On Music in Education: Observations of a Music Teacher
More Than Music
I have taught music in various different ways for over twenty- five years.
I sit at my piano and observe the individual learning process on an almost daily basis.
I stand in front of class groups and notice the effects of communal music-making and performance several times a week.
I watch my own children learn to play instruments and listen to them as they discover themselves and develop their personal music tastes over the years.
I am still exploring my own musical journey which seems to change direction in each decade.
I know I am submerged in a particular world: I have no other paradigm from which to work. I am only just beginning to realise that my norms are not generalisations. I consistently see the many ways in which musical involvement and participation produce results that are commonplace to me but, I am beginning to realise, surprising to others.
Take the decisions made for our children in education. I am frequently astonished that music is relegated to the bottom of the list when it comes to prioritising subjects deemed important for this generation of school children. It seems unbelievable to me that the value of a musical education can be seen as so limited that it ceases to have any weight in contemporary education.
In a recent Guardian article, Music education is now only for the white and the wealthy, Charlotte Gill clearly appreciates the unique place music and the performing arts plays in education. Her article highlights the dwindling numbers taking music at GCSE and A-level and sees this as a cause for concern. However, her argument that music is made inaccessible by the more difficult theoretical aspects and the way these are taught is surely missing the point. Yes, music notation is one aspect of a musical education and is probably necessary at some point if classical music is the goal. But lots of music education happens before pupils ever see a note on a stave.
In my experience, when pupils make any music together, whether singing or playing, the broader benefits are significant and far more diverse than simply learning to read music and master technique. I see countless examples of the positive impact musical education and participation can have emotionally, socially and physically. I am frustrated that this does not seem to feature in the government’s agenda for music in education.
Unfortunately I see all too often children’s experience narrowed down to maths and literacy in primary school, with the addition of science, a humanity and possibly a language (if you’re lucky) at secondary school.
Participation in music affects all other aspects of learning. On-going research continues to reveal the unique effect musical performance has on the brain.
If those responsible for deciding schools’ curricula and league table criteria were informed by this increasing body of research and fully embraced the value of musical education for the wider curriculum, results in all subjects could be enhanced and the well-being of young people improved. I see this happening in the schools where I work in which music and performing arts are an integral part of educational life. Pressure groups such as Bacc for the Future are working hard to highlight the importance of arts subjects in education and striving to ensure their place in the English baccalaureate.
In my next few blog posts I am going to write about my observations as a music teacher and my reflections on how music-making can achieve so much more than just the music.
Photo credit:
Jason Rosewell: https://unsplash.com/photos/ASKeuOZqhYU
