Instrumental Music: School Trends


Figure 1.--These boys in an English preparaory school are showing the instruments that they are learning. The school has a very strong music program and supports a cathedral choir.

Schools around the world give varying attention to instrumental music in the curriculum. American schools vary widely in the attention given to instrumental music. Many American schools promote music. Here schools vary widely, primarily because of the varying financial condition of school districts around the country. Instrumental music tends to be strongest in American secondary schools. Thecsubject of musical instruments in American secondary schools was wonderfully addressed in the the movie "Mr Holland's Opus". It illustrates a school with a fine instrumental music program. Many schools in particular have marching band programs. Unfortunately many schools can not aford such programs. Often the interested students haveo conduct fund raising programs. We believe that the situation in Canada is similar to that in America. We are not sure if there are differences between English and French speaking schools. Many English schools have instumntal music programs. This tend to be especially true of private schools, but is not limited to them. A factor here is that parents with the financial resoyrces to send their childrn to private schools also hgave the resources to afford music lessons. Parents with professional backgrounds are also more likely to encourage a child's musical development. We do not believe that French state schools commonly offer instrumental instruction. We are less sure about private schools. We have no information on schools in France, Germany, Japan, and other countries.







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Created: November 3, 2003
Last updated: November 3, 2003