Reportedly students can now achieve an A in music without being able to read a single note. It comes as no surprise as over recent years A level music has come more and more into disrepute. The situation has become so problematic that the likes of Oxbridge are considering whether an A level in music should be a stipulation tin applying to study music at an undergraduate level. However, it is true also to say that Music as a subject has changed hugely in the way it is studied as a subject at the highest level. No longer do composers learn their trade during a seven year apprenticeship with a senior composer. Nor does fugue or counterpoint play a critical part in a degree from Cambridge. Recently Oxford appointed a professor in music science and music as therapy and as a rehabilitative aid is becoming more accepted in the medical world. Thus should the qualification move with the times?
It is true to say that the qualification needs to adapt, and ensure it is not stuck in the dark ages. Yet it must keep the foundations of what it is trying to advance at the forefront of its teaching. As the cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber said, it is "like trying to study a language without learning the alphabet". The concept of teaching English at GCSE level without the students being able to read would be unthinkable.
Today in the world 'classical' music, accessibility to all are such buzz words that the exam boards seem worried to stretch the students by demanding from them what they should. Although not a theorist at heart and also being one who passed grade 5 theory just (getting the pass mark - all be it at the age of 9) it seems that theoretical knowledge is crucial to an understanding of music and a progression in the subject. It may be difficult to teach or 'boring' to learn yet no one would suggest not teaching times tables or spelling. By enabling people to understand theory not only does it allow them to study a major section of Western culture but opens the door to this 'exclusive' world of classical music, that so many politicians are convinced exists due to those who promote it. As Damon Albarn, the front-man of Gorrliaz and Blur said, "If you don't learn to read music, then there's a whole tradition that becomes very exclusive and shouldn't be."
It is important to be inclusive, and in a world where classical music has an aging population one needs to encourage followers, but not at the risk of loosing what is at the subject's heart. Maybe it is time for a separate GCSE to be developed; 'music appreciation' where one only has to listen and describe one's reaction on tape, therefore stopping the need of having ti be able to write to take the qualification.
Posts
