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All the news from Musical Futures International
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Our spotlight series explores the musical stories and experiences that first bring people to music and what it is that inspires a lifelong love of music and the drive to share that through teaching music to others.
It’s the end of May, and I’m not sure whether to regard this time period as the beginning, end or continuation of a journey. I’m planning to submit my PhD thesis next week – which sought to explore perceptions of the informal learning branch of Musical Futures (ILMF) in the UK.
I feel that the end is in sight, as this printed, bounded mountain of paper reflects three years’ worth of enjoyment and hard work which has absolutely tested my resilience on many occasions – it has also facilitated the opportunity to meet many inspiring music education professionals and students along the way. On the other hand, I feel that I’m about to begin a new journey in music education in attempt to fulfil my increased appetite for knowledge beyond my PhD thesis (I’ve gradually realised that the more you learn, the more you realise that there is so much more to learn. This is not my proposed original contribution to knowledge!). My PhD journey has been a powerful one. It has prompted deep reflection of my own school music experiences – as a student myself, key memories include learning to play ‘jingle bells’ on the keyboard (in the summer) and learning by rote an analysis of a Mozart concerto. On top of this, my parents had paid for me to have private flute lessons (which I will always be grateful for) and I had worked my way through traditional instrumental examinations. I had not noticed the obvious divide between in- and out-of-school music at the time, and the possible alienation of many of my peers for a variety of reasons. After studying music at University and completing a PGCE course, I began to teach music in a ‘challenging’ secondary school. This was a challenge indeed for the traditional, classical musician I had been trained to be. I was torn between my own values as a musician at the time – of being able to read traditional notation and having a strong grounding in music theory – and the interests and expertise of my students which were different to my own – and ones I lacked confidence in as a Newly Qualified Teacher. At first, I panicked and went down the ‘behaviour management route’. Then I had a lightbulb moment – if the students were motivated, perhaps I wouldn’t need to focus so much on ‘managing behaviour’. Herein lay my MA research – coming to the realisation that a better way to start improving the music education within my own classroom would be to motivate students by drawing upon and valuing their own areas of interest and expertise. This realisation I had experienced led me to the work of Professor Lucy Green and Musical Futures on informal learning – an approach which had the potential to increase the motivational levels of students experiencing it. Yet the existing literature had raised some tensions and issues relating to the approach, and I felt that there were still many unanswered questions and in-depth knowledge lacking about ILMF. To contribute towards filling this gap in knowledge, I sought to explore how ILMF was understood by key figures associated with Musical Futures UK, and understood, implemented and experienced by secondary school music teachers and their students in England. I also wanted to explore whether the understanding, implementation and experience of the phenomenon had evolved since Green’s initial research and the implementation of the Musical Futures pilot studies – fifteen years ago. I therefore conducted my PhD study to see if I could obtain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Methods included semi-structured interviews with key figures, and the conduction of case studies in four secondary schools. Four key themes were identified as an outcome of the study:
Within my thesis, I have divided the implications of these findings into possible aspects for sustainability, and aspects which could lead to the potential demise of the approach (for those interested, I’m hoping that my thesis will be available on the Edge Hill University repository very soon!). I believe that the positive aspects for sustainability can be built upon, and the potential issues for demise should be considered and addressed. I also hope that my findings can further highlight the strengths of ILMF, which might contribute towards a more balanced advocation of both informal and formal pedagogies and approaches to teaching and learning within the UK and beyond. Although my findings might mark the (near) end of my PhD journey, my curiosity about the complex nature of music education continues and I now have many more unanswered questions than those I had started with. However, I feel that the completion of my thesis does signify one more step along my journey to becoming a more reflective, thoughtful and inquisitive music education researcher, practitioner and musician.
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 Ken Owen is one of the Directors of Musical Futures International. In this blog post he reflects on delivering workshops for students, teachers and parents as part of The National Music Education Conference in Beijing. This year the conference had the theme 'Happy Learning' and here ken reflects on how the core principles and aims of Musical Futures sits within the context of Music Education in China. Ken will be part of the Musical Futures International delivery team at workshops in Singapore, Taiwan, Manila and across Australia in 2019-20 Happy learning and student choiceThe keynote speeches at The National Music Education Conference in Beijing, May 2019 really resonated with me as I considered how important it is to me as a teacher that learning music can and should be fun. Yet in China we often come up against parental expectations that in order to be valuable, learning should be serious, strict, a good use of the childrens' precious time that is filled with study and homework, something to be striven for. Most of all it should be delivered formally with the transfer of expertise from teacher to pupil and measured by graded music exams and certificates to mark progress, a full set to be collected by the time the demands of homework mean there is no time for instrument practice any more. That's not really my idea, of fun as a musician who started out learning informally later playing in bands as well as engaging with formal music learning, a music degree and career as a teacher. In her conference speech, Betty Heywood, Director of International Affairs for NAMM, demonstrated the power and reach of music in our lives and what we can and must do to encourage it. Professor Zhou Haihong, Doctoral Supervisor of The Central Conservatory of Music told us about the power of positivity, encouragement and an understanding of how student psychology underpins their happiness and behaviours. Professor Leung from the Education University of Hong Kong suggested that student self-reflection and direction is key to sustainable learning. We can give a community fish to eat he said, or teach them to fish. Surely it is better to teach children to lead and learn? We also attended a workshop led by Yin Yue, Senior Teacher of Beijing No. 44 Middle School who shared the work her colleague Mr Huo, she and others are doing bringing informal learning to schools in Beijing. Alongside this, our free and collaborative online course #MFLearn19 is bringing together educators from across the world to explore the principles of informal learning. 15 years on from when Lucy Green's original research pilots took place, we are coming together with the aim of identifying the 'future' in Musical Futures. However the same time, over in the UK, 15 years after Musical Futures first became part of the UK Music Education agenda, the Youth Music Exchanging Notes Year 3 Evaluation Report has caused huge controversy by suggesting that students have some say in the music they study. A large part of what is emerging from my reflections on the work Musical Futures International has been doing in China and further afield, is the power of choice in creating a diet of success and enjoyment and how teachers and parents must modify our behaviours to ensure that this is accessible to all students in a rapidly changing world. As Professor Zhou Haihong told us, we all like to make choices about what we do. Choice brings freedom, freedom brings motivation. Motivation encourages success, success results in pride and self confidence. Music Education is the future of music and youth. Success comes easier to happier learners.  What is the place of Musical Futures International in China?So what of our work with Musical Futures International in China? The Musical Futures approach involves informal learning. This is self-directed learning where students make decisions about what, when and how they learn. Everyone likes to make their own decisions. Your days are happier when you do. Yet, music method books, curriculum and courses if followed in order can take away all student choice. These are perfect choices for a lazy teacher or certificate-collecting parent. But music offers an opportunity for expression and the development of a personal identity. Truly musical performance comes from personal input and intimate association with the music. The world is now in the pockets of all students and curriculum and assessments change too slowly to keep pace with cultural change. But this doesn't mean throw out the old, rather add in the richness of student participation and increased engagement with their chosen direction to keep music relevant and engaging for all students.  Keeping the 'future' in Musical FuturesWhat does all this say about the Musical Futures methodology and how we teach and learn music? Can we get students playing music quicker through aural learning? Can we get them more excited about learning to play if they choose their own music? Can we keep them playing for longer if they have the chance to play the music they like with their friends? Can we develop their listening skills, sense of timing and 'feel' for the music if they play together? In our workshops we encourage teachers to have a go at:
We ask them to reflect on how they learned and whether they can try anything new in their teaching as a result. We know from their feedback and from the smiles and laughter at our workshops that we are having fun while playing music. And we believe that happy learners of music are lifelong learners of music. So at Musical Futures International we aim to build a continuum of student voice, engagement, relevance and personalisation and to support a transition between teacher led learning in music to students finding their own voice then blending the two. Our spotlight series explores the musical stories and experiences that first bring people to music and what it is that inspires a lifelong love of music and the drive to share that through teaching music to others.  UK Conductor Tori Longdon has been involved in establishing and supporting new Music Education Programmes for Shenzhen. Here she and her colleague Ben share their experiences of rolling out the Kodaly-based curriculum that Tori has developed to children in China. @BGutsellMusic, @Tori_Longdon Zoltan Kodaly said that the best way for young people to learn about music is through the folk music of their own country. This was our starting point for developing a new syllabus of music education for the Alpha Choral Courses in Shenzhen. An enormous body of Chinese traditional music uses the pentatonic scale, which makes it the perfect partner for using with the Kodaly method of music education. Just over the border from Hong Kong lies the city of Shenzhen, a Special Economic Zone and tech metropolis, and the home of more than 16 million people. It is here that Alpha Choral Courses, run by Brian Lai and Yan Ge have established a new programme of choral music training for children between the ages of 3 and 12. The programme has been set up with the aim of providing consistent music education of a high quality throughout from a very young age. There is a particular emphasis on developing listening and improvising skills, to enhance the existing approach to music teaching which is traditionally notation based and academic. In addition to developing the Kodaly-based curriculum, I oversee the delivery of the weekly courses in Shenzhen, and I am also arranging a series of well respected British Choral Directors to go to the city to give masterclasses. During the summer months, when no classes run, week-long intensive courses are also organised by leading figures in British Choral Music, Ralph Allwood and Simon Toyne. Setting up this new curriculum and finding the right person to deliver it has been an exciting challenge, but we’re very lucky to have Ben Gutsell and it’s exciting watching how the programme has taken hold over the last four months. Ben moved to Shenzhen in February to begin delivering the programme. Here’s what he has to say about the new organisation: "We are in full flow of our first semester here in Shenzhen, delivering a Kodály-based choral programme to students aged 3 - 12. We believe all children have the ability to sing and have the right to access quality music education. We aim to involve as many students as possible to help them achieve their musical potential and nurture a love of singing. Children are very hard-working in Shenzhen so it is a joy to introduce them to a new, more practical, style of teaching that achieves great results but is also fun! I lead beginners music classes (ALPHA Zero) where we explore the foundations of music unconsciously through simple songs and musical games, and I also teach young choirs (ALPHA Original) using varied repertoire to solidify and develop these foundations into a conscious understanding of musicianship. In May we launched our first Boys' Choir which has generated a lot of interest among the singing community here! Our spotlight series explores the musical stories and experiences that first bring people to music and what it is that inspires a lifelong love of music and the drive to share that through teaching music to others.
It’s May already. I’m looking at piles of ‘junk’ and wondering which bits I can sell, which I can dump and which I can’t bear to part with. I never thought I’d be leaving my lovely cottage, bought 3 years ago when times in music education weren’t so bad and my job was great. However, East Sussex County Council decided it would be a good idea to delete a line from their budget which contained ‘teachers pay’. I stepped in as union rep to help to spearhead the campaign to save their jobs. We won! Unfortunately mine was one job which could not be saved and I was made compulsorily redundant. #NotSurprised I felt lucky to go back to my roots as a secondary music teacher and immediately land a job at the wonderful Varndean School in Brighton in a department next to the infamous @varndeangoats (please follow them on Twitter!). It was a shock having been a senior manager in the music service for 11 years but I accepted my lot and got on with it building some amazing relationships with staff, students, goats and a poorly pigeon. But where to go from here? Head of Department was coming up - did I want to do this? I’d loved my previous role advising teachers across my county, writing and delivering CPD courses, arranging conferences and having an impact at a different level. That’s where Tim Costello, Head of Music at The British School Manila, stepped in. ‘You know there’s a job going at my school in Manila?’ looked it up on the map. The Philippines - you’re joking. I can’t leave everything: my house, my friends, my brass band (most important), my family. Then I reflected…. my house will still be there - the British School has a generous housing allowance so I can rent out. My friends are all on Facebook - they’re not going away; my family are mostly dead apart from some lovely cousins in the north and I’m taking the others (husband, child, dog) with me. My brass band is the hardest thing to leave behind. It’s the closest thing to family and the most fun I have every week. When was the last time you laughed out loud? I do it every week - for the best reasons of course #innuendobingo My father-in-law phoned me two days before my interview. Ex-pilot - he knows the world. ‘Well I’d love to have Christmas in the Philippines. You’ll love the people and the food’. That sealed it. That, and the housing allowance; the 13 month salary; the brand new purpose built radically designed NEW performing arts building (I know!); the free flights back every year; they’re finding a job for my husband; the 95% off school fees for my lad; that the lad can study iBacc - a genuinely useful qualification - once he’s done his GCSEs there; the amazing apartment looking over Manila golf course; the 20 minute walk to school and the fact that I already feel part of a community. Most of all, I’m looking forward to having autonomy over my curriculum leading primary music and the ability to properly design one that allows children to progress sensibly from primary to secondary with careful thought about which instrument they WILL play from their earliest years incorporating creativity, pupil-led learning and performance at the highest standard with a colleague in the secondary music department who thinks the same. Don’t get me wrong - I’m the most staunch socialist you’ll meet and I didn’t approve of ‘private schooling’ but I’m reconciling that with the ex-pat community who don’t have much choice. I’m also looking forward to a completely new lease of life in my ‘later’ years which are, in a way, making my life longer. Keep music education on the national agenda while I’m away for me. #ManilaBound #SaveEastSussexMusic @varndeangoats @janehumberstone  Join Musical Futures International in Manila in January 2020!Bookings for our January 2020 workshops at The British School Manila are now open. Meanwhile you can check out the amazing facilities at our host school The British School Manilia and huge thanks to Tim, Jane and the team for inviting us!
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