Journal of Popular Music Education - Popular Music Education in Wales, Apr 2021

Through the examination of past and current practice, survey and interview, this article discusses how music from the widest parameters may be included in mainstream education in Wales. In 2014, the Welsh Government commissioned Professor Graham Donaldson to review the curriculum and assessment arrangements in schools in Wales. The outcome, Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales (2015), was adopted by the Welsh Government for implementation by 2021. This new curriculum and its approach to learning and teaching offers the opportunity to re-examine the provision of music in schools, outlining a significant shift from ‘…“learning about” to “learning to” with a growing skills focus and an emphasis on application and development of higher-order skills, particularly creativity (entrepreneurship) and digital literacy’ (Donaldson 2015: 18). This vision requires exploration and engagement in a greater diversity of music.

This article draws on theories of creative development articulated by Sawyer and Green as well as reflecting upon data from case studies of projects run in Wales with community ensembles Wonderbrass, South Wales Intercultural Community Arts and London-based Kinetica Bloco. It proposes a model of learning for music education in Wales that promotes active creative participation and fosters the speaking of a musical language rather than simply the reading of it. In the context of Welsh Government’s recent education review, the article advocates a music policy of creative engagement, with musical materials that go beyond the pedagogy of imitation. Here I propose a creative engagement method that empowers participants to interact with musical materials by creating their own musical statements within a musical style or language, whether through extemporization, improvisation or composition.

This study examined the effects of the Junior Rock Music Academy (JRMA) on participants’ (N = 39) confidence and self-esteem. The JRMA was a widening participation Saturday music programme developed to reduce the influences of poverty on educational underachievement for young people (10–18 years) from poorer families across South East Wales. Participants’ confidence and self-esteem scores reported a significant rise, with no significant difference reported between genders or age groups. Participants (N = 5), programme tutors (N = 3) and participant parents/guardians (N = 4) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to establish the fidelity of the structure and content of the intervention. The impact of JRMA on the psychosocial, cultural and emotional characteristics of participants and their parents/guardians as barriers to educational attainment and preparedness to thrive in education are discussed; these include enhanced cognitive development, social and emotional skills and learner motivation.

Introduced in 2016, Forté Project is a publicly funded talent development initiative aimed at young popular musicians residing in the Arts Connect region of South Wales. Using a combination of survey data and interviews with participants, this article analyses Forté Project’s educational impact on musicians, where it emerges as both complementary of, and a potential alternative to, music industry career pathways provided by traditional forms of further and higher popular music education. Within the wider context of the current Wales-based ladder of publicly funded popular music support, this article also investigates how Forté Project might be improved and/or expanded to better serve the educational needs of emerging popular musicians based throughout Wales.

This article shines a light on the tailored and targeted popular music provision provided by Sonig, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s (RCTCBC) long-standing music industry programme. Over a twenty-year period, Sonig has successfully engaged with young people in disenfranchised areas of South Wales, many of whom have never experienced a way of accessing the music industry. Through workshops, masterclasses, performance opportunities, mentoring, networking and signposting career pathways, Sonig has become a new gateway for young talent. Creating these pathways is key to an equality of access and furthermore, enabling young people to reach their creative potential, through developing confidence, self-esteem and raising their aspirations. This article tracks the history of Sonig and provides a focus on how its constant evolution has positively intervened in the lives of many young people living in Wales.

This article focuses on the development of the charity Community Music Wales (CMW), which grew from a small collective of musicians in Cardiff in the 1980s to a national organization. Although comparisons can be drawn to other UK-based organizations such as Making Music UK, CMW is unique in its broad range of activities. The article outlines key milestones in the development of CMW throughout its 28 years of operation, including the introduction of its first music mentoring scheme, its community record label and its Welsh language label – Ciwdod. The article also highlights the development of community work that engages with key themes such as mental health and the environment. By engaging with company archives, the article considers quantitative data, such as the numbers of musicians who have attended training. Most importantly, it outlines how tutor training has upskilled the workforce and supported the creative economy of Wales.

With a focus on songwriting, this article reports on the place of rock and pop as a means for generating creative output in the current Welsh secondary school curriculum. The article outlines how guidance from industry professionals in addition to a robust and relevant pop and rock curriculum can facilitate pupils accessing employment in the contemporary music industry.

This article is a descriptive look at the development of a strategic partnership between Rockfield studios in Monmouth and the University of South Wales. It considers how the relationship developed and tracks the holistic development of what was learnt from the experience of delivering a series of masterclasses between 2012 and the present day, which were developed to replicate industry practice in a way that is almost impossible in an academic setting.

Through his work as a self-employed music tutor based in the coastal city of Swansea, the author has found that many young people can regard making music as a difficult or even impossible thing to achieve – whether this means playing guitar, producing music, composing a song, writing lyrics or singing. This article examines some of the techniques employed by the author to break down a range of social and personal barriers in students, using technology as a creative medium. It also outlines some of the success stories of participants who have engaged in his teaching programme.

There is a lack of scholarship on informal private popular music lessons compared with school and conservatoire teaching, and informal private music lessons have been viewed as lacking structure. Instrumental teachers often develop strategies from their own experiences, and there is a paucity of recognition of the processes that underpin teachers’ knowledge. This article brings into focus indicative examples of my own teaching experiences with my current student cohort, focusing on how specific approaches are informed by a general structure, where teaching approaches are tried, tested and developed. The article contributes to literature on informal popular music teaching developed by the likes of Schulman (1987) and Lucy Green (2001). Key benefits identified in adopting a flexible template for guitar lessons include a growth in student confidence positively affecting their progress and engagement with music.