This article deals with objectives in the teaching of musical instruments to children. Methods of establishing and re-establishing goals are suggested, and previous lists of objectives pertaining to music education in general, instrumental teaching and athletics are presented. Based on these lists, and on his experience as a teacher and consultant in instrumental methodology, the author presents a list of goals specifically formulated for the teaching of musical instruments to children. Some of the goals are far-reaching, dealing not only with progress on the instrument, but also with the overall musical and personal development of the pupils. The article concludes with a discussion about possible priorities among these objectives.

The study of avant-garde music has been largely neglected by instrumental tuition. Yet such work is not necessarily difficult on either the ears or the fingers – provided it is begun at the earliest stages of study. Indeed, it is the delayed introduction that is the cause of many of the problems seen in accepting and enjoying contemporary music. There is need for systematisation and for the composition of suitable music.

The author describes a project which was created to encourage communication, through music and drama, between mainstream sixth form pupils and a local Special School. The course was offered as part of the Certificate of Pre- Vocational Education of the Joint Board of City and Guilds/B. Tech. and was open to all sixth form students irrespective of their musical expertise or experience. None had previously worked with handicapped children.

Dorothy Tipton is Head of Music at the Rowena School for Girls, Sittingbourne. Her interest in Special School work was awakened during a Diploma in Music Education course at Christ Church College, Canterbury, resulting in a dissertation on ‘Music in the Mainstream Classroom for children with Special Needs’ (1985). During this research close and lasting links were developed with the local Special School for the severely handicapped, St Bartholomew's School, Milton, Kent. In March 1988, project cards for Music non-specialist primary school teachers Exploring Sounds and Themes, devised by Dorothy Tipton, Alan Vincent and Vanessa Young, were published by Kent Education Committee.

The writers highlights the difficulties relating to the provision of music education in schools for the emotionally and behaviourally disturbed – formerly labelled maladjusted. Often considered un-teachable within junior and secondary schools, such children are assigned to EBD schools or units where, musically speaking, they seem to fall between the two stools of mainstream and special education, unable to reap the benefits of either. The case is argued for the inclusion of music within a programme of therapeutic education based on the writers research within these schools, and recommendations are made as to how music may be made more accessible within this context.

This study discusses the deaf person's physical potential to perceive music, and also looks at the technical aids that can increase this capacity. A survey of educational approaches, ranging from preschool to adult education, reveals that the initial step of enjoyable noise-making links them all. Non-musical benefits gained from musical involvement are outlined, and finally the issue of aesthetic appreciation is addressed. How much can music mean to a deaf person?

As a profession, music education has long been plagued by a sense of its own inadequacy, particularly in the area of school music. This brief essay suggests that factors which contribute to this condition include the common acceptance of the notion that the primary function of music is to amuse and entertain and the concomitant rejection of serious music in favour of insubstantial ‘popular’ repertoire. The paper calls practitioners to a thoughtful re-evaluation of the value of music and the proper purposes of music education. The author concludes with the recommendation that the objectives of aesthetic education be adopted as foundational to the practice of music education.