Aspects of Teaching Secondary Music

Perspectives on Practice

Gary Spruce

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781134508655
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Aspects of Teaching Secondary Music provides a practical illustration of the skills, knowledge and understanding required to teach music in the secondary classroom. Musical concepts and ideas are discussed and a critical examination of key issues is given. This encourages the reader to engage with these thoughts and consider their views and beliefs in terms of how they will influence their potential to teach music in an inspired and effective manner.

1: What is music learning and how do we identify it?

1: What is music in the curriculum?

Charles Plummeridge

Introduction

Music is a foundation subject in the National Curriculum,yet it is taken for granted that musical activity in the vast majority of schools encompasses far more than timetabled class lessons. Normally,teachers organize a range of optional musical pursuits that take place in lunch hours,after school,sometimes at weekends,and often at venues beyond the school. In some cases,a school’s curriculum policy will be to group-related (or cognate) disciplines and in these circumstances music may be taught as part of a wider programme of arts education.

It soon becomes apparent that to ask the question,‘What is music in the curriculum?’ leads to a consideration of several educational,musical,pedagogical and organizational matters that are of importance to professional teachers. The intention in this chapter is to explore five related issues,all of which are to some extent problematic and controversial,and therefore the subject of an ongoing debate amongst members of the teaching community. These are as follows:

• the place of music in education;
• rationales and practices;
• the National Curriculum;
• music, combined arts and the whole curriculum;
• music beyond the timetabled curriculum.

The place of music in education

In order better to appreciate the place of music within the curriculum,it is useful to reflect on its history as a component of a general education,since many ideals and attitudes of the past continue to have a bearing on contemporary discussions,policies and practices. In a wide-ranging historical survey,Bernarr Rainbow (1989) has shown that,from ancient times,arguments for the inclusion (or exclusion) of music in educational programmes have taken many forms. Some advocates have regarded it as necessary for religious reasons,whilst others have valued its aesthetic and civilizing qualities. There have also been those who have viewed music as little more than a frivolous pursuit and therefore largely a waste of time in the context of education. At certain periods,such as during the Middle Ages and the nineteenth century, musical education in schools has flourished. But there have also been periods of decline. Following the Reformation,for example,some church leaders and educators in England (unlike their counterparts in other areas of protestant Europe) saw musical instruction not only as unnecessary but also as positively harmful. However, even in the eighteenth century,when many renowned English educationists thought of the arts as elegant but never serious pastimes,there were lone voices that kept alive the principle of musical studies as a worthwhile dimension of a liberal education.

The origins of what we now refer to as a system of ‘music education’ are to be located in the social and educational reforms of the nineteenth century. Prominent churchmen encouraged singing in elementary schools in the hope of improving congregational participation in church services,and there was a related belief that, through choral activity,young people would acquire an accomplishment which would enable them to participate in wholesome recreational pursuits. Certain Victorian reformers also maintained that,through music,children would develop desirable character traits,good habits and even kindly dispositions. Imaginative and dedicated teachers like Sarah Glover,John Hullah and John Curwen (see Rainbow 1989) devised schemes of teaching for large groups and thereby established the principle of music as a class subject. In the growing number of independent (private, fee-paying) schools,for both boys and girls,music seldom featured as a curriculum subject,but choirs and orchestras were encouraged as worthy activities which added to the cultural and social life of an institution. Today,schools in both the independent and state sectors provide for regular class music lessons as well as those familiar extracurricular pursuits such as instrumental tuition schemes,choirs, orchestras,bands,recorder groups and other ensembles. One of the issues that has occupied the minds of music educators for many years is finding the appropriate relationship between curriculum and extracurricular activities. We shall return to this point in section six.

There is still a variety of opinion regarding the place of music in a general education. It is often assumed,as it was in the nineteenth century,that musical skills and techniques learned in school enable people to engage in music in adult life. The well-known and popular music educator,Atarah Ben-Tovim (1979),makes just this point when she talks about performing and appreciating music as a ‘lifelong enrichment’ of leisure time. This notion of music studies as part of an education that ‘prepares’ children for the life of work and leisure was the message conveyed in the famous and influential Newsom Report (Central Advisory Council for Education, 1963) and it remains embedded in much current thinking. In the 1970s,a group of forward-looking arts educators,inspired by progressive,child-centred ideals,began to question some of the assumptions underlying prevailing attitudes and practices. They argued the case for the arts disciplines in terms of the education of ‘feeling’. A celebrated version of this thesis appears in the writings of Malcolm Ross (1975,1978) and Robert Witkin (1974) who described education as an adaptive process consisting in the nurturing of both intellectual and affective capacities. According to Ross and Witkin,objective knowledge of the world ‘out there’ needs to be complemented by the individual’s growing understanding of his or her inner feelings. The arts are expressive media for the development of ‘self-knowledge’ and creative self-expression through which pupils come to know and understand their ‘inner world’ of subjective reality. Although Ross and Witkin have often been severely criticized, their innovative theoretical framework has had a major impact on arts education over the past twenty-five years.

Some observers continue to justify the arts in terms of the education of feeling, but there is also a growing tendency to argue the case for music on the grounds of transfer of learning: music can enhance pupils’ performance across the curriculum. This view (actually by no means new) is outlined with some considerable enthusiasm in a widely publicized paper from the Campaign for Music in the Curriculum (1998) entitled The Fourth R. However,opinion is sharply divided over the validity of some of the research methods,findings and conclusions reported in this publication. In fact,findings from recent studies carried out by John Harland and others (2000) seem to indicate that there is little to substantiate many of the transfer claims.

Current justifications for music in the curriculum are more likely to be determined by a conception of education central to which is the development of categories of thought through different modes of experience. Again,this is not a particularly new position. The philosophers Philip Phenix (1964) and Paul Hirst (1973) maintain that,because of their unique ability to create symbolic systems, human beings have developed a number of distinct rule-governed categories of understanding or realms of meaning. A truly liberal education,to which all children are entitled in a democratic society,is one that provides for experience within each realm. This line of argument has obviously had some influence on the popular idea of a ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum,much favoured by politicians. One of the most scholarly and properly-formulated statements of this educational position,and its curriculum implications,is by Professor Denis Lawton (1989) whose writings will be of interest and relevance to teachers of all subjects. The conception of the arts as constituting a ‘way of knowing’ is convincingly argued by Peter Abbs (1994); the various arts disciplines are to be seen not as ‘cultural pastimes’ or ‘emotional expressions’, but as powerful and vital forms of meaning and discourse.

Clearly,music teachers need to be able to justify their subject in the curriculum. This is not only because they are often obliged to explain their work to colleagues, parents,school governors and other audiences,but also because any particular justification will have a bearing on how the subject is conceived,presented and taught to pupils in schools. A review of the music education literature,research findings and curriculum materials reveals trends in music teaching that are informed,either implicitly or explicitly,by particular ideas regarding the value and aims of musical studies in education as a whole. There is always some link between justifications and proposed practices,although this is not to suggest that there are necessarily distinct styles of music teaching. In fact,within the classroom,teachers are likely to be fairly pragmatic. Practices are determined by a complex mixture of values,traditions and methodologies,as well as very important practical organizational factors which include accommodation, timetabling, staffing and resources.

Rationales and practices

During the 1950s and early 1960s,the main focus in class teaching tended to be on the promotion of choral and instrumental performance,the acquisition of conventional aural and literacy skills,and the appreciation of the works of those ‘great’ composers who represent the ‘best’ of the cultural heritage. In their lessons,pupils might have performed and listened to many types of music,but the materials chosen were largely from the post-Renaissance classical tradition,since operational competency within this system of tonality was a main aim of music education. The emphasis on aural and literacy skills stemmed from the notion of music as a kind of language, which children had to learn to ‘speak’,‘read’ and ‘write’ in order to develop ‘inner hearing’ and thus gain musical insight and understanding. These ideals are associated with the pedagogical systems of influential figures including John Curwen,Thomas Henry Yorke Trotter,Arthur Somervell and Walford Davies. In modern times,the same principles have been endorsed by Zoltan Kodály and his followers. Interesting accounts of these music educators’ teaching approaches are provided by Kenneth Simpson (1976),David Allsobrooke (1992) and Gordon Cox (1993). For those who incline towards this conception of music education,classroom activities are largely teacher-directed. The teacher is the authority whose task is to instruct and train pupils in recognized musical techniques,and thereby lead them towards an appreciation of the ‘Great European tradition’. One of the best examples of curriculum materials reflecting such ideals would be the Oxford School Music Books (Dobbs and Fiske 1956). Although written over forty years ago,these beautifully designed books for teachers and pupils contain a wealth of music for singing,playing and listening activities, much of which could still be used in classrooms today. In some schools these materials may be hidden away in store cupboards. If located,it is well worth giving them more than a cursory glance.

The above approach to music teaching,often described as ‘traditional’,has never been entirely rejected,but progressive educators committed to child-centred principles and practices have concentrated more on pupils’ discovery and manipulation of sound itself. Activities such as individual and group composition and improvisation, sometimes in a style which reflects avant-garde and experimental compositional techniques,allow for creative exploration of the medium. The teacher’s role changes from ‘instructor’ to ‘facilitator’,the task being to set up an appropriate learning environment, stimulate pupils’ imaginative powers and provide guidance and feedback. Less attention is given to conventional skill development and the so-called ‘cultural heritage’. The focus is on the present rather than the past.

These sorts of practices became extremely popular during the 1970s. Materials produced by innovators including George Self (1967),Brian Dennis (1970),and John Paynter and Peter Aston (1970) were welcomed by teachers,and the ideas are still used in many schools. An especially important recent publication,which extends many of the teaching techniques introduced during this period,is John Paynter’s (1992) Sound and Structure. This splendid book contains a number of very imaginative projects for use in the classroom and is an extremely valuable resource for teachers and pupils.

Over the past twenty years,we have witnessed moves to further broaden children’s musical education. A document prepared by HMI entitled Music from 5 to 16 (DES 1985a) sets out many suggestions for musical activities that reconcile traditional and progressive styles of teaching. This eclecticism underpins the work of Keith Swanwick (1979,1999) who has developed a well-known theory of musical knowledge and understanding,rooted in aesthetics,epistemology and developmental psychology. The framework provides a basis for a curriculum in which children experience music directly through three interrelated modes of:

• performing;
• composing;
• audition (that is, listening in audience).

For Swanwick,the development of literacy,technical skills and knowledge ‘about’ music is useful,but only in so far as competence in these domains enables learners to participate more effectively,and with growing confidence,in the three main forms of musical activity. Swanwick’s A Basis for Music Education (1979) should be read carefully (and critically) since his ideas and principles have become the source for much current thinking on curriculum design and classroom practice.

This style of music teaching is further extended by the view that the European post-Renaissance classical tradition is only part,albeit an important one,of that ‘form of life’ which we call music. Changing conceptions of music arise from different types of inquiry. For example,Lucy Green (1988),adopting a sociological perspective, argues that what ‘counts’ as music in education has often been based on unchallenged assumptions about the superiority of classical forms. Ethnomusicologists and curriculum developers draw attention to the fact that,in a pluralist society,there are many ‘musics’ that are practised and valued by different groups; this factor needs to be ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Illustrations
• Abbreviations
• Sources
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1: What is Music Learning and how do we Identify it?
• 2: Musical Activities
• 3: Developing the Music Curriculum