We develop a creative method for teaching and learning piano technique which motivates students to devote more time and energy to technical exercises. First, we describe the approach to technical exercises of pianists and piano students of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Second, we address a central feature of technical practice from earlier periods: fingering rules and systems. Third, we discuss whether and how older methods might be reintroduced to contemporary piano pedagogy and practice.

In this study, the author examines the relationship between tone production and language among children from Ghana. The results suggest that linguistic content influences melodic movement. To a large extent, the singing development of these children is made possible through play and the other culturally acceptable repertoire that they hear around them. The author concludes that teachers should be encouraged to develop exercises that enhance vocal development while rooted within the children's musical cultures.

South Africa is undergoing dynamic changes affecting all aspects of life, and legacies of the previous regime have a bearing on these changes. Music educators informal institutions face many challenges. Music-making in the informal sector is extensive, ongoing and relevant. Today, one of the greatest challenges for music educators in the formal sector is to realise the importance and value of developing a philosophy and process of music education that emanates and evolves from musics and musical practices existing in southern Africa.

From amongst the literature of music education in the twentieth century a variety of styles and approaches can be discerned that employ differing ways of communicating ideas to teachers. The work of Yorke Trotter is highlighted here as being particularly effective in discussing musical and educational challenges in a way that could directly inspire the development of classroom practice. The paper looks at the legacy of Yorke Trotter's thinking, and observes that the writings of Schafer, Paynter and Aston provided similar motivation for the teachers of the 1960s and 1970s. The contrast between this professional reflection and the Government directives of the early 1990s is discussed, and the importance of continuing educational debate in music teaching becomes evident.

This article traces the history of Musical Education of the Under-Twelves (MEUT) from its birth in 1949 to its demise in 1983. Because it arose from a coalition of pre-war societies and associations it provides a valuable historical link, as well as an example of a later alliance with progressive ideas in education. The paper considers the following questions: What were the historical roots of MEUT? Why was MEUT formed? What new ideas were developed and debated, and how did these relate to traditional concerns? What accounted for the demise of MEUT? Through the investigation of such an association we can better understand how music as a curriculum subject changes over time.

This paper is intended as a sequel to my earlier paper, ‘What's Wrong with School Music? (BJME 1995, 12, 185-201). It carries an account of recent research into the arts in secondary schools which suggests that, despite National Curriculum reforms and innovations, music still lags behind the other arts in the general esteem of students. The paper proposes that the trouble with music in schools is that it has failed to modernise, that is, that it has somehow been impervious to the creative developments in classical and popular music. Robert Witkin's Art and Social Structure (1995) provides a theoretical account of modernism. The baleful influence of Hymns Ancient and Modern on generations of music teachers is condemned. Cited by way of contrast are two examples of a fully modem music education discovered at the Dartington International Summer School of Music. These, it is argued, capture the participatory ethos promoted in the Anthony Everitt's recent Gulbenkian publication Joining In.

How can music help to create a culture of tolerance when there are fundamental problems in decoding the messages in the musk of others? There is quite good access in British and other schools to musical materials from Africa, and use has been made of them, but there is a question as to whether this use is appropriate and acceptable. The concept of ownership of such music is briefly discussed, and the relative effectiveness of its transmission. This is then set in the contexts of Music Education and the strength of Christianity in contemporary Tanzania, including some of the problems perceived by Tanzanian students and teachers. These contexts have to be acknowledged, and the article concludes with two suggestions for making the inclusion of African music in British schoob a more transformative experience, ideally through direct links with sources of African music in Africa.

Attempting to explain the mis-match between women's low profile in most music professions and females' success in formal music education, I looked for differences in the attitudes, experiences and expectations of music students. This was done by using repertory grids with relatively small numbers of A-level and undergraduate music students, and postgraduate student teachers with music degrees. Constructivist psychology, of which repertory grid technique is a practical example, offers approaches in harmony with feminist preferences for the meaning people attach to their situation and the usefulness of their interpretation over notions of truth. Thus participants' responses dictate any groupings to emanate from analysis, rather than their being placed in pre-determined categories.

The outcomes of the study suggested, however, that little differentiates female and male musicians, as represented by these music students. Conversely, the results implied that the sexes are inclined to think similarly, insofar as likenesses in their attitudes could be associated with their instrument, and, crucially, that each sex tended to look to mo dels I mentors who reflected their sex as well as instrument. The sexes' inconsistency of achievement might then be explained by differences between sex-role models.

Learning to play musical instruments has always been a minority activity in British schools. This is partly to do with resources but also to do with the type of curriculum on which the teaching of instruments is often based. In an earlier paper (Cope & Smith, 1997) we argued that this curriculum was based on a classical, scholastic model and suggested that the goal implicit in this approach, the concert player, was inappropriate for most children. This paper lays out an analysis of the knowledge components involved in playing an instrument and draws a number of conclusions about how this might inform the way in which teaching instruments can be approached.

This study is a replication of Dr Lucy Green's (1993) research using responses to an open-ended questionnaire to interpret music teachers' perceptions about boys' and girls' achievements in music classes compared to their results on the General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations (GCSE) in music. Using a revised questionnaire, the British Columbia study examined secondary music teachers' perceptions of gender issues and compared them with Grade 12 Examination results. The impact of gender beliefs was most evident in composition, where the provincial grades contradict teachers' perceptions of success and where the possible impact of technology on girls has not yet been acknowledged.

The recent explosion in ‘world musics’ can be seen as a positive element for music education; but a failure to adopt a well-grounded and consensual approach in British educational institutions may well signal problems for the future of music as a curriculum subject. This paper problematises the use of non- Western musics in schools and colleges, it recognises the need for a more thorough conceptual stance and a reappraisal of the music curriculum and, among a number of options, suggests an anti-racist and intercultural perspective as a possible way forward.

This article is a summary of a report and survey commissioned by the London Arts Board (LAB) and Yamaha-Kemble (UK) in August 1994. The survey followed the progress of a year-long music education partnership between seven schools and three music organisations in the capital. The aim of the survey was to monitor pupils' learning outcomes in order to evaluate the effects of the musicians' and teachers' work on pupils' progress and to identify the core elements for effective collaboration between music organisations and schools. Of the seven partnerships, four had largely favourable outcomes. This article summarises the findings and conclusions which may be drawn from the project.

This paper originates from a research project investigating the effects of a ‘holistic’ approach to music education in the secondary school. It is based upon a case study involving the work of one secondary school music department where a ‘holistic’ approach to the music programme is adopted in that the work in the curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 is used as the basis for extended curricular work. It is concluded that the holistic approach offers an interesting and in many ways educationally beneficial alternative to the more traditional separatist approach to the curriculum and extended curriculum.