The excitement raised from the possibilities of more musical opportunities reflective of students’ lives can bolster the musical lives of all.
Deborah A. Confredo
2024-2026 President, National Association for Music Education
Music has long been sustained in schools across the country. In elementary schools, children’s experiences are focused on foundational skills that impact their development. In secondary schools, large ensemble experiences in band, orchestra, and choir are prevalent. While music educators have been diligent in providing systematic music instruction, the reach has been limited, particularly in grades 7-12.
Although 92% of children have access to music education, as of 2019, a mere 49% actually participate in offerings. This statistic includes general music education, which is often compulsory at the elementary school level. In secondary schools, large ensemble experiences can be life-changing.
As we look to the future, music education’s benefits must become available to more children who may not see themselves in large ensembles. Standing alongside these beloved groups, more opportunities will appear, as prospective, first-year, and early-career music educators call on their experiences, which may differ from their seasoned colleagues.
By 2030, it is anticipated that the proportion of Black and Brown children enrolled in public schools will be more aligned with the number of White children compared to the proportions reported in 2020. While race is not the sole determinant of a child’s musical choices, it factors into understanding familial and communal experiences that shape passions. Music education is an effective conduit for reflecting on these experiences, embracing the beauty found in students’ personal worlds.
The future of music education
The profession’s reach must be more open, with the expectation of greater possibilities. As we continue to champion students who are motivated by large ensemble experiences, we must also look to those students who choose to make music in other ways and who seek entry into the profession. Tapped will be those who create using digital means, whose aural skills might outweigh reading skills, who deeply love the music of the cultures that nurtured them, and who demonstrate skills in ways that may be at the periphery of current requirements for college-bound students. Universities will break literacy bias, teaching music reading alongside ear training, seeing value in multiple means of music-making methods, and identifying those whose potential to teach is clear, even if their precollege preparation does not fit norms.
Decades-old music teacher preparation curricula that reflect entrenched ways, and often act as closed systems, will be transformed. This includes ways of engaging students and communities in musical experiences that celebrate the individual, families, and cultures. Music education can be augmented by a seemingly endless cache of music, plus ways of creating and engaging. Revised curricula will serve an emergent class of educators to evolve music education so that “school music” means “music for all.”
New teachers are the faces of now and the future. A shift in who enters the music educator pipeline will change attitudes and raise promise. The excitement raised from the possibilities of more musical opportunities reflective of students’ lives can bolster the musical lives of all. That is good for everyone.
