Music is one of the oldest of school subjects – the long tradition of musical studies as a valued component of a liberal or general education can be traced back to the earliest civilizations and classical cultures – yet its place in education has often been uncertain and sometimes the topic of controversy. At certain periods in history the performing arts have been thought of as social rather than educational activities, and therefore of only marginal significance in schools. On occasion, influential figures have voiced strong opposition to music on the grounds that the arts are mere entertainment and do not warrant attention in institutions where the chief concern should be the cultivation of intellectual capacity.
A survey of national educational systems reveals that it is now surprisingly rare to find schools where musical pursuits, of one sort or another, do not feature as part of the regular programme. In most countries children are likely to receive some type of musical instruction within the context of their general education. During the 20th century there was a worldwide expansion in instrumental tuition and increasing opportunities for pupils of all ages to participate in a range of corporate activities; many schools are known for their choirs, orchestras and bands, some of which perform to a very high standard. Even so, provision is extremely variable both within and across systems. Opinion remains divided over the educational value of music; consequently, any consideration of its position in schools not only raises issues about how the subject is organized and taught, but also more general questions about the nature and purpose of education itself.
II. From the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century
III. From the 19th century: the growth of music in schools
CHARLES PLUMMERIDGE
The earliest types of schools, established in Egypt and the city-states of Mesopotamia during the 3rd millennium bce, provided a strict form of vocational education and training for scribes and priests. These groups comprised an intellectual élite who, as guardians of knowledge and religious tradition, played a vital role in ensuring social and economic stability and the perpetuation of the culture. For the small number of children from the ruling classes chosen to receive a formal education, elementary programmes of study consisted of reading, writing, religion and mathematics; higher forms of education included practical sciences, law, medicine and astrology. To what extent musical studies might have formed part of school curricula is far from certain. Archaeological and historical research findings indicate that, in the Old World civilizations, vocal and instrumental performance together with dancing and drama featured strongly in rites and ceremonies; indeed, there is sufficient evidence to support the view that the arts constituted powerful forms of experience and meaning, and that musical activities often had greater social import than in modern times. However, the idea that education should reflect all aspects of the culture had limited relevance at a time when educational processes were necessarily utilitarian and bound up with the technical and religious demands of society. During the first Egyptian dynasties, singing and dancing of a devotional nature appear to have been given some attention in the upbringing of aristocratic and royal persons, but only as ‘additional’ pursuits. And in spite of their undoubted enjoyment of the arts, the Egyptian nobility always remained slightly nervous of active participation in music and dancing. Too much direct involvement could be dangerous since it might easily promote a certain weakness of character and even a tendency towards effeminacy.
Throughout the ancient world musical pursuits became specialisms; young men and women were trained, often as apprentices, to be professional performers and would have found employment in a variety of religious and secular settings. Liturgical practices called for systematic musical instruction. Ancient Sumerian texts reveal choir training in the temple of Ningarsu at Lagash as early as 3000 bce; in Babylonian times (19th–13th centuries bce) responsorial temple chanting became increasingly elaborate, and ceremonies also included instrumental elements which must have required expert tuition and direction. By the beginning of the New Kingdom in Egypt (1580 bce) music was being acknowledged as a moral force, and it therefore acquired a new educational significance. Of course, those holding positions of power and influence demanded that young children be exposed to the sort of musical experiences that would foster virtuous behaviour; not surprisingly, programme content, and especially the song repertory, came under the strict control of the priesthood. During the Chaldean period (7th–6th centuries bce) music became associated with the more academic and speculative studies of astrology and mathematics; it is possible that the emerging theories of harmonics were known in the late 6th century to Pythagoras, who travelled widely in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Ancient Chinese education was always characterized by its essentially secular nature and strongly influenced by powerful groups of scholars. The concept of the educated man became the morally sensitive citizen who would serve his ruler faithfully, recognize his duty towards the people over whom he had authority, and be equipped with the administrative skills required for the task of government. Such a view may have underpinned educational practices well before the Zhou dynasty (1122–256 bce). It became the foundation of the educational system established and disseminated in the 6th century bce by Confucius and his followers, who, believing in the direct relationship between rigorous academic studies and harmonious social order, built on what they regarded as worthy scholastic traditions. The pattern of an ideal, school-based education, largely for the ruling classes but open to others who demonstrated an appropriate aptitude, focussed on the promotion of the six Virtues and the six Good Actions through the study of the six Arts; these comprised rituals, music, archery, charioteering, writing and mathematics. All elements of the Great Learning (Daxue) were essential components of an education which aimed at the harmonious integration of mind, soul and body, with the principles of harmony and order applying to the individual, the family and the state. Within the Confucian system corporate music-making was valued as a means of promoting the disciplined character. Dancing and singing fostered refinement, with the learning of particular dances becoming part of the educative process at certain key stages. It is likely that Confucius used folk and dynastic songs contained in the Classic of Odes (Shijing) for the purpose of instruction; tuition on flutes, bells, zithers and percussion also probably formed part of the curriculum.
Inevitably, parallels will be drawn between Chinese and Greek traditions. The education of the Homeric knight in arms and horsemanship, sports, dance, singing and instrumental performance may be compared to the Confucian pattern, but the Greek ideal (at its best) is the man of valour who is well informed, objective in his thinking, gracious of manner and appreciative of artistic beauty. For the Greeks, music and instruments were the invention and gift of the gods and therefore to be respected and cherished. From about 2000 bce an extensive and sophisticated culture existed on the isle of Crete, where choral and instrumental music together with dancing became indispensable features of both religious and secular ceremonies and festivals. Crete was well known for its rich artistic life. Lycurgus, the partly mythical legislator, is said to have introduced many of its traditions to Sparta, and musical activity flourished during the 7th century bce. Spartan musicians and music teachers of the period enjoyed a high reputation throughout the Greek world. The preservation of the heroic past through song was central to the process of education, often for both boys and girls, and the growth of choral instruction probably contributed to the establishment of schools. Even during the harsh years of the 6th century when Spartan education became highly militaristic, musical studies remained important, though as an aspect of character training rather than a form of aesthetic experience. Playing the lyre, singing and dancing continued to be included in a course of instruction designed for the purpose of moulding the young citizen. The fact that music was retained as part of the educational process in such unlikely circumstances is an indication of its deep significance in the ancient Greek psyche.
From the 7th century bce the education of the Athenian youth included dance and choral singing as well as tuition on the lyre and aulos. The learning and performing of heroic songs accompanied by the lyre was a long-established custom and was valued as both a musical and a spiritual experience. Methods of teaching relied largely on imitation and repetition, with the education of the aristocracy usually being provided for on an individual basis; group tuition for a wider middle-class population became increasingly common and well established by the 5th century. Plato's emphasis on the value of musical studies is well known and is frequently cited by present-day educationists as a justification for the subject within the curriculum, although presumably few would subscribe to the metaphysical and social aspects of his educational theory. It is also necessary to recognize that the Greek mousikē often has a wider meaning, but references to melody and rhythm clearly denote music in the modern sense. In the Platonic scheme, education of the Guardians would focus in the early years on literature, music and gymnastics with the ultimate aim of producing the balanced, well-rounded and reasoning individual. Association with artistic beauty during childhood would prepare the student, almost unconsciously, to recognize and value the beauty of reason itself (Republic, iii, 401). Music also served an important social function since it contributed to the formation of character (ēthos). Consequently, at the Academy certain types of music were favoured and others proscribed; words of songs had to be carefully chosen and combined with fitting mode and rhythm so as to foster courage and moderation and avoid the possibility of corruption. Like Plato, Aristotle saw music as having the power to ‘induce certain conditions of the mind’, but he offered a broader and less prescriptive view of musical education based on two guiding principles. First, in the Lyceum, music should be regarded not as useful or necessary, as reading and writing were, but as a way of providing an occupation for leisure (scholē). This was no mere recreation but an activity which could be regarded as ‘elevated and gentlemanly’ and involved working at something intrinsically worthwhile. Secondly, singing and the playing of the lyre and kithara would enable the individual to make properly informed musical appraisals: ‘it is difficult, if not impossible, for those who do not themselves perform to become good judges of others’ (Politics, viii).
Plato and Aristotle were committed to preserving what they regarded as a noble tradition of non-specialist pursuits and saw no educational merit in the growing tendency towards individual instrumental virtuosity, much acclaimed in musical circles. As aristocrats, they emphasized liberal studies and the development of persons; they thoroughly opposed any form of specialized education directed towards some extrinsic end such as a career in politics. Many of their ideas came to fruition during the Hellenistic age, although practical music lost its earlier significance and was replaced by studies in rhetoric. Choral singing remained popular, but the teaching of music as a discipline tended to become increasingly theoretical. The focus moved to a study of Pythagorean principles which would be further developed as a component of the medieval Quadrivium. Aristoxenus, a pupil of Aristotle, and one of the most important of the Greek music theorists, regretted that harmonics had assumed such a place in education and at the expense of practical activities; once again, music-making became more the business of the professional and remained so during the Greco-Roman period.
Roman attitudes towards music in a system of education founded on family values, the interests of the state, a respect for the great figures of the past and military training, were always markedly different from those of the Greeks. Schools had existed from the 5th century bce, but it is unlikely that musical studies formed part of the curriculum until some 300 years later when Greek ideals started to influence the outlook of the Roman conquerors. Some pupils received music theory lessons and kithara tuition. Music was never compulsory, although it appears to have been taken quite seriously since pupils who opted for the subject were required to sit for regular examinations. Musicians enjoyed a relatively high status in Roman society and teachers received good salaries. Nevertheless, the aristocracy looked upon music with some reservation since it continued to be regarded essentially as a form of entertainment provided by professional performers. Consequently, musical pursuits could hardly be considered suitable in the education of upper-class young men destined to assume positions of authority. Women of noble families might sing and play instruments, but only in a limited and modest way. By the beginning of the Empire, however, many wealthy Romans had come to regard instrumental performance as a skill worth cultivating. Nero, Hadrian, Verus and Commodus were all accomplished amateurs; their public commitment and approval must have further raised the status of music and musicians. Even so, practical music-making received little attention as an educational activity; it was theoretical music that became the focus for more serious studies.
2. Renaissance and Reformation.
Schools, §II: From the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century
There was a tendency among members of early Christian communities to view the ‘old’ classical education with a certain suspicion because of its association with the study of what was judged to be a pagan mythology. In consequence, the first monastic schools did not offer a liberal education but concentrated mainly on an ascetic form of moral and spiritual training. Other groups within the church, particularly the Christian Platonists, emphasized the need for scholarly studies as a necessary means of cultivating a mature and deeper understanding of the faith. Although practical music was not valued as it had been by the Greeks, and therefore seldom featured in formal courses of instruction, the Judeo-Christian tradition of psalm and hymn singing always provided an important medium for worship; and the founding of the Schola Cantorum in Rome during the 4th century ensured firm and lasting connections between music, the liturgy and education. The song schools subsequently set up throughout Europe for the purpose of disseminating Roman church music were to have a permanent effect on the general development of music teaching in educational institutions.
Between the 5th and 8th centuries frequent invasions led to the partial collapse of the Western Empire, and a consequent decline in educational provision, but even in those dark and troubled times Christian scholars kept alive and promoted classical learning. Following Martianus Capella, Boethius and Cassiodorus in Rome, Isidore in Spain and Bede in England re-emphasized the fundamental importance of the seven liberal arts and the special value of music in philosophical and theological studies. Boethius (c480–c524), a key figure in the evolution of musical education, translated a number of Greek philosophical writings and thereby forged a link between classical ideals and medieval thinking. In the celebrated treatise De institutione musica he establishes the distinctions between musica mundana, musica humanaand musica instrumentalis. Music is an essential part of the human condition and a means of blending soul and body: ‘music is so naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it even if we so desired’ (bk 1, 181). In the spirit of Plato, Boethius draws attention to music's power to ennoble or corrupt, and therefore advocates for educational purposes the experience of those modes which are ‘vigorous and simple’. But the highest form of musical study is ‘rational speculation’ – that is, gaining knowledge of universal harmony through the faculty of reason. Thus music studies became theoretical or, more precisely, numerical. The writings of Boethius were acknowledged as standard texts and had a major impact on the teaching and learning of music for at least 1000 years.
Missionary teachers trained in Rome founded schools in Ireland, England and other parts of Europe. Monastic and song schools often existed side by side. In the former, prayers, contemplation and the learning of Latin grammar constituted the core programme, although even at the most austere institutions a certain amount of instruction and practice in the singing of the services was often part of the course of study. Famous song schools were established at Canterbury, York, Metz and Rouen, with rigorous choral and liturgical training as the central components of the curriculum. Until the Reformation such schools were necessities for all monasteries and cathedrals. Life for the students was often hard and highly disciplined. A demanding schedule of services and basic academic studies left little time for any sort of recreational activity: choristers needed to be fully acquainted with liturgical practices and procedures, and a relatively complicated repertory of psalms, antiphons, Ordinaries and Propers had to be learnt by rote. It was not until the 11th century that music teaching and learning moved away from a purely oral and aural tradition.
The general instability of society during the early Middle Ages adversely affected academic standards in the schools for clergy. On his accession to the Frankish throne in 768, Charlemagne determined to improve the scholastic achievements of those in holy orders. Musical reforms featured as part of the development plan and included the creation of several new song schools. In his capitulary of 789 Charlemagne charged that the ‘psalms, the notes, the chant’ should be taught throughout the kingdom. In order to realize his aims he imported foreign scholars, one of the most illustrious being Alcuin (b c735) of York, whose reputation as a teacher and a man of letters was well known throughout the Christian world. Serving as master of the Palace School and later as abbot of Tours (796–804), Alcuin organized monastic schools for clergy and laity. Steeped in classical principles, he naturally subscribed to the view that strong minds would heighten understanding of the scriptures. Consequently, his educational programmes focussed on a thorough and systematic study of the seven liberal arts, thereby establishing the Trivium and Quadrivium as the standard curriculum for medieval institutions. Alcuin placed stress on the need for preparation in liturgical chant as part of a priest's education, but it is apparent that he valued theoretical and practical music as a means of enhancing not only worship but also the quality of daily life. The tradition of scholarly and musical pursuits continued to be promoted by his pupils, especially at the monasteries of Ferrières, Auxerre, St Amand, Reichenau and St Gallen.
After Charlemagne the empire suffered further destabilization as a result of renewed invasion and internal conflicts. In spite of the damaging consequences for education and educational institutions, the monks maintained an interest in theoretical music and the practice of psalmody, and constantly strove to improve standards of worship. Some taught choristers to sing intervals using the monochord, and a number experimented with various types of notation. The Benedictine Guido of Arezzo (c991–1034 or later) made an important contribution to the development of the notational system with the extension of the staff, and through his far-sighted use of solmization choirboys came to read melodies accurately. Musical instruction, often based on question and answer methods, expanded to include the study of the modes and mensural notation. Guido's creative innovations were to influence the teaching of music for the following six centuries, and his pedagogical techniques formed the basis of the movable doh system, which was to become an integral part of various teaching methods in the 19th century and beyond.
The founding of universities throughout western Europe from the 12th century onwards led to an increase in grammar and song schools; many were associated with cathedrals, collegiate churches and chantries as well as the universities themselves. Schools were also endowed by craft and merchant guilds, and some were attached to hospitals. With a growing secularization of education, musical studies in the grammar schools were often reduced; however, theoretical music remained part of the Quadrivium, and the need to prepare pupils adequately for the divine services meant that a certain amount of liturgical singing continued to be included in the curriculum. For boys of high rank education often took place at the courts of the nobility. Here the aim was to inculcate the intellectual, personal and social qualities expected of the worthy Christian knight. In addition to classical studies, instruction typically included singing, lute playing and poetry reading; such practices were in keeping with the rise of humanist thought at the end of the Middle Ages. The notion of artistic accomplishment as a mark of the educated aristocrat finds full expression in Baldassare Castiglione's Il libro del cortegiano (1528).
Schools, §II: From the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century
The Renaissance ideal of the educated man as one who would display a sense of grace and elegance as well as good artistic taste gained wide approval throughout Europe. In a desire to move away from medieval principles and the influence of the church, educational innovators sought to combine classical learning with the needs of contemporary society. Music teaching tended to focus more on practical than on speculative studies. The Spanish humanist and teacher Juan Luis Vives (1492–1540), a pupil of Erasmus but with a broader educational vision than his famous master, commended the study of music and declared that young men should receive both theoretical and practical tuition (Tradentis disciplinis, 1531, bk 4, chap.5). Vives visited England on several occasions, and his ideas led to the introduction of musical instruction in a number of the prominent new grammar schools. Richard Mulcaster (1530–1611), headmaster of the renowned Merchant Taylors' School in London, was one of several leading educational reformers who advocated singing, together with tuition on the virginals and lute, as part of a liberal curriculum. In his educational treatise Elementarie (1582) Mulcaster outlined a comprehensive programme, and his classically inspired views on the content of education might have appeared to augur well for the future development of musical instruction in English schools. However, religious and political conflicts were having dramatic effects on educational policies and practices. One outcome of the Reformation was that provision for music started to decline, largely as a result of the closure of song schools and institutions associated with monasteries and chantries. Choir schools attached to the Oxford and Cambridge colleges, St George's Chapel, Windsor, and a number of other foundations were not affected, but for the majority of those young people to whom schooling was available opportunities for learning music were severely curtailed. In spite of Mulcaster's vision and enthusiasm, the grammar schools, apart from such notable exceptions as Christ's Hospital and Penrith Grammar, had neither the resources nor the inclination to include music in their curricula.
Although the Reformation can be said to have inhibited the growth of school music teaching throughout England, the situation in other Protestant countries proved to be markedly different. Because of the close bond between church and community, music became a foundation subject with singing and worship forming a central part of the regular curriculum in Lutheran and Calvinist schools. Philipp Melanchthon, who was charged with the organization of the Lutheran educational system, ensured proper and systematic musical instruction with lessons usually being held during the first hour after the midday meal. For Luther, music was not only essential to the praise of God but worthwhile in itself, and a powerful spiritual activity which could ward off the forces of darkness. A fine example of the expected course of study is Martin Agricola's Ein kurz deudsche Musica (1528). Intended for the boys at the Lateinschule in Magdeburg, the programme comprises musical theory and progressive exercises to be followed over a period of ten years. The importance attached to music as both a curriculum subject and an extra-curricular pursuit in the Lutheran schools was to have a powerful influence on national musical developments over the following two centuries.
School music teaching in Catholic countries from the mid-16th century often remained tied to medieval practices. The French and Spanish choir schools maintained high standards, and curricula included counterpoint studies and instrumental tuition, but in such rural areas where schools existed provision for music varied considerably and was often little more than singing by rote. In Bohemia, a country with strong musical traditions, choral training and instrumental teaching were regular components of the school programme, and all elementary teachers were expected to have a certain level of musical expertise. At the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, founded during the 16th century, orphaned and abandoned girls were educated at the city's expense, with talented students receiving intensive vocal training and instrumental tuition. Vivaldi composed orchestral and choral works for them, and the high standards achieved by the figlie di coro were widely recognized and applauded. Edward Wright, a British visitor during the 1720s, spoke highly of the music in the school, and Charles Burney was impressed by performances he attended some 50 years later. Burney also commented favourably on the fine singing of choirs for poor children in southern Germany established by members of the Jesuit order. The Jesuits are not generally known for an interest in the arts, and it is sometimes suggested that they were contemptuous of music. In fact, musical studies related to liturgical practices prospered during the 16th century at the Collegio Germanico in Rome. Music was never a standard subject in the Jesuit pre-university schools, but extra-curricular dramatic productions involving music became very popular especially in Italy, France and the German-speaking Catholic states. By the middle of the 17th century there were over 300 Jesuit schools throughout Europe at most of which it became common practice to stage a play, usually based on a biblical story or the life of a saint, at some stage of the academic year. Songs and choruses, often with orchestral accompaniment, that brought together opera and church music styles, and even ballet at times, became important features of these productions, many of which were technically innovatory and elaborate. The Society of Jesus was always a controversial order and a strong Counter-Reformation force. Dramatic performances had educational, religious and propagandist functions, but through these presentations students and a wider congregation remained in contact with music. As part of their overseas mission the Jesuits introduced music and drama in Brazil, Venezuela, Peru and other Latin American countries during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Schools, §II: From the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century
Although the teaching of music in English schools received little support during this period, Renaissance ideals continued to influence the middle and upper classes. Singing and instrumental competence, especially for young women, came to be regarded as desirable social skills. Such publications as Morley's Plaine and Easie Introduction (1597) and Charles Butler's Principles of Musik (1636) were welcomed by amateurs as useful introductions to practical music and remained popular for almost two centuries. However, English educational thought during the Enlightenment years was characterized by utilitarian and materialistic tendencies. The arts were often looked upon as mere diversions, and some people considered musical activities to be trivial and time-wasting. John Locke's decision to give ‘last place’ to music in his list of accomplishments (Some Thoughts concerning Education, 1693) illustrates the changing attitude of many British academics. Even Burney, nearly 100 years later, was describing music as nothing more than ‘an innocent luxury, unnecessary indeed to our existence’ (‘Definitions’, A General History of Music). Similarly, Cardinal Newman thought of musical activity as a pleasant recreation but not educational since it did not ‘cultivate the intellect’ (Discourse VI, Discourses on the Scope and Nature of University Education, 1852). These attitudes have been remarkably influential, and it could be argued that, in spite of subsequent advances during the 19th and 20th centuries, such views continue to permeate modern educational thinking and contribute to music's relatively lowly status as a curriculum subject.
The Pilgrims and Puritans arriving in the New World during the first decades of the 17th century organized schools to provide basic instruction in reading and religion. They brought with them a tradition of worship that included singing, and they valued music as a secular pursuit. But education had to be practical and directed towards survival in a frequently hostile environment; consequently, there was no place for music as a school subject. By the beginning of the 18th century, however, a concern for better congregational singing, in a rapidly expanding society, led to the formation of singing schools in New England, New York and Pennsylvania. These consisted of occasional classes conducted by peripatetic instructors in churches, people's homes or whatever other accommodation might be available. As well as vocal training the teacher dealt with rudiments of music and sight-reading. The singing-school movement, which marked the beginnings of North American music education, appealed to large numbers of the population and continued in some places into the early years of the 20th century.
In spite of the popularity of amateur music-making throughout Europe the 18th century could not be described as a period of growth with regard to school music. Negative attitudes were by no means confined to England, and some of the previously flourishing European centres were fast declining. Music in the German Lateinschulen was often impoverished and marginalized as a result of an emphasis on languages and sciences. The content of educational programmes reflected growing business and commercial interests and the arts subjects suffered neglect. There were, of course, important schools that were well known for their musical traditions, one of the most notable being the Thomasschule in Leipzig. Even so, when Bach was appointed Kantor (1723) he found social, professional and financial conditions far from satisfactory. Schools for the poor in Italy and France that had previously concentrated on music now turned their attention to other matters.
Towards the end of the century the idea of universal education and the need for national systems was attracting support from an increasing number of politicians and social reformers. Such a policy had been widely advocated by several leading intellectuals for well over 100 years. The most significant figure was the religious leader and educational theorist Jan Ámos Komenský (1592–1670), who had outlined plans for universal primary and secondary education in which music would play a major part at all stages. Although Komenský’s proposals had been well received and were influential in several countries, it was not until the 19th century that serious attempts were made, on a wider scale, to translate these educational theories into policy and practice.
1. National systems of education.
5. Theory, research and curriculum development.
Schools, §III: From the 19th century: the growth of music in schools.
During the 19th century most European governments started to assume greater responsibility for educational policy and provision and subsequently established national systems. At a time of rapid industrial advancement, basic literacy and numeracy became a priority for the growing numbers of people engaged in new types of employment, but universal education was seldom conceived as a purely instrumental enterprise. Emerging theories and ideologies led to fundamental changes in attitudes towards children, the nature of teaching and the purposes of schooling. It was in a climate of social reform and educational expansion that music became established as a school subject and the foundations were laid for modern patterns of curriculum organization and teaching.
Links between religious and educational practices remained strong at the beginning of the century. In Russian elementary schools, for example, the reading of the scriptures and practice of liturgical chant were curriculum requirements after legislation of 1819. Church leaders, especially those in Britain, the USA, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, regularly referred to the need for school singing classes as a way of improving congregational participation at divine worship. Certainly, contemporary accounts portray standards of singing as being depressingly low, and no doubt many people of a musical disposition would have agreed with Thomas de Quincey's cynical observation that ‘the psalmody in most [English] parish churches is a howling wilderness’. There is evidence to support the view that the teaching of music did have some positive effects on the quality of congregational singing in Britain and America, but to what extent the reformers achieved their goals is debatable. Nevertheless, the almost unquestioned acceptance of a correlation between class singing in schools and enhanced church worship continued to influence the choice of lesson repertory for at least the next 150 years.
For many 19th-century European reformers, musical studies were associated with the strengthening of moral values and the improvement of social behaviour. In his Manual of Instruction in Vocal Music (1833) the Englishman John Turner set out to clarify the rudiments of music as a way of assisting people to understand and perform church music, but he also saw the study of music and engagement in musical activities as healthy leisure pursuits for the working classes which could provide much needed alternatives to the ‘vicious indulgences’ of the day. Music was thus conceived as a useful agent of social change and control and as such warranted a place in elementary education. Related to moral development was the notion of transfer of learning. Goethe, proposing a type of education suited to the ‘new’ times in Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre (1821–9), argued that the study of music could be a way of cultivating not only moral awareness but also ability in writing and number. Similarly, the French music teacher Guillaume Louis Bocquillon Wilhem held that children who have learnt music exhibit ‘greater powers of application’ as well as the agreeable personal qualities of courtesy and good conduct (Manuel musical, ?1836). That the study of music is of benefit to general academic performance is a theme that appears frequently in 19th-century educational writings. It is a compelling ‘theory’, and one that continues to receive support from musicians and educationists. Music was also valued as a way of preserving the cultural heritage and promoting a sense of national identity. This was particularly so in east European states, although the practice of singing nationalistic and patriotic songs appealed to many politicians of the period.
Ideas about the importance of musical experience as part of a general education received endorsement from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827) and F.W.A. Froebel (1782–1852), all of whom had a strong impact on educational thought and policies. Music, in their schemes of ‘child-centred’ education, was valued not so much for its possible contribution to moral development, but as a form of experience and self-expression in an education designed to extend children's intellectual potential, imaginative powers and sense of the aesthetic.
Schools, §III: From the 19th century: the growth of music in schools.
Many of the group teaching methods of the 19th century were informed by three basic principles derived from the theories and practices of Rousseau and Pestalozzi. First, the acquisition of musical literacy skills was regarded as prerequisite to the growth of musical understanding. Secondly, sounds were to be introduced before symbols. Thirdly, children needed a form of instruction suited to their age and stage of intellectual maturity; this usually involved the use of an ‘interpreting’ notation such as Rousseau's figure system. These various ideas influenced the methods of the Swiss teachers Michael Traugott Pfeiffer and Hans Georg Nägeli and also Carl August Zeller (1774–1846) in some of the German states. The American educator Lowell Mason, inspired by Pestalozzian principles, played a prominent role in establishing music in public schools between 1830 and 1860. As a result of Mason's determined advocacy the Boston School Committee (1838) included music as a regular elementary-school subject on the grounds of its intellectual, moral, physical and recreational benefits; other major American cities gradually adopted a similar policy.
French methods for teaching sight-singing were often based on the rather more formal and traditional approach of Wilhem, who employed monitors to instruct groups using carefully graded songs and exercises. He achieved much success in popularizing sight-singing throughout France; British administrators and educationists, impressed by the methods of continental teachers, invited John Hullah to introduce programmes of musical instruction in schools and teacher-training institutions. Hullah modified the fixed-doh system of music reading used by Wilhem and organized classes for teachers and pupils across the country; his stylish demonstration lessons proved highly successful and generated considerable public interest. As a teacher and school inspector Hullah made a notable contribution to the founding of class music teaching, and his ideas were also taken up by the Australian educators William Wilkens and George Allan. However, Hullah's much publicized method was eventually superseded by those that made use of the seemingly more manageable movable doh. The French challenge to the fixed doh came from the pedagogy devised by Pierre Galin and further developed and promoted by Aimé Paris with his sister Nanine and her husband, Emile Chevé. Galin employed a figure notation similar to that of Rousseau, and the Galin-Paris-Chevé method was adopted throughout Europe for over 50 years. It found particular approval with teachers in Scandinavian countries, where hymnbooks were often published in figure notation. One of the lasting innovations of the method was the Langue des durées, or ‘French time names’ as they are now known, which have been incorporated into several other teaching systems. The best-known literacy methodologist of the 19th century, and probably the most influential, was John Curwen. A ‘progressive’ educator of great insight but without specialist musical expertise, Curwen drew on and adapted a number of teaching techniques, especially those concerned with pitch discrimination evolved by the Norwich schoolmistress Sarah Anna Glover and published in her Scheme for Rendering Psalmody Congregational (1835). Tonic Sol-fabecame the standard method not only throughout Britain, but also in many Australian, Canadian, American and South African schools; at a later stage teachers in Switzerland, Germany and Denmark used it in a revised form. The method has been supported by amateur and professional musicians throughout the world, although like all systems which rely on an ‘interpreting’ notation it is not without its opponents and critics. Advocates of Tonic Sol-fa usually maintain that criticisms arise out of misunderstandings over the aims of the method and the purpose of the alternative notation. The publication of the New Curwen Method by the Curwen Institute in 1980 suggests that, for those who subscribe to an approach to music teaching which emphasizes the cultivation of aural and literacy skills as central to the furthering of musical understanding, Curwen's principles are still relevant and practicable. Internationally, opinion is divided over the use of fixed and movable doh; where the latter is not accepted, the Curwen system and others like it have no place in the schools.
By the end of the 19th century class singing and music reading were ‘officially’ established elementary-school activities throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. Repertory had become more inclusive and less dominated by church music. However, the inconsistency of provision is clearly shown in reports by Hullah (Time and Tune in the Elementary School, 1874) and John Spencer Curwen (School Music Abroad, 1901), who travelled widely to investigate the state of music teaching. In England, Belgium, Switzerland and Bohemia they found that the teaching of sight-singing skills, using a variety of methods, received much attention. German schools were giving less time to music as a curriculum subject: although compulsory at the primary level, lessons were often little more than the singing of chorales and folksongs learnt by rote. Among reformist and innovatory educationists there appeared to be a growing realization that music curricula required an injection of new ideas; there was also a need for clearer aims, as well as improved content and methods and better forms of organization.
Schools, §III: From the 19th century: the growth of music in schools.
The Swiss musician and educator Emile Jaques-Dalcroze provided a different approach and attitude to group music teaching through his system of ‘gymnastique rythmique’ (eurhythmics). Finding traditional conservatory forms of training mechanical and uninspiring, he devised exercises that would help students to respond physically and aesthetically to music and thereby gain a genuine ‘feeling’ for the discipline as well as conventional skills. Jaques-Dalcroze's ideas were adopted by his followers for school use in several countries and continue to be employed, often in modified forms such as music and movement and creative dance. A thriving Dalcroze Society with branches in several countries ensures that the original principles and methods are still widely disseminated.
In the USA a broadening of music programmes followed the rise of the appreciation movement. Listening to music, in addition to singing and the learning of music reading skills, became more practicable with the invention of the gramophone. In 1911 the Victor Gramophone Company invited Frances E. Clarke, a practising school music teacher, to prepare special recordings and teaching materials for use in elementary- and high-school classrooms; thus began a new era of school music teaching. In Britain the distinguished educator Stewart Macpherson, who was committed to what he called discriminating listening, argued in favour of teaching music as a ‘language and a literature’. His seminal publication Music and its Appreciation (1910) sets out detailed principles of ‘true listening’ and how it may be achieved through structural analysis of works and a knowledge of their historical and social contexts. While the appreciation movement undoubtedly added a new dimension to music curricula, it has also been regarded as one of the causes of those disparaged lessons which focus on facts and information rather than direct musical experience. That, of course, was never the intention of Macpherson and his colleagues. The turning of class music lessons into a form of silent ‘musicological studies’ is probably due to a number of factors, one of which may be an attempt by some members of the teaching profession to improve the academic status of the subject. Listening to music was further advanced by the advent of broadcasting. The BBC, founded in 1922, soon established music programmes for schools, as did its Australian counterpart. Broadcast music lessons on radio and television remain an important resource for many teachers. In Japan, for example, educational broadcasts are nowadays closely linked to the National Course of Study and planned to complement class programmes. The percussion band, introduced into English schools by Marie Salt in 1909, was also associated with the appreciation movement; this popular form of class music-making, warmly commended by several eminent members of the musical establishment, again increased the scope of the subject.
During the 1920s in Britain Margaret James encouraged the making and playing of bamboo pipes; these activities were taken up with much enthusiasm especially by elementary-school teachers. At the same time, the revival and reconstruction of the recorder by Arnold Dolmetsch and its introduction into schools by Carl Dolmetsch and Edgar Hunt heralded an innovation that was to have a permanent effect on music teaching worldwide. In the USA Satis Coleman (1878–1961) related the making of instruments to activities which would enable children to participate creatively in music. The notion of creativity also featured in the teaching methods formulated by the British educators Thomas Henry Yorke Trotter and Walford Davies, both of whom maintained that by making their ‘own’ music within a structured framework pupils would gain in apprehension of the musical language and its expressive qualities.
The expansion of school choirs, bands, orchestras and instrumental tuition during the early part of the 20th century constituted another important stage in the growth of musical education. Instrumental tuition had been offered in Austrian schools since the beginning of the 19th century, and even earlier in those of Bohemia, as Burney noted on his travels during the 1770s. So impressed was he by the number of students receiving instruction on a range of orchestral instruments that he referred admiringly to that country as the ‘conservatoire of Europe’. School bands and orchestras became widespread in American high schools and part of the regular school programme with students eventually gaining high-school graduation credit for choral and instrumental activities. British ‘public’ (independent, private) schools started to make provision for instrumental teaching during the latter part of the 19th century, and many formed choirs and orchestras. Music was rarely taught as a class subject. Musical activities were strictly extra-curricular and conducted out of school hours, thereby reinforcing the view of music as a desirable social accomplishment but not a serious part of education. Opportunities for children to learn keyboard and orchestral instruments have been gradually extended throughout the British state system, with tuition being provided by visiting, or peripatetic, teachers employed by local education authorities, the schools themselves or an agency offering an instrumental teaching service. Many countries adopted a similar policy in the second half of the 20th century; this has led to the formation of local and national youth orchestras and bands, some of which perform to a near professional standard. Such musical achievements have received recognition and acclaim well beyond the educational community. However, some music educators express concern that because high-level performance groups are the public image of school music there may be a tendency to invest time and resources in these areas and neglect other equally important components of the subject programme.
Schools, §III: From the 19th century: the growth of music in schools.
In the years following World War II the teaching of music in many countries has been much influenced by two composer educators, Orff in Germany and Kodály in Hungary. The Orff-Schulwerk system brings together choral singing, aural training, movement, improvisation and activities that use specially designed pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments. Orff himself described Schulwerk as a ‘wild flower’, meaning that it was never part of any preconceived plan but a series of teaching ideas that prospered in advantageous circumstances. Five books of teaching materials, Musik für Kinder (1950–54), exemplify ways of making what is called ‘elementary music’; this is not ‘easy’ music but a style which utilizes ‘basic elements’ and is practicable and challenging for children. The various arrangements of folksongs and traditional melodies are intended as models or suggestions for teachers rather than a comprehensive scheme. Staff at the Orff Institute in Salzburg continue to offer courses publicizing the composer's ideals and pedagogical strategies. Kodály's principles of music teaching are in many ways similiar to those of Orff, but the Hungarian's approach is more fundamentally choral. Concerned with the development of inner hearing and musical literacy, and determined to improve the musical life of the nation, Kodály drew on his country's folksong tradition, which he combined with art music using the pitch teaching principles of Curwen, hand signs and the rhythmic language of the Galin-Paris-Chevé movement. The books of songs and exercises known collectively as the ‘Kodály choral method’ (although Kodály, like Orff, never fashioned any method) have transformed music teaching in Hungarian schools and made their mark on the country's musical and educational institutions at all levels. Worthy of comment in the present Hungarian system are the music schools, which provide a specialized training for selected children at both primary and secondary levels within the context of a general education. Standards of singing and aural training are outstandingly high, and the schools have earned their reputation as centres of excellence in music pedagogy. Another educator who has had a worldwide influence is the American Justine Ward (1879–1977). Her system combines vocal, pitch and rhythm training with creative work and incorporates a distinctive use of bodily gesture and movement. The method is intended primarily for use by non-specialist class teachers of young children and is used widely throughout Europe, East Asia, Africa and Latin America. These three systems of class music teaching are underpinned by the strong conviction that musical education should be available to all pupils and not merely the specially talented. This viewpoint has been constantly emphasized by most modern music educators, who have been anxious to dispel the mistaken yet commonly held belief that musical activity can be profitably undertaken only by those with a particular aptitude.
During the 1960s and 70s a number of educators introduced styles of music teaching that concentrated on creativity and composition as integral parts of general music programmes. It was suggested that children should be given the opportunity to explore the basic materials of music and express their musical ideas; this often involved types of music-making that did not depend on pupils having acquired notational and technical skills. George Self (New Sounds in Class, 1967) and Brian Dennis (Experimental Music in Schools, 1970), both teachers and composers, designed materials and activities, often using graphic notation, which could be related to contemporary music and especially the styles of the avant garde. A similar rationale informed other initiatives such as the American Contemporary Music Project (1971) and the Composer-in-Schools scheme in New Zealand. The Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, in his publications The Composer in the Classroom (1965) and Ear Cleaning (1967), encouraged teachers and pupils to ask searching questions about the nature of music and musical experience and investigate the ‘sound environment’ as ways of identifying material for use in composition. One of the most celebrated and original publications of this period was Sound and Silence (1970) by the composers John Paynter and Peter Aston, who were members of the music staff at the University of York. They outlined a number of creative projects, covering a variety of musical styles and traditions, and recommended group and individual composition activities. Teachers responded positively to these various innovations, and ‘creative music-making’ became an international movement. As with all new forms of pedagogy there was often misinterpretation and misunderstanding of underlying principles. Innovators were frequently accused of being unclear about their aims; some teachers felt unsure of contemporary musical trends, while others found it difficult to change role from instructor to facilitator. Although creativity in music education remains a contentious issue, the idea that all children should have experience of composition as part of their musical education has gained universal approval and owes much to the highly imaginative curriculum developers of the 1960s and 70s.
Sociological theories of music and musical meaning have had some bearing on the choice of curriculum content and methods of teaching. Among others, John Charles Shepherd, Graham Vulliamy, Phil Virden and Trevor Wishart (Whose Music? a Sociology of Musical Languages, 1977), drawing on the ‘new’ sociology and the sociology of knowledge, challenged long-held assumptions regarding the supremacy of the ‘classical’ traditions. They attempted to demonstrate that what is considered to be worthwhile music is determined largely by those in positions of control or power, and proceeded to argue that many types of popular music deserved much more serious attention from members of the musical and educational establishments. Ethnomusicologists with an interest in music education have pointed to the wide diversity of styles and genres that constitute the world of music and contributed to thinking about the content of school programmes; their views have been particularly welcomed in those countries where there is a variety of cultures and ethnic groupings and a strong commitment to the ideal of education in, and for, a pluralist society. Recognition of indigenous traditions and new ideas regarding what ‘counts’ as music have also highlighted the dominance of Western conceptions of music education and the realization that these do not necessarily have a universal applicability.
Another factor determining curriculum content has been the move towards teaching music as part of a combined arts programme. Various strands of thinking inform this type of curriculum organization. It is frequently suggested that teachers of music become isolated and have much to learn from the more adventurous pedagogical strategies adopted by their colleagues in other arts disciplines. Some educators emphasize the arts as a realm of meaning or form of knowledge and point to the procedural and conceptual connections between music, visual art, dance, film studies and literature. Such a view is promoted by the British writers Malcolm Ross (Arts and the Adolescent, 1975) and Peter Abbs (Living Powers, 1987), who argue (though in different ways) that the arts constitute a unity, with each discipline representing a form of aesthetic understanding. One consequence of this position is that in some schools music teachers are members of subject teams and work collaboratively with staff in ‘expressive’ or ‘creative’ arts departments. The principles and practices of combined arts teaching raise aesthetic, pedagogical, professional and managerial issues that generate wide-ranging discussion and much disagreement within the music teaching profession (see §5 below).
Music teaching in schools reflects not only changing theoretical perspectives and methodological innovations but also the growth and availability of new resources. Sound and video recordings provide access to an ever-widening repertory; new electronic instruments enable pupils to engage in a greater variety of performance and compositional activities. Remarkable technological developments have led to great changes in organization and practice. Personal computers with MIDI connections to electronic keyboards provide facilities for sequencing, editing and notating, and offer radically different forms of music presentation, instruction and learning. Opportunities for musical studies through networks and computer conferences are relatively unexplored at the school level but will probably lead eventually to completely new styles of teaching. The technological revolution appears to be generally welcomed by music teachers, although some express the concern that traditional yet valuable types of musical experience may be overlooked or simply discarded; this could lead, it is argued, to the neglect of conventional skills, so inhibiting and even stifling creativity and imagination.
At the end of the 20th century there are many more initiatives designed to enable children to be in more direct contact with professional musicians. Orchestral and choral concerts for young people were successfully introduced in Britain, the USA and Australia during the 1920s by Robert Mayer, Frederick Stock and Bernard Heinze, and there are now greater opportunities for children to experience high-level professional performances at first hand. Over a long period many composers have taken an interest in music for schools and contributed to what is now a large and popular repertory of works for young performers. More recently professional orchestras and opera companies have developed educational departments and outreach programmes that allow their members to work regularly with children and teachers. School and community projects that draw on the expertise of those in the fields of jazz, pop, rock and non-Western musics provide experiences that further enrich the normal curriculum programme. On the whole these various initiatives are having beneficial effects and augur well for the future of music in schools.
Schools, §III: From the 19th century: the growth of music in schools.
During the second half of the 20th century a number of music educationists developed new theoretical perspectives, often as bases for school practices, and concentrated on conducting research into various aspects of music teaching. Earlier studies had been largely in the field of psychology, with investigators showing a particular interest in the nature of musical aptitude. The pioneer figure was the American Carl Seashore, whose Seashore Measures of Musical Talent (1919) was used widely for many years. Tests of musical ability devised by the British educationist Arnold Bentley (1966) have often been employed by teachers, mostly for the purposes of diagnosis and selection. The writings of James Mursell (1893–1963) were rooted in psychology but represented a broader view and influenced music teaching throughout the USA and Europe over a long period. Mursell stressed the importance of fostering the growth of musicality and musical values and recommended programmes that would include a range of musical experiences with less concern for the acquisition of skills and factual knowledge. Psychological theories of learning and instruction have also been applied to the teaching of music. J.S. Bruner’s famous instructional theory (1966) underpinned the Manhattanville Curriculum Program (1970) and is an example of how some music educators have constructed curricula based on more general theories of teaching, learning and cognitive operations. The curriculum theory of ‘behavioural objectives’ has had a certain impact on the teaching of music, although the original model is usually regarded as being unsuitable for the design and implementation of arts curricula. An interest in the study of aesthetics as a basis for more ordered and coherent practice was stimulated by the publication of Bennett Reimer's A Philosophy of Music Education (1970) and has contributed to the conception of music education as aesthetic education. In a series of books the British music educationist Keith Swanwick has advocated general music programmes that combine performing, composing and ‘audition’ (listening in audience) and has constructed a well-known curriculum model based on aesthetic theories and psychological findings relating to children's musical development. Research, academic and professional studies of music education were greatly facilitated by the formation in 1953 of the ISME, which makes provision for international exchange and dialogue. The society, now representing over 70 countries, has promoted and reported on a wide range of research studies through its numerous publications, especially the yearbooks and the International Journal of Music Education. Writers on music teaching in schools frequently make a plea for more research, but, while research and theoretical studies carried out by members of the academic community undoubtedly may have beneficial effects on practice, some observers comment that there can be a considerable gap between theory and practice. It is argued that the improvement of practice is also dependent on teachers adopting a research orientation to their professional work, although the ‘teacher as researcher’ movement has not attracted the attention of music educators to a significant degree.
During the 19th and 20th centuries music teachers have encountered a plethora of theories, methodologies and innovations resulting in the present wide diversity of practices both within and across educational systems. This situation is seen by some as damaging to the development of music in schools and society. Many governments are moving towards the institution of national frameworks for curricula as a way of providing for more structured and consistent programmes. Specifications vary considerably in their detail. In Britain, the National Curriculum for Music, introduced in 1992, has a legal status and sets out attainment targets and programmes of study for all state school pupils between the ages of five and 14. National schemes in the USA, Australia, Japan and Denmark, while outwardly prescriptive, allow for more flexibility. In general, centralized curricula are regarded as a useful means of ensuring that all pupils receive some musical instruction as an entitlement during their school years. However, the introduction of national specifications coincides with calls for greater teacher and school accountability at a time when cost-effectiveness is demanded of educational services. There is a growing expectation that pupils should be able to demonstrate certain standards of achievement in all curriculum subjects. Consequently, while prescribed curricula are seen as serving a worthwhile educational function they are also sometimes viewed as instruments of bureaucratic evaluation and control.
Schools, §III: From the 19th century: the growth of music in schools.
At the beginning of the 21st century teachers of music are required to be increasingly versatile, to acquire new forms of musical expertise and to further their professional knowledge of curriculum design, evaluation, assessment, organization, management and administration. Teacher education and training has, in consequence, become a matter for concern among members of the music education community. Whereas the training of music teachers for secondary schools has become more advanced, it is often the case that primary-school teachers do not receive substantive music tuition during their pre-service education and training. Research findings indicate that generalist primary-school teachers sometimes lack the necessary knowledge and skills to teach music competently and that the quality of learning in the early years is therefore uneven. Some teacher educators maintain that, provided generalist teachers have adequate in-service training and can draw on curriculum support services, they are able to apply their generic pedagogical skills and techniques to the teaching of music in an effective manner. Debates about the most suitable forms of teacher education continue to reflect a variety of opinions.
Many arts educationists express the view that at a time when there is a strong tendency to relate education to economic growth and advancement their subjects are not sufficiently valued and are in danger of becoming marginalized. This is by no means a new concern; the educational status of music has often been insecure, and in some countries provision is still limited. The future development of school music is obviously dependent on adequate resources; some observers fear that the advances made during the postwar years cannot be sustained without more financial and professional support. With demands for more qualified teachers, specialist accommodation and new types of sophisticated equipment, music has become an expensive school subject. In a number of countries opportunities for children to receive instrumental tuition in school are reported to have declined owing to financial constraints.
It is to be expected that music education, like every other area of the curriculum, will have its own inherent problems and areas of controversy. In spite of these difficulties there is now far more publicity for music and the arts, and a greater acknowledgment that these subjects provide for special types of experience which are a necessary and valuable part of a contemporary liberal education.
2. Music and liberal education.
4. Music and the school community.
Schools, §IV: Contemporary issues
The term ‘music education’ is nowadays widely used in both musical and educational contexts, but it is an ambiguous one, open to different interpretations. In the most comprehensive sense it describes an enterprise that encompasses all those types of musical instruction which take place in schools, colleges, universities, conservatories and other institutions. Music education, broadly conceived, will also be provided by private studio teachers, and furthered through membership of any number of organizations that have no formal links with educational establishments. In a large and increasing number of countries, school programmes include general class lessons which children will experience for at least part of their period of compulsory education; it is often the case that there will be additional opportunities for pupils to learn a variety of instruments and participate as members of choirs, orchestras, bands and other ensembles. These performance activities may be available as curriculum options or electives for those pupils with a particular talent or interest; in some educational systems such activities will be classed as extra-curricular, since they are organized and taught at times beyond the regular school schedule.
Traditionally, the word ‘training’ has been used with reference to certain kinds of musical tuition, and it would not sound out of place to say that a performer had received his or her training (rather than education) at a conservatory or college of music. Although differences between training and education can be difficult to define, it is generally accepted that the former is related to the development of some specified competence or skill whereas education implies a process concerned with growth of knowledge and understanding, a broadening of experience and a commitment to certain values. There is also the expectation that the educated person will view things with a critical eye; he or she will not simply acquire different kinds of knowledge but will develop an approach to knowledge involving reasoning, questioning, debating and reflecting in the course of gaining a depth and breadth of understanding together with a degree of intellectual autonomy.
When singers or instrumentalists are spoken of as being trained, the implication is that they are mastering certain musical techniques and aiming to achieve recognized standards of performance. However, there appears to be a growing tendency to include this type of study under the heading of education for at least two reasons. First, high-level performance is a multi-dimensional accomplishment and demands far more than simply the acquisition of an advanced technique; it is a complex decision-making process. Secondly, courses for performing musicians are by no means as narrow as is suggested by reference to training, for as well as following a specialist route, students experience a range of related activities that contribute to their sense of taste, imaginative style, critical faculties and a deepening understanding of music in its many forms. A shift from ‘training’ to ‘education’ is to be found in many fields. It is commonplace now to talk of teacher education, whereas at one time preparation for a schoolteaching career was undertaken at a teachers' training college. Teachers nowadays are expected to have extensive professional knowledge and a greater understanding of their educational function; their training in pedagogical techniques is only one of several areas of study. The adoption of such terms as vocational education, physical education and driver education suggests in each case a move from a concern with specified ends to an appreciation of wider issues. In the light of current thinking and practice it is becoming more appropriate to talk of the education of singers and instrumentalists. One might continue to differentiate between musical education and training when the latter term is used to denote a limited (but not necessarily simple) objective such as skill acquisition. The obvious example would be aural training; indeed, in many societies it would still sound slightly strange to speak of ‘aural education’.
In making the concept of music education more inclusive it becomes necessary to distinguish between specialist and general forms; the main difference is essentially one of intention. There are schools in some countries that have been set up for the express purpose of preparing talented young people for a career in the music profession. These institutions provide for intensive instrumental and vocal instruction with the aim of promoting pupils' performing capabilities to an advanced level. Although it may no longer be acceptable to refer to this type of schooling for musicians as training, it is nevertheless geared to specific ends, and for that reason can be regarded as a specialist type of music education. Mainstream school pupils might occasionally acquire equally high standards of musical expertise, but there is no direct intention on the part of school staff to equip pupils for a musical career. Whatever might be achieved by the individual is, first and foremost, part of his or her general education. Of course, teachers of both specialist and general music education programmes share some common aims. Although their ultimate intentions may differ, all teachers attempt to use strategies which enable pupils to internalize and value the rules, methods and procedures that constitute the discipline of music. General class lessons are never specialist pursuits, but they are required to be musical. Class lessons which did not focus on the proper methods of the discipline and the development of pupils' musical behaviour, or musicianship, might be types of relaxation or entertainment; but they could not be classed as legitimate forms of education. Specialist music education may be seen, at least to some extent, as a means to a particular end: pupils are being educated for the music profession. Musical activities that are part of a liberal or general education require a different justification since they have to be accommodated within a wider educational framework.
Schools, §IV: Contemporary issues
Because of music's often uncertain and marginal status a number of rather lofty and ambitious statements have been made, and continue to be made, to justify its inclusion in the curriculum. It is frequently suggested that music makes children more imaginative, improves overall academic performance, instils transferable life skills, increases self-esteem and helps them to become better people. Concrete evidence to support such claims is rarely forthcoming, but even if music does engender all these positive qualities there is no reason to assume that the same would not apply to other curriculum subjects; the claims are, in fact, simply general educational aims. The selection of curriculum content cannot be satisfactorily justified in these terms; the choice of content is dependent on many factors and, most significantly, the particular view of education which provides a background to the curriculum. Ideas as to what is important in education and how music might be of value in educational programmes differ widely, and there is also a variety of opinions about the place of choirs, orchestras and bands in schools.
As a result of much theoretical input and numerous practical innovations over the past 150 years, the contents and methods of present-day class music programmes are extremely diverse. International research studies reveal wide-ranging practices in almost all countries. In addition to the well-established activities of choral singing, music reading and aural training, children might compose their own music using acoustic and electronic instruments, listen to and evaluate music of different styles and genres, learn about composers, study music theory and explore music through information technology. Although it may never be formally stated (in school or other official documentation), the importance attached to any one, or combination, of these different pursuits will be related to how music is seen as fitting into the whole curriculum. It is readily apparent that there are alternative and often conflicting ideas about the aims, contents and methods of music education at the school level.
Programmes of study that focus on performance activities, the learning of aural and literacy skills, and acquaintance with compositions of the great masters, have come to be regarded as representing a traditional approach to music teaching. It is an approach that is closely tied to the commonly held view, often expressed by national governments, that the purpose of education is to prepare young people for a life consisting of work and leisure by equipping them with certain skills and knowledge. Language, mathematics, science and technology are ‘work’ subjects; music and the arts are seen as future ‘cultural’ leisure pursuits. It is probably true, and highly commendable, that many pupils do acquire some musical expertise during their school years which they then develop further at a later stage. While it would seem likely that participation in community activities will be more directly related to previous experience of choirs, orchestras and the like, it can be argued that through general class programmes children develop knowledge and musical skills that enrich their lives. They should, at least, become informed and intelligent listeners, conscious of their cultural heritage, and maybe even keen concertgoers. The notions of education as preparation and education for leisure are, of course, notoriously troublesome; both give rise to a number of distinct and curious problems. First, if the purpose of musical studies is to prepare children for the future, then it could be quite reasonably concluded that for those who were actively involved in school but did not continue in later life, musical education had somehow been wasted; that would be an odd way of looking at any educational activity. Secondly, although much talk of leisure education centres on the arts and crafts it is impossible, and perhaps morally objectionable, to prescribe how people should use their time. A wide range of interests may be acquired as a result of a general education; there is no reason to assume that adult leisure time will necessarily be confined to, or even include, artistic activity. Thirdly, the very meaning of leisure has changed greatly over the years: the Aristotelian tradition of intrinsically worthwhile pursuits has been replaced in modern times by thoughts of relaxation and freedom from pressure. Leisure ‘parks’ and ‘centres’ are places of fun and entertainment, and nobody needs to be ‘educated’ in their use. Advocates of leisure education often appear to overlook the fact that those who engage in music-making do so because they see their activities as having some point and meaning. They commit themselves to demanding responsibilities; the pursuits are leisure only in so far as they are separate from employment. In terms of curriculum content and practice, the ideal of preparation for work and leisure leads to the old conflict between core studies that are of vocational importance and peripheral studies that might occupy time at some future date. Musical studies are likely to be consigned to the latter category, particularly in an age when emphasis is placed on the direct links between education, the economy and personal vocational advancement. It might be held that this view of music and arts education is yet another manifestation of powerful and deeply embedded Enlightenment attitudes.
The ‘progressive’ style of music education is associated with those theorists and practitioners who maintain that the arts provide a medium through which children are able to express themselves and develop their finer feelings. Although this rationale is formulated in several different ways, one central theme, derived in part from Dewey's aesthetic and educational theories, is that the creative arts have an essential function as that part of an education which nurtures the growth of feeling and knowing. Education is a form of adaptation that depends on the affective and cognitive modes being in a state of equilibrium. Proponents of this position favour the exploration of expressive media through creative or compositional activities. Performance and listening are not ruled out, but ‘creating’ is taken to be central to the educational process. Many progressive music educators support combined arts programmes, arguing that since all the arts are concerned with the expression of human feeling, to teach them as separate and isolated disciplines inevitably restricts children's artistic growth and aesthetic awareness. Such a view represents one version of what is known as ‘aesthetic’ education.
Progressive arts educators come under fire from many quarters and are frequently accused (usually unjustly) of ignoring the past and placing too much faith in creativity, self-expression, experiment, freedom and individuality. A particular criticism relates to the dualistic theory of mind, which separates knowing and feeling. Although artistic endeavour is strongly associated with the expressive life, certain philosophers and aestheticians maintain that it is misguided to think of mathematics and science as ‘cold’ intellectual forms of inquiry which can be contrasted with the ‘warmth’ of the expressive arts subjects. All knowledge and experience has something of the affective about it, all artistic pursuits are highly cognitive.
For some educationists, traditional and progressive ideologies represent irreconcilable positions. Both are, of course, ‘ideal’ types and are unlikely to exist in a pure form; indeed, most practising teachers would probably regard them as complementary. In recent years there have been moves by members of the music education community to unite different teaching methods and practices within a new theoretical framework. This ‘eclectic’ view of music education is informed by an underlying conception of education central to which is the development of mind through the acquisition of different types of knowledge and experience. In post-Renaissance times music and the arts have usually been regarded not as ways of knowing but rather as pleasurable forms of activity which rely on different types of experience and sensation but do not have a genuine semantic content. Theory of knowledge has been dominated by positivist schools of thought; knowledge is either practical ‘know-how’ or, more important, that which can be stated as a logically or empirically verifiable proposition. New directions in epistemology and aesthetics, often much influenced by the writings of philosophers and curriculum theorists, including John Dewey, Susanne K. Langer, Louis Arnaud Reid, Philip Phenix and Elliot Eisner, have led to broader views. The arts have come to be regarded as unique ‘languages’, ‘realms of meaning’ or ‘forms of knowledge’. Complementing these changes in theory of knowledge are newly emerging theories of intelligence and societal structures in which it is acknowledged that cognitive operations are not confined to linguistic and logico-mathematical modes of thought. Through the process of evolution, men and women have acquired a capacity, or cognitive apparatus, not only for discursive language but for a whole range of symbolic modes or intelligences. All societies have artistic systems, since the artistic mode of thinking is basic to the human condition. Such theories provide a justification for music that is in keeping with the traditions of liberal education and leads to a form of practice which focusses on the development of musical intelligence, to be achieved by ‘initiating’ pupils into the techniques and methods of music through the experiential modes of performing, composing and listening. Musical thinking and understanding depend on awareness of those traditions that provide the background to innovation and experiment. There is no one ‘world’ of music, and programmes will therefore be designed to expose pupils to a range of musical styles so that they become acquainted with the deep structures of the discipline. Many who subscribe to this position, which in some countries has become an official basis for general music education, point to the close connections between the arts disciplines and the need to recognize these connections when constructing and implementing school curricula.
That the arts constitute a realm of meaning or a way of knowing and thinking provides the basis for another version of music education as aesthetic education. Music, drama, literature, poetry, dance and visual art are seen as bringing together cognitive and affective operations in a unique manner. Peter Abbs (The Educational Imperative, 1994) is one exponent of aesthetic education who describes the arts as a ‘generic community’. The different disciplines have their own methods and techniques but are united by a form of ‘sensuous’ knowing and also by procedural factors: making, presenting, responding, evaluating. Consequently, the teaching and learning of music contribute to a broader aesthetic education. Supporters of this position are inclined to favour various types of combined arts programmes which enable children to make connections between the different subject areas, thus enhancing their learning and aesthetic intelligence. The principle of aesthetic education does not receive universal approval. While not wishing to deny the obvious links between the various arts, some educators, particularly in Europe and the USA, have cast doubt on whether the knowledge gained in painting pictures, writing poetry or composing songs is of the same kind. The British philosopher David Best (1992), for example, refers to the idea of the generic community of the arts as nothing more than an ‘expedient myth’ and goes on to argue that there is no rational basis for the claim that there exists a unifying factor in these different activities; furthermore, curriculum planning based on a misconceived philosophical position is likely to be contrived and of dubious educational value. A similar view has been expounded by David Elliott (1995) in North America. Nevertheless, the conception of music education as aesthetic education has become a popular orthodoxy and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. The sceptic might be moved to observe that acceptance of the aesthetic mode of understanding could mean that there would be no need to teach music at all, since education in any one art form would suffice. Presumably, few music educators would accept this seemingly logical conclusion no matter how committed they were to the principle of aesthetic education. In practice, views about aesthetic education and combined arts programmes will be determined just as much by organizational, managerial and professional considerations. The apparent ‘merging’ of subjects changes their curriculum status and the position of those who teach them; being a member of an arts team may carry less prestige than having sole charge of a subject area. The combining of the disciplines might also be interpreted as a convenient way of giving each one less time on the curriculum and undermining their educational importance.
Schools, §IV: Contemporary issues
Whatever type of organizational framework might be adopted for music education, the implementation of curricula is dependent on the teaching force. Critical observers of educational systems and services often point out that the success or failure of a school is largely determined by the quality of its teachers. Few professional educationists would disagree; there has always been a lively debate about the roles, duties, responsibilities and training of teachers, and the conditions under which they carry out their many functions.
In the most fundamental sense, teaching may be described as a series of intentional activities whose aim is to bring about learning. The central purpose of music teaching is to engage pupils in practical activities through which they will come to learn and internalize the skills, techniques and procedures of the discipline and thereby develop musical thinking or musicianship. All these things have to be taught, but a distinctive feature of the musical realm is that people come to understand its rules and methods by working alongside others already inside the discipline. Much musical knowledge and understanding is ‘caught’ just as much as it is taught. This applies both to individual instrumental teaching and to corporate activities. The expert (teacher) assumes the role of a ‘model’ who demonstrates, often quite unconsciously, various aspects of musical behaviour in his or her actions which are gradually assimilated by the learner. In the classroom the onus is on the teacher to exhibit this behaviour in his or her pedagogy and thereby establish an appropriate musical environment for learning to take place. The teacher of music (like any other teacher) has to display authority within his or her specialist field. And it is the issue of authority which is the cause of so many disputes about music teaching at the primary stage in countries where class teachers are expected to cover the whole range of curriculum subjects. Generalists are often apprehensive about their ability to teach music because of what they see as their lack of musical authority. However much it is claimed that all general practitioners can teach music provided they have suitable in-service training and support materials, it remains an inescapable point of logic that, in order to effect learning, the teacher is required to be an authority, at least in relation to his or her pupils.
While bringing about learning is central to teaching it is also an educational requirement that what is being learnt is both worthwhile and appropriate to the ages and abilities of the pupils. It is a further requirement that any method of instruction be in accordance with accepted educational principles. Learning may result from conditioning or indoctrination, but such techniques are contrary to the spirit of education. These observations may seem obvious enough, but they need to be borne in mind in the attempt to determine what might be classed as effective teaching. There may be a measure of agreement among educationists as to what constitutes the basis of good practice, but there will always be differences of opinion, and even serious differences, over what is worthwhile content or desirable pedagogy. Disputes are likely to arise over many aspects of curriculum content. Even with a fairly tightly prescribed central or national curriculum there can be conflicting ideas about song repertory or what types or items of music are suitable for listening purposes. Methods of teaching may be still more contentious. Pedagogical techniques associated with traditional methods find favour with some educationists while others espouse progressive approaches. The existence of differences over content and methods suggests that the identification of effective music teaching will depend, to some extent, on who is making any judgment of practice. This factor of uncertainty has important implications for teacher appraisal, a process which has assumed considerable educational importance and may be used for a variety of purposes. Appraisal might be seen as a means of identifying incompetent teachers or as a way of helping practitioners further develop their pedagogy. Whatever its purpose there is an assumption that it is possible to recognize good teaching, but that is clearly not as straightforward as is sometimes supposed. It does not follow that all judgments of teaching are relative and that there can be no agreement about good and bad practice, but the common and often unquestioned belief that it is possible to establish a formula for the evaluation of teaching that can be neatly applied to every classroom is to misunderstand and oversimplify the complex nature of educational transactions.
In those countries where the school music teacher is responsible for general class programmes as well as choirs, orchestras and other extra-curricular activities he or she is required to assume a dual role. On the one hand a teacher is a classroom practitioner while being expected on the other to operate as a ‘director of music’. There is no reason why the two roles should not be combined, but in such circumstances teachers have to respond to many different musical demands, not only within but often beyond the school. They are expected to be all-round musicians with a range of skills, broad expertise and a certain type of approach to music-making. Their style of musicianship is characterized by its versatility and an ability to adapt and modify practice in a variety of situations; it calls for a special type of creative or problem-solving attitude towards music and musical pedagogy. In many instances the modern music teacher assumes a multi-faceted role not unlike that of the Kapellmeister. How far teachers of music are adequately trained for these diverse musical, pedagogical and administrative duties remains a topic of some professional controversy.
Schools, §IV: Contemporary issues
Music in schools is not only a pedagogical and intellectual system; like any other area of teaching and learning it is also a social system whose functioning is governed by a complicated network of forces and messages. One issue that occupies the minds of music educators the world over (as it did Plato and Aristotle) is the balance between high-level performance activities, which in mainstream schools do not cater for all pupils, and general or class programmes of music education that are available to everybody. It is frequently claimed that resources, both human and material, are too often concentrated on the former. There is a view that choirs, bands and orchestras ‘represent’ school music and therefore receive greater support from those who manage and exercise control within the institution. To what extent this view is justified is unknown. The main educational arguments in favour of extra-curricular or elective activities can only be that they provide for worthwhile musical experiences which are part of a broader programme of music education. A critical question is whether these activities are so perceived within the school or the wider community. Musical and other artistic events can be effective public-relations exercises, and many schools enjoy a good reputation because of their pupils' achievements in choirs and orchestras. In an age of accountability, and competitiveness in some countries, musical activities may be valued as ways of advertising a school's accomplishments, and teachers themselves might be inclined to concentrate on those areas that will attract public recognition. If schools are presenting concerts and musical events for such extrinsic purposes then it could be claimed, with some justification, that pupils are in danger of being manipulated and exploited rather than educated. That view of performance activities would of course be rather cynical and suggestive of conspiracy, though perhaps not without some foundation. There are more positive interpretations of the ways in which public presentations function as part of a music programme. One of the most valuable outcomes of school concerts is that children's musical and social experiences fuse together. Pupils of different ages and abilities work as a group in a cooperative venture and share a commitment to a common set of values; they come to know music and understand it as a ‘form of life’ in ways that can never be fully appreciated through formal instruction.
It has long been recognized by politicians, school administrators, parents, pupils and members of the public that musical and other artistic pursuits add a special quality to the character and general ethos of educational institutions. Although a great deal of attention is given to the importance of academic achievement, it is very rarely the case in any country that schools are concerned solely with formalized instruction. Schools are communities, and they establish their identities through a whole range of corporate activities. Choirs, orchestras, bands and other performing groups together constitute one of the many forces that permeate the social life of institutions and thereby contribute to their cultural style and sense of cohesion. Without these musical activities schools would be very different places.
A Ancient traditions. B Middle Ages – end of 18th century. C From the 19th century: growth of school music. D Contemporary issues. E Specialist journals.
J.F. Dobson: Ancient Education and its Meaning to Us (New York, 1932/R)
H.I. Marrou: Histoire de l'éducation dans l'antiquité (Paris, 1948, 6/1965; Eng. trans., 1956/R)
T. Woody: Life and Education in Early Societies (New York, 1949/R)
C.C.J. Polin: Music of the Ancient Near East (New York, 1954/R)
E. Wellesz, ed.: Ancient and Oriental Music, NOHM, i (1957)
E.B. Castle: Ancient Education and Today (Harmondsworth, 1961)
W.D. Anderson: Ethos and Education in Greek Music (Cambridge, MA, 1966, 2/1968)
M.I. Finley: Aspects of Antiquity: Discoveries and Controversies (London, 1968, 2/1977)
P. Fletcher: Education and Music (Oxford, 1987)
B. Rainbow: Music in Educational Thought and Practice (Aberystwyth, 1989)
W.D. Anderson: Music and Musicians in Ancient Greece (Ithaca, NY, 1994)
ReeseMR
A.F. West: Alcuin and the Rise of the Christian Schools (New York, 1892/R)
A.F. Leach: English Schools at the Reformation, 1546–8 (London, 1896/R)
F. Watson: The Curriculum and Text-Books of English Schools in the First Half of the Seventeenth Century (London, 1902)
A. Schweitzer: J.S. Bach, le musicien-poète (Leipzig, 1905; Ger. trans., enlarged, 1908; Eng. trans., 1911/R)
F. Watson: The English Grammar Schools to 1660: their Curriculum and Practice (Cambridge, 1908/R)
A.F. Leach: The Schools of Medieval England (London, 1915/R)
W.A. James: An Account of the Grammar and Song Schools of the Collegiate Church of Blessed Mary the Virgin of Southwell (Southwell, Notts., 1927)
F. Eby: Early Protestant Educators (New York, 1931/R)
P.A. Scholes: The Puritans and Music (London, 1934/R)
B. Pattison: Music and Poetry of the English Renaissance (London, 1948)
F.W. Sternfield: ‘Music in the Schools of the Reformation’, MD, ii (1948), 99–122
J. Lawson: Mediaeval Education and the Reformation (London and New York, 1967)
T.D. Culley: Jesuits and Music, i: A Study of the Musicians Connected with the German College in Rome during the 17th Century (Rome, 1970)
I. Lawrence: Composers and the Nature of Music Education (London, 1978)
M.L. Mark: Contemporary Music Education (New York, 1978, 3/1996)
R. Rastall: The Notation of Western Music (London, 1983)
G. Huppert: Public Schools in Renaissance France (Urbana, IL, 1984)
P. Fletcher: Education and Music (Oxford, 1987)
B. Rainbow: Music in Educational Thought and Practice (Aberystwyth, 1989)
A.C. Santosuosso: Letter Notations in the Middle Ages (Ottawa, 1989)
S. Shahar: Childhood in the Middle Ages (London, 1990)
C.S. Jaeger: The Envy of Angels: Cathedral Schools and Social Ideals in Medieval Europe, 950–1200 (Philadelphia, 1994)
P.F. Grendler: Books and Schools in the Italian Renaissance (Aldershot and Brookfield, VT, 1995)
S. Macpherson: Music and its Appreciation (London, 1910, 2/1941)
T.H. Yorke Trotter and S. Chapple: The Yorke Trotter Principles of Musicianship (London, 1933)
C.E. Seashore: Psychology of Music (New York, 1938/R)
P.A. Scholes, ed.: The Mirror of Music 1844–1944 (London, 1947/R)
J. Mursell: Developmental Teaching (New York, 1949)
W. Keller: Einführung in ‘Musik für Kinder’ (Mainz, 1954, 2/1963; Eng. trans., 1974)
N.B. Henry, ed.: Basic Concepts in Music Education (Chicago, 1958)
C. Orff: ‘Orff-Schulwerk: Past and Future’, Music in Education, xxviii (1964), 209–14
F. Sándor, ed.: Zenei nevelés Magyarországon [Music education in Hungary] (Budapest, 1964; Eng. trans., 1966, 3/1975)
R.M. Schafer: The Composer in the Classroom (Toronto, 1965)
A. Bentley: Musical Ability in Children and its Measurement (London, 1966)
J.S. Bruner: Toward a Theory of Instruction (Cambridge, MA, 1966)
R.M. Schafer: Ear Cleaning (Don Mills, ON, 1967)
G. Self: New Sounds in Class (London, 1967)
R. Shuter-Dyson and C. Gabriel: The Psychology of Musical Ability (London, 1968, 2/1981)
B. Dennis: Experimental Music in Schools (London, 1970)
J. Paynter and P. Aston: Sound and Silence (London, 1970)
B. Reimer: A Philosophy of Music Education (Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1970, 2/1989)
R.B. Thomas: Manhattanville Music Curriculum Program Synthesis (New York, 1970)
The Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály (London, 1974)
M. Ross: Arts and the Adolescent (London, 1975)
K. Simpson, ed: Some Great Music Educators (Borough Green, Kent, 1976)
I. Lawrence: Composers and the Nature of Music Education (London, 1978)
M.L. Mark: Contemporary Music Education (New York, 1978, 3/1996)
D. Taylor: Music Now (Milton Keynes, 1979)
W.H. Swinburne: The New Curwen Method (London, 1981–4)
J. Southcott: The Lineage of Current Ideas: Early Thought and Figures in the Creativity Movement in Music Education (thesis, U. of London, 1983)
H.F. Abeles, C.R. Hoffer and R.H. Klotman: Foundations of Music Education (New York, 1984, 2/1994)
P. Abbs, ed.: Living Powers: the Arts in Education (London, 1987)
J.T. Gates, ed.: Music Education in the United States: Contemporary Issues (Tuscaloosa, AL, 1988)
D. Kabalevsky: Music and Education: a Composer Writes about Musical Education (London, 1988)
L. Lepherd: Music Education in International Perspective: the People's Republic of China (Darling Heights, Queensland, 1988)
B. Rainbow: Music in Educational Thought and Practice (Aberystwyth, 1989)
R.J. Colwell, ed.: Basic Concepts in Music Education, ii (Boulder, CO, 1991)
J. Jennings: Music at Canterbury (Christchurch, NZ, 1991)
E. Oehrle: ‘Emerging Music Education Trends in Africa’, International Journal of Music Education, no.18 (1991), 23–9
D. Allsobrook: Music for Wales (Cardiff, 1992)
R. Colwell, ed.: Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (New York, 1992)
A.E. Kemp, ed.: Some Approaches to Research in Music Education (Reading, 1992)
T. Takizawa, ed.: Perspectives of Music Education in Japan and ASEAN Countries (Tokyo, 1992)
J. Dobbs: ‘International Society for Music Education: Forty Years Old’, International Journal of Music Education, no.22 (1993), 4–8
M. Comte, ed.: Music Education: International Viewpoints: a Symposium in Honour of … Frank Callaway (Melbourne, 1994)
L. Lepherd: Music Education in International Perspective: Australia (Toowoomba, Queensland, 1994)
K. Swanwick: Musical Knowledge: Intuition, Analysis and Music Education (London, 1994)
P.S. Campbell and C. Scott-Kassner: Music in Childhood: from Preschool through the Elementary Grades (New York, 1995)
L. Lepherd, ed.: Music Education in International Perspective: National Systems (Toowoomba, Queensland, 1995)
J. Dewey: Art as Experience (New York, 1934/R)
S.K. Langer: Philosophy in a New Key: a Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art (Cambridge, MA, 1942, 3/1957)
P. Phenix: Realms of Meaning: a Philosophy of the Curriculum for General Education (New York, 1964)
R.S. Peters: Ethics and Education (London, 1966, 2/1970)
P.H. Hirst: Knowledge and the Curriculum (London, 1974)
R.W. Witkin: The Intelligence of Feeling (London, 1974)
E.W. Eisner, ed.: The Arts, Human Development and Education (Berkeley, 1976)
M. Ross: The Creative Arts (London, 1978)
H. Gardner: Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (New York, 1983, 2/1993)
L.A. Reid: Ways of Understanding and Education (London, 1986)
P. Abbs: Living Powers: the Arts in Education (London, 1987)
Artistic Intelligences: Implications for Education: Columbia, SC, 1989
R.J. Colwell: Basic Concepts in Music Education, ii (Boulder, CO, 1991)
C. Plummeridge: Music Education in Theory and Practice (London, 1991)
D. Best: ‘Generic Arts: an Expedient Myth’, Journal of Art and Design Education, xi (1992), 27–44
B. Reimer and R.A. Smith, eds.: The Arts, Education, and Aesthetic Knowing (Chicago, 1992)
P. Walsh: Education and Meaning (London, 1993)
P. Abbs: The Educational Imperative: a Defence of Socratic and Aesthetic Learning (London, 1994)
K. Swanwick: Musical Knowledge: Intuition, Analysis and Music Education (London, 1994)
D.J. Elliott: Music Matters: a New Philosophy of Music Education (New York, 1995)
D. Lawton: Beyond the National Curriculum (London, 1996)
M. Reichling: ‘On the Question of Method in Philosophical Research’, Philosophy of Music Education Review, iv (1996), 117–27
American Music Teacher (1951–)
Australian Journal of Music Education (1967–)
British Journal of Music Education (1984–)
Council for Research in Music Education Bulletin (1963–)
Canadian Music Educator (1959–)
International Journal of Music Education (1983–)
International Music Education: ISME Yearbook (1973–?88)
Journal of Aesthetic Education
Journal of Research in Music Education (1953–)
Music Educators Journal (1934/5–)
Musik in der Schule (1949/50–)
Musik und Bildung (1969–)
Neue Musikzeitung (1969–)
Philosophy of Music Education Review (1993–)
Psychology of Music (1973–)
South African Music Teacher (1931–)