This paper examines Kelly's Personal Construct Theory (PCT) as a means of researching the development of the aesthetic response to the perception of music. It takes the techniques of association and construct elicitation derived from PCT as a means of investigating pupil responses, and attempts to shed some light both on the way pupils perceive their peer groups' compositions and on the role of the teacher/researcher in the assessment process.

Cecil Sharp's educational significance is clear – he introduced the music of an oral tradition into schools. Breaking the domination of the literate tradition was no mean achievement. Of course the general climate of educational reform helped, and folk song provided an ideal model of a supposedly instinctual form which would be able to transform the hitherto rigid style of schooling. Nevertheless the folk song movement developed into a narrow orthodoxy.

In his work Sharp probed into relationships between art, race, and national identity, and tackled notions of authenticity and knowledge; issues which are at the heart of the search for an adequate philosophy of music education.

This article compares two very different GCSE compositions, and various ways to assess them. The type of emphasis which examination boards, teachers and moderators place upon different musical styles, and different musical skills, has radical consequences for the type of marks we are likely to allot; and the system of music education itself throws up some significant ironies concerning the future opportunities of candidates.

With this issue we enter the seventh year of publication of the BJME. The journal is now established internationally, and this seems a good time to review its performance. We are also changing the colour of the cover. From now on this will change annually after each three issues of the journal for easier identification of the volumes.

There is no difference between the inherent musicality of people with impaired hearing and those with normal hearing. This applies even to the profoundly deaf, provided that music can adequately be perceived. Recognising the shortcomings of hearing aids designed primarily for speech, the author shows how music listening for the deaf can be very considerably improved by using readily available equipment to process sound in particular ways to compensate for different types of hearing deficiency. He observes that some deaf people seem able to perceive music, especially the pitch of notes, more clearly than others who are substantially less hearing impaired. A possible explanation for this paradox is given.

As rumours of a new method of teaching music introduced in Hungary by Zoltán Kodály began to spread early in the 1960s a few uncertain attempts were made to introduce it in English schools. Progress was impeded by language problems: the provision of English song texts to fit Hungarian rhythms and a scarcity of background information in English both proved handicaps. The appearance in translation of F. Sándor's compendium, Music Education in Hungary, in 1966 eventually extended our knowledge of the new method; and the details of the origin of the Kodály Concept it contained were naturally accepted as authentic.

This article examines those claims – since found to be based on questionable evidence – and urges publication of a more reliable account.

Despite the long-established move towards the inclusion of composition as an element of music in schools, many teachers continue to be wary of it. Lack of confidence amongst women music teachers in their own abilities as composers may be a key to this situation. It is suggested that this arises as a result of rarely seeing music by women composers played and studied with the same attention afforded to music written by men. The popular mythology that only men have the ability to compose is challenged, and an argument is made for the inclusion of music by women composers (past and present) in the curriculum of schools and colleges. Practical suggestions are made as to how this can be achieved despite the current lack of resources.

The work of American music educator Satis Coleman is little known. In the first half of this century she devised a music education programme that led children through music instrument making and playing, singing, moving and creating to develop a ‘seeking attitude’ to music and to life. Many of her ideas are pertinent today and her work seems, in many respects, far ahead of its time.

Because art music of the late twentieth century has received little attention in North American school music settings, this paper proposes a rationale as well as procedures for the teaching of one of its emerging styles: minimalism. A brief historical view of the development of minimalism is offered, the influence of Cage's concepts of music as an ongoing [if indeterminate] process is recognised, and the relationship of minimalism to other musical sytles and genres is noted. Listening lessons for works by composers Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Phillip Glass are devised, along with suggestions for performance and composition experiences in the music classroom. Due to its eclectic nature, including the influence of rock and pop music, instruction in the music of the minimalist composers is viewed as a gateway to other art music styles and techniques of the late twentieth century.

The writer and ten primary school teachers conducted a survey aiming to find out the extent of parental interest in musical activity in schools of contrasting location and character. Parents' interests and tastes in music were canvassed, together with the interest shown by children at home. They were also asked their opinions about various types of school musical activity. Results showed no lack of interest amongst parents, and strongest support for singing, moving/dancing, listening, and playing ‘school’ instruments. They also, overwhelmingly, would have liked their children to have had the chance of learning orchestral /band instruments. The survey was useful and encouraging, but improvements could follow in any future ones. Parents' views on educational concerns were illuminating and thought-provoking for teachers.

There is considerable concern in the Russian Federation of the Soviet Union about the state of music education in general schools, the schools most children attend. Many observers draw attention to the decline in musical standards in these schools since the Revolution of 1917. Glasnost – ‘openness’ and Perestroika – ‘reconstruction’, are key factors in contemporary Soviet society which are affecting attempts to raise the standard. In particular, the Kabalevsky system developed in the 1970s and implemented in the 1980s is the focal point of reconstruction and, because of openness, is also the focal point of criticism.

In this article the author outlines some of the features of current music education in general schools. The influences of glasnost and perestroika on development are discussed and some international implications are suggested.

The value of playing by ear in instrumental learning has recently been well documented. By-ear reproduction of music is an activity which commands a high level of motivation from people of all ages, but it is seldom pursued in the classroom as an exercise in its own right, independent of improvisation. It is, in fact, ideally suitable for group work in the classroom, where it can be both satisfying for its own sake, and a means by which pupils gain essential aural skills.

This article aims to encourage the provision of the Zimbabwean mbira dzavadzimu in schools as a means of experiencing a novel musical system. It provides an outline of the mbira's cultural context within an oral tradition. The basic structure of the mbira pattern is abstracted and represented by four types of notation which makes the music accessible to a range of people. However, the characteristic ‘inherent rhythms’ that emerge kaleidoscopically from patterns and variations throughout performance give the music an elusive quality, the dimensions of which cannot be captured in staff notation. The simplicity of the separate components of a composition can be individually explored on a variety of instruments, while the resultant combination of its interlocking melodic lines is one of complexity and ever-shifting musical images. The mbira introduces a new aesthetic into the classroom and is ideal for both solo and ensemble playing.

The first British Music Educators' Conference was held in July 1989 at Huddersfield Polytechnic. This was a special event in the development of music education in the UK, and the Council was delighted that the conference attracted presenters and participants who represented the wide range of professional activity in the field. The aim was to stimulate discussion and promote interaction among people with differing roles in music education. Presentations were grouped around the following themes.

The Drake Research Project (Music for Disabled People) is a registered charity which has links in London with Eltham College Sixth Form and the music departments at Deptford Green School, Charlton Park Special School and the City University. It is also associated with the Music Technology Group in the University of York, where a research programme is now in progress to develop new technological means to enable disabled children to take part in music making. On 24 November 1989 DRP held its inaugural seminar at Maria Assumpta House, Kensington, London. The seminar included a review of the Project's objectives, reports and demonstrations in the field of music and disability, and an open discussion which raised important questions about multi-disciplinary collaboration and the development of music software/ hardware for special needs users. This article summarizes the principal points to emerge from the seminar sessions.

This article is a summary of the influence on the author's practice of classroom observation of four- and five-year-old children working in music. It suggests that a strong emphasis on music in the Reception year is important both for musical and aesthetic development, and for the development of basic formal and social skills across the curriculum.