Category Archives: Music Education

A music teachers story 3 (2013)

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It was great to hear from Martin Said at Cramlington Learning Village yesterday. Here is his story about what is happening to Music in his school. Thanks Martin.

Don’t forget, I’d like to hear from you if you teach music in a primary or secondary school. Check out this post and please send me your story.

1. What is happening to Music at Key Stage 1, 2 or 3? Are there any changes in the number of hours for teaching Music, how it is arranged across the curriculum or integrated within other curriculum structures (e.g. on a carousel with other subjects, through topic/thematic work), etc?

Music is taught in a cross curricular project based curriculum in Years 7 & 8, combining music media and drama, the 2 ½ hours per week. Continue reading →

The consultation on the National Curriculum Programmes of Study is over (but the political machinations rumble on)

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I think it is fair to say that the production of the proposed National Curriculum Programmes has been one of the most political processes in the history of the National Curriculum. As I wrote about in a previous post, even in the production of the original National Curriculum the Secretary of State for Education at the time was at pains to try and keep some political distance from the process. For Music, this meant that key academics like Keith Swanwick played a prominent role in co-ordinating responses.

Not so today. Gove’s imprint is all over these reforms, with charges being made (in the New Statesman) that he actually wrote the History PoS himself (something that he has not refuted). This week, I read outrageous stories of Gove’s direct political interference relating to the production of the ICT programmes of study.

For Music, we are still none the wiser as to who wrote the actual Programmes of Study. Perhaps I should open a book? Equal odds on Dick Hallam or a faceless civil servant within the DfE perhaps? Continue reading →

Do music educators need lessons from Los Angeles, Venezuela, or the Opera House?

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Sean Gregory’s recent piece in The Guardian interested and infuriated me in about equal measure. I’ll start with the bits that interested me.

First of all, I’m always interested to hear what musicians, composers, artists and others (even conductors) think about music education. Their viewpoints are often provocative, stimulating, curious, anecdotal, often lacking in any ‘evidence’ beyond their own experience, but still engaging and passionate. They can put their fingers on key educational issues without the associated baggage of broader considerations of educational theory. Clearly, to me at least, this is a double-edged sword that needs to be handled carefully. Unfortunately, in today’s highly politicised educational climate this sword is being mishandled by many.

The much heralded El Sistema social movement was at the foundation of the event that Gregory was reflecting on in his piece. It coincided with the visit of the Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic to the UK and, not surprisingly, the effusive praise for the Venezuelan movement is still being voiced by music educationalists such as Dick Hallam and others (who, at great expense no doubt, have all been out to visit Venezuela to see first hand what is going on).

This is where my infuriation began. I’m not sure that we need lessons from Los Angeles, Venezuela, the Guildhall or the Opera House about school-based music education. Many of things that Gregory talks about in the second half of his article are being done, perhaps a little too sotto voce for my liking, in primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities across our country already. Let me illustrate this by reference to some of Sean’s comments. I find it amazing that he can write things like this: Continue reading →

A music teacher’s story 1 (2013)

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A few days ago I invited music teachers from across the UK to contact me and tell me about what was happening to the music provision in their school. This followed a similar venture last year (the results of which you can read here). If you work in a primary or secondary school, please do email me your responses to the four questions.

I’m delighted to say that the stories have become to come in. First off the blocks was James Manwaring, Director of Music for The Windsor Upper Schools. His was a very positive story: Continue reading →

What’s happening to Music in your school?

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About 18 months ago, I issued an invitation to any music teacher to write to me and share their story of what was happening to Music in their school. I received 42 responses that you can read here.

Over the last week I have had two journalists and two teachers make enquiries about these. But given that they reflected the state of music education in our schools a while ago, I’d like to re-issue the invitation to you all. Please email me your responses to the following questions, together with anything else that you’d like to add:

1. What is happening to Music at Key Stage 1, 2 or 3? Are there any changes in the number of hours for teaching Music, how it is arranged across the curriculum or integrated within other curriculum structures (e.g. on a carousel with other subjects, through topic/thematic work), etc?

2. What is happening to Music at Key Stage 4 (and 5 if applicable). Again, any changes in courses (are some courses being dropped), the hours you have allocated for teaching the courses, the options system at the end of Year 8 or Year 9, etc?

3. What, if any changes, to the staffing of Music in your school during the last 18 months?

4. Anything else you’d care to comment on relating to Music and its provision in your school?

In your email, please tell me if you’d like to remain anonymous (or not). Unless told otherwise, I won’t be publishing your name and school.

Thanks – and do pass this invitation around to any other colleagues who may be interested in contributing something to this simple snapshot about the state of play in secondary school music education today.

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Matt Parry has been in touch regarding his Kickstarter project. It’s a good mix of classical music, innovative storylines, some fabulous artwork from Faye Simms and some great vocals from Brian Blessed and Rory Bremner. I’ve got no commercial interests in this but it caught my eye and I’d like to use my blog to promote this project for Matt. Please support it if you are able.

The Original (1992) National Curriculum for Music

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Whilst writing one of my previous posts about the history of the National Curriculum for Music, I referred back to my paper copy of the original (1992) National Curriculum for Music which I had in  my office. One colleague asked me whether I had an electronic copy of this anywhere. I didn’t, and  I was surprised that I was unable to find any archived copy on the Internet either.

So, I took my paper copy to our university librarians and they have very helpfully managed to get the whole thing digitised and put online. You can get your own copy of the original 1992 National Curriculum for Music from here. All 77 pages (compare that to the current 4!). Anyway who tells me that we haven’t lost something of great value in the current reform of the National Curriculum under Gove and his bullies better be prepared to duck quickly!

The National Curriculum for Music: Origin, Philosophy and Perspective

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Given the recent announcements from Gove et al about a new National Curriculum, I thought I’d take a longer view and consider some of the issues surrounding the introduction of the National Curriculum for Music in 1992. Like now, this caused considerable politically-charged debate! Within a review of correspondence from this time and the contributions of the main protagonists, we find many resonances with curriculum issues today. This article explores some of the key thinking behind the original National Curriculum, before outlining a series of exchanges between Keith Swanwick and a number of other music curriculum theorists of the day.

Keith Swanwick, chair of the Music Education Council from 1991 to 1995, summarised the position as it was in 1992 like this:

In Britain, the idea of a National Curriculum replaces a situation where no subject was required by law and where choice of subject content was largely in the hands of teachers. The shift towards national specification is therefore of great consequence and has caused a wide and often heated debate. The essential nature of subjects and the appropriateness or otherwise of cultural content has been an educational and political issue. (Swanwick 1992, p.162)

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