ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the lens of Bourdieu's relational sociology, particularly the concepts of habitus and field. It explores the ways in which the teacher's habitus was informed by the values of Western art music, and the ways in which the facilitated the doxa of the field being reproduced in their classrooms. The chapter describes where the teachers deviate from the values, creating a culture of music making within the classroom that differs from the broader field. The informal approach was instinctive for Michael, although it aligns with Lucy Green's ideas on informal learning and popular music pedagogy. Michael felt that the students 'need time to explore, so here they give them time and space', and thus his approach deviated from the teacher-centred pedagogy commonly associated with the elite subfield. The literature on music teachers and music teacher education doesn't always recognise the diversity of experiences, or provide illustrations of how things might be done differently.
