ABSTRACT
As we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution is taking place in the way children experience instrumental and vocal music making in many primary schools in England. Gone are the days when instrumental tuition has been available only to the select few. Now, children learn instruments in whole classes in order to make music together, not just as performers, but as composers, improvisers and critical listeners, and are supported in their musical learning by class and instrumental teachers working together. In the UK such teaching is commonly referred to as whole class instrumental and vocal teaching (WCIVT) or Wider Opportunities. This new approach to musical learning presents significant challenges for all teachers. The ‘master and apprentice’ model of instrumental teaching, which has been widely accepted for centuries as the most appropriate and effective one for developing performing skills, cannot simply be transferred to the large group and whole class context. Instrumental teachers and community musicians who have extensive experience of teaching individuals or small groups will find they need to develop a new range of teaching strategies and approaches when working with whole classes. Similarly, classroom teachers and support staff who are experienced in teaching in whole classes may mistakenly feel that their lack of formal musical training means they cannot support children’s musical learning. The purpose of this book is to support all teachers in developing their skills, knowledge and understanding within a practical, philosophical and theoretical framework, underpinned by proven and accepted principles of good practice. These principles are:
● Integration – an approach to music education which acknowledges and makes links between all those aspects of what it is to be musical and all those places in which children learn about and experience music;
dren which acknowledges their backgrounds, aspirations and interests; ● Collaboration – class teachers, instrumental teachers and musicians in the community
working together with a shared vision of what music education should be.
