This study examines the learning processes that take place when upper secondary students apply and generate theories while drawing on their preferred music and writing songs of their own. One music theory teacher and two researchers collaborated to design an emergent sequence of lessons focusing on students’ interests, questions and creative work. Interpretive and musical analysis of students’ progress suggests that learning to theorise through modes and sounds from popular music was experienced as motivating, involved similar difficulties as traditional major/minor-based approaches, and resulted in original songs that the students enjoyed and were proud to perform for their peers.

Playful practices have been linked to increased motivation, engagement, learning and skill development. However, limited research has explored what playful music learning might look like for primary schools, and how teachers might incorporate a range of playful music practices within their classrooms. Our conceptual model for playful music learning amalgamates and builds upon previous philosophy, theory and research in the education and music education spheres. In doing so, it extends musical play across a continuum of ownership as has been proposed by Zosh et al. (2017) in the realm of playful learning more generally. Playful elements associated with the work of music education pedagogues Kodály and Kokas and other researchers in the field are outlined. Examples of musical games-play and guided musical play for primary classrooms are illustrated, and some recommendations are provided to support teachers in facilitating increasingly playful music learning.

In recent years, music education has seen a decline in the number of students choosing to continue their studies at Key Stage 4 (14- to 16-year-old students) and choose music as a GCSE option in England. Whilst the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a school performance measure which excludes the arts, has come under much scrutiny as to its impact on school music, enjoyment and the perceived importance of music lessons could also be contributing factors to low uptake. This paper presents student survey findings from the first part of a two-phase project that was based on a qualitatively driven mixed-method research design. Findings demonstrated that a decline in enjoyment and in the importance attributed to school music occurred in the first three years of lower secondary school (Key Stage 3). The enjoyment of school music was linked with the students’ engagement with practical components of music making, and its importance was mostly equated with future employment opportunities. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications in the teaching of music in secondary schools.

My role as a university-based, general classroom music teacher educator in England has become unclear, exacerbated by policies that have undermined the field of classroom music in schools and the role of universities in teacher education. Using self-critical inquiry enacted as critically reflexive autoethnography, I interrogated my professional practice to rethink my pedagogic identity. Theoretical perspectives, drawn from Bernstein and Bourdieu, were used to chart my shifting identity. This paper introduces a theorised model to illustrate a range of pedagogic identities for Key Stage 3 (KS3) general classroom music teacher education.

Student motivation has been conceived as a crucial factor in the learning processes. However, research in motivation and creative learning in the secondary education music classroom has been limited. Student motivation is explored in this article through a collaborative action research study, in the form of several projects centred on the creation of music through group improvisation and cooperative composition, conducted over the course of five 1-year cycles, from 2008 to 2013. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the aspects determining student motivation during creative learning processes. Three secondary schools in the region of Madrid (Spain), eleven third-year secondary school classes (n = 267), teachers, researchers and artists participated in the study. Data were gathered through participant and non-participant observations, interviews, a classroom diary, and a questionnaire. In the findings, six intrinsically linked connected forms of motivation are grouped in three levels and are related to different factors emerged during the teaching and learning processes and connected to creativity.

Music teacher identity is constructed at the intersection between musician and teacher. This study investigated the meaning of music-making among Korean novice music teachers and its role in constructing music teacher identity. Five music teachers participated in this study, and I used two data collection methods, reflective journaling and individual interviews. The results showed that while playing their instruments outside the classroom, several music teachers understood the importance of music in their lives, which was essential in constructing music teacher identities. In addition, playing outside the classroom allowed these participants to demonstrate their musical abilities to students, parents and other teachers and gain credibility as music teachers. However, other participants did not appear to recognise the importance of the intersection between music-making outside the classroom and teaching, which was an obstacle to music-making. Music-making inside the classroom was an important pedagogical tool to teach low-level students effectively. Importantly, regardless of their level of music-making inside the classroom, novice music teachers commonly viewed professional playing skills with primary and secondary instruments as important for teaching.

Despite the evidence of the benefits of improvisation in instrumental teaching, research indicates that many piano teachers do not include it in their lessons. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences on piano teachers’ pedagogy to determine what factors impacted the teaching of improvisation. A total of 117 UK-based piano teachers participated in the survey. The data obtained indicates that an understanding of how to teach improvisation is a significant influence on teachers’ pedagogy. The conclusion argues that there is a need for piano teachers to have greater access to instrumental teaching courses to encourage them to reflect on their teaching practice.

The teaching-learning process, both in general and in the specialty of Music Education, has evolved and its explanatory models have become increasingly complex. In view of current challenges, it is relevant to analyse the elements that are considered necessary to train music teachers to become competent professionals. This study identifies characteristics found in specialised Spanish and international scientific literature on teaching-learning processes in music teacher education, referring to their current state as well as to desirable developments and future prospects. Although a certain overlap among emergent categories in Spain and those in other countries can be observed, we also found differences of degree, as well as interesting divergences.

The study aimed to investigate how students in lower secondary schools in England perceive the subject of music in terms of its importance and enjoyment. Following findings from the first survey phase of the project, it specifically sought to shed light on the reasons why the majority of students decide not to choose music as one of their optional subjects at GCSE level. The paper presents interview findings with students in three schools at the north-east of England following the phenomenographic method of data analysis. Among factors found to impact on students’ decision to continue music at Key Stage 4 (ages 14–16 years) were the desire to spend more time learning music, having more choice and autonomy in the classroom, having more information about the content and requirements of GCSE music, feeling disadvantaged due to not being proficient at instrumental playing and having a limited perception of their own musicality or perceiving music as being elite or difficult. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications for the teaching and learning of music in secondary schools.

Early-career secondary school music teachers navigate many challenges as they settle into the profession. These include consolidating their knowledge of subject content, gaining classroom confidence and honing skills in classroom management. In addition, their sense of belonging can be enhanced by working at collegial relationships within their faculty, across the school and feeling a part of the wider school community. These factors can elicit a ‘make or break’ response for continuing in the profession.

This paper reports on a case study of an Australian early-career secondary school music teacher, in her fifth year in the profession. The case study, as a part of a larger study, sequenced quantitative and qualitative research methods, allowing insight into the music teacher’s working life and enabled the researcher to understand factors that impact daily practice. Themes explored in the study include motivation, perception of value, stress and the difficulties of securing permanent employment. The music teacher presented a positive approach to her work through her development of resilience and shared her future goals and dreams.

This research offers suggestions on how schools and education authorities can best support early-career secondary school music teachers to enable them to become resilient, confident and valued practitioners for the future.

The aim of this study was to analyse whether specialised musical training influences auditory discrimination, working memory, learning strategies and academic performance. Sixty students (30 with at least four years of musical training and 30 without) of the same socioeconomic level were compared. Significant differences were found between students with and without musical training in terms of learning strategies, working memory and academic performance (p= <.05). This study shows the benefits of musical training offered at specialised centres, the development of students’ cognitive skills and the contributions of neuroscience to improving professional practice.

This article critically engages with the discipline of African musics in the academy. It examines the process of curriculum transformation of the African music section at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town since 2005 as an emergent curriculum model for an integrated approach to the teaching of African musics at universities. The adoption of this curriculum predated the 2015–2016 fervent calls in South Africa to decolonise the university, which necessitates an approach to teaching African musics not rooted in its colonial past. As is known, the study and research of African musics in the academy partly stemmed from the efforts of European (and later US) researchers who often received support through the British colonial administration and much of their output seemed to be focused on convincing their peers about the virtues of ‘African music’ and the study thereof. Despite this history, there is evidence to support the fact that in most African universities, the music departments are far more interested in teaching Western art music and its virtues. In recognition of the calls by students for radical changes to the curricula in South African universities, the article seeks to answer the question ‘how do we consider ongoing changes to the knowledge both received and produced in this field?’

This exploratory study describes the design and implementation of a sound-based intervention in the initial training of specialist music teachers at a Spanish university. It aimed to create spaces geared towards more creative and contemporary approaches to musical learning in order to gauge the perceptions of trainee teachers regarding this kind of approach. The intervention (45 h of class time) was based on the creation of electroacoustic compositions following the SBM (Sound Based Music) approach using digital tools (Aglaya Play, AP). Qualitative process data were collected through self-reports, individual memories, and nine focus groups. The results suggest that the implementation of new intervention models that take into account the development of future teachers’ creativity with activities focused on exploration, experimentation, and creation with sound can generate new opportunities to enrich their teaching identities.

Higher music education institutions should continually review their curricula to ensure that their graduates are best equipped to support musical learning for children and young people. Perspectives on early careers in instrumental teaching were obtained via an alumni-led workshop and focus group at a UK conservatoire. Findings revealed that whilst extensive pedagogical training was offered, its value was not fully acknowledged across the institution and that more could be done to alleviate students’ anxieties about their developing musician identities and future stability. As new teachers, alumni are well placed to help prepare students for the professional realities of joining the music education workforce.

This article explores the potential use of ethnomusicology in the development of entrepreneurialism amongst Western classical music students studying at UK music colleges. It is argued that both ‘doing’ and ‘reading’ ethnomusicology can encourage students to explore the diverse uses and meanings attached to Western classical music in varied social and geographic contexts. The knowledge garnered through ethnomusicology can then be applied in creative, informed and situational ways by students in the development of entrepreneurial strategies. As a by-product, it is suggested that ethnomusicology can be used to reframe entrepreneurialism as a musical, relational and interactive process.

This study aims to shed light on the motivation governing instrument choice. To collect data, we designed, piloted and administered a survey to a population of students enrolled in a music teacher education programme in Sweden. In line with previous, Anglo-centred research, we identify the instrument’s timbre and parental influences as relevant motives for this decision. Uncommonly, however, taking part in a testing session is suggested to have a similarly influential effect. Accordingly, our study supports the value of offering free-to-all sessions where children may try different instruments and openly discuss them with music teachers. Further insights from our results include families exerting more influence than peers, genre preferences bearing little relevance and potential tendencies regarding the influence of gender and socio-economic background for instrument choice. In addition, we uncover several motives that counteract this decision, music provision being the main impediment to pursuing one’s original preference, thereby underscoring the urgency of reducing the Swedish communal schools’ waiting lists for specific instruments. Our results further suggest the presence of mediating factors, including the musician’s starting age, family environment (beyond parents/guardians) and the availability of the instrument at home. This finding opens a new path in the study of instrument choice and challenges the way this topic has been traditionally researched, given that such factors could function as confounding variables in the study of instrument choice.

This study aims to increase understanding of the values and outcomes of teacher action research in conservatoire education. Teacher action research has been found to stimulate both professional development and improvement of teaching practice. A multiple-case study design was employed to examine teachers’ activities and their perceptions of the value of action research. Findings from the cross-case analysis include teachers’ perceptions of action research as a way to stimulate the advancement of both their teaching practice and their professional development. Constructive collaborations and self-reflections related to teacher action research were found to reinforce their learning and teaching.