Learning and playing music brings incredible and unique pleasure to people of all ages. Recent evidence shows plenty of children continue to reap the rewards, even amid the distractions of modern life.
For example, ABRSM’s “state of the sector” Making music report, published last autumn (ABRSM, 2021), revealed that an amazing 86% of children report actively making music in one way or another today, while 59% of children report that they currently play a musical instrument.
This great news, however, masks a far more complex picture of music education today.
It is fair to say that the music education landscape has shifted quite radically over the last few years – even before the pandemic took hold.
The same report cited above shows how the way we learn to play our instruments is changing, with 34% of young people now finding ways to make music on their own and almost two-thirds of children who play instruments accessing online tuition through platforms like YouTube.
It also highlights a fall in group music-making in schools – from 77% of children in 2014 to 66% in 2021 – and shows how many children are not progressing beyond the basics in music, with just 15% of those who are taking graded exams getting as far as Grade 5. There has been a fall of 11% in children taking instrumental music lessons.
Other statistics show how there has been a drop in the number of children taking formal music exams and present clear evidence that the experience of taking part in whole-class ensembles does not encourage young people to keep playing instruments.
The report states: “The vast numbers of children who participate in group music-making until the age of 11 and then to 13 are simply not translating into sufficient numbers of young people choosing to continue to study music at school. Is there an image problem for music, is it not supported well enough by school leaders, or is it not seen as important enough as a subject of study by students and parents?
“It does seem from the data that more needs to be done to make learning music through formal routes more engaging for young learners after compulsory lessons stop.”
What the report really tells us, beyond these statistics, is that we need to do music education differently.
For a start, we need to get better at communicating the joy of music learning and invoke the spirit of all those young music-makers whose creative and exuberant YouTube performances so buoyed us during lockdown.
We also need to accept that if music learners are choosing non-traditional sources for their music learning then we need to better understand and support those routes.
We have got to recognise that we must change and learn to listen to what students want if we are to stay relevant as music educators.
ABRSM has started its own journey of transformation. During lockdown we developed Performance Grades, which give learners more choice over their exam pieces and when and where they then record their performance.
We’ve also just launched our new Classroom 200 resource featuring ready-made lesson plans for 200 tracks – from rap to pop and folk as well as classical – as part of a conscious shift to reflect the preferences of younger learners.
ABRSM now also has artistic direction from crossover classical/soul artist Alexis Ffrench who has a specific mission to help us broaden our appeal to new types of music-making and performance.
However, schools are the single most important place for this and we would like to do more to support them in this shared mission too.
If, as we see, learners are doing more for themselves, peer to peer, and online, schools must look at how they can support these preferences and develop a school-based music education model which gives children the fundamental components of music so that they then have the tools to go away and explore on their own.
Part of this new model is also about schools seeing themselves as part of broader music learning communities which support the music learner’s journey by making connections with digital communities, parents, local music services and music groups.
Many of the challenges facing music education today need the support of far larger collaborations between music education stakeholders, and that’s one of the reasons we welcome the refreshed National Plan for Music Education which was published earlier this summer (DfE, 2022).
We are particularly pleased to see the plan’s emphasis on music-making in schools, the role of the Music Hubs, and the importance of teacher development.
Indeed, the plan sets out how all Music Hubs will identify and partner with a small number of Lead Schools which have high-quality music provision to design and deliver CPD and peer-to-peer support for schools in their area by spring 2024.
The plan also sets out the ambition for every school to have a music development plan that “captures the curricular and co-curricular offer and sets out how it will be staffed and funded”.
For us, the refreshed plan presents a powerful vision for music education in England, complete with National Centres of Excellence (for inclusion, CPD, music technology and pathways to industry) and a new Music Progression Fund from autumn 2023 to support disadvantaged pupils with “significant musical potential, enthusiasm and commitment”. It has the potential to make a real difference to teachers and learners across the country.
- Chris Cobb is the chief executive of ABRSM. A registered charity, ABRSM is the exam board of the Royal Schools of Music. Visit www.abrsm.org
Further information & resources
- ABRSM: Making music: Learning, playing and teaching in the UK in 2021, autumn 2021: https://bit.ly/3HdR6ta
- DfE: Policy paper: The power of music to change lives: A national plan for music education, June 2022: https://bit.ly/3Qdu4WJ