MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Music professionals are noticing the alarming decrease of entries to KS5 Music Technology courses. There are many and varied reasons for this, but some professionals see the educational approaches to music technology as a missed opportunity.
There may be lack of interest in the subject, which we doubt, or it could be because the qualifications are not available in many centres. Anecdotal information is similar to a recent quote from a head teacher: ‘Music technology is a luxury that we cannot afford.’
This particular statement contains assumptions based on incorrect information. Music technology can in fact be very cost-effective to provide.
The reality may lie somewhere between the lack of adequate training to teach the subject, resistance through fear of the technology itself or the general stress levels in schools.
Music technology is of course a vast subject, as old as when humans started banging, scraping and blowing things. Here, we mean the opportunities afforded by information technology to create music of all genres.
In the music production industry we have long been aware of the missed opportunities. To work with music production you need literacy, numeracy and critical faculties. Creative thinking, good communication and entrepreneurial skills are increasingly valued by employers in all industries. These are easily incorporated into a music technology curriculum, as are opportunities for collaboration across other disciplines.
Awarding bodies and schools need the student numbers to make investment in a subject viable. Perhaps the time is right to re-visit how we approach the learning possibilities inherent in music technology and look at ways that it can encourage instrumental music making and promote a wider view of music genres than is generally associated with it.
- David Ward and Phil Harding, JAMES (JAMES is an alliance of music industry organisations set up to support education)
BROADER CONTEXT
It was great to see mention of the Certificate for Music Educators (CME) in the last edition of MT as part of the ‘Master of the art’ article around teacher development and CPD. However, it would be good to correct a misconception – that Trinity's version of the CME is exclusively of interest to Music Education Hubs and primary teachers. While TCL does have a number of centres with learners from these contexts, there are many expert organisations from other areas of education providing CME routes: for example, Canterbury Christ Church University who offer their CME programme as an additional qualification to their Bachelor of Education students, or the RAF Air Cadets who run a CME course for military musicians looking to gain a qualification in music teaching before going back into the world of work, or CME West Midlands who opens its doors through distance-learning to school teachers, instrumental teachers and community musicians.
With Youth Music requiring their Fund C recipients to provide access to the CME as part of their training responsibilities, and new routes such as the SEN/D-specialist route from Bristol Plays Music and the CREC Early Years course, Trinity's CME is becoming extensively available for all musicians and educators wishing to pursue a qualification while they work.
A level-4 vocational qualification is probably not immediately comparable with an intensive study Master's Degree as suggested in the article – instead perhaps, it would be great to reflect on the increase in diverse opportunities for training and qualifications in music education through innovations such as the Royal College's MEd and Trinity College London's CME, ensuring choice and flexibility for the sector.
- Francesca Christmas, Head of Academic Governance - Music, Trinity College London
