Music-ITE

Before beginning on the first of these two main sections, the new National Curriculum for Music needs to be placed in a general context. Developments in the music curriculum are part of a much larger piece of curriculum reform at Key Stage 3. The QCA website outlines many of these changes. In summary, the wider reform of the Key Stage 3 curriculum is designed to give individual schools a greater degree of autonomy and ownership over the construction of the Key Stage 3 curriculum. In particular, schools have been given greater flexibility about how they organise curriculum time, resources and subjects. There is a new focus on the underpinning aims and skills that pupils need to develop throughout their Key Stage 3 experience and a corresponding focus on a greater degree of personalisation of curriculum content and process (e.g. in how teachers might assess pupils).

But outside of these general developments in the Key Stage 3 curriculum, the changes in the music Programme of Study should be viewed in relation to other current initiatives in music education. Chief amongst these would be the National Strategy for Music and Musical Futures. Both of these initiatives, although not backed up with a legal framework for their implementation, have shaped the thinking of curriculum planners and should be ‘read’ alongside these changes.

Visit the QCA website and view the new National Curriculum for Music. Before reading the following text, ask yourself how the new curriculum compares to your understanding of the old one? What would be the implications for learning to teach music within this new framework?

So what’s changed in the new National Curriculum for Music? The following section will make the following assertions that:

• Some things have not changed at all!
• Other things are re-focussed and given fresh (and helpful) emphasis;
• There is a variety of exciting and challenging new content.

The first thing that one notices when looking at the new National Curriculum for Music is that the structure of the curriculum document has changed. This is common across all subjects. We will use the new structure to outline the key points in relation to the three assertions.

Importance Statement

Each subject has a newly written importance statement. This is prefaced by the three-part aim of the Key Stage 3 curriculum for all pupils to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens. The importance statement for music is a helpful justification for music’s place in the Key Stage 3 curriculum. It discusses the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits of a music education for all pupils. Many of the points raised here are similar to a paragraph included in the previous National Curriculum (thereby backing up assertions 1 and 2 above), but there are also some exciting new ideas here.

Firstly, there is a useful new focus on music forming ‘part of an individual’s identity’ and the associated assumption that ‘positive interaction with music can develop pupils’ competence as learners and increase their self-esteem’. Secondly, there is a clear statement about music education being about active involvement (compare ‘Music education encourages active involvement in different forms of music-making’ against the old statement which read: ‘It encourages active involvement in different forms of amateur music making’). Thirdly, the links between music inside and outside the school are highlighted whilst linking it to a pupil’s individual development (e.g. ‘Music can influence pupils’ development in and out of school by fostering personal development and maturity, creating a sense of achievement and self-worth’.

1. Key Concepts

These five key concepts are a vital new part of the curriculum framework. They should underpin all musical learning and teaching throughout the Key Stage.

1.1 Integration of practice

This emphasises the importance of developing musical knowledge, skills and understanding through the main key processes of music learning (performing, composing, listening, review and evaluating). The benefits of participation, collaboration and working with others are highlighted. Much of this is similar to before but is helpfully refocused and falls within the second assumption. The explanatory notes contain challenging applications of these ideas, e.g. by providing opportunities for all pupils to play a full part in the musical life’s of their schools or wider community.

1.2 Cultural understanding

Cultural understanding is explored in relation to the development of pupils’ individual identities and their relationship musical traditions within national and global cultures. What is meant by ‘national’ or ‘global’ culture is unclear and open to interpretation.

1.3 Critical understanding

This concept contains similar ideas to the ‘Responding and reviewing appraising skills’ (part 3) of the old orders. The phrase ‘critical understanding’ is not found in the old orders.

1.4 Creativity

Creativity was mentioned briefly in the old curriculum document, although you will struggle to find it! Here, creativity is held up as a key concept. This presents a new and exciting challenge for music educators. What is creativity in music teaching and learning? The definition here is contestable on many fronts. But at least it is here and the challenge is laid down for all music educators to ensure that creativity underpins all that we do.

1.5 Communication

Communication here refers to how thoughts, feelings, ideas and emotions can be expressed through music. This is different from the previous orders (in the section entitled ‘Responding and reviewing appraising skills’) where pupils should be taught how to ‘communicate ideas and feelings about music using expressive language and musical vocabulary’. There is a different emphasis here that might encourage a more active involvement in music making processes.

2. Key Processes

Key processes are the essential skills and processes in music that enable pupils to make progress in their musical learning. These two sections replace the four main sections from the old orders. But it is vital to maintain the ‘integration of practice’ philosophy here and not view these processes as individual and isolated from each other.

In the old orders, each of the four sections was prefaced by the statement: ‘Pupils should be taught how to …’. This was a vital prerequisite to the musical processes. Here, the essential and interrelated skills and processes in music that pupils need to learn in order to make progress are listed with no mention of the need for teaching! Each of the two statements below is prefaced by the statement: ‘Pupils should be able to …’. This is the same for all subjects.

What should one read into this? This reviewer believes that this does signal an important change in what constitutes effective teaching. Teaching under the new National Curriculum should become a broader range of pedagogical styles and approaches from which the skilful teacher will choose appropriately after careful consideration of, and in relationship to, the pupils under their instruction. Didactic teaching has a place here; instructional elements in lessons will still remain; context-based musical learning will certainly be needed; Musical Futures and associated ‘informal’ pedagogies will also be required. The important point is that these are ‘weapons’ in the armoury of the skilful music teacher and will all be adopted after a careful and considered pedagogical choice.

In terms of the curriculum process of performing, composing, listening, reviewing and evaluating there are small changes in wording but most of the content here falls within assertions 1 and 2 (i.e. no changes or helpful refocusing/re-emphasising).

3. Range and Content

The content in this section clearly provides evidence for assertion 2 and 3. There are several links to the previous breadth of study statements here and some exciting new content. Significant changes and opportunities include:

• The requirement for performance activities to take place within and beyond the classroom for all pupils (3a);
• A greater pre-eminence given to staff notation which should be understood and be used by all pupils in a range of (previously ‘selected’) musical styles (3d);
• A new statement that talks about the role of music and musicians in society, the role of the music industry and artistic and intellectual property rights. Whilst no-one is suggesting that pupils undertake lessons in copyright law (do not forget the stress on pupils being actively involved in musical processes!), this is a welcome addition that should help pupils contextualise music in a digital culture of uploads, downloads and online social networking (3g).

4. Curriculum Opportunities

The majority of this section is new material. Some of it reiterates content from above. Key points to note include:

• Along with vocal and instrument performance skills, music technology must be used to assist the process of musical performance. This is an extension of the use of ICT from the previous orders (4a);
• The development of listening skills in an integrative way alongside performance and composition is not new. The inclusion of ‘aural perception skills’ as distinct from listening skills is interesting and noteworthy (4b);
• Creative and compositional skills such as songwriting and arranging are new ‘opportunities’ for inclusion here (4c); (improvising was included before (see 2a of the old orders);
• ‘Working with a range of musicians’ is a significant new part of the curriculum documentation. The explanatory notes suggest that this will include the following: instrumental tutors, community musicians, professional artists, amateur musicians and pupils from peer groups and other groups in the school. It could also include web-based learning opportunities (4d);
• Allowing pupils to ‘build on their own interests and skills’ is clearly an influence from the personalisation agenda. Also in 4f we find ‘Musical leadership skills’ highlighted. This is a new phrase and includes giving pupils the opportunity to organise musical activities or events or being the leader or director of a musical performance.
• Finally, there is a clear expression of music making links with and relating to other curriculum subjects (4g). For many educators, this is long overdue.

However, the way in which assessment in music is undertaken at Key Stage 3 is due a radical overhaul. New guidance on this matter will be given by the QCA in 2009 and a working group has already been established to investigate new approaches. But the QCA have already included some very useful materials on things like day-to-day assessment, periodic assessment, peer and self assessment. These can be found on their website (National Curriculum | Assessment).

However, there are new components in the National Curriculum that will require further consideration, debate, analysis and research by those engaged in delivering initial teacher education. Here, we will take one such component and explore it in a little more detail.

One of the new components of the National Curriculum focuses on the application of technology to develop musical performance skills. The opening of the Curriculum Opportunities (Section 4) states that:

The curriculum should provide opportunities for pupils to:

a. Develop individual performance skills, both vocal and instrumental, including the use of music technology learning opportunities.

The use of music technology as a tool for musical composition seems well established. Whether it is through the use of sequencing technologies, notation programmes or other pieces of technology, many pupils at Key Stage 3 are introduced to musical composition through music technology in a way that enhances the opportunity for their musical learning.

The challenge is to extend the use of music technology to support the development of performance skills. This raises a number of questions that one can consider in Activity 2.

Activity 2

As you began to answer these questions, perhaps you began to think about recent technological developments in music education? Leading music educators are addressing a number of approaches to these questions. Gigajam is one notable example of technology-supported instrumental learning that makes use of traditional instrumental interfaces (keyboard, drums, guitar, etc) to support the development of traditional instrumental skills (both individually and through musical ensembles).

At the other end of the spectrum, new musical instruments are being developed and used in classroom contexts. Cross-disciplinary approaches to musical performance can be seen in technologies that link together musical and visual elements. For example, consider some of the VJ-ing technologies like Edirol’s Motion Dive or Roland’s V-link technology (which allows musicians to trigger and manipulate video images). Perhaps more radically, Hand2Hand has taken a technology that many young people have considerably dexterity with (a standard playstation controller) and turned it into a musical instrument. Hand2Hand draws on ideas from a rich history of experimentation within the electroacoustic music community (as represented through conferences such as the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression).

But perhaps the ultimate musical instrument is the computer itself. There is no shortage of this technology in most high schools and there is plenty of open-source software around to facilitate the process of musical performance. Many musicians have described this as a ‘meta-instrument’ which ‘can change our entire perspective on the way we do things. It is not a machine designed for a particular task but a tool that may be fashioned to fulfil any task that we can clearly specify. It is a meta-machine. In particular, it offers the possibility of being a universal sonic instrument, a device with which we can model and produce any conceivable sound-object or organisation of sounds (Wishart 1996, p.325).

This gets us back to basics. Ultimately, any piece of technology is a tool that can be used skilfully, imaginatively and purposefully by its user. The success or failure of a tool towards a particular educational application will depend on our imagination as educators. Perhaps one of the key skills for those engaged in ITE in music will be to instil this sense of imagination in their trainee teachers.

Whilst the tool itself plays a mediating role in encouraging or limiting the opportunity to learn, an appropriate pedagogy to exploit the tool is also essential. As we have discussed above, much discussion has centred on the phrase, ‘Pupils should be able to …’ which precedes each of the main musical processes. This new phrase signals an approach to teaching and learning which is broader and encompasses a wider range of teaching styles and approaches. The choice of pedagogy for a particular scheme of work, lesson or application of a piece of technology will be an essential skill for trainee teachers to develop.

• www.gigajam.com
• www.hand2hand.co.uk
• www.edirol.com
• www.nime.org
• www.roland.co.uk
• Wishart, T. (1996) On Sonic Art. Amsterdam, Harwood Academic Publishers.