Music Education
School of Education
(i) Private Music Tuition. Music was perceived as a desirable artistic pursuit and social accomplishment for the children of upper and middle class families. Visiting professional musicians and private conservatoria provided tuition in instrumental or vocal music for this clientele as well as for young people who exhibited particular musical talent and wished to undertake vocational training as performers.
(ii) University Conservatoria. Private teaching studios and conservatoria set the scene for the establishment of university conservatoria: the Elder Conservatorium at the University of Adelaide under the first professor of music, Joshua Ives in 1885 (the first university conservatorium to be established in the Southern Hemisphere) and the Melbourne University Conservatorium under G.W.L. Marshall-Hall in 1895. The New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music was established in 1915 with Henri Verbrugghen as Director. In 1900, Marshall-Hall vacated the Ormond Chair of Music at the University of Melbourne and established the Albert Street Conservatorium as private institution (now the Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music, Richmond).
(ii) Public Music Examinations. From the early 1880s, visiting examiners from British examining bodies such as the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, Trinity College (London) and London College of Music fulfilled an important legitimating role for private teaching studios and institutions in examining their students for grade certificates and diplomas. By 1887 and 1903 respectively the Universities of Adelaide and Melbourne had entered the field and in 1907 jointly established the precursor of the Australian Music Examinations Board. By 1914, the Universities of Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland became partners in operating the AMEB and in 1916 they were joined by the NSW State Conservatorium allowing the AMEB to become a national organisation coordinated by a Federal Council, although operated by State Committees.
(i) Universities, Conservatoria and Special Music Secondary Schools.
Departments of music and conservatoria were progressively established
so that by 1994 there were twenty-four Australian universities offering
music courses in some form. Special pre-tertiary level music training
schools
were established at the NSW State Conservatorium, the Queensland
Conservatorium
and the Victorian College of the Arts as well as by state education
departments
at high schools in Perth and Adelaide as a means of preparing
musically-talented
young people for professional training. In 1994 the Federal Government
announced the establishment of a National Academy of Music, located in
Melbourne, as 'a centre of training excellence for musicians of
outstanding
talent'.
(ii) Instrumental Teaching. In addition to numerous instrumental (and vocal) teachers who teach in private practice throughout Australia, two instrumental teaching methods of Japanese origin were introduced to Australia in 1970. Yamaha Music Schools offer group tuition to children and beginning adults mainly through 'electone' keyboards, and grade certificate and diploma examinations are offered by the Yamaha Music Foundation of Australia. Suzuki Talent Education was introduced to Australia by Harold Brissenden. This system promotes the teaching of violin, viola, 'cello, flute, piano and guitar through the 'mother-tongue' approach and group teaching methods.
(iii) Public Music Examinations. Due to competition from the AMEB, the Associated Board ceased operations in Australia as did London College of Music, the Australian Guild of Music and Speech taking over the operations of the latter in 1969-70. Another music examining body, the Australian and New Zealand Cultural Arts, commenced operations in 1983.
(iv) Music Camps. The music camp movement in Australia, founded by Professor John Bishop and Ruth Alexander in the late 1940s, has provided orchestral and other ensemble performance opportunities for several generations of young instrumental players through the National Music Camp Association. In addition, there are state music camps as well as regional music camps held for young orchestral musicians during school vacations.
(v) Music teacher organisations. Most states have music teacher associations which represent teachers in private practice as well as teachers of instrumental and vocal music in schools. In addition, the Institute of Music Teachers, established in 1977, is a national accreditation body for studio teachers and there are also specialist teachers organisations-such as Australian String Teachers Association-at the national level.
(i) Vocal music in NSW and Victorian schools. Due principally to their larger populations, school education in New South Wales and Victoria developed at a faster rate than in the less populous colonies. The origin of school music in Australia is essentially that of transplanted British educational practice. Vocal music was introduced to English elementary schools and teacher training institutions in the early 1840s when the Committee of Council on Education published an English adaptation by John Hullah of the French 'fixed doh ' solmisation method. Vocal music was introduced to colonial schools not so much for its intrinsic values but as a form of pedagogy for instilling (through the words of school songs) moral, patriotic and religious values in children. It was also viewed as a healthy recreation for children and a means of making schools attractive to both pupils and parents.
In New South Wales, James Fisher (1826-1891), the singing master appointed to Sydney schools, introduced Curwen's tonic sol-fa (movable-doh ) system as the official teaching method to public schools in 1867 and also established singing as part of the ordinary school curriculum. Since then, music teaching in NSW primary schools has generally been the responsibility of generalist classroom teachers. Hugo Alpen (1842-1917) was appointed as Superintendent of Music in 1884 and gradually transferred the teaching of music from tonic sol-fa to a movable-doh staff notation method of his own devising which pre-empted similar developments in English education by almost a decade. Alpen's successor, Theodore Tearne (1857-1926), was Supervisor of Music from 1909 to 1922.
The situation in Victoria differed significantly from that in New South Wales in that singing masters were appointed from the outset as itinerant specialists at the main centres of population. George Leavis Allen (1827-1897) was appointed as the first singing master in 1853. Other appointments followed and by 1962 an estimated one-third of school children in Victoria were being taught singing-using Hullah's fixed-doh method-by visiting singing masters. In 1862, the cost of providing specialist music teaching in schools saw the itinerant singing masters initially dismissed and then, after public protest, re-instated in 1864 under a system of extra-fees paid by parents, effectively making music an extra-curricular subject. By the late 1860s, the tonic numeral (staff notation) method-devised by John Waite in England-replaced Hullah's method in Victorian schools. In 1874, singing was included in the 'Course of Free Instruction' and taught either by itinerant singing masters or by licenced classroom teachers who were paid an additional £10 per annum to give musical instruction. In 1878, Joseph Summers (1839-1917) was appointed to the position of Inspector of Music which he held until 1891.
In 1879, Samuel McBurney (1847-1909) embarked a long but ultimately successful campaign for recognition of tonic sol-fa as a school music teaching method in Victoria. With the onset of the economic depression of the 1890s, the government dismissed all singing masters, abolished the position of Inspector of Music (to which McBurney was appointed in 1893), and ceased all extra payments to classroom teachers of music. Henceforth, singing was to be the responsibility of classroom teachers, although little or no music teaching was evident until John Byatt (1862-1930), an ardent tonic sol-fa-ist, undertook a re-organisation of school music from 1915.
(ii) School music in other colonies. In South Australia, tonic sol-fa was employed for teaching music in primary schools from the early 1870s. However it was until Alexander Clark (1843-1913), as an inspector of schools, promoted tonic sol-fa through in-service education for classroom teachers that singing became mandatory in primary schools in 1890 and a singing syllabus based on the tonic sol-fa was included in the school curriculum in 1895. This period saw the founding of a choir of children from public schools (later called the 'Thousand Voice Choir') by the Public Schools Decoration Society in 1891, which has continued to the present under the South Australian Public (Primary) Schools Music Society. Frank (Francis Lymer) Gratton (1871-1947), a tonic sol-fa supporter, was appointed the first Supervisor of Music (1922-36).
In Queensland, music was being taught by itinerant specialists in Brisbane and Toowoomba by the early 1870s, and by 1875 vocal music was listed as a subject in the 'Primary School Schedule'. In 1908 George Sampson was apointed Music Adviser to the Department of Public Instruction until 1930 when Charles Hall took over this role as lecturer in music at the Teachers College.
The introduction of music to schools in Tasmania was a more gradual process and it was not until 1905 that singing by the tonic sol-fa method was included in the 'Course of Instruction' for primary schools. Key figures in the development of school music in Tasmania were Frank Gratton who promoted tonic sol-fa in Launceston and northern Tasmania from 1906 until returning to South Australia in 1911 and Victor von Bertouch, also a South Australian tonic sol-fa-ist, who was music instructor at the Hobart Teachers College.
Instrumental music in schools during the colonial period was limited to drum and fife bands which were viewed as an extension of military drill which was taught in many schools.
(i) Administration of and provision for music teaching in schools. Secondary education developed in all state education systems during the 1910s and 1920s and specialist music teachers were appointed to high schools from the 1930s. Directors of Music were also appointed at the larger private schools such as Scotch College in Melbourne and St. Peters in Adelaide. Instrumental music also become an important with orchestras and bands being established in secondary schools from the late 1920s. The Gillies Bequest (1926) which provided funds for the purchase of instruments for use in schools was an important factor in promoting instrumental teaching and ensemble performance in Victorian state schools.
In NSW, H.F. Treharne succeeded Alpen as Supervisor of Music in 1922. Then in 1948, a School Music Centre was established and Terrance Hunt was apointed to supervise music teaching by generalist teachers in primary schools and specialist teachers in secondary schools. By 1970 there were four Inspectors of Music in NSW. Under the decentralisation policy of the 1980s, Music Advisers were appointed to each of the Education Regions in NSW, responsible principally for promoting music in primary schools.
In Victoria, Alfred B. Lane became the first Supervisor of Music in 1923. Under his auspices, itinerant music teachers were appointed to teach in secondary schools and in some primary schools. By 1940 this group of specialists became known as the Music Branch. Doris M. Irwin (1905-94) succeeded Lane in 1943, who was followed in 1970 by Helen McMahon. By 1975, there were 107 staff attached to the Music Branch. However in 1978 the Music Branch was disbanded and 236 new positions for music specialists and regional music advisers in primary schools were established. With a further shift in official policy in 1982, all these positions were abolished together with most of the music adviser positions. The majority of specialist primary music teachers either obtained on-staff 'tagged' music positions or returned as generalist teachers to primary classrooms. In secondary schools, music was part of the ordinary curriculum for years 7 and 8 by the 1960s as well as being available for elective study through to year 12. In 1966, the first Secondary School Inspector of Music, Alexandra E. Cameron, was appointed and in 1972 was succeeded by Bruce Worland, whose position later became that of Senior Music Development Officer. With further devolution of administrative functions to schools, centralised supervisory positions as well as itinerant music teacher positions were phased out in Victoria.
In South Australia, Alva I. Penrose was the Supervisor of Music from 1937 until 1959. John Slee succeeded him as Supervisor from 1960 to 1974 during which time the Music Branch was responsible for supervision of both classroom and instrumental music teaching in schools. Alan Farwell followed from 1975 until 1985 after which the Music Branch became the administrative unit for itinerant instrumental teachers until they were re-formed into localised instrumental teaching teams in 1990.
The first Supervisor of Music appointed in Queensland was Kevin Siddell in 1970. A Music Section was established by the Education Department and consisted of itinerant instrumental teachers serving several school regions and classroom music specialists providing in-service education for classroom teachers and some primary school teaching. The next Supervisor of Music was Ann Carroll, appointed in 1979(?), who is now Principal Policy Officer in a new Visual and Performing Arts Unit established in 1991.
In Tasmania, the work of Gratton and von Bertouch led to the appointment of specialist singing teachers in primary schools from 1927. Although high schools had been part of the Tasmanian state school system since 1913, it was not until the 1940s that music became part of the secondary school curriculum. The first Supervisor of Music, appointed in 1946, was George Limb; Wilfred King succeeded him in 1950 and John Morriss became Supervisor of Music in 1972.
The first Superintendent of Music in Western Australia was Campbell Egan who was appointed in 1928 to promote singing and music appreciation in schools. A Music Branch was established and during Edgar Nottage's time as Superintendent (1955-1981), instrumental music-initially recorder playing and then a Suzuki program-developed in secondary schools. Roy Rimmer was appointed as Superintendent of Music in 1981, but in 1987 this position was discontinued in favour of music education coordinator and instrumental coordinator positions. In 1995 a new position of Superintendent of the Arts was created.
With the devolution of administration of state education from the central departmental authority to regions and then to the local school level during the 1980s, most states have dispensed with supervisors and a centrally-administered music teaching staff. The current situation is that responsibility for music teaching in state primary schools is either with generalist teachers or 'on-staff' specialists, and in secondary schools, with 'on-staff' specialist teachers. Instrumental teaching at the secondary level is generally provided by visiting teachers assigned to a group of schools.
(ii) Classroom music teaching methods. From about 1920 the music curriculum expanded greatly. The introduction of gramophones to schools in the 1920s ushered in the music appreciation movement. By the 1930s, music appreciation programs were being broadcast by the ABC and its precursors by the Melbourne musician Dr. E. A. Floyd. Another important impetus to the music appreciation movement was the inauguration of schools' concerts at the Melbourne Town Hall by the conductor Bernard Heinze in 1929.
Next followed 'Music through Movement' which was based on Dalcroze eurhythmics. Heather Gell (1896-1988) promoted Dalcroze in Adelaide before moving to Sydney to present a series of weekly national broadcasts to schools on ABC radio from 1938. The 'music through movement' continues to have an important role in the school music curriculum and is promoted through Dalcroze Societies in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
Percussion bands were introduced to primary music classrooms from the 1920s and later, following the introduction of recorder playing to English schools by Arnold Dolmetsch, recorder groups were established in Australian schools from 1940s. However it was not until the 1960s that classroom instrumental music and creative music making became more firmly established with the Orff-Schulwerk approach. Keith Smith introduced Orff-Schulwerk to Queensland schools from where it spread to other states. John Morriss initially in Victoria and later in Tasmania also promoted the method. There are Orff-Schulwerk Associations in most states.
Another significant influence on school music was the Kodály method which was introduced to Australia by Deanna Hoermann who established a highly successful 'Kodály Pilot Project' under the auspices of the NSW Department of Education in the West Metropolitan Region of Sydney in 1971. The Kodály method has now become well established throughout Australia as the 'Developmental Music Program' which Hoermann has, with various collaborators, adapted to suit the Australian cultural context. The Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia, established in 1973, has branches in most states and promotes the method through professional development activities for teachers.
As a result of a decision by the Australian Education Council in 1989, a national curriculum for Australian schools was developed and finally published by the Curriculum Corporation in 1994. Music is included as one of six subject strands within the National Arts Curriculum, therby establishing it as a integral component in the general education of young people in Australia. Most state education authorities have developed their own music curriculum frameworks based on the music 'statement' and 'profiles' included in the National Arts Curriculum.
(iii) Music education organisations. The Australian Society for Music Education was founded in 1966 and has chapters in all Australian states as well as a national council. ASME is the representative in Australia of the International Society for Music Education and is the publisher of The Australian Journal of Music Education. Another national organisation is the Association of Music Education Lecturers (AMEL) which has existed since 1978. More recently the Callaway International Resource Centre for Music Education (CIRCME) was established at the University of Western Australia. In addition there are school music and specialist method associations in most states.
FURTHER READING
Bridges, D.M. (1970), The Role of the Universities in the Development
of Music Education in Australia, 1885-1970. PhD thesis, University of
Sydney.
Southcott, J.E. (1997), Music in State-Supported Schooling in South
Australia to 1920, PhD thesis, Deakin University.
Stevens, R.S. (1978), Music in State-Supported Education in New South
Wales and Victoria, 1848-1920. PhD thesis, University of Melbourne.
Lepherd, L. (1994), Music Education in International Perspective:
Australia. University of Southern Queensland Press.
The Australian Journal of Music Education (1967-82, 1986-),
Australian Society for Music Education.
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SOURCE
Stevens, R.S. 1997, ‘Music Education’. In Bebbington, W., ed. The
Oxford Companion to Australian Music, Oxford University Press,
Melbourne,
pp. 396-399.
