‘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.

In 1970 I abandoned a career in orchestral playing to become a teacher of music in schools. Although I am glad that I had the chance to play professionally, I am even more pleased that I pursued the profession for which I had been trained because interesting things were occurring in school music. As it happens, 1970 was also the year in which Sound and Silence by Paynter and Aston was published.

This article examines the musical enculturation and early education of Wagogo children of the Dodoma region in central Tanzania. In support of the enculturation premise, long-standing practices in musical enculturation among the Wagogo are described, most of which are continuing today. The Wagogo hold to the belief that the behaviours of both mother and father affect the proper development of the young child prior to birth and this sense of joint child-raising responsibilities continues even as they enter into their school years. The intent of the article is to argue that the facilitation of musical experiences for young children and teachers through music and dance is a vital component of their holistic development, and to offer an understanding of how teachers and parents might incorporate daily singing, dancing and drumming experiences into the lives of children. By providing occasions for music in the lives of young children, and by nurturing their natural musical proclivities, the traditional music of the Wagogo of Tanzania remains a living tradition, a critical component of the identity of young Wagogo children, and an important means of human expression.

Recent years have revealed local government to be a fundamental stakeholder in the development of arts and music communities. This article provides a context for an exploration and study of the issues, themes and dilemmas that surround local government and music communities. In particular the article provides this examination from an Irish perspective and focuses on recent research to provide insights from local government music practice. Key themes, questions and issues are raised concerning the impact of local government on the development of music communities, how arts agendas are integrated into local government, the tensions between artistic aims and political remits, as well as the ways local government is enhancing musical participation and development amongst communities.

Every educational system has its goals and objectives, curricula and modes of implementation. There is however the need for periodic assessment and evaluation. Specifically, this research paper sets out to evaluate the success or otherwise of the music education delivery system in Kwara state of Nigeria and its implications for the goals of music education in Nigeria. Data were gathered primarily from field situations using empirical and deductive methodologies and secondarily from government publications and other publications related to the subject matter. The paper observes that the noble idea of bi-musicality, a concept that stresses musical literacy in both one's own culture and that of the West is hampered by lopsidedness, crisis of perspectives and inadequate resource materials and persons. There is also a structural defect in the vertical relationship between the various levels of music education in the state. The paper further identifies public perception of music as a Christian subject as one of the obstacles to an effective music education delivery system in Nigeria. The paper concludes that until significant musical theories and conceptual approaches emerge from extensive fieldwork into Nigeria's diverse musical cultures, it will be difficult to develop and sustain an authentic and functional music education framework in Nigeria.

For a practicing arts educator, the relationship between theory and practice is often unproblematic: theory is considered to be irrelevant for the good practice. Considering the matter from an academic standpoint, one faces the distinction between poietic, or productive, and contemplative, or responsive, mindsets stemming from the classical philosophical tradition. Still more confusing is the question of the relationship between theory and philosophy; one's theory seems to follow one's chosen philosophical commitment, even to a degree that advocates of different philosophical stances do not necessarily understand each others' conceptions of theory.

In this article,1 we examine the complex relationships between philosophy, theory and practice in music education. We shall begin with analysing different approaches to philosophy of music education. Proceeding towards more general conceptions of the relationship between theory and practice, we will examine the work of some of the well-known authors within the field of music education in order to pave way to a philosophical outlook that conceives the role of philosophy of music education as a form of cultural critique. The suggested alternative approach mediates between contemplative and poietic fields in pedagogical praxis. This guides us towards an understanding that considers theoretical concepts as philosophically loaded pragmatic tools that serve critical rationality embedded in practical action. From this standpoint there is indeed no need to cut theory apart from a good practice: both can be taken to serve the same master, philosophically informed way of living meaningfully.

This article reports the results of research into teachers’ practices concerning the assessment of composing at Key Stage 3 in the National Curriculum for Music in England. It finds that many teachers are using NC levels for assessing individual pieces of work, a process for which they were never intended. It also finds that teachers find it difficult to show progress using NC levels, and that many teachers have rewritten the levels into child-friendly language, thus causing further difficulties.

This article critically examines how interactions between social changes, social harmony, and historical memory shape school music education in China. As a historical review and documentary analysis, it traces the historical development of music education and examines the Chinese government's role in such interactions over time. The article argues that the Chinese government uses music and music education as an influential nation-building system to enrich the politics of memory. In particular, it adapts the nation's past for political ends, and passes on state-prescribed values to its citizens with a view to legitimising its power. The dynamics and dilemmas that challenge school education result from two divergent aims: (1) to combine the functional education of Confucianism and nationalism so as to encourage social harmony and maintain national myths; and (2) to encourage popular and other world music with traditional Chinese music by using multicultural teaching strategies in music lessons. The question remains how to balance ideas of social harmony, musical cultures and nationalism in school music education in the contexts of current Chinese education policies, teacher education and the globally oriented economics of China today.

This paper explores the concept of instrumental/vocal learning when studying the same instrument or voice with more than one concurrent teacher. In this context, teachers may be working as a team, or one or both teachers may not know of the other's contribution to a student's learning. Qualitative data from music students and teachers at the University of York sheds some light on this often hidden learning context. This paper examines students’ reasons for studying with more than one teacher; their views on negotiating teacher demands; teacher–student–teacher dynamics; and assessment of the success of this context for learning. Teachers’ views are considered through discussion of their attitudes to this context, and their evaluation of its effect on their teaching. Findings suggest that although there may be problems for students regarding issues of teacher loyalty and dealing with conflicting advice, there are also many benefits including exposure to a greater range of musical and technical ideas and added pedagogical insight. There are also potential benefits for teachers if they are working as a team.

This paper explores recent developments in relation to doctoral research training in music. Drawing on the findings of a case-study of a recently established practice-led doctorate at an Australian conservatoire, we offer insights into the attributes of its expanding cohort. We interrogate a blended research training structure of academic supervision, coursework, web-based tools and administrative resources in order to reveal the obstacles to, and opportunities for improvement. The paper concludes by arguing programme design refinements which contribute to a deeper understanding of practice-led doctorates in music while inviting readers to similarly consider their own experiences.