Rock-style music lessons boost popularity of GCSE music

10 October 2008

A radical new approach to teaching music that enables secondary pupils to "jam" like rock stars has prompted a sharp rise in the number of pupils wanting to take GCSE music.

The Musical Futures initiative has improved pupils' behaviour, made them more willing to focus on their lessons and given them more confidence in their music-making abilities. It has also boosted motivation, both in pupils who already play an instrument and in those who previously had no interest in music, finds a study by music education experts from the Institute of Education, London.

Musical Futures was set up in 2003 by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to discover new ways of engaging 11- to 19-year-olds with music. Nearly 700 teachers from around the UK are known to be using the Musical Futures approach, which brings informal teaching and learning into the school. Lessons include copying recordings by ear the way pop musicians do, practical music-making activities outside of school and creating their own music on the internet.

Professor Susan Hallam, who evaluated the project with Dr Andrea Creech, commented: "Musical Futures gives students more control over what and how they're learning. Choosing the music they want to learn to play enables them to make links between school music and the music that they listen to outside of school. It also increases their motivation."

After using Musical Futures with their classes, teachers reported a more than 40 per cent increase in pupils wanting to study GCSE music. In addition, 13 per cent of the 1,079 11- to 14-year-olds questioned said they were definitely going to take GCSE music, compared with a national average of between 7 and 8 per cent. There was also a considerable increase in pupils' levels of attainment in tests at age 14.

Almost half of the Musical Futures teachers surveyed (47 per cent) found that their pupils were more motivated. Teachers reported better behaviour, a wider range of pupils engaged with music, increased concentration, enhanced musical skills, more confidence, small group and leadership skills and more willingness to learn on their own.

They also said that after experiencing Musical Futures, pupils' improvement was greater than expected. They gave better musical performances than previously, and teachers felt they had a greater chance of fulfilling their musical potential.

Most pupils said they preferred Musical Futures to other types of music lessons. They especially enjoyed the practical music-making activities and the chance to work in small groups with their friends and learn independently. They were pleased to be able to listen to music they liked and felt a greater sense of connection between music-making activities in and out of school.

But 33 per cent of the Musical Futures teachers said that limited space made it difficult to implement Musical Futures, and 17 per cent complained of a lack of funds for the purchase of instruments.

Professor Hallam said: "We know that young people benefit both personally and socially from making music together. The more support we can give schools to develop pupils' musical skills, the more likely they are to engage in active music-making as a leisure activity."

Notes for editors

Further information from Helen Green, press officer, +44 (0)20 7612 6459, h.green@ioe.ac.uk.

The Musical Futures initiative was piloted in Hertfordshire, Leeds and Nottingham and has been made accessible to teachers around the UK.

The research reported here focuses on four key strands of Musical Futures, which are:

  • Informal music learning at KS3: Informal learning principles, drawn from the real-life learning practices and processes of popular musicians, are integrated into classroom work, enabling students to learn alongside friends, through independent, self-directed learning. Teachers take on different roles in this environment by acting as facilitators and musical models rather than directors, and spend time standing back, observing and assessing the needs of their pupils, offering help, support and guidance based on objectives that pupils set for themselves.
  • The whole curriculum approach: A scheme of work for Year 8 pupils, aiming to provide musical pathways for those who have not previously experienced sustained musical engagement. Strategies include providing extra support for the teacher, bringing informal learning processes into schools, making tangible connections with students' musical lives outside school, achieving a balance between what children already know that they want to do and new un-tried experiences, moving school music beyond the classroom confines and involving students in real musical activity, in genuine musical situations and environments.
  • Numu (www.numu.org.uk): An interactive web space developed by Synergy.TV for creating music, publishing, marketing and promoting, allowing students to develop skills in accordance with their strengths and apply them to a real life situation with a global audience.
  • Personalising extra-curricular music: A guide for personalising extra-curricular music projects so that they complement the curricular work in schools and enhance students' musical progression.

Questionnaires were sent to 1,371 teachers, and a response rate of 66 per cent was achieved. Pupil questionnaires were completed by 1,079 pupils from 17 schools.

The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of professional practice.

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF) is an independent grant making foundation that supports organisations working in education and learning, social justice and the arts in the UK. Founded in 1987 by the publisher and philanthropist Paul Hamlyn, the foundation also donates to a range of non-governmental organisations in India. Since Paul Hamlyn's death in 2001, the foundation has continued to pursue his values, with a particular concern for young and disadvantaged people. In 2007/08 the foundation gave over £16m in support of work it sees as innovative and exemplary in helping people to realise their potential and improve their quality of life. For more information please visit www.phf.org.uk.