Two parallel samples of secondary music teachers in England, taken from 1982 and 1998, reveal similarities and differences in their evaluations and uses of twentieth- and pre-twentieth-century Western classical music, folk music, popular music, jazz and ‘world’ music. Least change occurs with relation to folk and pre-twentieth-century classical music; most with relation to popular and world music. The status of classical music is high in each of the two time periods, but in different ways. By the end of the century, teachers' views of musical value had, overall, shifted radically towards more global perspectives, and their classroom approaches included far more integrated practical work involving performing, composing and listening, with an emphasis on cross-stylistic comparisons and musical universals.

Despite pockets of excellence, singing in British secondary schools is not only weak but in a state of continuing decline. The unpopularity of singing is well documented but the reasons for that unpopularity are less certain. Through interviewing adults between the ages of 20 and 40 about their school days, the authors located the principal sources of most people's unease with singing, and also the seat of pleasure among those who enjoyed it. Some differences between age groups and the sexes emerged through the study. Unexpectedly, all interviewees were united in the view that singing should be retained as a worthwhile element of the secondary school curriculum.

This research was carried out as part of an extensive investigation into why some music teachers were experiencing difficulties teaching music to Muslims in their classes. For some Muslims, music is pronounced haram and is forbidden in Islamic law due to its associations; it has frequently been linked with sex, drugs and alcohol and has been ‘tarred with the same brush’. For many more Muslims it is seen as mubah, indifferent in relation to law, but for cultural reasons they would still prefer their children not to take part. Some forms of music are more acceptable than others, and some are acceptable under certain conditions, but of course most non-Muslim teachers are unaware of these. This article reports on observations of music lessons in a school with a high proportion of pupils from Muslim backgrounds. Interviews with pupils and several relevant adults are included. A report of the background to this research, and other aspects of it, can be found in the suggestions for further reading.

This paper is based on research carried out into the effects of ICT on musical composition in secondary schools. It is based on a series of interviews with students and teachers, and classroom observations in eight schools following questionnaire responses from 18 secondary schools in south-eastern England. The strategies suggested for effective use of ICT in composing in the classroom resulting from the research include differentiation and classroom management. In addition to teachers' subject knowledge, and resources and their deployment, it appears that the physical learning environment is another crucial factor.

This report is the first stage of a longitudinal inCanto research project, the aim of which is to find out if children who receive an appropriate ‘musical education’, broadly speaking, from the 6th month of prenatal life onwards are able to sing in tune, and if they develop this skill earlier than the general population. In the stage presented here we try to establish the point at which children who have been musically stimulated 3–4 months before birth start to produce their first musical babbling, and analyse the musical content of their vocalisations. For these purposes we organised a weekly course of music for 68 mothers-to-be and for their children after birth. The amount and the quality of the vocalisations produced by the children in the experimental group were found to be higher than reported in previously published studies, and the analysis of the musical babbling revealed the presence of musical patterns belonging to our musical system.

This article examines the debate over issues of musical intelligence, largely in a Scottish context, although it draws on recent international research in its discussion. It examines different perceptions of musical gift, and will relate these to factors which either release it, or constrict the release in different ways. Musical intelligence is then examined within the context of the multiple intelligences proposed by Howard Gardner, and is related to practical aspects of musical education.