence in their ability to teach music. As the course progresses, a smaller proportion of students who lack confidence teach music during school experience. A cycle has developed in which student teachers worried about music do not learn to teach it because teachers with similar worries often do not teach it. The author argues that students who lack confidence in music need more encouragement from all those involved in their professional preparation if they are to break out of this cycle.
Case Studies in Music Consultancy
Authors: Allen Sandy
Published: December 2008

This article gives an historical survey of the growth of music consultancy in primary education and follows on from the same author'sMusic Consultancy in Primary Educationpublished in Vol. 5 No. 3 ofBJME.It is postulated that the move towards the teaching of music by the generalist class teacher, supported by the consultant, has evolved gradually as a result of ideological factors, falling rolls and cuts in expenditure. The case studies represent contrasting accounts of music consultancy in operation in two primary schools. The more balanced music education was provided by the class teacher at School A, where the staff and head teacher appeared to be more committed to and more capable of including music in the curriculum.
Of Ditties, Needs and Amnesia–Music and Primary Education in Anambra State, Nigeria
Authors: Okafor Richard C.
Published: December 2008

This paper is an attempt to see whether lofty ideals of sound education are being achieved in primary education since music is a sine qua non. It defines primary school in Nigeria and the general objectives of primary education. It reflects on the type of education the Nigerian child received both in the traditional society and in the colonial era, and the methods used. What role did music play? Furthermore, it looks at the state of music now, and how things went wrong in the middle. It underscores the importance of music in the primary school curriculum and makes recommendations on improvement.
Letters
Authors: Jones Harold
Published: December 2008

Laura Campbell's article (Vol. 5, No. 3, November 1988) seems a little ambivalent. On the one hand she proposes a ‘method’ for harmonising chorales in the style of J. S. Bach; on the other she seems to suggest that this is not in any case an appropriate task for the student.

By implication this raises once again the whole question of the value of ‘imitative’ work as an agent of musical education. Does it teach anything other than knowledge of the particular style involved and if not, does it matter? To take a style even more remote from everyday musical experience, that of Palestrina, I am sure that those of us who devoted a good deal of time to it as students did gain much useful practice in the writing of smooth vocal lines applicable in fields as distant from the idiom of Palestrina as the arrangement of modern light music. In the same way the budding composer can learn from Bach-style chorale harmonisation something of the way in which harmonic considerations interact with the writing of interesting vocal lines, and the compromises that have to be made in the process of fusing the two together. It is true that the principal benefit of this activity is knowledge of Bach's methods in chorale harmonisation, but the same is true of what is now known as ‘pastiche’ work in any idiom; the idea that one can learn a sort of all-purpose abstract harmonic language which can be applied mutatis mutandis to all tonal music from the Baroque to the late Romantic era has now fallen into disrepute. It is worth noting that Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Bruckner all considered it worth their while to work at Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum, a sort of archetypal ‘pastiche’ method. Figured bass, incidentally, is not primarily a method of teaching, but a shorthand performing notation.
From Cage to Glass: Lessons for the Late Twentieth Century
Authors: Campbell Patricia Shehan
Published: December 2008

Because art music of the late twentieth century has received little attention in North American school music settings, this paper proposes a rationale as well as procedures for the teaching of one of its emerging styles: minimalism. A brief historical view of the development of minimalism is offered, the influence of Cage's concepts of music as an ongoing [if indeterminate] process is recognised, and the relationship of minimalism to other musical sytles and genres is noted. Listening lessons for works by composers Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Phillip Glass are devised, along with suggestions for performance and composition experiences in the music classroom. Due to its eclectic nature, including the influence of rock and pop music, instruction in the music of the minimalist composers is viewed as a gateway to other art music styles and techniques of the late twentieth century.
A Zimbabwean mbira: a Tradition in African Music and its Potential for Music Education
Authors: Marx Shirley
Published: December 2008

This article aims to encourage the provision of the Zimbabwean mbira dzavadzimu in schools as a means of experiencing a novel musical system. It provides an outline of the mbira's cultural context within an oral tradition. The basic structure of the mbira pattern is abstracted and represented by four types of notation which makes the music accessible to a range of people. However, the characteristic ‘inherent rhythms’ that emerge kaleidoscopically from patterns and variations throughout performance give the music an elusive quality, the dimensions of which cannot be captured in staff notation. The simplicity of the separate components of a composition can be individually explored on a variety of instruments, while the resultant combination of its interlocking melodic lines is one of complexity and ever-shifting musical images. The mbira introduces a new aesthetic into the classroom and is ideal for both solo and ensemble playing.
Improving on What is Possible with Hearing Aids for Listening to Music
Authors: Dalgarno Gordon
Published: December 2008

There is no difference between the inherent musicality of people with impaired hearing and those with normal hearing. This applies even to the profoundly deaf, provided that music can adequately be perceived. Recognising the shortcomings of hearing aids designed primarily for speech, the author shows how music listening for the deaf can be very considerably improved by using readily available equipment to process sound in particular ways to compensate for different types of hearing deficiency. He observes that some deaf people seem able to perceive music, especially the pitch of notes, more clearly than others who are substantially less hearing impaired. A possible explanation for this paradox is given.
Parents' Views on their Children's Musical Education in the Primary School: A Survey
Authors: Addison Richard
Published: December 2008

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.
Music. Microtechnology and Handicapped People
Authors: Drake Adele , Robinson Judith
Published: December 2008

The Drake Research Project (Music for Disabled People) is a registered charity which has links in London with Eltham College Sixth Form and the music departments at Deptford Green School, Charlton Park Special School and the City University. It is also associated with the Music Technology Group in the University of York, where a research programme is now in progress to develop new technological means to enable disabled children to take part in music making. On 24 November 1989 DRP held its inaugural seminar at Maria Assumpta House, Kensington, London. The seminar included a review of the Project's objectives, reports and demonstrations in the field of music and disability, and an open discussion which raised important questions about multi-disciplinary collaboration and the development of music software/ hardware for special needs users. This article summarizes the principal points to emerge from the seminar sessions.
The Assessment of Composition: Style and Experience
Authors: Green Lucy
Published: December 2008

This article compares two very different GCSE compositions, and various ways to assess them. The type of emphasis which examination boards, teachers and moderators place upon different musical styles, and different musical skills, has radical consequences for the type of marks we are likely to allot; and the system of music education itself throws up some significant ironies concerning the future opportunities of candidates.
Understanding Children's Musical Understanding
Authors: Glover Jo
Published: December 2008

Central to building any picture of children's musical development is the notion of musical understanding. As teachers we need constantly to seek a better understanding of what children's musical understanding involves and how it is acquired and displayed. Indications of how we may need to look at children's work are taken from a 1984–7 Bristol-based research project, and strategies subsequently adopted for use in initial and in-service teacher training are outlined.
Teacher Training for the Future: A Northern Ireland Perspective
Authors: Jarvis Roger S.
Published: December 2008

This article examines the difference between the systems of education in Northern Ireland and on the mainland. For student teachers preparing for the Secondary phase, the isolation of Northern Ireland needs to be counterbalanced. Assisting students to adopt a curriculum philosophy very different from that which underpins their own recent school experiences requires both careful preparation and the support of appropriate classroom experiences. In preparing Primary school teachers to use music in their classroom two issues need to be addressed: the development of musical understanding in students with minimal practical musical skill, and the preparation of specialists to adopt the role of Music Co-ordinator in their schools. Account needs to be taken in the training of all teachers of the cross-curricular themes of Education for Mutual Understanding, Cultural Heritage and Information Technology. Finally, the author proposes a strategy for musical support and development of classroom teachers serving in primary schools.
Young Musicians' Accounts of Significant Influences in their Early Lives. 2. Teachers, Practising and Performing
Authors: Howe Michael J. A. , Sloboda John A.
Published: December 2008

This article reports further qualitative findings of an interview study involving 42 students (aged 10–18) attending a specialist music school, and parents of half of them. The students were encouraged to talk about events and experiences that influenced their progress in learning musical instruments. Observations by the children and their parents concerning perceptions of instrumental teachers, various aspects of practising activities, and attitudes towards performing. These insights complement previous quantitative and qualitative findings (Sloboda and Howe, 1991; Howe and Sloboda, 1991) and contribute descriptive knowledge of the precursors of musical accomplishments.
A reply to the article by Bernarr Rainbow, ‘The Kodály Concept and its Pedigree’
Authors: Vajda Cecilia
Published: December 2008

It is surprising that Mr Rainbow, a Curwen disciple, should offer to write on Kodály's Concept. He did not write his article on this subject, of course, but only dealt with some of the techniques used by Kodály educators to make Kodály's ideas work in practice. Although this fact in itself reveals that the writer cannot differentiate between Kodály's programme and technical means, the title of his article is still misleading, since no one wishing to study the Concept will learn about it from Mr Rainbow's account.
An Approach to the Use of West African Musics in the Classroom Based on Age and Gender Classifications
Authors: Kwami Robert
Published: December 2008

This article proposes age and gender as a way of classifying music; it raises awareness of the importance of age–gender classifications of West African musics; and introduces examples of West African musics.

It is argued that the classifications could help in selecting musics for curricular use: they could be used as a framework to choose African musics for school curricula; while the musical examples may be of some use to teachers. Three curricular perspectives – musical, intercultural and multidisciplinary – are suggested, the first of which draws on African drumming procedures and creative work.
The Philosophical Foundations of Music Education: The Case of Primary Music Education in Australia
Authors: Temmerman Nita
Published: December 2008

Primary music education programme development and implementation is founded on philosophical beliefs about the purpose of music education.

Primary classroom teachers who ultimately have responsibility for development and implementation of the music education programme formulate their philosophical beliefs about the purpose of music education based on a multitude of variables. Whilst their own past music experiences and education assume significance in the formation of a music education philosophy, the primary music curriculum documents provided by education authorities constitute an important source for teachers' current philosophical opinion about the purpose of music education.

Two philosophical arguments have thus far formed the basis of the purpose of music education in the history of the western world, namely, the intrinsic and extrinsic arguments. Primary music curriculum documents have also been based on one (or perhaps both), of these philosophical views about the purpose of music education.

In this article a discussion of the philosophical foundations of music education, with special reference to primary music education in Australia, is presented. Five primary music curriculum documents will be looked at, and commentary given about the current philosophical status of Australian primary music education and the implications for programme development and implementation.
Constructive Creations
Authors: Rooke Marion
Published: December 2008

The author, troubled by doubts about the value for pupils’ general education of violin teaching, sets about finding out, by interview and open discussion, what the problems are, for teachers and pupils alike; and having analysed them, sets herself the task of trying solve some of them.

Encouraging pupils to compose music that will help them overcome their own technical difficulties is a fruitful start, and one that can lead to further developments of great promise for the future of music education. By evaluating the processes and outcomes of this creative work it is possible to throw light and understanding on learning and teaching processes in both violin playing and composition.
The Future of the Arts in Education? Alternative Strategies
Authors: Long Robert
Published: December 2008

Much speculation exists as to the prospect Music and the Performing Arts face in the wake of the 1988 Education Act. Research shows that interaction and fusion, which exist between Music and the Performing Arts, intensify expressive character for young people, and generate more powerful and sustained responses, in comparison with single art forms.

Results of experiments show the value of fused artefacts with significant implications for future Arts education, as regards both making and appraising.
Teaching Music through Individual Composition: A Music Course for Pupils aged Eleven to Eighteen
Authors: Dunn Rosemary
Published: December 2008

In this article I expound my method of teaching the language of music to my pupils. I aim to enable them to express themselves through music, just as they are expected to use the tools of language for creative writing and art materials for original work.

My class organisation and the syllabus by which my pupils learn to compose is explained in some detail for years seven to nine and in more general terms thereafter.

I include examples of compositions, from Year Seven and from GCSE pupils. I hope I can encourage other teachers to adopt similar objectives and therefore reap similar rewards.
Creativity and Special Needs: A Suggested Framework for Technology Applications
Authors: Collins David
Published: December 2008

One of the many roles of music teachers is to stimulate creative thinking and creative activity in their pupils. This obligation to help unlock latent musical talent in young people is no less applicable to the disabled than it is to the able-bodied. Music technology has a central place within this process. There are conditions for creativity, some of which may be precluded from the disabled. It is necessary, therefore, for the special needs music teacher to be aware of these conditions and the way in which a particular disability may bar access to any of them. Those involved in the design of either music hardware or software need to be responsive to these factors, through ongoing collaborative work. This paper was presented at a Conference of the Drake Research Project, University of York, November, 1990.
Music, Sense and Aesthetic Education
Authors: Radford Michael
Published: December 2008

Musical sense is examined at two levels; in relation to human experiences or activity, and by virtue of its ‘form’. Reference in music to experience and activity is discussed in terms of its relationship to musical form. From an analysis of sense in language it is suggested that the social understandings of which music is a part are a source of sense. The origins of this social understanding are examined.

How does this sensible quality come to have aesthetic significance? Music may achieve significance from the way in which it refers to experience. Music that achieves sense by virtue of form is examined in terms of the way that it relates to intellectual needs.
Physical Movement: Its place in Music Education
Authors: Young Susan
Published: December 2008

The author calls for the physical, kinesthetic sense, to be recognised and understood for its role in all musical experience, on a par with our mental capacities, and also suggests that it is the missing, yet essentially vitalising part, of what might be called a ‘whole human’ response to and engagement with music. This thinking is applied to support an emerging theory of practice, which takes its original inspiration from the principles of Dalcroze Eurhythmics: principles which have been adapted and developed to meet the changing needs of contemporary education.
Music Education in France in Primary Schools
Authors: Authelain Gérard
Published: December 2008

‘Le musicien intervenant’ is a concept that has been developed in France especially to increase the scope of musical education, particularly in the elementary and pre-elementary schools. The ‘intervenants’ are not substitute teachers but are trained to work with school teachers as part of a team, offering children a high quality introduction to music. Intervenants also help to develop other musical activities in the localities where they work. Nine institutions throughout France (Centres de Formation de Musiciens Intervenant – CFMI) offer diploma courses. The author of this article is Director of the Centre at Lyon. He outlines his philosophy of music education, and describes some important aspects of his work – notably the commissioning of compositions that exploit contemporary musical ideas but are easily accessible for all children.
Does context or color improve object recognition in patients with low vision?
Authors: BOUCART MURIEL , DESPRETZ PASCAL , HLADIUK KATRINE , DESMETTRE THOMAS
Published: December 2008

Most studies on people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have been focused on investigations of low-level processes with simple stimuli like gratings, letters, and in perception of isolated faces or objects. We investigated the ability of people with low vision to analyze more complex stimuli like photographs of natural scenes. Fifteen participants with AMD and low vision (acuity on the better eye <20/200) and 11 normally sighted age-matched controls took part in the study. They were presented with photographs of either colored or achromatic gray level scenes in one condition and with photographs of natural scenes versus isolated objects extracted from these scenes in another condition. The photographs were centrally displayed for 300 ms. In both conditions, observers were instructed to press a key when they saw a predefined target (a face or an animal). The target was present in half of the trials. Color facilitated performance in people with low vision, while equivalent performance was found for colored and achromatic pictures in normally sighted participants. Isolated objects were categorized more accurately than objects in scenes in people with low vision. No difference was found for normally sighted observers. The results suggest that spatial properties that facilitate image segmentation (e.g., color and reduced crowding) help object perception in people with low vision.