The question I’m most frequently asked is the one I dread most: ‘Can you sum up, in one sentence, what Musical Futures is all about?’ I have around 800 words this time but it’s still a challenge. So let’s start with an admission: there is nothing in Musical Futures that hasn’t already been done before by inspiring music teachers and leaders, often working in isolation. But it shouldn’t have to be that way.
In music education, as in much of life, we seem continually to be reinventing wheels. There have been any number of innovative projects taking place over the last 20 years but the lessons learned are rarely shared with others or ‘scaled up’ to be tested elsewhere.
So there’s the first thing to say: Musical Futures is as much about the ‘knowledge management’ process (to use the jargon) as it is about the work.
The work itself is also avowedly radical. To its great credit, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation – the owner-funder of the project – was determined not to fund ‘more of the same’. All of the partner-applicants had to be willing to take risks. So Musical Futures is an action research project which tests and evaluates new approaches to familiar problems.
One of our starting points was the apparent paradox in young people being so passionate about music but fewer than 10 per cent of them electing to study it at school (once given a choice) or through instrumental lessons. Yet many opt to follow their interests through non-formal means and many more through making music ‘informally’ – with friends but without adult supervision.
So many kids have been successful at teaching themselves informally yet the music education community has shown precious little interest in understanding how they managed to do it. This ought to be a considerable source of embarrassment to music educators. Though this wasn’t where we started, all of our work has brought us to our third assertion: Musical Futures seeks to informalise and personalise the music learning processes, in and out of school.
Our project however is not just interested in creating more opportunities but in sustaining progression since too many kids start to play but then appear to lose interest during adolescence. Our experiences are showing that this trend can be reversed when:
young people are allowed to make more of their own musical choices
the process of making music is group-based and places active ‘auracy’ (playing and speaking music) above ‘literacy/theory’ (reading and writing about music)
a diverse range of ‘music leaders’ are brought into the classroom
both in and out of hours
The practical work within Musical Futures is carried out by three ‘pathfinder’ music services – in Leeds, Nottingham and Hertfordshire – with additional research and development projects run by the Guildhall’s Connectproject and Sound Connection (the London Youth Music Action Zone). The Connect project has created an important DVD which documents the processes, skills and experiences of young people involved in aural composition-based ensembles; and Sound Connections has recently launched an information, advice and guidance service, Musical Routes, for young people in London (www.musicalroutes.org.uk).
Whilst these five partner organisations are adopting differing strategies, they all share a commitment to help more young people take part in music for longer. We’ve all learned to recognise that, to be successful, music education must enable young people to be co-designers and co-producers of the learning programmes. Written down, this sounds almost glib.
To realise this ambition however requires enormous care, planning, listening, open-mindedness and not a little humility. In Nottingham, for example, the Musical Futures project consulted Year 8 students on the kind of projectbased curriculum they would want and have now developed the ‘Whole Curriculum Approach’, delivered in partnership with peripatetic tutors, PGCE trainees and pupil-tutors working alongside the head of music. It involves skills sessions on rock instruments, forming cover bands, writing music soundtracks, improvising jazz pieces, music sampling and sequencing, taiko and samba workshops, songwriting projects, ‘Battle of the Bands’ and their own Top 40 charts – all in one year.
In the tough inner-city school I visited recently, the highly experienced head of music had decided to ditch all her Year 7 and 9 schemes of work so that she can develop more of this kind of work. Her students’ demand for instrumental tuition has quadrupled since Musical Futures began. In the Musical Futures Nottingham schools, 46 per cent of children taking part are thinking of opting for music as a GCSE subject.
Leeds music service is now reshaping its provision as a result of Musical Futures. Its project focus has been on how to support young musicians who are not attracted to conventional instrumental tuition delivery. Through the innovative use of technology and a range of out-ofhours projects, they have co-designed a range of learning pathways or progression routes which (unusually) support and link to participating schools’ curricula.
There’s so much more that could be said – but if you want to know more, why not plan your own musical futureby surfing www.musicalfutures.org.uk?
A new range of free pamphlets and support materials for music leaders (including a teachers’ resource pack for Personalising Music Learning) can be ordered from: Musical Futures, c/o The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, 18 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA
MUSICAL FUTURES – THE HERTFORDSHIRE PILOT SCHEME
YAMAHA’S HEAD OF EDUCATION ALISTAIR JONES VISITED ABIGAIL WALMSLEY – LEADER OF THE PILOT SCHEME WITHIN HERTFORDSHIRE’S MUSIC SERVICE – TO DISCOVER HOW WORK WAS PROGRESSING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG PEOPLE.
AJ: How were things set up in Hertfordshire for this pilot project?
AW: The pilot set up with funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and DfES Innovation Unit. An application had been put in by John Witchell, head of the Hertfordshire music service and Lucy Green (author of How Popular Musicians Learn). The pilot follows the philosophy set out by David Price based upon the questions asked in Lucy’s fascinating book – but the essential difference with our pathfinder project is that it is focused on classroom music. Can informal learning (the way pop musicians do) – aural copying; learning with friends; informally structured; working with familiar music; integrating composing, performing, listening and improvising – be transferred to the classroom? There is no segregation of these skills as often happens in school music and the whole project is based upon these principles.
AJ: What was the age range of your pupils?
AW: KS3 or Year 9s – the ‘drop-off years’ when many children find that music in school bears little relation to the music they experience outside. Kids start to identify with certain genres of music and it becomes part of their social life but music in school does not relate to them.
AJ: So how did you transfer the principles you mention to classroom music?
AW: This is all about a different style of learning and not a different way of teaching. The role of the teacher is critical; they are asked to be not so much a director of learning but a facilitator. The teachers stand back and watch the children working on their own. The children are sent off in self-selected ‘friendship groups’ with a fairly broadly defined task – first of all to choose a song they like and want to work with.
AJ: Do the boys and girls remain in separate groups or do they mix?
AW: It started with mixed groups of people they wanted to be with – but as the year progressed and they wanted to produce really good work, they chose to be with people they thought they could work with, not necessarily their friends. There was a fantastic progression not influenced by teachers. The Year 9s were a great cross section of abilities with vastly different likes and dislikes in musical styles. Children were sent off to select a song they wanted to copy; the teachers observed. When there were difficulties, teachers would come forward with suggestions to help get results. Teachers have to watch what the pupils are doing and try and diagnose what kind of help pupils need. This is a very subtle role as the pupils still remain in charge of the decisions. The pupils decide on their own way of learning – for some teachers it is very difficult watching children seemingly doing nothing for some time. There were certain basic ground rules. The children had to behave and work within the school’s norms of behaviour and discipline. Teachers had to stand back and see how the pupils turned themselves around. We found that often the children were spurred on by successful work in other groups.
AJ: How hard is it for teachers to stand back and take this new role?
AW: Some found it incredibly hard but, in the end, working on this project has made many of them rethink how they teach their subject. They have to develop a real relationship of trust with their pupils. Standing back can be for just 10 minutes of three lessons – they have to trust.
AJ: How did the pupils react to this kind of informal learning?
AW: We interviewed a large number of pupils who said they felt independent, trusted and motivated. Some teachers felt redundant to start with but then realised that their help, when given at the appropriate moment, was appreciated. Eventually teachers felt they were being more musical in lessons, making more critical decisions. There were a lot of challenges for teachers and made some of them reconsider how they teach. Some have now radically altered the way they teach GCSE and even A-Level to make it more pupil-centred.
AJ: Don’t some children find it difficult to be so independent?
AW: Yes – which is why the second stage of the project (after three to six weeks) is rather more structured. The learning principles are the same but the groups are all given the same song to learn. They are given materials including note names. We gave them a CD where riffs and melodies were broken down with bass lines and guitar tab. The children are still constructing their own learning but deciding how the piece will go and so making decisions about interpretation.
AJ: Presumably they progress to composing their own material…
AW: Yes but they are given no parameters, no keys. It is still quite free – sometimes with lyrics, sometimes without and still working in friendship groups. This is the stage where you see a lot of groups shifting, as the children want to concentrate on producing better work. At this stage we also introduced an element of role modelling and we brought in some professional musicians. We get them to perform and demonstrate how they write songs. They would then go round with the children to help them develop their own material. This year we are beginning an exciting development of the role-model idea. We are training existing bands within a school and getting them to work with the children. The training gives them confidence and the presentation skills so that they can go into the schools and do this work. We held four training days in a month. Introducing this peer learning is a great idea.
AJ: Is there a place for traditional, classical music within the project?
AW: Yes – we tried this to test whether it worked along similar lines. We simply took away one of the principles: the music they knew and identified with. We gave them five pieces of classical music that had featured in adverts, hoping they would be slightly familiar with them. They were then asked to go into their groups and produce their own version. They were told they could make it their own. Drum beats to Satie! Then they were given completely unfamiliar pieces (Schumann, Brahms etc) and here we gave them more help, with parts put down on CD, note names and some guitar tab. This had extraordinary results although in retrospect the children preferred the earlier part of the project. But this did build up a great respect for the classical musician and composer. And there were some great musical outcomes from this stage. It engendered a real change in attitude to classical music.
AJ: So where does the project go now?
AW: Across Hertfordshire, the Musical Futures approach has made a real impact. We started with four schools and then, in year two, 17 schools – and next year more will come on board.
AJ: Do you think the success of the project will reflect in the take-up of GCSE places?
AW: The national average is eight per cent for GCSE but in Hertfordshire it has moved up to 27 per cent with children on the project opting for music. Of course it has implications for GCSE music where the work and learning is quite different. Some teachers have changed the way they teach but the curriculum remains the same.
AJ: Do you really think the Musical Futures philosophy has made a difference?
AW: It has really helped the access to music for some children. Originally the project set out to research motivation and skill acquisition. It developed some important skills – aural skills for instance, challenges to the ear but with no relation to notation. Lucy Green and I have put together some teaching material going through all the stages of the project, based on Musical Futures principles. This includes a CD ROM (funded by the DfES Innovation Unit) showing what happens in the classroom with interviews. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation will publish this and we’re trying to secure funding from the Innovation Unit so that a pack can be sent to every school in the country. By following this pack a teacher could work along the line of Musical Futures but we really need to set up a teacher support network so that participating teachers can exchange ideas and experiences. In Herts we have set up a mentoring system between the two years of the project so that teachers can go and observe each other’s lessons. It now needs more authorities and music services to roll the project out. In Herts, it really has had an impact and made a difference to a lot of children and their music.
AJ: I remember you had an event last summer to celebrate the end of the first year?
AW: Yes – the Big Jam, which Yamaha supported. We turned one of the music centres into a rock venue and provided a performance platform. There was no pressure on the children but about 12 groups got up to perform. There was a great atmosphere with the performances and also lots of workshops – African drumming, tabla, samba. Lots of informal experiences. We want to do another this year – but we have gone from 150 children to 1,500!
S WITH A DIFFERENCE
ALISTAIR JONES MEETS GUY WOOD, A PERCUSSIONIST WHO WORKS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE VIA GUILDHALL SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DRAMA’S CONNECT PROGRAMME.
AJ: Guy, you’re well known to Yamaha as you’ve been the drummer/percussionist for all three of our Vision Tours. At present, you seem to be engaged in a lot of interesting and unusual work with young people. Was that always your ambition?
GW: Not at all. Originally my plans were to be an orchestral percussionist. At school in York, I had lessons through the music service, did my grades and left at the age of 16 to go to Leeds College of Music. I did my A-Levels there and a BTech – conceived a passion for Bartók and played a lot of tuned percussion. I decided I wanted to pursue music as a career and applied to the Guildhall. I was very naïve when I came to London. I did the orchestral percussion course and spent too much time sitting in rehearsals counting hundreds of bars’ rest and then playing the triangle! That was not really my thing. Before the Guildhall I had not been part of the real music-service scene and so had never played in a youth orchestra. So this was all rather a shock to me!
AJ: So did you change courses?
GW: I decided to leave and go to Sussex University to do composition but Sean Gregory (head of Guildhall Connect) and Mike Hathaway (head of the jazz course) stepped in and persuaded me to stay. The jazz course gave me opportunities to develop musically and do a lot of playing. I also began to work as a support musician with Connect. This was really one of the most important moments in my career – starting to work with young people from local schools. I began as a support drummer for a Connect Showcase Concert at the Barbican – a truly amazing experience.
AJ: You’ve now graduated from Guildhall. How do you see your future?
GW: Once I became involved with Connect, my career aspirations became clearer. I certainly wanted to develop and a performer and composer but I knew that working with youngsters was also an important part of what I wanted to do. I became a ‘music leader’ within the Connect team under the direction of Sean Gregory. It was through Sean that I became involved with Yamaha’s first Vision Tour back in 2003 – and I have worked in that project every year since. Yamaha’s tour, encouraging young people to take up instruments, is vital to what is going on at the moment in music education. My work with Yamaha is an extension of my Connect work and my professional development as a drummer.
AJ: Are you still studying percussion and drum kit at Guildhall?
GW: I am continuing my studies with David Corkhill, various percussionists and musicians on the world music scene and am beginning my postgraduate research for a Masters degree in Leadership. I earn a living as a freelance performer and work on Connect – as a music leader – and am about to launch my own international workshop project called HI-FYE.
AJ: I attended a one-day conference at the Guildhall recently about music leaders – all connected with Musical Futures. The performance by the Connect Foundation Band was the climax of the day. What do you see as the essential difference between being a ‘music teacher’ and the work you do as a ‘music leader’?
GW: It’s the less formal, more democratic process that I enjoy. There is a different kind of relationship between the leader and the young musician. There is discussion rather than instruction. Of course there has to be technical and skill development but the informal approach is an exciting and very musical one.
AJ: We know the teaching profession is in need of new, young musicians to teach our young people. In your opinion, are the conservatoires doing their bit towards this provision?
GW: If I’m honest, not really. Conservatoire students tend to become teachers by force of circumstance rather than vocation.
AJ: Do you have advice to young people who hope for a career in music?
GW: Follow your passion but don’t expect your path to be a straight one. You have to be flexible and develop all the skills to cope. You have to be open-minded and prepared to work with anyone. You constantly have to think about why you started in music – it is a very difficult career. You have to be prepared. It is damned hard – but at the end of the day it is the most satisfying career ever!
Look out in upcoming issues for articles on the Guildhall Connect programme and the new Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music.