Primary school teachers have had to endure a great many changes in the profession over the last decade. Since the advent of the National Curriculum – the most significant change of all – there have been further alterations to the teaching programme. The first was a revision of the National Curriculum itself, followed by the election of a new Government, which rapidly introduced another major change: the prescriptive teaching of literacy and numeracy. To accommodate this, primary schools have had to juggle to maintain a broad and balanced curriculum of foundation subjects. As a result, the position of music has become precarious in some schools; in a study made last summer, evidence from ten respondents shows how it has survived in others. This paper looks at the way these respondents perceive music education, and how the literacy hour, in particular, has affected it. In September 2000, yet another revised curriculum will be introduced. The main problem facing teachers is pressure, but basic training is a key indicator of successful music teaching in primary schools. Since music is such a fundamental education – a belief expressed long ago by Plato, it is vital that we music educators maintain its position in the present-day curriculum.