Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
Foreword
In 1972 UNESCO developed the idea of Lifelong Learning as the 'master concept'
that should shape educational systems (Infed 2009). What emerged from the work
around this concept was a way of categorising learning systems under the three
broad headings of formal, informal and non-formal education.
Formal education: what we usually understand as the 'education system', running
from primary school through to further and higher education, including full-time
technical and professional training.
Non-formal education: any organised educational activity outside the established
formal system that is intended to serve identifiable learning clienteles and learning
objectives.
Informal education: the truly lifelong process whereby every individual acquires
attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience and the educative
influences and resources in his or her environment - from family and neighbours, from
work and play, from the market place, the library and the mass media.
(Coombs, Prosser and Ahmed 1973, quoted in Infed 2009)
The terms ‘informal’ and ‘non-formal’ have become somewhat compressed in
everyday usage, while ‘non-formal’ goes in and out of fashion in policy discourse. In
traditional music terms, however, the distinction is potentially useful. Historically, and
up until the latter years of the 20th century, traditional music in Scotland was typically
transmitted through an informal process, and has moved increasingly into a nonformal context, arguably beginning with the establishment of first Fèis Bharraigh and
Fèis Rois and the Scottish Music Summer Schools at Stirling University in the ‘80s.
While informal learning through family, friends, social gatherings and private tuition is
still important, access to and participation in traditional music is increasingly provided
by non-formal education organisations. As John Joe MacNeil put it, 'For those who
weren't fortunate enough to see their grandfathers keep the tradition alive, the fèis
has filled that gap and has had a positive effect on many lives.' (Martin, 2006: 32)
As Heather Downie’s report acknowledges, an important characteristic of the learning
environment which traditional music non-formal education organisations
(henceforward TMNFs) seek to create is the informality that is prized as a key part of
the traditional music experience. One consequence of this approach is that any
curricular framework in the TMNF may be loose to non-existent. Enabling
organisations may be reluctant to impose any structure on students and tutors,
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
preferring instead a sociable, conversation-based approach that mirrors the ideal of
traditional music transmission1.
Education as a dialogue is indeed a key tenet of the style of education proposed by
the Brazilian educator Paolo Freire, and championed by some TMNFs, notably the
Scots Music Group in Edinburgh. While the Freirean, dialogical approach may bring
about a successful negotiation between student and teacher, which takes account of
the student’s needs and the scope of the tutor’s knowledge and skills, what may be
missing from the dialogue is the enabling organisation and its mission, aims and
objectives. Ideally the final learning experience would show the influence of all three
factors. The musician has a key role here. As Moran and Loening (2010) identify,
the musician is in a pivotal position, facing both learners and enabling organisation,
and able to represent the ethos of the organisation to learners and the experience of
learners to the organisation.
A key question then, as the report suggests, is how much information about that
learning experience is confined to the student and the teacher and how much feeds
back into the TMNF’s future policy and practice, allowing for a continuous loop of
review, guideline setting, training, good practice and evaluation.
It may be argued (and Heather Downie reports exactly such arguments) that the vast
majority of TMNFs do not have the time, staff or expertise to set up and monitor such
systems, and that, in any case, such a professional approach would run counter to
the valued informal ethos of traditional music learning. Matarasso (1996) made
much of the non-professional, voluntary element in the establishment of many
fèisean, the most widespread model of TMNFs in Scotland today. Kate Martin
(2006), however, counters that professionalism and informality have long been
elements of non-formal traditional education practice, and that they both have their
part to play: ‘in fact a wealth of professional skills has been pooled in the creation
and support of the fèisean...It may be that this collaboration between communities,
community organisers, educators and professional musicians is essential to the
success of the movement.’
1 See Jo Miller’s description of the Riverside Music Project in Stirling for an example of how an informal
approach can be used in the learning experience in a non-formal project (Miller 2011). The Riverside
Music Group is inter-generational and places an emphasis on listening as a key learning skill.
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
If we accept that non-formal organisations are now the predominant vehicle for
teaching and learning traditional music, and that their development implies
maintaining a balance (acceptable to all parties) of informality and best, professional,
lifelong learning practice, the organisations face several demanding questions:
who will teach?
how ready are they to do the job in terms of experience, knowledge and
personal practice?
what will they teach?
how will they teach?
what outcomes are enabling organisations, teachers and learners looking for?
how can they assess the quality of their practice?
At the heart of these questions is the wide pool of traditional musicians, many of
them professional, which Scotland now has. For many musicians the role of ‘tutor’ in
TMNFs is one aspect of a professional portfolio that might encompass composition,
performing, recording, publishing, a private teaching practice, community arts work
and more. Clearly for musicians to keep their portfolio up to date and marketable
there has to be a commitment to continuing professional development.
Although the term ‘tutor’ has become the default term in TMNFs and other
community arts organisations, observers such as musician and academic Peter
Renshaw (2006) have proposed that tutoring is only one aspect of a teaching and
learning relationship. Renshaw has identified a range of relationships – buddying,
shadowing, advising, instructing, facilitating, coaching and mentoring. Many of these
roles are found in informal and formal as well as non-formal contexts, but musicians
might be required to fill any or all of them at different times, and need to be prepared
for them.
What might be helpful in this respect is a term which potentially goes beyond the
narrow scope of ‘tutor’, and which is becoming more prominent in Scotland. The
term is ‘teaching artist’, which originated in a practice which began to grow in the US
in the 70s and 80s. It is defined by one of its leading proponents, Eric Booth: “A
teaching artist is a practising professional artist with the complementary skills and
sensibilities of an educator, who engages people in learning experiences in, through,
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
and about the arts.” (Association of Teaching Artists 2011)2 In the US it is rapidly
developing its own philosophy and practice, professional networks and even a journal
(Booth 2009) and is gathering momentum is Scotland. There is scope here for the
traditional music community to bring its own skills and perspectives to the developing
field of teaching artists and to expand beyond ‘tutoring’ its conception of educational
practices. ‘Tutor training’ then becomes too restricted an idea, whereas ‘developing
teaching artists’ seems to offer more possibilities.
Traditional music is not the only field which feels a tension between the informality of
its ethos and the need for more rigour in the development of its teaching artists.
Community dance practitioner Lise Smith writes:
‘Dance artists who have undergone no formal training themselves – typical in the
case of hip-hop and street dancers – may be talented performers, but lack a model of
dance training on which to draw when delivering their own sessions.
‘The majority of dance artists working in the community do follow good practice and
deliver well-planned, creative dance sessions that are not only fun but give the
participants the satisfaction of learning and improving from one week to the next. It’s
also clear that community participants of all ages enjoy and can benefit from
recreational sessions in modern urban dance forms. But for students to benefit
physically and personally from the work… practitioners need to take the challenge of
improving delivery on themselves.’ (Smith 2011)
How then do musicians prepare and train for the varying roles they may have to
adopt as teaching artists? BOP Consulting (2010) asked a sample of teaching artists
how they had acquired the initial skills that enabled them to work in education
settings (formal and non-formal).
‘‘On the job’ training is the most frequently mentioned method for acquiring teaching
skills (72%), followed by ‘observing or working with peers’ (55%). However,
approximately a quarter had attended a specific training workshop or conference to
develop their skills (24%).
‘The teaching artists in the sample use more informal, practice-based training
methods to either acquire or update their skill set. In part, the high percentage of ‘on
the job’ development can be explained by the high levels of experience of this
survey’s respondents. Having years of practice, many of the teaching artists don’t
necessarily consider a need for formal training. In addition, these experienced artists
are more likely to have developed networks of people engaged in similar practice,
thus facilitating opportunities for informal peer learning. Less experienced
practitioners may find it more difficult to access such informal learning opportunities
and are likely to be more reliant on formal training routes or voluntary work…
‘In addition, teaching artists were asked to state how they continue to keep their skills
up-to-date. The survey shows that the same means are used to keep skills up-to-
2
But see also Miller (2011) for the role of non-professional ‘music leaders’ within a project.
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
date: on-the-job work and interaction with participants being the most frequent (58%),
followed by observing/working with peers (48%) and CPD/workshops (41%).’
If, as Lise Smith asserts ‘practitioners need to take the challenge of improving
delivery on themselves’ there needs to be a wider appreciation of the opportunities
on offer. Heather Downie reports that:
‘Many tutors were not aware of any training being available to them and expressed a
keen interest to participate in some form of training. Some tutors were interested in
training in specific areas such as teaching children, or working with special needs, but
most saw the benefit they could gain through even general teacher training. Through
further discussion it was found that many tutors are not aware of specific techniques,
or different learning and teaching styles and they take their current approach from
what they learnt from their original teacher.’
This should be contrasted with BOP Consulting’s finding that ‘the mapping research
reveals a rich picture of training provision for teaching artists in Scotland. For a
relatively small country, a considerable range of training opportunities is available
across the different art forms’. There is clearly ground to be made up between
musicians’ perceptions of the opportunities available and the take up of those
opportunities.
Another challenge is that, as with community dance, there is no one model of training
for traditional music teaching artists. Work on such models has already been
undertaken elsewhere, however. The Association of Teaching Artists in the US, for
example, gives three categories of foundation competences and capacities:
understanding your art form; understanding the classroom environment, pedagogy
and human development; and understanding the collaborative process and working
in an educational environment. (See Association of Teaching Artists (2011) for
further sub-divisions of these categories.)
BOP acknowledges that in Scotland ‘the approach that training providers take to
providing training is…relatively informal and ad-hoc rather than being driven
strategically’. While making the point that this informal and ad hoc approach clearly
suits the current needs of both training users and providers, they also raise the
question of how a balance is to be found between the benefits of an informal system
and the strategic need for models of training and some kind of non-prescriptive
quality framework.
The question of quality in non-formal teaching and learning is an important one that is
beginning to be addressed across the non-formal sector. BOP identifies it as being
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
of concern not only to teaching artists, learners and organisations but also training
providers. It is, they say, ‘the largest, and most difficult area that requires attention
going forward, as it is relevant at three levels: training providers, teaching artists and
employer organisations.’ They might also have added to the list the learners and
funding providers, the first of which require some kind of assurance their money will
be well spent, and the second of which require some measure of the effectiveness of
their investment.
Peter Renshaw has pursued the question over many years, particularly from the
practitioner’s perspective: ‘how do arts practitioners determine what constitutes
‘quality’ in their engagement with…projects within different community contexts?’
(Renshaw 2010) Equally, how do learners determine the quality of their experience,
and how do enabling organisations know they are getting quality from their teaching
faculty and providing it for their learners?
Renshaw directly addresses a theme that concerns many traditional music teaching
artists and organisations, who are uneasy with the notion that considerations of
quality bring with them a whole cumbersome apparatus of reporting, evaluation,
monitoring, accreditation. For Renshaw the conversation about quality should not be
‘allowed to stifle the creative energy of individuals and organisations. In the current
era of accountability and measurement the more subtle, reflective processes used to
‘ensure’ quality must not be allowed to be hijacked by the mechanisms of Quality
Assurance.’ The inclusion of organisations in his caveat is important in the light of
Heather Downie’s finding that many organisations already find it difficult to offer
training on a consistent basis, and would find the operation of a quality framework
beyond their resources.
How then is the question to be addressed? Renshaw argues for setting aside any
notion of an absolute ideal of quality. ‘Definitions of quality will vary depending on
the purpose and context of the particular project and on the nature of the activity’.
Nor can one set of quality criteria be applied when quality of project, quality of
practitioners, quality of process and quality of end-product all have to be considered,
although he proposes two overriding principles for determining quality of a project:
fitness for purpose and relevance to context. For organisations this implies a clear
idea and continuous review of their purpose and mission and the community and
cultural contexts in which they find themselves.
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
For practitioners both Renshaw and BOP propose some form of self-assessment of
the quality of practice (by teaching artists and organisations) as a means of
addressing the quality question in a way that suits the non-formal education context.
BOP points to schemes already under way in the community dance field and to
models being used in the GTC Scotland Chartered Teacher scheme.
Renshaw sites the idea of self-assessment within the need for a general culture of
critical reflection in community arts, a perspective he shares with Eric Booth, one of
the chief advocates of teaching artist philosophy and practice. Booth (2009) makes
the point that the pattern of ‘action, reaction and stimulation’ which plays such a
dominant part in mainstream culture militates against the taking of ‘periodic pauses to
scan our experiences and precipitate out what’s important to us.’
Renshaw refines the idea further by making a distinction between reflective practice
(reflection-on-action), which looks outside the individual or organisation at the
consequences of action, and reflexive practice (reflection-in-action), which looks
inside at motivation and purpose.
Heather Downie finds some evidence of reflection in her research, but if a practice of
reflection and self-assessment, along with more rigorous documentation and internal
evaluation, were to become more widespread in the traditional music education field,
then clearly musicians and organisations will need assistance and advice in order to
become familiar with the processes involved. Models of professional development
practice have already been developed in the field. Fèisean nan Gàidheal, for
example, now offers professional support and training to individual musicians and a
range of services to its member organisations.
What may be desirable at this time, however, are models of professional
development practice for musicians and organisers that take account not only of the
immediate demands of traditional music education but the wider questions of
personal development, reflective and reflexive practice, and the continuing evolution
of the educational environment (of which teaching artists and Curriculum for
Excellence are harbingers). Already there is talk of ‘Education 3.0’ (see, for example,
Moravec 2009), which puts emphasis on collaborative and personalized learning
(where Education 1.0 is the one-way process from teacher to student, and Education
2.0 is the increasingly familiar interactive and dialogical approach underpinned by
technology).
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
Some of these concepts will already be familiar to some, and it might even be argued
that collaborative, non-hierarchical approaches are inherent in the kinds of
relationships that are part of the traditional music experience. As Peter Renshaw
writes:
‘The quality of any community project is dependent largely on the effectiveness of all
participants making meaningful connections, understanding and responding to each
other’s contexts and engaging in open conversations – guided at all times by the
principle of ‘respect for persons.’
How we make those connections and act on them is paramount. Can we begin to
develop a shared philosophy of practice in traditional music education, based
perhaps on the ‘subtle, reflective processes’ Renshaw speaks of, that will underpin
how we tackle some of the questions raised in this report?
David Francis
Executive Officer, Traditional Music Forum
References
Association of Teaching Artists (2011). Getting started as a teaching artist.
www.teachingartists.com (http://bit.ly/k7rUrb, accessed 9 May, 2011)
Booth, Eric (2009). The music teaching artist’s bible. New York: Oxford University
Press.
BOP Consulting (2010). Mapping of training opportunities for teaching artists in
Scotland: final report
Infed (2009). Non-formal education. www.infed.org (http://bit.ly/CBp1h, accessed 3
May, 2011)
Martin, Kate, ed. (2006). Fèis: the first twenty-five years of the fèis
movement. Portree: Fèisean nan Gaidheal.
Matarasso, François (1996). Northern lights: the social impact of the Fèisean (Gaelic
festivals). Stroud: Comedia.
Miller, Jo (2011). Community and creativity: Riverside Music Project in Stirling.
www.traditionalmusicforum.org/library , accessed 23 May, 2011)
Moran, Nikki and Gica Loening. (2010). Strategic outreach through a community
music outreach project in Edinburgh: report on a Learning Space event. Edinburgh:
University of Edinburgh.
Moravec, John (2009). Designing Education 3.0. www.educationfutures.com
(http://bit.ly/LIjwx, accessed 11 May, 2011)
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
Renshaw, Peter (2006). A framework for mentoring musicians. Paper. Lectorate
Lifelong Learning in Music, Prins Claus Conservatoire, Groningen and the Royal
Conservatoire, The Hague.
Renshaw, Peter (2010). Engaged passions: searches for quality in community
contexts. Delft: Eburon.
Smith, Lise (2011, 11 April). Standards in community dance. Arts Professional, 235.
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Informal education in Scottish traditional music historically took place through the
medium of aural transmission and published tune books. The non-formal education
sector in Scottish traditional music, its contemporary equivalent comprising projects,
organisations, workshops courses and classes, is comparatively new and, given the
current economic climate within the voluntary and community sector, fragile. It sees
itself as being first and foremost a provider of opportunities to access and participate
in traditional music, bringing an informal learning model (one-to-one learning,
learning by osmosis, learning by ear) into a classroom situation.
In 2008, the Scottish Arts Council carried out an assessment of five of its client
organisations in the non-formal traditional music education sector. The assessment
concluded that, although the social and community aspect of the projects was very
successful, there were issues around tutor recruitment, training and evaluation. SAC
then asked the Traditional Music Forum to explore how organisations in the sector
might be better supported in their educational work, which led to the commissioning
of this piece of research.
Organisers
Organisations are concerned to respect what they see as the ethos of traditional
music learning by keeping a balance between the provision of a good social
experience and strong learning outcomes.
In terms of the relationship between organisations and tutors, the question arose of
how clearly organisations formulate learning outcomes and how clearly these are
communicated to tutors. For some weekend or week-long events there might be a
pre-meeting, while one weekly project has regular meetings with its tutors to discuss
progress. In other cases desired learning outcomes tend to be negotiated between
students and tutors without much reference to the organisation. Organisations
usually have stated educational aims, but these are often general (e.g. 'to provide
excellent learning experiences in traditional music'). Learning by ear is a particular
feature of the ethos of many organisations.
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
Tutor training
Tutor training was brought up in many discussions as something that organisers
wanted to either introduce or develop further. Fèisean nan Gàidheal and SCaT
currently offer tutor training opportunities. Stow College currently offers a tutor
training module developed by a previous tutor training network, but take-up of the
module has been very low.
Recruitment
There is a recognition that 'the best players do not necessarily make the best
teachers', and tutors are particularly prized who bring skills in technical teaching,
musicianship, and above all in groupwork skills (engaging and supporting individuals
in their development, getting the group working together, creating an informal,
relaxed atmosphere). Recruitment is usually done by recommendation from other
organisations or other tutors, although well-established organisations such as Fèis
Rois have their own database of tutors. Fèisean nan Gàidheal also has a database
but does not use it exclusively, especially for local tutors, who would be recruited
through personal and local knowledge
Some organisations, e.g. Musicworks in Glasgow, conduct formal interviews in which
tutors have to teach and perform a tune to demonstrate the required level of
competence in their instrument(s) and teaching methods. In some cases, such as
The Scots Music Group in Edinburgh, a member or the organisation team meets with
potential new tutors, however in this case it was not considered a formal interview.
There was also a view that training, support and evaluation once people are in the
job are more important than registers, qualifications and interviews. FnG pointed out
that, when working with young people, there should be some kind of interview as part
of child protection policy.
Some organisations currently run an informal ‘shadow’ scheme for new tutors
wishing to begin tutoring themselves. This is currently proving very successful, Fèis
Rois and SCaT allow shadow tutors to help with tutors to allow them to develop an
understanding of teaching, observe classes and help out where the tutor sees fit.
Such shadow schemes help to provide a pool of tutors with experience and skills in
the right areas.
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
Assessment and quality control has been and is an issue across teaching both formal
and non-formal.
Tutors
Tutors had fewer concerns than organisers. Most were satisfied with the status quo,
happy with the current organisation and delivery of teaching and found it hard to think
of ways they needed more support.
Training
There was a wide range of experience among tutors interviewed. Some had formal
qualifications (BEd, PGCE, TQFE), while others had learned on the job over years,
seeking out training on their own behalf. Some tutors were not aware of any training
available to them and expressed a keen interest in participating in some form of
training. Some tutors were interested in training in specific areas such as teaching
children, or working with special needs, but most saw the benefit they could gain
through even general tutor training. Through further discussion it was found that
some tutors are not aware of specific techniques, or different learning and teaching
styles and they take their current approach from what they learnt from their original
teacher. Many would welcome the opportunity to learn more on this subject.
Tutors are keen to have training available to them. Many expressed an interest in
taking part in general training and others had more specific areas that they wanted
more knowledge and experience in, such as teaching young children or teaching
styles and techniques. One tutor interviewed has turned down work in the past
because they didn’t feel they had the skills and felt they had no way of developing
them. Training is offered by some organisations but funding makes any regular or
specific training difficult. Tutors can also independently gain qualifications, however
they also find funding their own development difficult. Long term commitment to a 1
or 2 year accredited course is difficult for tutors and organisers who have constraints
on their time available for training and up-skilling
When considering training, both tutors and organisers expressed the desire to be
able to interact more with others in their situations.
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
Evaluation
The research found that many tutors reflect on their own teaching and felt that selfevaluation, reflection, analysis and improvement in their teaching was very important,
and that they were aware of their own performance in the areas of technical teaching,
musicianship, repertoire, cultural context, theory, planning, and group-work.
Tutors were concerned about the introduction of monitoring procedures or possibly
interviews as it may take away from their desire to keep classes more informal, in
deference to the traditional way of passing on tunes and songs. Tutors also
mentioned the social element of classes. They felt strongly that keeping a relaxed
and social feel in a class helped students feel comfortable and therefore more open
to trying new and harder material.
It seems that tutors are rarely, if ever asked, formally or informally, about the content
of their classes or the ratio of technique to repertoire in their teaching. It was found
that organisers were aware on a basic level of the repertoire being taught in classes
offered, but not many commented on specific content. This is not necessarily down
to a lack of will or negligence on any organiser’s part, but lack of time and expertise it
terms of monitoring and evaluation.
It was however agreed that there was a need to monitor the quality and standard of
teaching, but they questioned how this could be done without taking away from the
social sharing of music they tried to create in their classes. It should be noted that
this social part of Scottish music teaching was pointed out by many students as
something they particularly enjoyed about their classes.
Students
Students enjoy their learning experiences whether weekly classes or week or
weekend courses. They expressed their particular enjoyment of the social
experiences associated with their learning. Children enjoy sharing their music with
others their age, meeting others with the same interest and also their interaction with
the tutors. Adults felt it gave them a great opportunity to meet new people and many
relished the opportunity to learn new skills.
Both students and tutors stressed the positive rewards of community spirit and social
Traditional Music Forum: Non-formal education in Scottish traditional music
aspects of classes in the informal sector of Scottish music education. This was
identified as an extremely important factor in participation.
They enjoy classes where they felt equal to their tutor and were able to relate to
them. Many students also appreciated being able to contribute in class, when tunes
were discussed or in group work classes where arranging skills were being taught.
Some students did enjoy the invitation to express their musical ideas though they
wouldn’t feel confident to do so in a group environment, while others relished the
opportunity to discuss musical options and get more involved.
Many organisations do use student feedback to develop their classes and it is noted
that students’ opinions are welcomed across the board and listened to.
Recommendations
Development needs to be carried out in ways which are sympathetic and sensitive to
the friendly, creative, positive, learning environment found in organisations and
projects.
The informal traditional music education sector would benefit from closer links and
exchange of good practice with other organisations in the community learning and
development sector.
Quality Assurance Framework to underpin organisations' aspirations and
performance, and their relationships between tutors and students.
The Traditional Music Forum web-site could host information on tutor training events.
creation of a voluntary tutor database, hosted on TMF web-site.
creation of a self-assessment framework for tutors
shared resources for marketing, funding, promotions and financial planning
The Traditional Music Forum to take a lead role in creating links and networks
throughout the informal traditional music education sector.