The article looks firstly at research into early human communication and secondly at the learning experiences of successful musicians in a range of fields. It underlines the idea that music learning and language learning have much in common. Musical improvisation is seen as having a central role, similar to that of talking in relation to verbal language. Recognition of this role forms the basis of an approach which builds on children's early musical development and can enable them all to fulfil their potential as musical communicators. Directions for further research are suggested.

In the last two decades, educational and curricular reforms in Hong Kong have been designed to prepare students for the challenges of the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty from the UK to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1997. This paper focuses on students' and teachers' attitudes towards a multicultural music education, which includes Chinese music, in response to this socio-political change. A mixed method design, involving a content analysis of relevant official educational and music documents, a questionnaire survey to 3,243 school students, and semi-structured interviews with 20 music teachers have been employed to further understanding of the development of politics and culture in Hong Kong society, which was investigated between winter 2006 and spring 2007. This paper argues that access to various musical cultures is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the development of music education in Hong Kong. Questions of how to integrate both Chinese music and other musical cultures in music education will remain a challenge for the future.

Higher music education (HME) in Europe is multifaceted due to the great variety of legal frameworks, conservatory histories and practices. However, following the Bologna declaration in 1999, traditional conservatories are gradually transforming into research-based institutions, which means combining advanced performer training with artistic research. After a background on academisation in the higher education of classical, professional musicians, this article reports on a Swedish case study of meanings assigned to academisation in HME. Findings show that it is defined and justified as a quality development project, which requires adaptation and also gives opportunities for further development. Issues of agency in HME are discussed.

This article reports upon a research project undertaken at the University of Wolverhampton where iPods and podcasting were used as a delivery and assessment mechanism within an undergraduate Popular Music degree programme. A sample drawn from students studying the programme was interviewed to explore their engagement with the technology and the curriculum materials produced. Results found that although not a replacement for traditional lectures, iPods and podcasting are an effective means for supporting student learning. Benefits included motivating learners, enabling student interaction, offering time-shifted learning engagement and personalisation of learning. This article evaluates the pedagogical adoption of iPods and podcasting within a music education context and makes suggestions for future areas of research.

This article reports a case study of an experienced teacher of composing working with secondary school students in a large urban centre in Ontario, Canada. Results suggest authentic assignments connect student composing to the ‘real world’, and so have meaning and life beyond the music classroom. Teachers can facilitate the development of theoretical music knowledge by supporting and enhancing the experiential learning that students accomplish on their own, through composing. Offering suggestions for change to compositions-in-progress, and cultivating a classroom ethos where students exchange this service amongst themselves, serves to enhance composing potential. By helping students infuse their work with personal knowledge, experiences, and interests, teachers can increase students’ meaningful involvement in classroom composing.

This paper examines the practice of five music educators in Canada and Australia who, despite the pervasiveness of ingrained Western-based pedagogy in these countries, are forging ahead with culturally diverse music programmes. Their work is presented as five ‘snapshots of practice’ which provide inspiration and conceptual ideas for other teachers aiming to diversify their practice in music education. While willingness and enthusiasm are paramount, it is these exemplars of innovative and resourceful practice which are crucial in assisting teachers to recognize that alternative forms of musicianship are both legitimate and essential to a well-rounded education in sonic exploration.

This paper is based on a five-year research project looking at the work of music teachers in Northern Ireland. It considers the original inspirations for their choice of career and investigates which aspects of their work continue to motivate them. It discusses the tensions that can arise between their aspirations and the realities of the classroom, and suggests that the reasons for these may often be found in their own élitist background, in the importance they attach to the musical as opposed to the educational aspects of their work and in their general lack of vision for future career development.

This research aimed to provide an account of the impact of the Musical Futures approach on the wider school community in Musical Futures ‘Champion Schools’. Questionnaires were completed by 344 non-music teachers. Interviews were undertaken with members of senior management teams. The majority of staff indicated that Musical Futures had had a positive impact on student motivation, well-being, self-esteem and confidence and had encouraged students to work together. There was less agreement that it had improved student concentration, organisation and students’ attitudes towards learning and academic progression. The interviews provided deeper insights into the issues relating to implementation.

This article reviews research regarding the question whether presenting music live, audio-visually or only aurally makes any difference for listeners' experiences. Most factors that characterise live performance could be supposed to enhance listeners' cognitive, affective and evaluative experiences. However, it is often hard to predict the exact influence of the visual stimuli that relate to audio-visual, and mostly also to live musical presentation. Many studies show that live music has positive effects on listeners' experience. However, there is little systematic research that compares live music with other modes of presentation. Studies comparing the effects of audio-visual and aural presentation have yielded rather mixed results. There is an obvious need for well-controlled studies on the effects of live music and on audio-visual music presentation based mainly on musico-psychological rather than visual-artistic principles. The research needs to take account of the variables that are crucial for understanding the effects of different modes of presentation.

This pilot study analysed the learning strategies of advanced students and professional electroacoustic composers engaged in creating new musical pieces through online collaboration. The participants were divided into three groups and interacted in a virtual setting using synchronous (chat and Skype) and asynchronous tools (forum, compositional software) to perform the compositional activities. A multiple case study design was used to describe and interpret the actions of the participants. Forum discussions, Skype dialogues and e-mail exchanges were examined to explore the participants’ interactions and understand their actions during the online activities. Individual semi-structured interviews focusing on the processes and working approaches were conducted. The following themes were considered for the analysis of the collaborative compositional activity: working approach, relational model, leadership, organisation and compositional process. The participants effectively completed the compositional activities on the online platform, and based on the results, the following phases emerged as: (a) context definition; (b) planning/organising; (c) experimenting/generating musical ideas; (d) constructing and (e) evaluating. The findings are discussed regarding the educational implications of developing didactic activities based on collaborative composition.

‘Rivers of Musical Experience’ were used as a research tool to explore the wide range of musical experiences and concomitant identity construction that six amateur keyboard players over the age of 55 brought to their learning as mature adults. It appears that significant changes in their lives acted as triggers for them to engage in musical activity which had meaning for them, often further prompted by the interest and actions of family, friends and acquaintances. Lifelong engagement with music was not only a source of pleasure and social enrichment but also pain, disappointment, liberation and empowerment.

The purpose of the study is to examine, through interviews and observations, the extent to which 8–10 year old children in a London primary school replicate gendered musical practices and experience gendered musical meanings, and how these may affect their expectations and the specific practices and products of their composition. I also consider how primary school teachers participate in the overarching discourse on gender and music education, by examining their expectations about the nature of girls' and boys' compositions. I analyse my findings in relation to Lucy Green's model of gendered musical meaning and experience. One outcome of the analysis is the development of a concept of ‘female musical subculture’ to interpret girls' and women's participation in the compositional world. Secondly, the findings strongly suggest that in their musical practice, the children in the research are not reproducing ideological assumptions about gendered musical practices, which contradicts how they operate discursively, for their discourse lies within the bounds of gendered musical ideology. Thirdly, the findings also indicate that the teachers are strongly affected by gendered musical ideologies, and have concomitant expectations about the music girls and boys produce.

The music industry in the 21st century uses digital technology in a wide range of applications including in performance, in composition and in recording and publishing. In this article, I consider how the impact of digital technologies may be affecting pedagogical processes adopted by secondary music teachers, particularly in the area of composition. This paper examines qualitative data gathered from teachers in four schools participating in a larger research project. Data collected in this paper came from a number of semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that although the majority of teachers involved in this research remain fundamentally conservative in their approaches to teaching composition, focusing on more procedural rather than creative activities, some music teachers do make radical changes to their pedagogy in contexts where this is important to their students’ engagement and supported by their school.

Dunwich Revisited was a curriculum-based music project run at Debenham CEVC High School between December 1999 and March 2000. All pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9, together with a Year 10 GCSE group, participated in the composition of an electroacoustic piece based on Dunwich (a place with a remarkable history on the east coast of Suffolk). A distinctive feature of the project was the use of a range of technologies to compose, develop and perform musical ideas. The final piece was performed by thirty-five pupils at the Celebration of Schools' Music held at Snape Maltings Concert Hall on 7 March 2000.

This article shares insights from this curriculum project drawn from a range of qualitative data collected by Jonathan Savage, the Head of Music, and Mike Challis, an electroacoustic composer who is also a member of the school staff. These insights are placed within the context of other recent research evidence describing the relationships between composition, performance and listening as prescribed in the English National Curriculum for music. The article considers how these technologies, some old and some new, can have an impact on music teaching and learning in the classroom environment.

There is increasing international evidence that playing a musical instrument has a positive impact on attainment at school but little research has been undertaken in the UK. This study addresses this drawing on data on attainment at age 11 and 16 relating to 608 students, 115 of whom played a musical instrument. The findings showed that the young people playing an instrument showed greater progress and better academic outcomes than those not playing with the greatest impact for those playing the longest. The findings are considered in relation to the possible reasons for this, and the implications for education.

The quality of music teaching that pupils receive when they enter a new secondary school at the age of 11 years varies. The article considers the characteristics of unsuccessful and successful approaches to teaching in Year 7.

This paper takes the view that kinaesthesia, processes involving neuro muscular sensation, should be the central and unifying component in any psychological model for music learning. It maintains that engagement in music activities, which consciously encourages the processes of kinaesthesia, helps to bring about the closer association of thinking and feeling. The paper develops the notion that this form of musical ‘knowing’, which is based on the interrelationships between muscular, perceptual and cognitive awareness, is the essential ingredient of musically sensitive and imaginative behaviour. Having established these principles, the paper explores those recent developments in music microtechnology which appear to support and develop these processes.

This article will explore how Professor Lucy  Green’s model of informal learning, as advocated by Musical Futures, is perceived by those lying close to the phenomenon. Qualitative research was conducted and data collection involved semi-structured interviews with three key figures relating to the phenomenon. Case studies were then conducted in four English secondary schools, involving teachers and students. Data were analysed thematically. Overall key findings of the study will be presented and discussed: the phenomenon as a problem solver; adaptations and misconceptions; revolution within music education; and tensions of freedom versus authority and marketisation.

This article maintains that the emphasis placed on technical work during instrumental lessons inhibits the growth of students' musicianship. In addition the focus given to technique is shown to be responsible for the development of unnecessary physical tensions. It is argued that in terms of brain usage, technical skills and note-reading are based largely in the left-hemisphere, while the less used skills of improvisation, memorisation and internalisation are based in the right-hemisphere. It is proposed that in order to allow pianists to become more creative, imaginative and musical, young beginners should be given the opportunity to develop all the functions of their brains. Through using a whole-brain approach in piano teaching, pupils would develop a greater understanding of music and obtain a greater sense of physical ease whilst playing. The approach would increase enjoyment and motivation, reduce anxiety and physical tensions while performing and improve the ability to sight-read.

This paper presents an overview of boys' and girls' musical learning inside and outside school. This involves a sampling survey of 877 pupils (414 boys and 463 girls) in nine Chinese secondary schools. The paper argues that patterns of gender stereotyping associated with music among Hong Kong students have some similarities with those in the Western world. The impact of gender beliefs was most evident in types of instrumental learning, types of music activities, and listening and singing preferences. The subjects' attitudes towards the promotion of popular and Western classical musics in school emerged as statistically significant, while their attitude towards Chinese classical music was non-significant.