The Arts in Schools - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

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58 Some Participation and appreciation are complementary aspects ofpractical arts education: not one or the other, but both. As the followexamplesing three examples from music teaching in different schoolsindicate, they can provide a rich combination.a A large Junior School in the Midlands. The teacher has a scalepost for music and is involved exclusively with musical activities.There are two lessons each week for each class and a number of extracurriculargroups — orchestra, choirs, brass group and recorder consort.Three classes are timetabled, second years, fourth years andthird years, for a 35 minute session in the hall. The other lesson eachweek is taken in the classrooms* and focuses on singing and listeningactivities. A wide range of classroom instruments, with a large proportionof pitched percussion, is arranged round the sides of the hall.Three clarinets and a flute arrive with the third year. The teacher cuesthem in to the situation with comments such as 'When you make yourmusic today you might find it helpful to think about some of thethings we noticed and talked about last tune', or 'I know some of youwant to spend more time on your piece from last week, and otherswant to practise the piece they've completed so that we can record(tape) it.' The children organise themselves, collect the instrumentsand beaters and stands they need, and set up in spaces round theroom. The groups include a xylophone duet, a flute trio, a solo xylophoneplayer, metallophone and drum, a quintet with two descantrecorders, onej treble tambourine and triangle, a clarinet trio, a drumquartet, and a vocal duo. Tfap work begins at once. It involves muchdiscussion and exchange of ideas in words, in playing and in demonstrating;instruments are changed for ones which suit a particularpurpose better. The time spent on inventing and amending, and onpractising what has been invented, varies from group to group. Somegroups are writing their musio down. The teacher moves from group togroup, joining in discussion, putting alternative views, always makingmore than one suggestion so that the children consider which onemight be helpful, demonstrating a particular technique when it isneeded.At a signal from the.teacher the room quietens. 'Well listen to asmuch music as we can. Remember if you want to comment on themusic, not to put your hand up till the players have finished.' Aftereach group has played the teacher offers comment of value 'I thinkwhat you adde.d today did make your music more interesting; welldone.' The listeners also offer comments and the teacher leads a criticalappraisal of many of the pieces. This provides opportunities for fosteringthe development of skills and concepts and for using technicallanguage.'Can you remember his starting note? Sing it.''Can you play his xylophone pattern on your glockenspiel?''Can you play his pattern and vary the dynamics — we've had thatword before — what does it mean?''How many beats (hi a bar) did it have?''What was John's part? ... Yes, he played the same pattern all the waythrough. The word we use in music for a repeated pattern like that isOS-TIN-A-TO ... Did anybody else have an ostinato in their piece?"41
Child: "They said it was a march, but there aren't four beats (in a bar)only three.'Teacher: I've got a record of a march by a composer called Hoist —let's see how he organises his sounds.'This was followed by an analysis of the instrumentation, the plan(form) and the beats.The children's response shows that following the eventsin a piece of music with their ears is as natural to them asfollowing the progress of the ball in a football field withtheir eyes. Working out pieces shows how much learninghas taken place in skill, perception and understanding andhow sensitive they are to music's feel when they are playingand when they are listening.b Alan had shown very little interest in music lessons in the firstyear of the secondary school. Some of the first term was spent with theclass looking at different ways of notating sounds. It was obvious whenlistening to some twentieth century music that the composers, out ofnecessity, had to invent new systems of notation. The teacher showedthem examples of such notation mainly taken from Karkoschka, whichincludes examples of graphic scores. Alan asked if he could borrow thebook. He took it home and when he returned it the following week hepresented a score which he had drawn with different colours representingdifferent instruments. The teacher suggested that he organise a group ofpeople to play this score and provided the instruments and occasionaladvice. The music lessons were one hour and ten minutes long each weekThere followed about six weeks concentrated work. As the piece beganto take shape there was pressure on the individuals within the group toplay their parts accurately. New ways of playing were invented to helpproduce particular tone colours and dynamics. The individuals in thegroup were quick to criticise but eventually realised that criticism had tobe constructive if the result was to be worthwhile. When performed thispiece lasted about nine minutes — an indication of the concentrationinvolved. The rest of the teaching group had been busy on other projectsbut finally came together to listen and comment on each other'sperformances. At a parents' evening later that year, Alan's father toldthe teacher how they had been, at Alan's request, to a concert where awork by Ligeti was performed. They had also been asked by Alan tobuy some recordings of this composer's music. Alan himself had nevermentioned this to the teacher and his parents were not in the habit ofgoing to concerts. He had persuaded them after seeing a notice on themusic notice-board.This experience underlines the sort of concentration andcontrol demanded by effective arts work. It confirms alsothe absence of any real dividing line in principle or in factbetween personal creative work and the struggle to understanda finished piece. There is instead a rich relationshipbetween the two. Alan's score began from attempts tounderstand the Karkoschka text. But the piece which resultedemerged through his joint efforts with other members of thegroup to realise his original idea. A developing interest in42
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THEARTSSCHOOLSPrinciples, practice
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© 1982 Calouste Gulbenkian Foundat
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Chapter 4 Provision: the arts in pr
Page 7 and 8: The Advisory CommitteeChairmanMembe
Page 9 and 10: Foreword by the Chairman of the Inq
Page 11 and 12: Introduction—1989This is not a re
Page 13 and 14: and many others have done so since.
Page 15 and 16: politicians on all sides were compe
Page 17 and 18: the GCSE examination has addressed
Page 19 and 20: REFERENCESArts in Schools Project (
Page 21 and 22: stances and of the perennial and va
Page 23 and 24: significant than at present.4 The n
Page 25 and 26: likely to be measured publicly by e
Page 27 and 28: seem to improve when taught as part
Page 29 and 30: world around them.e In understandin
Page 31 and 32: ence essential to education? Why th
Page 33 and 34: 10 The artsare notoptions11 Notwith
Page 35 and 36: 1 Education, schooling and the arts
Page 37 and 38: 15 The arts This is the ground on w
Page 39 and 40: for certain forms of artistic activ
Page 41 and 42: arts — is 'merely subjective" and
Page 43 and 44: to and an understanding of certain
Page 45 and 46: school curriculum fall into this se
Page 47 and 48: one who is intelligent but who exhi
Page 49 and 50: 38 Quality Quantity by itself is in
Page 51 and 52: 43 Freedom Two further points must
Page 53 and 54: 3 Arts education and the cultural h
Page 55 and 56: universally valued archive of stabl
Page 57: a helps pupils to understand cultur
Page 61 and 62: their cultural identity'. Haley's b
Page 63 and 64: life and on perceptions and values
Page 65 and 66: 4 Provision: the arts in primary sc
Page 67 and 68: a What should be aimed at?b What pr
Page 69 and 70: composition — Western and non-Wes
Page 71 and 72: learning.' (Schools Council, 1981a,
Page 73 and 74: performing arts — music, dance an
Page 75 and 76: techniques and resources for workin
Page 77 and 78: are thinking particularly of the ar
Page 79 and 80: they will suffer disproportionately
Page 81 and 82: Second, integration can mean many t
Page 83 and 84: arts have a substantial contributio
Page 85 and 86: distributed equally and equitably a
Page 87 and 88: art, craft, home economics, music a
Page 89 and 90: FIGURE 2SHEPSHEDCOMMUNITYCOLLEGEope
Page 91 and 92: in upper schools. Associated with t
Page 93 and 94: 120 A Implicit in such proposals is
Page 95 and 96: 78literature and put money and reso
Page 97 and 98: 80outlined the sorts of provision t
Page 99 and 100: used — are appropriate to the wor
Page 101 and 102: 135 Respon- If education involves t
Page 103 and 104: we look at, or participate in, visu
Page 105 and 106: MotivationalChildren on examination
Page 107 and 108: elevant help in compiling the profi
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ible to some form of appropriate as
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94more in-service training provisio
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1%—2% of the school population
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tuition under well qualified teache
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it is likely that more children wil
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102by professional musicians, many
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frequencies and belongs to the Part
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classroom teacher. Nevertheless, th
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'Within individual schools in certa
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implications of different types of
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We will first outline five main are
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186 Arts In the schemes we have jus
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schemes. The Arvon Foundation, for
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is likely to give his teaching rele
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periods of time. There are possibil
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207 The role The rple of the teache
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to be essential to the future devel
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scheme. The Charlotte Mason College
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d education is something that only
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iture. It does require a different
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225 Initial Initial and post-initia
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Germany 18% of the workforce has be
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outes for the visual arts. In parti
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at the centre on a regular basis. T
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potential. The exceptional situatio
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We have developed our arguments in
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wherever possible, co-ordinate the
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AppendixOur arguments in this repor
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Evening classes range from life-dra
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to work with them. CSE groups with
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from other schools to watch two lec
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the cost). Groups of children have
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iii as a special authorised charge
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BibliographyAdvisory Council for Ad
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Kerr, J F 1968 Changing the Curricu
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NotesThe Issues1 For a description
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the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenste
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for candidates between the 100th an
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their education full-time in school
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