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.

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 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.

A perplexing aspect of music education is pupils performing a piece of non-European music such as samba without their knowing anything of the origins of the music or its cultural significance. Pupils may be unaware of who plays the music in its original context, and may retain inherited and stereotypical notions about the particular culture in which they have been engaged. A project, lasting a year, was initiated to ascertain the effects that an extended programme of work based on samba might have on students training to be teachers of music. The purpose of 'Free Samba' was twofold: to examine what musical skills students felt they had acquired; and to assess the value of learning not only the music but the cultural context of the music as well. The outcome of this study raises the question of whether it is possible to develop a true understanding of music without knowledge of its cultural context.

This paper gives the first insight into the establishment and development of the Strathclyde Consortium for Action Research in Learning Approaches and Teaching Techniques in Inventing (SCARLATTI) Project, and reflects on the changes to the music curriculum in Scottish secondary schools over the last twenty years. There is evidence to support the view that Inventing is an area of the curriculum which is causing music teachers some anxiety (Sheridan, 1992) and this paper examines the teaching and learning of the skills required of both teachers and pupils for the Inventing element of Standard Grade music (Byrne, 1996). The authors have launched an action research music project (Bresler, 1995; Adelman & Kemp, 1992; Treacher, 1989) which it is hoped will refocus the thinking of music teachers in schools by creating a dynamic network to provide a forum for the discussion of ideas and a means whereby experiences and materials can be shared, and new approaches and methods considered and implemented. A feature of the SCARLATTI project is a World Wide Web discussion group that will provide a communication link for schools involved in the project as well as a platform for teachers to air issues, ideas and views.

The teaching of choral conducting does not feature widely within higher education in the UK (Durrant, 1994, 1997). However, in recent years interest has been shown by the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD) in the establishment of centres of choral conducting education in particular institutions around the country. Following recent research on the development of a model of effective choral conducting (Durrant, 1996; Apfelstadt, 1997), this article focuses on some of the key learning processes, methods and procedures that would be central to the development of a choral conducting curriculum in existing and potential higher education courses and programmes. The intention in the design and development of such courses is not primarily to create conductors of elite choral ensembles, but rather to ensure that those entering the teaching profession and directing amateur choral groups in churches and the community have the requisite choral conducting knowledge and skills to facilitate systematic and sustained improvement in the quality of choral activity at these levels.