Music makes a profound contribution to personal, social and cultural identity; it shapes and is shaped by society and allows us to explore our own individuality as well as connect with others. We can ‘say’ things with music we cannot in any other way; it can challenge and provoke new ways of thinking and feeling, and it can reveal to us new meanings of the world, the people within, and our place in it. We must ensure that music education embraces the same view; it must allow students insight into their own culture and that of others, and it must give them a ‘voice’ to use that is built from dialogue with others and eventually shaped into their own. ‘Access’ and ‘significance’ are therefore two broad notions that I feel we should embrace in the provision of music education in schools. When these aspects aren’t embraced and aligned to the purpose of music, we begin to run into trouble…

Music education is often focused on recreating music that has happened or learning specific rules, whilst this has a very important place, we also need to ensure that is remains useful for students negotiating their own musical worlds. We need to “learn the rules like an artist”, as Picasso said, so we can “break them like a pro” – students need to be informed as to what it is they are doing and where they can take it so that it is meaningful, but this must happen in the context of music itself. It is surprising how often this isn’t the case!

Music education needs to provide the ways and means for students to engage in musical activity that bears significance to them as a learner, and which also affords insight into the musical worlds of others. Too often, students learn about music – the theory of music, the history of music, features of styles…  – not of music, and thereby potential access to and significance in rich musical encounters with music itself is threatened. Students may also become engaged in musical practices that are ‘quarantined’ to the school, which only serves to remove music from the broader social context within which it is usually engaged in outside of the classroom. Through learning of music, we provide access to developing fluency with a unique knowledge system. These knowledges are built on experiences with music and begin intuitively; analytical knowledge is then attached to these experiences to create understanding. When the development of analytical knowledge alone is the focus of the classroom, we threaten the processes through which we gain musical awareness and understanding; students do not have the underlying intuitive knowledges to gain access to this knowledge or experience significance in it, let alone strive for excellence in it.

At the end of the day, we need to ensure that we are teaching music in musical ways. Music is music – it is made up from the same fundamental elements, and these should comprise the core content of any curriculum.

Unfortunately, there are broader systemic and policy issues within the provision of music education in schools. Different jurisdictions and sectors place different emphases on what is offered to students, with time allocation and sequence as the most significant factor. To develop the necessary relationship between intuitive and analytical musical knowledge, the ‘language’ of music must constantly be put to use – approached sequentially and developmentally. There is a growing tendency for music to be situated within broader ‘arts’ programs in schools, whereby each of the five art forms are attended to under the banner of one subject. Learning is then either approached in discrete ‘packets’ for each art form, or a ‘cross-pollination’ approach is employed, whereby all of the art forms are dealt with at once. Both approaches are, in my view, insufficient; they only serve to dilute the depth of experience necessary for quality. Further, when a ‘cross-pollination’ approach is taken, links can be tenuous and engagement in each art form tokenistic. This approach also demands a considerable knowledge base within each art form with which to work – drawing together the ways of working in each art form, their subject matter and unique processes, in a meaningful way, demands a cognitive load beyond most students. This might be an unpopular view, but I would advocate a sustained, developmental and sequential program for all art forms – they all offer something unique, and they all offer us a different way of understanding and making sense of the world. They are related in process, yet distinct in knowledge and application.

Given the purpose and function of music in society, we owe it to our students to provide a sustained, developmentally sequenced music education in our schools – one that deals with the fundamental aspects of music directly, which can be put to use irrespective of the music context facing students. This is a considerable investment, and one that takes time to mature, but what it offers students and the broader culture of the school is nothing short of remarkable. The building of a quality music program should rest upon a clear vision that considers the place and value of music in society and how the school can contribute to this – and this needs to be authored by the school for their unique context. Access to and significance in musical encounters should feature prominently, and this must extend to all students in the school. We all have an instrument within us – our voice – and the use of it should be central in all learning; with it, we can internalise sound, and feel the elements and essence of music intuitively – this is the basis for musical understanding.

Regular and sustained time needs to be devoted to music learning and this needs to be situated in meaningful practice – where the materials of music are intuitively felt and then connected to ever-growing schemes of meaning. A curriculum must be designed that ensures students’ access to and significance in music and the place of it in their lives; it must be built on achieving fluency with materials of music, placing musical activity in authentic contexts and processes, and welcoming a degree of student agency – all whilst staying true to the intents and purposes of a sequential and educative program. This is our program, for them – we need to learn to lead and to listen. Traditions and cultural conservatism do have a place, and we will eventually set our own, but we also need to be willing to approach things anew and reflect on what is working and what isn’t.

Music contributes strongly to our character – it is a worthwhile endeavour that allows students unique and individualised ways of communicating meaning and understanding, and its benefits extend into and beyond their school life. Music has taught me many things that extend beyond music itself – the ability to listen, be disciplined, be creative, be collaborative, to see into the worlds of others… and I have learnt a great deal about myself, what I am capable of, different ways of thinking and knowing… This is meaningful stuff, and is it part of the education of character that music provides.

This is an extract from an interview response entitled ‘Music’s major viral impact’, published in LeadershipEd (Term 2, 2020), 50-53.