Partnerships between musicians, schools and cultural organisations can take many forms. This paper offers an insight into the workings of one specific and perhaps unusual partnership. I use reflexive autoethnography to examine my seven years as an associate musician working for a network of ten primary and special schools with links to the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). I present analyses of interviews with other associate artists, the local programme manager and the RSC’s associate learning manager to explore the intra-actions between schools, artists, theatres and a high-status cultural organisation, the RSC. I offer insider accounts of what make a productive, mutually beneficial and sustainable partnership. I also reveal the challenges, tensions and realities of using music and other artforms to teach Shakespeare in schools.

While interviewees describe signifiers of effective partnerships - trusting and respectful relationships built between artists and schools over years, mutually agreed goals for processes (rehearsals) and products (performances at theatres and other schools) – the programme places artists in classrooms for a maximum of two days each year, insufficient time, I suggest, to form effective Communities of (musical) Practice (Kenny 2017; Wenger 1998). Fluctuations in funding, and changes in the priorities of headteachers, leaders of multi-academy trusts, local authorities and governments also impact on the partnerships.

Teachers and artists attend annual RSC-led training workshops which aim to instil not only the RSC’s signature pedagogy (rehearsal room practice) but also their high expectations. While the RSC workshops are framed around a culture of openness, experimentation and creativity, interviews reveal how local artists translate these aims and expectations into classroom workshops. Elements of critical theory (discourse, agency, materialism, habitus) help to explain the issues raised by the participants in this multiple-partner programme. The methods and findings are transferable to other arts and music partnership research.

Music education and community music share a close, interdependent relationship. While distinct in certain ways, music education predominantly fosters individual growth and development, whereas community music emphasises participation and community empowerment (Mantie, 2023).

Civil wind bands, as an artistic-musical training medium, uniquely integrate individual and collective development, offering an intriguing potential for education. Their activities can be read as educational processes mostly of a non-formal and informal nature, translating a fluid character of the educational phenomenon involving communication, interaction and intergenerational relationships in a set of authentic social contexts (Koopman, 2016). These contexts align with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological perspective (1979,1986), positioning civil wind bands as microsystems grounded in local communities with other microsystems. Such interconnectedness deepens members’ ties to their communities and shapes their cultural and social environments (Stebbins, 2017), contributing to their cultural ecology (Pitts, 2000).

Our doctoral research project, based on a sequential explanatory mixed methods design (Creswell and Creswell, 2018) and multicase study strategy (Stake, 2006), sought to characterise the sociodemographic and educational profiles of wind band musicians, examine the structural organisation of these bands, and explore the educational and social values derived from participation. In this communication, the findings based on an integrative analytical approach (Baseley, 2011) provide an opportunity to recognise the wind band members’ sociocultural diversity, a dual perspective on their mission, either centred on culture or purely focused on philharmonic music, and their educational impacts at both personal and community levels. These insights contribute to the body of knowledge in education sciences by targeting the non-formal learning processes involved in wind band activities,

Many pedagogical studies that focus on intergenerational experiences (re)affirm that singing can have a positive impact on mental and physical health and that they contribute to the overall well-being of the participants in these experiences, acting as a "happiness booster" (Weber, 2022, p. 2). Altough intergenrational projects are not exent of challenges (Voss, 2020), the positive effects of experiences based on lifelong learnig are shown to be great (Minkenberg, 2004; Harteis, 2021).

With these premises in mind, we carried out an intergenerational project with eleven children and twelve seniors in a nursing home over a period of four months. Pre-school children visited the seniors weekly and prepared a concert together with two music teachers and two elder care assistants, which took place in the nursing home. Together they learned seven children's songs, pop songs and folk songs. Through participant observation, pre- and post-interviews, and video and audio analysis, we aimed to identify changes in the personal well-being of the participants. The results showed us that the project had a significant impact on the well-being of the seniors and the social skills of the children, empowering their individual voices and creating a social room, where they had the opportunity to interact and create an environment where they could learn from another.

Moreover, based on the principles of lifelong learning (UNESCO, 2024), the intervention highlighted the high relevance of carrying out such projects to strengthen quality educational experiences throughout life. In this sense, the project can be seen as an opportunity to counteract the persistent separation of young and old in today's society and to create space for greater intergenerational approchement. From an educational perspective encouraging intergenerational projects can contribute to reinforce the inclusive view of music education (SDG 4, UNESCO, 2024).

In this study, I, as the instructor-researcher, employed an approach I developed called the Strategic Informal Approach (SIA). This pedagogical framework is rooted in constructivist and constructionist theories and designed to promote democratic, collaborative learning in music education. Influenced by Dewey’s (1938) concept of learning as a "co-operative enterprise," Vygotsky’s (1976) theory on social learning, and Mitchel Resnick’s (2017) “Creative Learning Spiral,”SIA emphasizes creating shared, democratic spaces in education to foster critical thinking and social interaction through music.

The primary objective of this research is to explore how SIA nurtures a cooperative and reflective environment for music-making among early childhood preservice teachers, enhancing both pedagogical skills and self-awareness. By blending structured teaching with informal, student-led group improvisations, SIA balances teacher guidance with student agency, enabling both groups to co-create meaningful learning experiences.

This qualitative research, conducted in 2022 as part of a dissertation study, involved 13 early childhood preservice teachers. Employing a Design-based Research (DbR) methodology, the study collected rich data on participant experiences through observations, reflective journals, interviews, a questionnaire, and artifacts. The study adhered to a five-step iterative process integral to the SIA framework: imagine, create, play, share, and reflect.

Results reveal that collaborative interactions within this framework enhance participants' musical skills, pedagogical understanding, and self-reflection. Aligned with Dewey’s advocacy for shared learning, this approach fostered ownership and empowerment among participants, encouraging authentic responses to musical tasks through peer-to-peer engagement.

SIA presents a flexible, democratic model supporting preservice teachers in embodying and modeling democratic teaching practices. Through democratic and creative methods, SIA inspires future educators to cultivate democracy, creativity, and inclusivity in their teaching. This study contributes to music education by emphasizing experiential learning and pedagogical innovation as key elements in creating inclusive, engaged learning environments across diverse educational contexts.

Music teaching requires engaging with learners in a collaborative journey of music playing. For active learning to emerge, lessons cannot be entirely pre-planned. Although few studies have explored ‘pedagogical improvisation’ (PI) in music education (e.g., Espeland & Stige, 2021), they consistently show that improvisation is essential to music teachers’ daily practice.

This study focuses on the musical competences involved in PI, as teachers’ artistry and musicianship are critical to how music learning unfolds in the classroom. Drawing on Sawyer’s (2011) concept of disciplined improvisation—where structured lesson elements are balanced with spontaneous adaptivity—the research explores how experienced music theory teachers conceptualise and enact PI. (Results, expected in April 2025, will inform follow-up research on educating student music teachers in the ‘art’ of PI.)

Using purposive and convenience sampling, nine music theory teachers with a minimum of five years’ experience in music schools were recruited. One lesson per teacher was videotaped, involving either minor or adult students. Information letters and informed consent forms were sent to both the teachers and the students (or their parents), all of whom signed them. Immediately after the lesson, teachers completed questionnaires on Teacher Agency and lesson flow. Video-stimulated recall interviews with the teachers were conducted based on selected fragments featuring presumed improvised interactions. The teachers’ narratives of those experiences were transcribed and analysed.

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Social and Societal Ethics Committee (SMEC) of KU Leuven (G-2024-7718).

Espeland, Å., & Stige, B. (2021). Teaching repertoires and pedagogical improvisation in music teacher practices. British Journal of Music Education, 38(3), 207–218. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051720000376

Sawyer, R. K. (2011). What Makes Good Teachers Great?: The Artful Balance of Structure and Improvisation. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), Structure and Improvisation in Creative Teaching (1st ed., pp. 1–24). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511997105.002

Part of a wider incentive to encourage stronger collaborations and strengthen student-centred learning within one Southern European HEI, this study aims to investigate the ways in which feedback processes may operate dialogically during school music teaching placements. Feedback processes are currently under-researched in initial teacher education placements in the European context, yet they yield immense value for the student-teacher. For example, socio-constructivist conceptions of feedback may break down one-directional and linear forms of knowledge transmission, thereby highlighting the participatory role and self-regulation of the learner (Blackwell et al., 2022). Such cyclical processes enhance the ST’s own feedback literacy, by engaging in dialogue as an active partner rather than passive recipient (Winstone et al., 2021).

In 2023-4, a music teacher and university music educator - initiated a qualitative inquiry into mentoring pre-service music teachers during their 3-week school placements. One data strand collected, analysed thematically audio-recorded discussions on lesson planning and post-lesson reflection using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. A second iteration of the study in Spring 2025 will additionally gather ST experiences of feedback processes during their placements, currently an under-researched focus in music education (Blackwell et al., 2022).

Findings highlight the learning possibilities that conceptualising feedback-as-dialogue within a socio-constructivist framework holds for both ST and MT. They not only shed light on the ways STs conceptualise, negotiate and act upon the feedback provided, drawing on a range of sources from the contexts they experience during their placement; they highlight also the socialisation of STs, regarding “extra-musical”, non-teaching realities of the job (Bartolome, 2017). The MT additionally perceives the feedback situation as a learning opportunity, a form of professional development whereby new and innovative strategies are foregrounded. Strengthening ST and MT voices in initial teacher education seems urgent. Implications arising from the study and future actions are critically discussed.

The need for preparing the young generation for an uncertain future becomes more and more a critical aspect in this challenging world, especially for children with disadvantaged backgrounds. Implementing social emotional learning (SEL) in schools is seen as a widespread intervention program to help students cope with challenges in their holistic development. Social emotional learning enables individuals to regulate their emotions, manage stress, and healthily think while facing problems or difficulties through the psychological resilience they have gained from an early age (Kankaraš & Suarez-Alvarez, 2019). Also, understanding the connection between SEL and music and its applications in music education is essential and necessary for music teachers (Edgar, 2017) to holistically enrich and cultivate the music lives of every student from different backgrounds.

In this paper, I want to share some significant findings from a project we conducted with 20 students aged 12 - 16 from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project aimed to enhance student's social-emotional well-being through art education, including creative writing, music, and craft activities. In the music section, I adapted SEL instructions developed by music specialist Professor Scott Edgar (2027) for Turkish middle and high school students. The activities were carried out for eight weeks under five key components: Self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-management and relationship skills. After the implementation, a focus-group interview with children was conducted to obtain data on their social-emotional learning skills and to understand the complex phenomena. Therefore, this research is designed as a holistic case study which uses a holistic approach.

Some preliminary findings will be presented and discussed to understand the needs of socially and emotionally disadvantaged students and the place of SEL-based music activities for their holistic development. Further implications of integrating SEL in the Turkish music curriculum and developing SEL-integrated practices in the music classroom will be highlighted.

Background

Music practices such as Drake Music Scotland (DMS) and National Open Youth Orchestra (UK) offer inclusive approaches to music-making. These practices seem to be characterized by a blend of conventional and technology-based music instruments, the use of varying types of music notations, and collaborative composing (Gall et al., 2018; Sound Connection, 2022). Composers – who might be used to composing individually and autonomously - may need to work in a different way with these inclusive music ensembles/orchestra's.

Aim

We wanted to understand: (1) What attitude, knowledge, and skills do composers need to compose collaboratively with an inclusive music ensemble that includes music technology? (2) What education do students in higher music education need to develop as composers in inclusive music practices?

Method

We set up a qualitative survey study (Bremmer & Schuijer, 2024, in press). All the participants of the 4-day project Collaborative Composing with Inclusive Ensembles at the Amsterdam Conservatoire under supervision of DMS were interviewed or completed an online questionnaire. Participants were students, professional composers and Disabled musicians. We conducted a cross-case thematic analysis of the data.

Findings and conclusion

First research question: Findings show that composers need to develop attitudes, knowledge and skills in the social and musical domains. In the social domain, they need to work from a sense of equity, to develop an understanding of inclusion and draw on pedagogical skills. In the musical domain, composers need to develop an open attitude toward collaborative composing, a broad understanding of the concept of music, and develop digital sound production skills. This then, can bring about a shift from composing for instruments to composing with people. Second research question: Findings exemplified that students felt that conservatoires should prepare them for working with inclusive ensembles by providing them with co-creative working strategies and knowledge on music technology.

Empowerment can be understood as a response to experiences of discrimination (1). Music practices, such as Do-It-Yourself (DIY), are recognized as emancipatory and empowering practices for individuals and groups. Safer Spaces are similarly positioned as empowerment practices. Such protected environments where participants can engage sensitively with one another (2), are suggested to be a panacea for several challenges. However, the concept is still contested in academia. Up to date, German music education has hardly examined empowerment- as well as Safer Space practices empirically – especially not from an intersectional perspective.

To address this gap, this study conducts an ethnographic investigation, using field visits and problem-centered interviews to explore empowerment practices within music workshops targeting specific groups such as FLINTA*+ in Germany. While some workshops self-identify as Safer Spaces, others consciously avoid such labeling. The music workshops, typically organized by institutions, are offered at no cost and offer participants the opportunity to learn music production or to play in a band.

The aim of this work is to investigate established empowerment practices in these music workshops using a Situational Analysis (3) and applying an intersectional focus on power structures and dynamics. Furthermore, the work sheds light on workshop outcomes by reconstructing both mentor and participant experiences. By presenting preliminary results, this study seeks to advance the discourse on inclusivity and contribute to the implementation of Safer Spaces and other empowerment practices in music education.

1: Madubuko, N. (2021). Praxishandbuch Empowerment. Rassismuserfahrungen von Kindern und Jugendlichen begegnen. Beltz.

2: Arao, B. & Clemens, K. (2013). From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces. In L.M. Landreman (Ed.), The Art of Effective Facilitation: Reflections from Social Justice Educators, (p. 135–150). Routledge.

3: Clarke, A.; Friese, C. & Washburn, R. (2018). Situational Analysis. Grounded Theory After the Interpretative Turn. Sage.

This paper draws upon research that investigated the extent to which theory in developing language reading fluency (Kuhn et al., 2010) can inform and extend theory in music reading fluency in the context of choral practice in Irish children’s choirs. Language literacy has developed deep theoretical understandings to inform its practical approaches (e.g., Ehri, 2005, 2014, 2020; Castles et. a., 2018; Perfetti & Stafura, 2014; Pikulski & Chard, 2001). Music reading has retained a largely functional approach informed by a heritage of practice rather than overarching theories (Gudmundsdottir, 2010; Hodges & Nolker, 2011).

Using a mixed methods qualitative approach drawn upon constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014) and creative research methods (Kara, 2021), the research provides perspective of researcher as research instrument investigating theories and ideas from language reading literature whilst working with a group of children in a ‘choirlab’ context; perspectives expert practitioner choral director participants in three in-depth interviews, and indirectly, perspectives of the children who participated in the choirlab. Key concepts from language reading fluency (word recognition, decoding, fluency, and comprehension) were explored in relation to their potential for music reading with the 16 choral directors of children’s choirs from four distinct Irish choral contexts: cathedral choirs, conservatoire-based choirs, community choirs and school choirs.

In this paper, two aspects of the research findings and their implications are discussed; the first, echoing socio-cultural theories of language reading, is the potential that children’s musical sound worlds (Campbell 2010, Davis, 2015) have for developing music reading fluency, the second is that, similar to children’s expressive use of language, the role that children’s use of musical language plays in developing their musical understanding and meaning-making in music reading. Recognising children’s musical experience and encouraging multi-modal musical expression have significant potential for unlocking children’s fluency in music reading.

The Cantar Mais Project is an initiative by the Portuguese Association for Music Education that aims to make singing a central experience in children's musical education and development. This innovative program utilizes the online platform www.cantarmais.pt as a foundation for various artistic-musical projects and activities, including:

Cantar Mais Liberdade (Sing More Freedom)

This project explores Portugal's democratic ideals and history through collective songwriting. Key features include:

• One-week artistic residencies in three schools
• Collaboration with singer-songwriters and musicians
• Collective creation of new songs with students and teachers
• School concerts and song recordings
• Commemorative concert featuring 90 children, singers, and musicians.

Canção à espera de Palavras (Song Waiting for Words)

This pedagogical competition combines music with literature and poetry:

• Partnership with a visiting composer who provides a lyric-less song
• Students create lyrics and perform the original song
• Annual participation of approximately 450 classes and 9,000 children
• Enhances the cultural and artistic dimension of schools

Through these initiatives, the Cantar Mais Project establishes a strong foundation for music-making, singing, songwriting, and fostering creativity in Portuguese schools, enriching the educational experience of thousands of students annually.

With the experience we already have and the data that has been collected, we believe we can contribute to discussing, arguing for, and reinforcing the relevance of musical practice in the early years of schooling and the possibility of its regular implementation with quality human and pedagogical resources.

Just as in many other countries, the number of school choirs in Flanders has dwindled dramatically over the past 50 years. On the one hand, this seems attributable to the more general, well-documented disappearance of music from public-educational curricula. On the other hand, I want to venture the hypothesis—for this paper on a purely speculative, philosophical-educational level—that the inverse might equally hold true: namely, that this disappearance is itself (partly) attributable to the increased difficulty to appreciate the choir as pre-eminent form of ‘school music’. Departing from Theodor Adorno’s (in)famously scathing pedagogical critique of “community music”, including (par excellence) choir-singing, I show how today his arguments have adapted, even within community music, so as to emphasize the uniquely personal and expressive voice of the individual student as ultimate starting-point and only ‘remedy’ for all public music education. Building on Adriana Cavarero’s philosophy of vocality, I problematize this popular, supposedly progressive notion of the student’s “voice”, as both deceptively simplistic and dangerously neoliberal. At the same time, I propose an alternative, non-student-centred approach, which conceptualizes the musical voice of the student—the student’s voice at school—as essentially a choral voice, whose unicity takes shape in the process of being studied in common with others.

Cavarero, A. (2005). For More than One Voice: Toward a Philosophy of Vocal Expression (P. Kottman, Trans.). Stanford University Press.

De Baets, T., & Geudens, T. (2022). Een kleine kroniek van de ‘schoolmuziek’ in Vlaanderen. Cultuur+Educatie, 20(59), 8-22.

Kertz-Welzel, A. (2005). The Pied Piper of Hamelin: Adorno on Music Education. Research Studies in Music Education, 25(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X050250010301

Louth, P. (2022). Student-Centered Teaching and the Large Ensemble: Educators’ Perceptions and Concerns. Contributions to Music Education, 47, 61–80.

Masschelein, J., & Simons, M. (2013). In Defence of the School. A Public Issue. E-ducation, Culture & Society.

In 2025 there are numerous challenges for music teachers – classroom, and instrumental and vocal teachers. These relate to: lack of training, particularly for primary teachers who are often generalists (Holden & Button, 2006; De Vries, 2013; Moore et al., 2023; Russell-Bowie, 2009); a devaluing of the music at government level (Lilliedahl, 2022) and consequent cuts in curriculum time (Bath et al., 2020) and finances for the subject (Micklewright, 2024). Recently, in many countries across Europe, these and other issues have led to a problem of music teacher recruitment (Arts Professionals Media Group, 2023) and retention (Bath et al., 2020) in secondary schools, and teacher education programmes. At the same time, in some countries, teacher education programmes are closing or diminishing (Merrick, 2024).

In this round table, there will be short presentations by colleagues from associations who are working closely together: the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) which represents higher education institutions across Europe and beyond; the European Music School Union (EMU), the European umbrella organisation of national music school associations in Europe, and the EAS. (The latter 3 form what is now known as the SCHEME group, See https://aec-music.eu/news-article/meet-the-steering-committee-for-the-harmonisation-of-european-music-education-scheme-wp7/ .)

The focus will be on advocacy for music education.

The ISME President will discuss advocacy strategies and initiatives to enhance access to music education.

Members of the SCHEME group, of which the EAS is a component part, will explain current and future activities that aim to safeguard music education for all, at all levels. There will also be an illustration of how findings from the current The Teacher Education Academy for Music: Future-Making, Mobility and Networking in Europe (TEAM) project (https://teacher-academy-music.eu/) can be used in advocacy.

After the presentations, there will be audience discussion on the topic.

For anyone affected by the decline in uptake of Music in schools in England, a troubling trend is an apparent mismatch between students’ love of and identification with music out of school, and their disengagement with it in school. It is one symptom of a curriculum in need of reform, not just in terms of content but also in terms of process (Philpott, 2022): a change in what students learn, and how they learn it.

There are necessary questions to be posed in response to this, including who decides what constitutes ‘meaningful’ curriculum content, and how we define, value, and measure knowledge and learning. In the context of the creative components of examined courses, such as music composition, another question at the forefront of curriculum (re)design is how we can balance didactic content with learning as a process of discovery. In other words, as composition teachers, how can we teach the necessary skills for self-expression whilst respecting student ownership of their own development and output?

Viewing this as a matter of developing aspects of the ‘self’ in young composers, this paper will argue that such inner qualities as self-awareness, self-reliance, and positive self-efficacy can be nurtured not through direct focus on the individual, but through engaging in embodied and extended activities. Examples of practical, movement-based and improvisatory tasks will be shared, with reference to related research in 4E pedagogy (Schiavio et al., 2022), critical and creative thinking (Kaschub & Smith, 2022), and the importance of collaboration and communal activity (Sandel, 2020). Drawing on the presenter’s recent research and current practice with 14-18-year-old composers undertaking examination courses in secondary schools in England, the paper will demonstrate the potential value of externalising aspects of the creative process in order to nurture individual creative autonomy within a student-centred programme of learning.

In 2003, a project named “Musical Futures” was launched in England as an exploration of music teaching and learning to find a new creative and imaginative way of engaging young people in music making (D’Amore, 2011). Informal music learning approaches have been implemented and explored in the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA as part of the “Musical Futures” project, with positive research findings (Green, 2017; Hallam et al., 2011). However, there is relatively little research and literature on informal music learning in China, both at the theoretical and practical levels (Law & Ho, 2015). In this study the practice of informal music learning was introduced to explore the introduction of informal music approaches in primary school music classrooms.

A qualitative research methodology was used which focused on 2 music teachers from 2 primary schools in Beijing. In group meetings, the teachers were introduced to the theory and some practices related to informal learning in music. Then, within the context, policies and school requirements of music education in China, they designed projects that revolved around informal learning approaches; these were investigated. The case study data consisted of semi-structured individual interviews, notes from group meetings with the two teachers, classroom observation field notes and teachers' reflective journals.

At the end of the study both teachers identified positive aspects to student-centred learning. Another result is that whilst, at first, the pupils felt confused since they were used to following specific instructions, over time, they developed more confidence in sharing their own ideas, and in working with their peers with less help from the teacher.

The findings of this study suggest the importance of informal learning as part of teachers’ professional development, and also illustrate how informal learning approaches to music making can benefit students in Chinese classrooms.

Music educators have long advocated that improvisation plays a vital role in the curriculum, advocating for its inclusion to foster creativity and engagement in classroom spaces (Brophy, 2001; Burnard, 2000; Campbell, 1995; Kratus, 1991, 1995; Heble & Stewart, 2023; Hickey, 2012; Higgins & Mantie, 2013). Yet, as Larsson and Georgii-Hemming (2018) note, research on improvisation has traditionally focused on jazz, overlooking its wider educational applications. Their findings reveal that when improvisation is addressed in education, it often falls within structured, teacher-directed or free, child-directed frameworks, limiting its broader potential. This study seeks to “de-center Music” (Recharte, 2019) by positioning improvisation not solely as a musical technique but moving towards sound ways of sensing, knowing, and being in the world (Abramo, 2014; edwards, 2023; Hill, 2018; Thibeault, 2017).

Our research presentation explores improvisation not just as a musical practice but as a way of life (Nachmanovitch, 1990). This perspective frames improvisation to foster critical pedagogy, social justice, equity, and inclusion in education (Caines & Heble, 2015; Fischlin et al., 2013). Thus, improvisation is viewed as both a musical practice and a part of everyday life, enhancing teaching and learning approaches (Tomlinson & Germundson, 2007; Zorzi, 2020).

Presenters will share preliminary findings derived from interviews with seventeen Italian jazz musicians and educators, as well as eighteen practitioners from Canada, the UK, and the US. Inspired by Lucy Green's work, these thirty-five interviews explore how and in what ways improvisation can create dynamic, inclusive educational spaces. Key themes include listening, community, mistakes, and inclusion, which foster meaningful learning experiences. These insights, combined with our models and frameworks, may encourage music educators to reconsider their pedagogical approaches and highlight the transformative potential of improvisation for building an inclusive, inventive, and exploratory curriculum (Santi, 2010; Santi & Zorzi, 2016).

The symposium “Music Education and Cultural Sustainability in the Autonomous Region of Madeira” aims to share recent research on educational and cultural initiatives developed in this region. Since 1980, Madeira’s educational system has promoted projects that combine music education with cultural heritage appreciation, fostering a strong connection between schools, cultural institutions, and the local community. This session presents three studies focused on different aspects of this reality: the impact of teaching traditional Madeiran instruments in schools, promoting the continuity of local cultural practices and adapting to changing educational landscapes by making music education accessible and inclusive; a pedagogical supervision model that, through collaborative networks and community engagement, supports arts education in the primary school cycle, adapting to the changing educational landscape; and the role of musicology in structuring school curricula, aiming at the preservation and accessibility of Portuguese musical heritage through innovative educational approaches.

These projects reflect a commitment to music education as a means of strengthening cultural identity, fostering professional development, and ensuring that arts education remains relevant and responsive to modern educational demands

Background:

The need to work on students’ social and emotional competences is continually being underlined these last decades, in public discussions, in governmental policies, and in educational and research agendas, especially following a steadily increasing number of incidents of aggressive and hostile behaviours taking place among peers in schools and neighbourhoods. Research has shown that participatory arts in educational or community settings, are associated with increased self-control, sense of inclusion, respect, and empathy for the others, strengthening of participants’ personal and collective identity, as well as improvement in academic interest and achievement and self- confidence for succeeding future goals (Higgins & Bartleet, 2012; Welch, 2018; Odena, 2014; Veblen, 2008).

Aim:

The workshop aims to suggest participatory arts/music activities as methodology for enhancing and implementing the philosophy and praxis of relational pedagogy in the music classroom to enhance teachers’ and students’ sense of self, social emotional competencies, classroom climate, and attitudes toward teaching and learning.

Activities:

The workshop will offer hands-on experiences of participatory art/music activities, through which participants will witness the exploration and enhancement of sense of self and connection with others, while discovering and expressing their own musical/ artistic ‘voices’. Emphasis will be placed on reflection, while methodological guidelines will be offered on how to design and implement participatory art activities in the classroom. Discussion will follow to theoretically frame the experiences on the basis of relational pedagogy and participatory art/music principles for incorporating social and emotional learning into everyday learning experiences and improving classroom climate.

Implications for practice:

The contribution of participatory arts/music in a relational pedagogy curriculum for elementary and secondary education, as well as for the initial and continuing (music and general) teacher training at the tertiary level, towards a better world for students, teachers and the community seems warranted.

During the EAS Conference 2024, we discussed the topic of subject integration and how to deal with it responsibly, i.e. how to integrate without losing sight of the objectives of the individual subjects. Today this topic is still relevant to (music) teachers and that was the reason for us to continue with the training of generalist teachers, music teachers and other art teachers in this topic. One of the insights we got from those training sessions was that it is indeed possible to integrate music with other disciplines to foster a more holistic educational approach, but it always requires an inquisitive and analytical mindset and does not happen automatically.

That is why we developed a design method that supports teachers who wish to take their integrated lessons to the next level. This has resulted to a series of lessons that will be published from January 2025 – December 2025. In this workshop the participants will be informed about our design method - design based education (DBE) - and subsequently they will create an integrated lesson themselves. One of the key features of our approach is the principle that the music teacher should always seek collaboration with an expert in the other subject. To put this into practice during this workshop, we will connect the participants online with teachers in other subjects from the International Teacher Education (ITE) in the Netherlands.

At the end of the workshop the participants will have a clear understanding of our approach, and they will have developed an educational activity in detail that can rightly be called an example of responsible subject integration. We intend this session to be the start of an international network of teachers who want to design (and share!) more integrated lessons in the future.

Positionality has been increasingly proposed as important for researchers’ and music educators to recognise and reflect on, as their experiences, beliefs and values may influence curriculum design and pedagogical activities. We argue that this is even more pertinent for those teaching improvisation due to the learning outcomes often being more open and the stark differences in approaches to teaching for, and assessing of creativity. In addition, the professional creative field of improvisation intersects with different art genres and art forms; consequently a wide range of practices, and musical references may inform those who teach improvisation.

Drawing on research on positionality (Avecedo et al., 2015; Noel & Paiva, 2021) and improvisation pedagogy (Siljamäki & Kanellopoulos, 2020), this workshop encourages participants to explore social and musical positionings by reflecting on how their view of improvisation and the classroom influences the practices and choices made in the pedagogical moment of improvising. The workshop includes demonstrations, individual and group exercises and reflective discussions. At the beginning of the workshop, we will negotiate guidelines for a safe space collaboratively.

The workshop is designed by two interdisciplinary researchers and experienced improvisation pedagogues keen on facilitating understandings of positionality and its’ influences.

We acknowledge that the potential for improvisation to create spaces where diverse voices can be heard inherently is not given (Henley, 2018; Mwamba & Johansen, 2021) but guided by, for example, the teacher’s chosen orientation in improvisational activities towards creative, musical, social or wellbeing goals (see Siljamäki & Kanellopoulos, 2020). We also propose that these choices come with different power dynamics (e.g., in how much choice a student has) which also may support or hinder the ways in which diversity is heard, recognised and developed.

In this workshop, we aim to collaboratively construct a platform for understanding the complexities and importance of positionalities as pedagogues.

Interdisciplinary education and digital literacy are becoming increasingly important in schools, especially in primary education, as these skills are essential for preparing students for future challenges. The DigCompEdu Framework emphasizes the necessity for educators to integrate digital tools into their teaching to enhance creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking (European Commission, 2017). However, many educators struggle to implement these concepts effectively within existing curricula, as highlighted by Kennisnet (2024) in their analysis of how digital literacy can be embedded into existing subjects.

To address this challenge, “Resonance,” an innovative online platform, was developed in the 2023-2024 academic year to enhance students’ musical expression through technology and interdisciplinary learning. Resonance empowers primary education students to create soundtracks for films and animations, transforming them from passive media consumers into active creators. By doing so, it fosters critical thinking, collaboration, and self-expression while encouraging students to explore meaningful themes and develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.

Resonance stands out for its integration of multiple functionalities into a thematic teaching environment tailored to contemporary music education. Its impact is evident through collaborations with Cultuurtraject KCR, reaching over 6,000 students annually, and the Nemo Science Museum, which recently integrated a Resonance-based sound design space. Partnerships with Film Fest Gent and FMF Kraków further highlight its international recognition.

In this workshop, participants will explore how to integrate Resonance into their teaching by creating a collaborative soundtrack within an interdisciplinary teaching environment. They will work hands-on with the platform’s sequencer and editing studio, gaining practical tools to foster digital literacy and creativity. The session supports the conference themes of Emerging Technologies and Interdisciplinary Methods, while also serving as a platform for exchanging ideas and practices to further align Resonance.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops and headphones to fully engage in the interactive elements.

The workshop will present a web application, "Solfy," https://4solfy.com/, to promote singing and strengthen the literacy process, helping teachers and students in music education. The program includes technological innovations in voice synthesis and analysis based on AI and machine learning, along with elements for learning the musical language proposed in the past by Dalcroze, Orff, and Kodály.

It includes a path for teachers and another one for students. It results from six years of research and development. The interface is in Hebrew, English, and Romanian, and we are considering expanding the translations and adding other languages. It includes a Song Unit (in Hebrew, English, Romanian, Slovak, and Latin—more songs from the children's folklore from different countries to come), a Solfege Unit, and a Theory Drills Unit.

The program can "sing" songs with natural voices or solfège with synthesized voice sounds, record the user singing, compare the result with the original, and give feedback in a traditional music score. Successful recordings are prized with pleasant accompaniments, points, and virtual assets. The teacher can remotely monitor and coordinate students' activities to offer help.

In the modern period, when the education process should be more centered on the student's needs, a new perspective on vocal singing in primary classes is needed. Such a non-existent possibility in the past is now offered to students with the option of individual and personalized practice with immediate feedback and evaluation at home. Undoubtedly, adding individual studies based on modern methods carried out outside of class hours will save time and increase the efficiency of the educational process.

Implementing the program in school will help democratize music education, promote accessibility and inclusion, and tailor the participants' activities so everyone can engage meaningfully.

Community music is grounded in principles of participation, bottom-up learning, accessibility, inclusion, and cultural democracy. In Türkiye, the concept of community music is relatively new, but it holds significant potential for cultural preservation and social cohesion. Although community music lacks a universally established definition in academia, scholars and practitioners embrace this openness as a means to foster ongoing development and exploration (Higgins, 2012; Bartleet & Higgins, 2018). This flexibility is especially beneficial in intercultural and transcultural contexts, allowing for diverse and evolving interpretations. For instance, in Germany, the Munich Action Research Group has contributed to defining community music within a German context, aligning closely with English-language interpretations while also addressing specific cultural and educational nuances. This definition considers a variety of settings, including formal, informal, and non-formal contexts (de Bánffy-Hall, 2019). Furthermore, de Bánffy-Hall developed a comparative framework positioning community music alongside various music education forms in Germany, such as volksmusik, elementary music education, music mediation, and school music education. Her research indicates that community music in Germany can act as a “boundary walker,” fluidly navigating different educational settings and bridging gaps in the German music education system (de Bánffy-Hall, 2017; 2019).

Using this framework as a model, the authors propose a similar comparative approach in Türkiye to develop a Turkish-specific understanding of community music. By focusing on Gezek - a traditional Turkish form of community music making - this study aims to explore how traditional musical practices can be reinterpreted and revitalized through community music principles. Through document analysis, this study will review academic literature, policy papers, and historical documents on both Gezek and community music. This will help to identify how and where community music principles can be effectively integrated into the context of music education in Türkiye, providing a basis for future program development.

The issue of assessment in classroom music education is somewhat problematic internationally (inter alia Brophy, 2019; Elliott et al., 2019). In England, where there is both a government-legislated National Curriculum and government schools inspectorate (Ofsted) there are numerous problems regarding the assessment of musical learning in both primary and secondary schools. This presentation outlines a major national initiative designed to help classroom teachers with this aspect of their professional practice. Not only is this work fully-research informed, it also presents the research context in a publication designed to be used alongside freely-available assessment materials supported and published by a major music organisation, to support teachers’ thinking and practice in relation to curriculum, pedagogies and inherently musical assessment.

This presentation shows the research thinking behind the publication of these materials, and explains why, against England’s neoliberal policy backdrop, such work is both important, and needed for teachers to endeavour to break free from restrictive contexts in which many of them are working. The classroom context in England is one where teachers, although confined by the strictures of the National Curriculum, also have some freedoms to create their own programmes of study. However, whole-school assessment policies can cause problems for teachers, as there can be requirements for quantitative assessments to be produced for analysis by school leadership teams. This means that assessment can lead curriculum, as teachers are doing things in order to be able to assess them for systemic purposes, rather than allowing assessment to arise from what learners are doing musically in the classroom.

This presentation is not just about a local phenomenon though, it forges links which will be relevant to the international community. It explains the nature of musical learning as it takes place in classrooms, and how assessment procedures can and should arise from this work.

The National Curriculum for Music in England (NCM) first became statutory in 1989 (Department for Education, 2013). The inclusion of performing, composition, listening and appraisal learning outcomes facilitated the framework to embed these activities in school curriculums (Cox, 2002; Dalladay, 2015; Gall, 2017). The intention being that students would engage directly in music creating to construct their knowledge and skills (Philpott & Spruce, 2001; Swanwick, 1999; Swanwick & Taylor, 1982). The NCM was designed to empower the curriculum to be constructed to reflect the cultural diversity and genre inclusivity of the teacher and students (Dalladay, 2015). The research of Green (2002) and impact of the subsequent ‘Musical Futures’ (D’Amore, 2003) strategy had an impact on curriculums across England, with the use of new instruments and technologies having a positive impact on the accessibility of student centred music making. However, statics suggest that students accessing music aged 11-14 is in decline (though it is statutory) (Bath et al., 2020; Daubney & Mackrill, 2018) and with those accessing music qualifications declining .

This practice paper seeks to explore the current situation. It is a pertinent time to ascertain the diversity of genres and cultures represented in the curriculum, how emerging technologies are being exploited to democratise student led music making and how the individual curriculums of schools have adapted to contemporary trends and societal changes. This research will explore how teachers choose the musical knowledge and skills and pedagogic approaches in the design of their curriculums, and complete the circle by asking students what they have learned, reflecting on their self-efficacy in the success of the curriculums they experience. The correlation of the research findings are intended to identify trends and inform future directions for music educators solutions in response to the challenges music education faced in the early 2000s.

Music education in the classroom is often highly gendered (Green 2010; Abeles, 2009). Gender related behaviours, norms and expectations, as well as use of language, limit music students in the educational situation (Almqvist & Werner, 2023) and studies in higher music education point towards the exclusion of females from certain professions (Partti & Devaney, 2023). Additionally, music curricula and practices are dominated by male representation (Bennett, 2018).

Through semi-structured interviews- conducted in 2021- this is the first study to examine the challenges and obstacles faced by 7 female professional musicians (composers, conductors and instrumentalists), active in unconventional gendered musical spaces across Greece. Participants encountered sexist attitudes, devaluation, rejection, and sexual violence in their social, educational and professional environments. They discussed power issues within the music industry and the lack of female role models in leadership positions (Burnard, 2019). Yet, within the data, there are optimistic accounts of being encouraged by significant others to pursue “unlikely” and “bold” career paths.

Drawing on the above dataset, this paper problematizes how music educators working at all levels can help challenge gender stereotypes in music by initiating discussion on raising stakeholders’ awareness and inspiring change through their practices and behaviours (Hope, 2017; Fourtnet, 2010). Practical steps may include ethical awareness and commitment to addressing inequity while fostering these qualities in students (Raine, S., & Strong, C., 2019), promoting female role models and mentors (Gilbert, 2021) and encouraging reflective practices in organised group work that encourages problematising inequalities (Borgström Källén & Ferm Almqvist, 2024). Such efforts aim to address challenges and barriers, fostering a more inclusive and equitable environment in music education.

Educators worldwide increasingly realize that a change is needed in institutions, communities, educational systems and individual initiatives regarding the inclusivity and equity that all members of society should experience. This is especially true in the field of education through which all students and future citizens should adequately and comprehensively prepare for their future career paths and personal growth. Until the turn of the century there were very few examples of students with SEN who successfully attended and graduated with a degree in music. This is especially true in Romania and Cyprus.

In this theoretical paper we will investigate the experiences of selected faculty, students and alumni with special needs who study music in two institutions in Cyprus and Romania. Specifically, we will critically examine how various educational institutions accommodate the needs of these students, what policies and initiatives they have established in order to provide for a more equitable and inclusive educational environment, how they adjust their audition and entrance requirements in order to allow for qualified students with special needs to pursue their dream of studying music and what initiatives they have established in order to support these students after they graduate. Moreover, we will also examine the views of other professionals in the field about the above topics.

Following a qualitative methodology, data were collected through questionnaires, focus-group interviews and in-person interviews.

Findings from this study can shed light into current practices and guide administrators and policy makers towards necessary changes that need to be made in order to improve policies and practices for a more equitable educational context for all. Music education can be a common ground for welcoming broader active participation from a wider range of people, with diverse needs, challenges and abilities.

This research was part of an Erasmus+ European project titled Inclumusic.

Considering current trends in research of music pedagogy, improvisation seems to be an exceptional musical “act” of learning music, embracing characteristics of informal learning practices.

This study intended to investigate young children's improvisations when applying "open approaches" of teaching improvisation. Open approaches of teaching – learning improvisation stress the importance of the “act” of music placing the student in the centre of the learning process. It encourages music experimentation and exploration, group collaboration, as well as learning through the process of enculturation as an exercise of autonomy and freedom. Moreover, it emphasises the active role of the teacher and the scaffolding process.

Throughout the study, I aimed to answer the following questions: 1) How do children interact with each other? 2) What factors influence the formation of children's improvisations? and 3) How does the teacher's role support the "open approaches" of improvisation? The study took place in a private kindergarten in Greece. A group of seven 5–6-year-old children participated in the study for three months. The nature of the activities were open, flexible and structured.

According to the findings, young children employed several pathways of improvisation and interaction, including body percussion, verbal expression and playing musical instruments. They utilized several improvisation practices, including imitations, parallel, sequential and complementary improvisations, pre-planned improvisations, and improvisations focused on melody transcription by ear. The lyrics of the songs played a crucial role in stimulating imaginary narrative stories. The melodic line of the song provided a framework for the children to delineate meanings and develop their musical ideas based on their own experiences.

The reserch revealed the function of improvisation as a democratic social practice in which the group shared beliefs, ideas and emotions through music. Sharing common meanings through their improvisations, children expressed themselves freely and autonomously within a peer-directed and self-directed learning environment.

The aim of this study is to explore the lived experience of students (N = 1,282, age range 12-15 years) in general education (secondary school) engaging in collective free improvisation (CFI). Secondary schools in Flanders currently offer a 1-hr weekly music course in the first and second year, conceptualized as a general course about music.

Fourteen music teachers implemented a CFI lesson in 69 classes in Flanders (Belgium). Lived experience was measured using a Dutch version of the Flow State Scale for Occupational Tasks. In addition, teachers’ reflections were mapped by means of an online survey. Results show a difference in total flow between students who already played an instrument and those who did not. Students who play an instrument score significantly higher on the factor ‘Sense of Control’. Conversely, the flow scores on the factors ‘Absorption by Concentration’ and ‘Positive Emotional Experience’ do not differ between instrumentalists and non-instrumentalists.

The findings of our study indicate that engaging in CFI facilitates musical expression, no matter one's technical and musical competence, and that free improvisation exercises in general education positively impact both students and teachers. The results show that students felt focused in the lesson, that time went by quickly, that they were able to perform the exercise well, found the exercise enjoyable and wanted to repeat it and that CFI tasks are a good way to include all students in active musical play.

In this presentation we will provide an overview of the study and elaborate on the practical implications for music teachers and talk about the possibilities of engaging all students in an inclusive musical dialogue.

Verneert, F., Nijs, L., & De Baets, T. (2024). Collective free improvisation in the Flemish general music classroom: Probing student’s lived experience through flow. International Journal of Music Education, 0(0), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614241269586

Large amateur ensembles such as choirs, wind bands or orchestras are a vibrant part of non-formal organised amateur music-making in Europe. They empower musicians of all ages by providing opportunities to participate in music cultures and express their voices. Research on these ensembles is scarce, and is rarely communicated beyond national networks and country or language borders. Nevertheless, the interest in such ensembles as musical worlds, essential players in music participation, authentic learning environments and working field for music educators is rising.

In this round table session, we want to briefly introduce some of our research interests into the everyday practices of large amateur ensembles, notably involving their musical, educational and social characteristics.

Moreover, we would like to invite musicians, teachers, practitioners or researchers attending the EAS conference to join one of our several break-out tables to discuss:

• (research on) large ensemble traditions in your country or region
• Music participation and access through ensembles in rural areas
• Collaborations between large amateur ensembles and schools
• Educating music teachers to work with amateur musicians

Through this session, we hope to gain a broader insight in the European diversity of these ensembles, the role they play in society, education and teacher training, the current state of research on this topic, and the priorities for further investigation in this field.

Our world is amid crises. What is our responsibility and our ability to respond as art educational scholars to our precarious world?  Maybe it is time to sit down, drink coffee together, and listen to each other? Then please, grab your coffee, join and brew some ideas in our dialoguing@rts round table session, on:

How can performing arts education reimagine cultural literacy as a dialogical practice to enhance social cohesion and inclusion in both formal and non-formal contexts?

dialoguing@rts is a Horizon Europe project, with 11 partners from Uganda, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Norway, and Serbia, which explores performing arts education contexts where increasing cultural literacy through music, dance and drama aims to promote social cohesion and inclusion. Our target groups comprise all ages and social positions, particularly in school systems and community arts initiatives. Building on Maine et al.’s (2019) reconceptualisation of cultural literacy as a dialogical practice, dialoguing@rts links this to the performing arts to reframe cultural literacy for contemporary, inclusive contexts.

As a starting point for the café conversation, we bring together researchers from dialoguing@rts who share insights from our discussions and preliminary findings, including: 1) a literature review, grounded in decolonial methodology, 2) analyses of international policies and curricula, 3) discussion findings around cultural literacy education, 4) case studies from arts educational practices with a focus on voices seldom heard, and 5) a digital playground providing a virtual storytelling space.

We then invite you to dialogue with us and share your ideas, challenges and experiences on how the arts can inspire social change in your community. Together, sharing coffee around the tables we hope to prompt, support, and question inclusive futures through the arts.

Musical narratives combine sound elements with symbols, similar to storytelling. This practice fosters symbolic thinking, creativity, and musical skills, enabling children to represent abstract ideas through sound. However, musical narratives have rarely been explored in school music education due to a lack of suitable teaching strategies.

This project focuses on how primary school children invent musical narratives using everyday objects to inspire symbolic associations and musical creativity. It addresses three key questions: 1) How do children use objects to develop musical ideas? 2) How do teachers facilitate creative processes? 3) How do children’s musical narratives change over multiple sessions? The study aims to deepen understanding of musical narrative development and provide generalist teachers with tools to integrate such practices in their lessons.

Over several weeks, children will work in groups to create musical narratives. Data collection includes audio-visual recordings, written documentation, and transcriptions for qualitative analysis. This study adopts a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, involving teachers as co-researchers. Given their dual role, specific distancing strategies ensure objectivity and critical reflection. These include reflective journaling, where teachers document observations and thoughts; peer debriefing, allowing co-researchers to discuss experiences, mitigate bias, and refine interpretations; and external validation, involving third-party experts to review data analysis.

Preliminary findings indicate that children develop musical narratives by drawing on their prior musical knowledge and experiences. This research contributes to both educational practice and theory. Practically, it provides insights for developing lesson activities that integrate musical narratives, offering teachers strategies to foster creativity and active cultural participation. Theoretically, it aligns with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the cultural psychology of music education (Barrett, 2010), which emphasise the role of cultural practices in shaping musical invention. Within this framework, musical narratives emerge as a valuable pedagogical tool for developing critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.

The use of technology in educational processes has brought significant transformation to all areas of education in recent years, enabling the integration of new learning and teaching environments into educational practices. Existing research supports the importance of utilizing technology in educational settings (Çakan Uzunkavak et al., 2024; Oh et al., 2024; Koolivand et al., 2024; Putranto et al., 2023).
In this context, the widespread use of virtual reality (VR) technology in educational environments is considered essential. The application of VR technology in music education is thought to provide music teachers with new pedagogical opportunities in teaching and learning processes. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to evaluate how VR technology is perceived and utilized by teachers in educational contexts.
This study aims to explore the experiences of middle school music teachers with a "virtual stage" application and to assess the feasibility of using VR technology in music education. The study group consists of 10 middle school music teachers, with 5 participants from Bursa and 5 from Şanlıurfa, Turkey. As part of the research, the participants were provided with a 40-minute VR stage experience, followed by the collection of their opinions on the application’s feasibility in music education through a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers. The data were analyzed using content analysis methods.
The study is expected to identify the perceived benefits and potential limitations of using VR technology in music education based on the experiences of the participant teachers. The findings aim to contribute new insights into the potential advantages and challenges of integrating VR technology into music education and to inform the development of innovative pedagogical approaches while addressing existing limitations in the field.

Aim and implications for practice

The aim of the workshop is to engage participants in a hands-on experience based on Embodied Music Pedagogy (Bremmer & Nijs, 2024). At the end, participants will have experienced a series of embodied musical activities they can apply in their own educational context. In addition, the workshop provides participants with a theoretical understanding of Embodied Music Pedagogy and tools for reflection on embodied musical experiences.

Background

Movement is an integral part of music education. However, bodily approaches to music making mainly focus on rhythmic engagement with music. The theory of embodied music cognition/interaction provides new perspectives on embodied engagement with music and musical understanding. The main concepts are entrainment, prediction and alignment (Leman, 2016). Interestingly, these concepts have been mainly used in the domain of rhythmic engagement. Yet, we believe they can also be used to unlock melodic and harmonic understanding through the body. Furthermore, the concepts provide a useful conceptual framework for classroom dialogue in order to verbalize the lived experience of bodily engagement (Chatelain et al, 2019).

Content and methods

In this workshop, the theory of embodied music cognition, its key concepts of entrainment, alignment, and prediction will be presented, experienced, and discussed.

Participants will engage in a series of carefully selected and built-up musical activities, illustrating how those concepts can be applied to engage learners with rhythmic, melodic and harmonic elements in the music. Activities during the workshop will foresee sufficient space for discussion and reflection on the physical experience. Moreover, we will look at the way teachers can facilitate classroom dialogue to unlock the students voice in verbalizing their musical experience and understanding.

Commercial music serves a very important role in our musical and cultural vernacular. From school musicals, to movies, to background listening, our students engage with popular music at every turn. Though some philosophies suggest that this music be treated as “other,” there is much we can learn by including popular and commercial music in our choral rehearsal and curricula.

Raiber and Teachout (2013) defines this ongoing dichotomy as “school music” and “student music”- the music we prescribe to our students versus the music in which students choose to listen themselves. With the emergence of wide-spread acceptance in popular culture (GLEE, the Sing-Off, and the Pitch Perfect movies to name a few), we have seen a significant shift in student interest and the general landscape of school music programs.

The main points to be discussed during this session not only address cited concerns among teachers, but will also explore four central ideas: the true definition of “commercial music,” its beginnings in music education, the difference between including commercial music and teaching through commercial music, and strategies to implement this genre in a choral setting. This session will also provide teachers a connection to their existing curricula, including composition, ensemble skill, and vocal pedagogy among others.

Informal learning and popular music can build a bridge between the musical lives of our students in and out of school. The culture of choral music is moving in a direction that supports student identity and meaningful experience, and in order to effectively serve our students, we should consider popular music especially important. As Peter Miksza (2013) states, “As professionals, we are responsible for creating and reflecting our music culture, and must choose repertoire that suits both of those goals.”

Several states in the US, including Georgia, recently enacted legislation (Divisive Concepts Laws) limiting teacher discretion in the classroom. Teachers have faced disciplinary action for discussing “divisive concepts,” such as gender, sexuality, race, and equity. The National Core Arts Standards prescribe that students should understand music in relation to history and culture. In states where DCL prohibits discussion of race, how does one teach an African American Spiritual without discussing enslavement? Can DCL prohibit music teachers from programming repertoire by LGBT composers? Even non-curricular decisions, such as choosing performance attire or assigning singers’ voice parts may now violate Georgia laws.

Previous research on the effects of DCL on education include Rand Corporation’s 2023 survey of 1,439 K-12 teachers, which found that teachers limited their classroom discussions of political and social issues even if they were not in states with DCL. The study’s authors call this phenomenon “Spill Over,” hypothesizing that local restrictions and/or fear of repercussions caused teachers to censor themselves. Salvador (2022) surveyed 315 members of the National Association for Music Education in 45 states about the impacts of DCL. While some teachers supported DCL, others found that DCL limited their content, pedagogy, and/or relationship-building with students. Some respondents indicated unfamiliarity with DCL.

In the authors’ current study of Georgia Music Educators (n=229), many respondents reported they were unaware of DCL passed in Georgia, had not received professional development on the topic, and were concerned they might unknowingly be out of compliance with the law. The current study of Georgia Music Educators is a microcosm of DCL’s effects on American Music Education. The findings can inform educator preparation programs for pre-service teachers and professional development for in-service teachers. The firing of an elementary teacher for unknowingly violating Georgia’s DCL in 2023 emphasizes the timeliness of the current research.

Starting with the idea that it is urgently necessary to invest even more development work in the networking of schools and arts institutions it seems important to develop new concepts and formats for school concerts, which do not only focus on musical works, but rather on how pupils can be reached, activated and motivated for further cultural experiences and cultural participation.

Based on the theory of the capability approach (Vogt 2013, Lehmann-Wermser et. al. 2014; Krupp-Schleußner 2018) and studies in the field of concert pedagogy (Bernhofer et al 2022 & 2016) fundamental considerations on the necessary transformation from traditional concert visits to new concepts of cultural experiences with pupils, which include also a strong focus on the preparation and reflection phase, will be presented in this paper: How can concert formats be designed? What kind of school concerts are able to convey positive cultural experiences? What possibilities and spaces of experiences become visible? What kinds of preparation and follow-up is useful? These and more research questions had been raised in four (unpublished) quantitative and qualitative studies in the context of different new concepts of school concerts:

Two studies investigated the effects of special music theatre projects for primary school children (n=650) and for 14- to 19-year-old pupils (n=156) through questionnaires before and after the cultural experience. Another interview-study evaluates the teachers` perspectives on a certain pupil concert and finally a big qualitative study (n=635) impressively demonstrates the positive results of an innovative online concert format for 8- to 12-year-old pupils. The results motivate to new approaches with dialogic concert formats that are designed across interfaces and focus on the subject's concert experience both for pupils in schools and for students at the university in their dual role as artists and educators.

The presentation indicates the position of musical art in the system of primary and secondary education in Montenegro. With the aim of highlighting problems and challenges that music pedagogues have been facing for many years, a survey was conducted, which included 85 music pedagogues employed in primary general education schools. The results showed that a large number of primary schools do not have an equipped cabinet for music teaching. Russell-Bowie (2004) also notices the lack of basic teaching aids and the lack of resources. Teaching in the first and second cycle is often carried out by classroom teachers who do not have an adequate musical education. Some researches highlighted the situation of non-specialist elementary teacher education students as having little confidence in their own musical ability and their ability to teach children music (Kim 2001; Jeanneret 1997). In Montenegro, music pedagogues take over teaching in the sixth grade. They find the knowledge and skills that students acquired in previous grades to be unsatisfactory. The teachers point out that the number of scheduled lessons is small - only one lesson per week in each grade of primary school. The results of the research conducted by Kilic (2012) point to similar problems in Turkey.

Analyzing the situation in the high school education system, we conclude that knowledge in the field of musical art is acquired only by students of grammar school, as well as secondary vocational schools: art and music schools, while the Musical Art course has been abolished in all other secondary vocational schools. The purpose of the presentation is to encourage finding systemic solutions to the observed problems, and to lead the competent institutions to consider the opinion of the profession, which could improve the position of musical art in the system of primary and secondary education in Montenegro.

The workload in education, particularly in higher education, is significantly high, often exceeding that in other sectors (Hummel et al., 2019; Poortvliet, 2022). This intense workload leaves limited time for music teachers to prepare additional instructional materials, which are crucial for enhancing student learning through active practice, such as retrieval practice. Retrieval practice involves actively recalling information, which improves long-term retention (Agarwal et al., 2008; Karpicke & Roediger, 2008). However, developing high-quality practice materials, including questions, answers, and corrective feedback, is time-consuming and complex (Kang et al., 2007).

The emerging technology of generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI), in this case ChatGPT, has the potential to alleviate some of this burden by generating practice questions and answers efficiently. Despite its advanced natural language processing abilities, the quality of output from ChatGPT heavily depends on the input it receives—known as a "prompt" (Marvin et al., 2023). Therefore, prompt engineering, the process of crafting effective prompts, is crucial for generating useful educational content (Giray, 2023). However, their output needs to be checked on correctness by individuals with content expertise (Cain, 2023).

To address the high workload in education, this practice paper focuses on providing teachers with guidance on prompt engineering to quickly generate accurate and relevant educational materials using ChatGPT. By improving productivity through better prompts, teachers can reduce their workload while improving the quality of education (Wiezer et al., 2012). Based on different models and frameworks (e.g. Fitzpatrick et al., 2023; Korzynski et al., 2023), a new model is constructed, consisting of six steps in two phases. I will present the results of this quantitative research, which will be conducted with staff of a music academy in November and December of 2024 in the Netherlands. These new insights will transform teacher training and shape the future of music education.

The paper addresses the possibilities of utilizing the principles of music semiotics in music education practice to achieve the greatest possible understanding of the meaning and content of music from the perspective of its listeners. It is based on recent research conducted by the Department of Music at Masaryk University, which examined the musical preferences of youth in the Czech Republic, the European Union, and ISME member states. This research utilized a special online listening questionnaire focused on both popular and classical music, involving 2635 respondents from 56 countries. The questionnaire aimed to identify the musical style and genre of 33 musical excerpts and measure the degree of preference. It also tracked the premature termination of listening to an excerpt by the respondent and the reason for termination.

The paper aims to demonstrate, from a semiotic and music sociological perspective, how the degree of preference and understanding of a musical work are interrelated and are crucial factors for music education. The second part of the presentation will provide examples of applying semiotics according to C. S. Peirce to musical works, illustrating how icons, indices, and symbols can be mutually permeable and progressively increase the demands for their understanding within the given semiotic triad. The presented applications were again empirically verified through testing on students of elementary art schools in the Czech Republic. The results of these studies explicitly demonstrate that students cannot imagine life without music, highlighting the importance of music to them. The authors emphasizes the significance of receptive education as a crucial element in modern school music education. As the diversity of musical styles, types, and genres continues to grow, the challenge for contemporary music educators is to enhance listeners’ understanding of musical works through receptive education. In this context, music semiotics can be a valuable tool for educators.

Rhythm learning is a fundamental area of competence in music in many relevant music education models. Following this principle, the presentation focuses on the implications of developing rhythmic-metric competences (e.g., Gordon, 2000) in the context of learning music with VR technologies. The specific characteristics, potentials, and limitations are focused in a didactic design and contextualized through research focused on post-digital teaching-and-learning settings in learning labs and learner-centered spaces (Horst de Cuestas & Ahlers, 2023, Eller & Siedenburg, 2024).

The didactic insights gained emphasize aesthetic perception and engagement with music, self-efficacy, the experience of competence, and motivation from the perspective of teachers and learners. This includes examining the potential for social integration and communication, individual learning paths, learner autonomy, and informal learning practices. This reveals how musical learning is changing in the didactic interplay between learners, educators, technologies, and learning objects. These changes also impact the structural conditions of the education system, transforming the roles of teachers and the nature of learning spaces, including virtual reality environments, through the use of technology.

Following a Design-Based Research approach, we develop, test, and evaluate a teaching-learning design that incorporates digital didactic models e.g. SEPACK.digital (Frederking, 2022) to integrate popular VR rhythm games, such as Moon Rider and Beat Saber, into music lessons. The research builds on studies such as those by Rutkowski et al. (2021) and Keeler (2020) and develops these further with regard to didactic teaching-learning designs. In addition to the didactic research findings, the presentation will provide practical examples of how teachers and students develop an understanding of rhythm learning through VR experiences. As part of LEVIKO-XR (sponsored by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research and funded by the EU), the research examines the potential and limitations of XR, a rapidly growing technology popular among learners, in music lessons.

My research considers children’s intercultural music-making and the role of families in the teaching and learning of diasporic music cultures. In this paper I share findings from my fieldwork with intercultural arts organisations, primary schools and community hubs in and around the super-diverse city of Birmingham in England. A focus of my research is music education that takes place in weekend supplementary schools where children take part in singing, instrumental tuition, dancing and circle games. I also explore the facilitation of music-making with children via a learner-led pedagogical approach I call ‘The Convivial Classroom’, employing Paul Gilroy’s definition of ‘conviviality’ as spontaneous everyday interculturality in diverse spaces (Gilroy 2004). As a researcher working within music education and ethnomusicology, I have found that the voices of children and their families are infrequently featured within this interdisciplinary scholarship. To address this, I chose to use a child-centred approach in my practice and research, and this guided the methodological choices for my PhD. Informed by recent scholarship on participatory fieldwork, I utilised first-person perspective technology to document children’s music-making. This paper features first-person fieldwork footage illustrating children’s musical experiences and knowledge. As my research examines the familial transmission at play in diasporic music-making, I also reflect on the role of parents in the teaching and learning of international music in Birmingham. With this paper I aim to contribute to discussions on intercultural music education, familial music-making and child-centred research.

Multi-cultural and diverse school environments are prevalent and increasing at the same time as challenging social issues related to inclusion and exclusion, poverty, class, race, religion, linguistic, cultural heritage or gender and marginalized youth are becoming ubiquitous and students need to be empowered. At the heart of student empowerment lies the necessity for student voices to be heard, to be understood and to be in dialogue with each other.

In this presentation, we share insights from a larger ongoing research project focusing on the provoking journey and the relationships between secondary school student creativity and their collaborative music-making in an a-typical context where students construct themselves their 'fluid' and ever-changing spaces of creative work and where all voices are un-locked in order to construct their own knowledge and meanings. The main aim is to examine the musical behavior of a group of 16 to 18 year olds from two different school contexts that share a physical proximity in location and that have chosen to collaborate in both physical and virtual spaces of their choices.The theoretical framework of the research is interdisciplinary and it includes the Communities of Practice, Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), motivational theories, classification and framing theories and psychological (Schema) and social theories of meaning. A multi-method enquiry was followed including the framework of collaborative autoethnography and data collected includes the music products, personal journals/diaries, observation journals and group interviews. Findings point to juxtaposition of musical meanings, transformation of knowledge, meaningful spaces of dialectical synergies where meaning and knowledge are negotiated and re-negotiated, reinforcement on music engagement, increased motivation, sense of agency, ownership and inclusion as well as a sense of community belonging with the community being an eclectic one. There are implications for further research as well as recommendations which are highlighted.

This study explores the role of project-based learning (PBL) in advancing student engagement and ownership within the music curriculum. Rooted in the concept of student voice, which emphasizes the importance of including learners' perspectives, ideas, and aspirations in educational processes, the research demonstrates how empowering students fosters deeper engagement, critical thinking, and meaningful connections to their learning. When students feel their voices are valued, they are more motivated to participate actively, develop confidence, and engage creatively with the subject matter.

Employing a collaborative inquiry methodology, this research involved a primary school music teacher and two music teacher educators working together to co-design and implement a Grade 6 music project in a primary school in Cyprus. Over two months, students collaborated with their teacher to develop a project on a topic they selected, violence, finding repertoire, composing lyrics, and arranging performances. Data collection included non-participant observations, teacher notes, semi-structured interviews, video recordings, and student questionnaires, analyzed thematically.

Findings reveal that integrating student voice into the curriculum through PBL enhances musical skill development, including music performance skills, improvisation, and arranging, while also fostering teamwork, problem-solving, and decision-making. Students reported increased confidence and enjoyment, taking pride in their contributions to the project. The teacher’s facilitative role, combined with the collaborative inquiry framework, allowed for a reflective, adaptive approach to overcoming challenges such as resource limitations and balancing autonomy with guidance.

This study highlights the transformative potential of PBL and student voice in making music education more relevant, inclusive, and impactful. By centering students as co-creators of their learning experiences, educators can inspire greater engagement and cultivate a sense of agency that extends beyond the classroom, preparing students for lifelong learning and creative exploration.

In the field of intercultural music education and in the teaching of non-European music, learning by observation is only possible to a limited extent. This means that teaching is especially dependent on notation, which constitutes a central aspect of my PhD project on translocal music education in Salvador da Bahia.

The research presented compares notations in popular teaching materials, online courses and board illustrations found during my fieldwork in pandeiro lessons. This comparison aims to identify general principles, requirements, and limitations of pandeiro notation by way of example. My research is thus embedded in the discourse on the notation of non-Western music (Hood, Seeger).

The project is conceptualized as collaborative ethnographic research (Lassiter) in cooperation with the pandeiro musician and textbook author João Araújo. It brings together Araújo's emic and my etic perspectives (Harris, Goodenough) in all research steps and thus reflects on notation systems from both points of view.

The research has shown that notation systems are always linked to the experience of those who decode them. This can include learners outside Brazil or orchestral musicians without pandeiro training. However, notation systems always reflect the relevancies of their developers in their representations and omissions. Considering these relevancies is of fundamental importance to an appropriate representation of cultural diversity in teaching materials. Discussions about the appropriate notation of global music culture reveal the Eurocentrism inherent in the employment of staff notation: Written representation is always deficient and using elements of staff notation merely reflects a Western perspective on the actual music. This makes it necessary to constantly reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of the notation systems used in teaching materials in order to meet the demands of culturally sensitive and decolonial music education.

JeKits is a federal-funded music education program currently reaching over 100,000 children in North Rhine-Westphalia. It aims to foster children’s cultural participation and enrich the regional educational landscape through collaborations among elementary schools, music and dance schools, and other partners. Over its 15+ year history, JeKits has become an established and influential player in the region, with a presumably strong impact on the cultural and educational lives of participating children, the professional lives of its teachers, and the institutions involved.

The research project AnmuT examines the perspectives of JeKits students and teachers regarding the program’s role in their paths of cultural participation and/or professional development. Key questions include: How do teachers and students experience JeKits within the context of their own cultural and educational practices? What challenges and crossroads do they encounter, and how do they navigate them? What forms of support are available to them, and how do these shape their participation and/or professionalization paths?

The study employs Grounded Theory Methodology (Strauss) and Situational Analysis (Clarke), analyzing data from individual and group interviews with children and teachers. This paper focuses on methodological aspects of the project, particularly the challenges of capturing young children’s perspectives on cultural participation processes and widening the analytical lens to include non-human actants – such as institutions, media, teaching materials, and societal discourses – that shape the JeKits environment.

Preliminary findings reveal, for example, the interplay between children’s musical activities in the “public space” of school and in more private “protected spaces”. They also highlight the multifaceted influence of societal and institutional norms on children’s musical preferences and initiatives. These findings suggest the need for music education programs to create more inclusive spaces that balance structured learning with opportunities for self-expression and provide targeted support that acknowledges children’s dynamic and evolving musical identities.

Research is increasingly exploring how the use of the body and movement impacts musical understanding and learning (Lukács et al., 2022; Juntunen & Hyvönen, 2004). Embodiment in musical learning cannot be understated as movement and kinesthetic awareness are key components of children's physical and cognitive development (Nijs & Bremmer, 2019). However, integrating movement from the beginning of instrumental study has not been thoroughly researched in the early years. This gap represents an opportunity to unlock young learners' musical potential through movement, shaping future directions in instrumental music education.

This study builds on the kinemusical approach to instrumental music learning (Nijs, 2019) and further advances this approach. We conducted a collaborative action research study where children learned how to play the flute through movement-based instrumental learning activities. In the Planning phase, activities were developed using Dalcroze and Suzuki Education methodologies, as well as Laban-Bartenieff Movement Analysis. During the Action stage, 45-minute weekly classes were held over two consecutive 6-week cycles with discrete groups of children aged 5-8, who had no prior instrumental experience. Three expert "Critical Friends," from the fields of Dalcroze, Suzuki, and Laban-Bartienieff, provided video-stimulated written feedback at the conclusion of each cycle of the study (Conway & Borst, 2001; Mat Noor & Shafee, 2021). This feedback, combined with the researcher-practitioner’s weekly reflections, shaped the development of activities in the second cycle, and will inform interventions in a follow-up study.

Data was collected via video recordings, a weekly reflective teaching journal, and parent surveys to probe the children’s home environment and practice habits. Qualitative data will be analyzed thematically and quantitative data from surveys will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Analysis is ongoing and will be finalized for the conference. Data triangulation will help gain understanding about the potential impact of moving while playing in early instrumental learning.

Considering accessibility and participation in degree programmes with artistic and pedagogical components at German music universities (such as teacher training and instrumental or vocal pedagogy), the artistic major plays a crucial role. At most institutions, the range of eligible artistic majors is limited to instruments of Western art music, jazz-related instruments and singing, while for example majors associated with electronic music or non-European music practices are rarely included (Buchborn, 2019). Recently, this has been discussed both from a hegemony-critical perspective (Kattenbeck, 2023; Buchborn & Bons, 2021) and within the backdrop of decreasing student numbers in the aforementioned degree programmes (Lehmann-Wermser & Witte, 2024), which has begun to fuel reflection on exclusionary structures and access barriers.

In the course of these considerations, some music universities have introduced new artistic majors, including the bağlama as an instrument that is both very present in post-migrant society and well established in music schools with an own curriculum (VdM, 2012), widespread cultural education programmes such as “JeKits” (JeKits, n.d.) and young talent competitions like “Jugend musiziert” (LMR Berlin, 2013, p. 4).

In the proposed symposium, we plan to provide insights into the process of implementing bağlama as an artistic major in music education study programmes at the Berlin University of the Arts and the Cologne University of Music and Dance. In three brief presentations, we will discuss theoretical perspectives of hegemony on music universities, diversity-oriented claims, structural frameworks, and curricular development as well as the point of view of bağlama students. Starting from the example of bağlama, it is our aim to deepen the conversation on the implementation of new majors at music universities in general. By gathering the participating international colleagues' experiences and perspectives on the matter, we are looking forward to jointly outlining possible future approaches and initiatives.

This workshop will focus on exploring anti-bias practices and their place in music education to encourage participants to think about how they can be used to empower student voices. Social justice, critical pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, DEI, and more have become prominent research topics in music education over the past few decades, but are often still not meaningfully included in curricula. With continually diversifying student populations (and increasingly divisive politics), it is even more important that we understand the significance of these concepts and what role they play in music education. Anti-bias practices aim to reduce discrimination and inequities that arise due to biases or prejudices. Many music teachers may already be unknowingly using anti-bias practices, may be interested in using them but do not know how, or may be unaware that their current teaching practices might actually be hindering student participation. Anti-bias practices can help music teachers affirm student identity, bring awareness to diversity, advocate for justice, and take action to make sure all students are heard. These anti-bias practices are important for all music teachers - whether currently practicing, teachers in training, or music teacher educators. Although this workshop will focus on applying anti-bias practices in music education settings, we will briefly discuss anti-bias practices in a broader educational sense as well. Anti-Bias Education was developed to empower students by addressing identity, diversity, justice, and action in the classroom (Derman-Sparks, 2010). The anti-bias framework was also further adapted into social justice standards applicable to a variety of school subjects (Learning for Justice, 2022). This workshop will further music educators’ understanding of anti-bias practices through specifically designed think/pair/share, large group discussion, and critical questioning activities. It aims to empower music educators to implement anti-bias practices in their teaching while beginning to think about music education through an anti-bias lens.

In this interactive workshop, participants explore the role that music and sound can play in sustainability education. Research suggests that music, with its ability to evoke emotions and shape perceptions, can serve as a transformative tool in sustainability education (Prior, 2022). Consequently, music can be viewed as a means to learn about sustainability that balances or even counters the strongly scientific-based, factual narratives. Integrating musical expression with sustainability issues in educational settings thus allows educators to foster awareness for and engage learners in sustainability questions in a different way. In line with the principles of UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development framework, this workshop merges a pluralistic approach to sustainability with music education.

The aim of the workshop is twofold: (1) to explore sustainability through an aesthetic experience and (2) to provide didactical tools to work with sustainability in music education. The workshop starts with a story that illustrates the complex nature of sustainability through a so-called 'wicked' problem, simultaneously triggering emotional responses that are said to serve as learners' motivators to take action (Ojala, 2014). Participants then compose a short soundscape or musical piece related to a sustainability topic using verbal prompts. This hands-on approach aligns with European perspectives of the GreenComp (European Commission. Joint Research Centre, 2022), where experiential learning and sensory engagement are seen as vital to fostering a sustainability mindset. Participants will be given an opportunity to share their creations and stories, which will then be used for a joint reflection and discussion on the nexus of sustainability issues in daily life, music and personal values. Based on the outcomes of the workshop's activities, we explore concrete ideas and examples on how music education and sustainability can connect in practice.

The session is part of the TEAM project.

Our workshop is designed as an open musical space, consciously avoiding direct instruction by facilitators during the process. Instead, the workshop format follows key principles of Reggio pedagogy (Knauf, 2017, pp. 18–24), animative didactics (Opaschowski, 1977, 1996), and enabling pedagogy (Arnold, 2012; Arnold et al., 2014; Arnold & Schön, 2019). In the spirit of Unlocking Voices and Shaping Music Education Futures, the workshop emphasizes the freedom to explore, create, and innovate in a non-hierarchical, open setting.

Participants enter a carefully prepared, atmospherically designed "playground" that invites sound exploration and musical experimentation. At four different sound stations, participants have access to a variety of synthesizers, enabling highly nuanced playing techniques. As a source of inspiration, texts from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Aus den sieben Tagen (May 1968) are provided, which, in the spirit of "intuitive music", may guide the collective musical experimentation in a shared direction.

The concept brings together various elements: getting to know and exploring instrumental possibilities, the direct experience of playing together, and learning through action. Consequently, this workshop functions simultaneously as a demonstration setup, a concert, and a learning opportunity for all participants.

The key principle is the voluntariness and autonomy of the participants (cf. Deci & Ryan, 1993): the playground can be entered and left at their discretion. They autonomously decide whether to engage as listeners and/or players. The only rule is that no talking is allowed in the play space—only playing and listening. A separate reflection space will be provided for exchanging experiences.

This workshop and training format has been conducted multiple times before, is regularly evaluated, and continuously developed. In line with the goals of Shaping Music Education Futures, we aim to share an inclusive and forward-thinking approach to music education that encourages exploration, creativity, and collaboration.

The use of Virtual Reality and Mixed Realities (VR) in music education offers a wide range of potential applications. Early studies illustrate the innovative scope of VR (Turchet 2023), from music production (Loveridge 2023), to performance training (Cairns et al. 2023), to immersive experiences in collaborative musical interactions (Bruns et al. 2024). Exploratory research also highlights the strong motivational effect of VR on students and emphasizes its potential for educational contexts (Zender et al. 2022).

However, implementing VR in classroom settings poses several organizational and pedagogical challenges. VR technology is primarily intended for private use at home. Therefore, there are a number of challenges to be overcome when adapting it for use in group lessons. What organizational approaches can help to effectively integrate VR applications into music education? Which specific didactic concepts can support musical learning with VR in music lessons? First experiences have been gathered at various institutions (in Salzburg, Trossingen, Freiburg, Potsdam). This workshop is designed as a highly participatory format, providing practical insights into VR use in music education.

Participants will have the opportunity to experience selected VR applications (in stations), with the main focus on sharing practical experiences and discussing the challenges of classroom implementation and music learning in VR.

Workshop Goals:

1. Opportunity to try out and discuss innovative didactic approaches to integrating VR into music lessons.

2. Exchange practical experiences and address challenges in implementing VR in classroom settings, such as working with 25 students and 5 VR headsets.

3. Reflect on the transformed learning objectives VR can support and explore their significance for a future-oriented music pedagogy.

This workshop is designed for educators, educational experts, and researchers who are interested in experiencing VR technology in music education and discussing its potential for enriching the music classroom.

In this paper I will rethink the goals of music education in terms of the three functions of education as proposed by Gert Biesta: qualification, socialization and subjectification. I will argue that behind Biesta's three functions actually a hidden dichotomy is present: a dichotomy between socialization - of which qualification is an important part - and subjectification. I will also argue that Biesta's strong normative description of subjectification turns subjectification too much into a specific form of socialization.

I will as an alternative propose a less normative description of what subjectification is, placing the normative element of education in the tension between socialization and subjectification. On that basis, I will propose that music education essentially has the function to contribute to the musical subjectification of our pupils as musical 'idiocultures', and that qualification and socialization are present in music education as means to the end of musical subjectification.

In Germany, the lack of music teachers is increasing. For 2035, it is predicted that only one third of free positions in secondary school can be filled with young teachers, that completed a full study of music education (BA + MA; Klemm, 2024).

Thus, more than 100 researchers from Germany's music education community set out for a bottom-up study as crowd research. In more than 70 qualitative microstudies and additionally a handful of quantitative studies, they researched the question why young people from different backgrounds decide against taking on studies for a teacher's degree in music for secondary school. More than 400 interviews were conducted. The target group of these studies reached from students in secondary school courses to young people in regional choirs and orchestras, from students of other degrees to students of a different teacher's degree.

Finally, more than 70 microstudies were triangulated and combinedly re-analysed on a secondary level by a team, led by Andreas Lehmann-Wermser and Patrick Witte. In 2024, results were presented to inform practice, research, education and policy making.

Key results of the study are threefold: The decision against a teacher's degree in music education firstly depended on the entrance exam. People mentioned a fear of the exam that made them refrain from participating, mentioned a lack of resources to prepare for it, and also were insufficiently informed about the requested qualifications. Secondly, often the culture and offerings of the music departments did not seem to match perfectly with young person's musical identity and engagement and partly failed in preparing for the job. Thirdly, the quality of the teaching environment in schools was reflected upon critically, with "music" seen as a hard subject to teach. Results will be used on policy level to conduct changes in the sector of higher music education.

As part of a reform of Norwegian general teacher education in 2017 an obligatory master’s thesis was introduced. An ongoing critique against an obligatory master’s thesis is that it would lead to further academization of teacher education and widen the gap between theory and practice. To mitigate this and give student teachers a wider array of options for their master’s theses, to choose from, an entrepreneurial thesis was introduced in 2021/22 at Oslo Metropolitan University, and in spring 2024, the first student music teachers submitted their entrepreneurial theses. These theses consist of three parts: a didactical product, a written part and an oral exam. All student teachers employ design-based research (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012) as a method, and the product must be tested two times in a pedagogical context. In our presentation we will present results from interviews (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2014) with student music teachers, and our reflections from supervising and assessing entrepreneurial theses. Interviews with student teachers show that the entrepreneurial master’s thesis is thought of as more relevant for their future working life as teachers, and the thesis can be perceived as a boundary object (Star and Griesmer, 1989) positioned along three axes: theory and practice, pre-service teacher and in-service teacher, and the academic student and the creative student.

Supervision has been both individual and in seminars. A challenge has been that some student teachers struggled with the didactical part of the product, making teaching content without reflecting on the possibilities for learning.

Challenges for assessing has been to find the balance between the individual parts, and to recognize the students’ contribution when cooperating with external collaborators.

Despite these challenges the student teachers have produced didactical products with several qualities, and the entrepreneurial thesis has proved to be a valid alternative to the traditional master thesis.

Audience Response Systems (ARS) are mostly software based ed-tech systems which gained widespread popularity and acceptance in both K-12 and higher education settings due to its implementation and research by Harvard physicist Eric Mazur in the early 1990s who used these tools in the context of peer instruction (Mazur 2017) which belongs to the methodological repertoire of active learning. The primary goal of peer instruction is its activating nature. It is usually characterized by (1) problem-based learning, (2) case study-based lessons, (3) its incorporation in a flipped classroom-framework, (4) group work and within those settings (5) especially partially accompanied debating. Peer instruction in combination with ARS aims at gradually moving teaching from the mode of lecturing to co-determined peer learning. A high number of scientific findings from the STEM area has shown significant improvement of student´s success regarding not only memorizing, but also understanding and applying the content learned if taught with peer instruction (Enders 2016). Therefor it is quite remarkable that until now there neither is a theoretical study for the field of music education, nor a serious, structured attempt of implementation in K-12 or higher education settings within German music education (though there are studies about other peer assisted concepts like peer assisted learning (Saccardi 2023) and peer tutoring (Fernández-Barros et al. 2022). This practice paper is an attempt to address this shortcoming by presenting »snapshots« and findings of several case studies related to peer instruction and ARS for music education. These case studies were carried out in 2024 as part of the EU- and German government funded joint project DigiProSMK in order to determine (1) whether and how ARS and PI can be integrated into music lessons in reality and (2) how beneficial these measures are.

Improvisation is ingrained in the curricula of all types of schools. Nevertheless, there is still a need for concrete concepts, methods and design principles. Treß (2023) stated musical group improvisation as an important practice with educational impact across various areas and cultural practices. Moreover, improvisation could play a central role in contexts of supporting creative initiatives (Züchner et al., 2018).

This practice-paper will therefore present a case study focusing on group improvisation processes in music lessons in German schools using Playtron and TouchMe (=Playtronica), two sensory devices equipped with MIDI functionality. Combined with digital consumer products they enable sound triggering, connected to conductive everyday items or the human body. The target group consists of primary and secondary school pupils (grades 3-6), considering the general openness and less-determined characteristics of that age group (Gembris & Schellberg, 2007). The case study follows a Design-Based-Research approach (McKenny & Reeves, 2019) to develop a teaching-and-learning-design through iterative cycles integrating digital-didactic models, such as SEPACK.digital (Frederking, 2022).

The designed forms of improvisational contexts enable easy access to experiment with non-conventional musical instruments (Niediek & Gerland, 2022) in various musical settings for heterogeneous groups and facilitate opportunities for increased participation of pupils through creating their own setups. Free forms of improvisation (e.g. jam sessions) could serve as starting points for integrating common approaches to music-making (songwriting, inventing music) into music lessons. Improvisational experiences support pupils` ability to play by ear, to develop problem-solving strategies (Züchner et al., 2018) fostering their understanding of music through group improvisation processes (Unger-Rudroff, 2024) finding one´s own individual voice (EAS, 2025). Focussing the conference theme, this reveals the potential for shaping an inclusive and dynamic space for design and development. To further illustrate these opportunities, we present concrete video examples, highlighting the didactic insights gained from the ongoing design processes.

As part of the DigiProSMK project, we are developing evidence-based training concepts for music teachers in the use of digital media, in accordance with the funding guidelines of the BMBF and the nationwide network “lernen:digital”. One of these formats, the Teacher Soundlab, is designed as a deliberately low-threshold opportunity for teachers to gain hands-on musical experience with digital sound generators in real musical situations.

The Teacher Soundlab follows the core idea of consciously avoiding direct instruction by facilitators throughout the process. Instead, the concept adheres to key principles of Reggio pedagogy (Knauf, 2017, pp. 18–24), animative didactics (Opaschowski, 1977, 1996), and enabling pedagogy (Arnold, 2012; Arnold et al., 2014; Arnold & Schön, 2019). Participants in the Teacher Soundlab enter a carefully prepared, atmospherically designed "playground" that invites sound exploration and improvisational musical experimentation. Crucial to the success of the concept is the voluntariness and autonomy of the participants (Deci & Ryan, 1993): the playground can be entered and exited at their discretion. Participants decide whether to engage as listeners and/or players.

As part of an accompanying research project, we are conducting an interview study with participants of the Teacher Soundlab, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of their specific listening and playing experiences within this exploration space. Our main areas of interest are:

• To what extent are the music-making and learning experiences influenced by prior experiences?
• How are the spatial concept and the conditions of autonomy and voluntariness in this training format perceived by the participants, and how do they contribute to successful learning?
• To what extent does the designed play space, along with the instruments used, invite low-threshold, intuitive music-making?

In our presentation, we will share the preliminary results of the qualitative content analysis of the interviews conducted so far.

Music instrument teaching in higher education is mainly centred around the one-on-one interaction in the teacher-student dyad. However, today's professional performances and teaching practices require the ability to work in a variety of collaborative environments with a wide range of competences and skills.

This practice paper explores the innovative application of collaborative pedagogy within higher education through the interdisciplinary performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for piano four hands. Six students in the 2nd year of the Master's degree in piano, who jointly attend the piano didactics course, have registered with the performance for the Epta Piano Days on 15 November 2024. We started the project in March 2024 with discussions and reflections on The Rite of Spring in relation to students' experiences and feelings. The strongest feelings expressed were being trapped in rules, fear and not being able to express themselves freely through performing. In view of this, we gradually integrated piano performance with images, spoken words, poetry, and movement and have subtitled the performance The Artist's Ritual - A Journey of Transformation. Engaging students in a rich dialogue between various art forms enhanced their understanding of narrative, emotional expression, and cultural context inherent in Stravinsky's seminal work.

Through reflection on the creative process, the paper discusses the dynamics of teamwork, communication, and shared artistic vision among the performers. Additionally, it highlights the pedagogical implications of such collaborative practices in nurturing critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and innovative problem-solving in academic setting. By placing the performance in a broader educational context, this project highlights the potential of collaborative pedagogy to enrich the learning experience in the arts and to promote a holistic appreciation of interdisciplinary art forms in higher education.

Training across the Orff Schulwerk community in the US has long emphasized the term “process” in levels courses – the term seemingly appearing more commonly than any other in teaching strategy rationales and broad philosophies. This study focuses on practicing elementary teachers enrolled in an Orff-Schulwerk training course, and undergraduate music majors completing a required elementary methods course in a large US university. The purpose was to explore the degree to which perceptions of the frequently used term “process” may differ among these two populations.

Participants (n=34) provided open, written descriptions regarding the term; responses were examined for internal (teacher-centered) and external (student-centered) focus, as well as terminology typically associated with Orff-oriented classrooms (imitation, improvisation, instrumentation, movement, etc.). Example responses among in-service teachers enrolled in the concurrent levels training included “providing a framework to create,” and “having an end goal in mind.” They described classrooms with “steps to follow,” suggesting those teachers in the training course were more internally focused on developing personal strategies. Category analyses suggest training course participants were 88% internally (self) focused, while undergraduates were internally focused on 63% of responses. Those undergraduate respondents enrolled in methods courses commonly cited play, discovery, and imitation in their interpretive descriptions.

Varying interpretations of “methodology” versus “a process” have been widely described and may have been assumed to be broadly understood or agreed upon. Gilpatrick (2009) cites a strong processes influence on teaching beyond simpleimitation, and historically it has been suggested that improvisation and extended discussion play a large part in process within the earliest Orff environments (Gray, 2006). Carl Orff is often broadly referred to as having suggested that the musical learning of a child does not begin in a music class instruction, but rather during play.

Relationships to training, experience, and professional expectations will be considered and discussed.

In Portugal, legal and curricular documents aim to implement the arts, particularly Expression and Music Education (EME), in elementary schools, with generalist teachers being responsible for teaching these subjects. However, inconsistencies regarding the role of music at this educational level can be observed, along with challenges in its implementation. These challenges include a lack of time for music instruction, insufficient material resources, difficulties in collaboration between generalist and specialist teachers, and inconsistencies in teacher training. Many generalist teachers report feeling unprepared and insecure when it comes to conducting musical activities. These issues may hinder the adoption of inclusive and equitable practices within the educational system. Based on these findings, the aim of this study a) to analyze the challenges faced in implementing EME in Portuguese elementary schools; b) to investigate elementary school teachers' perceptions and practices regarding music education; and c) to propose ways to improve pedagogical practices and enhance the quality and equity of music education at the elementary level. To achieve these objectives, a multiple case study will be conducted. Data will be collected through documentary analysis of the participating schools' educational plans, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with principals, coordinators, and teachers. The data will be analyzed and categorized using content analysis. It is expected to understand the current situation of music education in elementary schools and contribute to the development of proposals aimed at improving music teaching practices.

The catholic and protestant churches in Germany are experiencing a sharp decline in church memberships. As a result more and more people don't listen to the instrument organ or to organ music anymore. At the same time the number of organ pedagogical and organ (music) mediative programs has been increasing since a few years.

„Children and classical organ music – is that possible?“ This question was the introductory question in the master thesis „Music mediation of organ music and the instrument organ in the catholic church. An analysis of concert concepts for primary schools“.

This study analysed music mediation concepts of organ music and the organ instrument for primary schools. In addition to this, the concept for children’s organ concerts, „Orgelbauer Fröhlich“, was developed, organised and evaluated between December 2019 and February 2020. In this concert Orgelbauer Fröhlich introduces children in a scenic-interactive, playful and humorous setting into organ music and the instrument organ. The children's concert continues to this day.

805 children aged between 5 and 10 from more than 10 different primary schools were asked to fill out a survey form directly after the concerts with four question referring to their gained experience.

Almost 90% liked the organ concert for children with Orgelbauer Fröhlich. More than 50% liked the classical organ music and the figure Orgelbauer Fröhlich as well. 76,65% would like to visit an organ concert for children again, 72,15% had heard an organ before.

In conclusion, this study shows that children are likely to enjoy classical organ music and develop interest in the instrument organ. Using different kinds of methods like acting, games and music are essential for building a low-threshold access. This could lead to an interesting in self-playing the organ.

This paper presents findings from research conducted with preschool children at a private kindergarten in Athens, Greece, exploring the progression of rhythmic skills and improvisation through Lucy Green’s 'Playing by Ear' method. Rooted in informal learning, the method aims to enhance students’ auditory, rhythmic, and overall musical abilities. Given the children's age (4-5 years), their need for social interaction, teamwork through play, and lack of formal music notation instruction, this study examined the effectiveness of applying an informal music learning approach in formal educational settings. Since Green's original study focused on children aged 13-14, this research investigates necessary adaptations for younger children.

Using qualitative methodology, specifically an action research approach, the study investigated how the 'Playing by Ear' method developed rhythmic skills and enhanced students’ ability to play music in small groups without teacher guidance. The results showed that the method significantly contributed to rhythmic development, both through instruments and kinetic activities. It fostered early experimentation and improved students’ capacity to play independently, promoting new communication and cooperation skills.

Aligned with student-centered learning, the method encouraged educators to focus on individual student interests, allowing children to explore their unique musical identities. The approach positively impacted students' well-being, strengthening friendships and fostering a sense of belonging. Overall, the 'Playing by Ear' method enhanced musical skills and was perceived by students as a highly enjoyable and recreational experience. These findings are relevant to the conference theme, highlighting the benefits of informal music learning in early education.

Lithuanian traditional polyphonic songs Sutartinės are one of the most unique examples of archaic polyphony in the world. They are characterized by distinctive musical language and have very few analogues in world musics. Due to their uniqueness, sutartinės have attracted great interest amongst ethnomusicologists not only in Lithuania but also internationally (Slaviūnas 2006, Vyčinienė 2000, Sachs 1962, Boiko 1992, Jordania 2006 etc.). Today, the Sutartinės are experiencing a revival and are gaining more and more interest among young people. They are often used in various jazz, rock, fusion and electronic music projects. The syncretic nature of Sutartinės combines music, poetry and archaic choreography, opening up diverse and broad possibilities for interdisciplinary integration. From the perspective of multiculturalism, the examples of the Sutartinės songs could be useful to music pedagogy not only in Lithuania but also in other countries.
However, the possibilities of the use of Lithuanian Sutartines in music pedagogy are still little explored. The aim of this paper is to reveal the structural peculiarities of Lithuanian polyphonic songs and to describe their possibilities in a primary music education. Structural analysis and comparative methods are used. Lithuanian polyphonic songs are characterised by narrow melodies based on archaic scales of 2-5 notes. Their rhythmic structure is based on elementary repetitive rhythmic patterns which form rhythmic inversions, complementary rhythms and cross-rhythms. These songs are characterised by archaic forms of polyphony: call-and-response, drone, parallelism with second harmonies, and canon (Velička, 2024). The most important challenge in teaching these songs is the combination of several voices in an ensemble. The structural features of the musical language of Sutartinės are in line with C. Orff's Elemental Music philosophy and are perfectly suited to the various purposes of music education: music making, music creation, active listening to music. This presentation will be illustrated with examples of pupils' works.

Violence is intertwined with far-right and misogynistic ideologies, shaping discourse on social media and fueling hostile rhetoric. Current hashtags like #YourBodyMyChoice reflect gender-based violence, underscoring the urgent need for critical examination of intersecting forces. These manifest in musical genres amplifying attitudes toward power, control, and gender dynamics. However, so far, they play a minor role in music education discourse (Schwald, 2024). Hence, how can music education address these phenomena while aligning with a human rights-based approach to education?

Previous research in media education has addressed violence (Cantor & Wilson, 2003) and gender (Götz, 2002). Recently, corresponding theoretical approaches have emerged in music education (Dunkel & Schwenk, 2022; Schwald, 2024). However, there are few empirical studies on how music lessons might foster critical thinking about gender-based violence in music.

The presentation focuses on a research project dealing with gender-based violence in music as an example for purposefully addressing volatile futures. This project is framed within Futures Literacy, which involves navigating disorientation and developing a sense of the future we want to shape (Peschl & Fundneider, 2023, p. 22; Schmid, 2024). The presentation will offer a future-oriented perspective on learning by tackling challenging issues.

Drawing from documentary development research (Buchborn, 2022), a lesson design for Secondary School has been developed to address gender-based violence in musical practices. This design is tested in several iterative circles, empirically analyzed and re-designed. The documentary method is employed to explore young people's central orientations towards gender-based violence in musical practices.

Initial results underscore the importance of critically examining personal values when engaging with lyrics and music videos. These findings suggest ways to incorporate this problematic topic, enhancing Futures Literacy. The ultimate goal is to identify ways to encourage young people´s engagement with gender-based violence in music in a future-literate manner within an ecologically valid setting.

This contribution outlines a model for music education, that integrates Biesta’s World Centered Education (2021) and Wallbaum’s Comparative Praxial Music Education (2020). I will generalise the model to a graphic and then illustrate it with vocal practices such as bel canto, shouting and overtone singing.

I consider two aspects of Biesta's theory on World centered Education to be central, which are equally central to the model of music education: the pedagogical focus shifts from the individual to the world and it is about calling the student to attend to the world and to its own attending. Applied to music education, I understand music praxes as ‘the world’.

The core components of the model for music education are (a) about 4-5 collections of musical material from global cultures, (b) time for groups of students to create and experience “fulfilling” music from one of the collections, (c) time for comparing their own creation with other creations (previous own, other known ones and the next own).

A number of presuppositions made in the core components will be discussed. E.g. (a) the praxeological understanding of music material, which includes body movements, doings, sayings, characteristic perceptions and qualities, narratives, instruments, artefacts, rules etc. (Buchborn et al. 2022), (b) the concept of “fulfilling” qualities in music cultures (Seel 2005), (c) procedures of comparison.

The immediate effect on the practice of music lessons is that the pupils' actions in the production phase are both related to the material of the collection and to their own perception. They are not asked to learn predetermined perceptions as ‘correct’, but, nevertheless, they compare their perceptions with others: with those from the collection, and with those of their classmates.

Indirect effects are the learning of compositional and other musical practices as well as the promotion of creativity and cultural reflexivity.

As the educational landscape evolves, music education must adapt to both contemporary musical trends and the critical societal issues shaping our world. This presentation examines two key areas of adaptation in music curricula: Curriculum Development and Policy Advocacy, with a particular focus on addressing the growing concerns around misogynistic content in music. In January 2024, the UK Women and Equalities Committee published its House of Commons report Misogyny in Music, highlighting how women in the music industry face "a lack of support, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment and assault."

The presentation reports data gathered from a study day held in November 2024, where students and practitioners explored how music curricula can be updated to reflect contemporary trends while addressing societal issues like misogyny in music. By integrating critical media literacy, gender-sensitive content, and a broader range of musical genres, educators can create a more inclusive and relevant curriculum. The recent analysis of misogynistic themes in popular music underscores the need for a curriculum that not only promotes creativity but also encourages students to critically engage with the cultural and societal impacts of the music they consume and create. We will discuss strategies to incorporate these elements into music education, ensuring that students are equipped to understand and challenge harmful narratives in music.

The presentation also explores how engaging with policy and advocacy empowers both educators and student-teachers. By learning about evidence-based advocacy and collaborating with community stakeholders, music educators can better advocate for stronger policies that address these issues while securing funding and support for music programs in a socially responsible way.

By addressing both curriculum development and policy advocacy in the context of contemporary challenges such as misogyny in music, this presentation offers a framework for adapting music education to ensure it remains relevant, responsible, and impactful in today’s rapidly changing society.

The development of an inclusive music pedagogy requires us to rethink the settings, methods, and goals of the aforementioned pedagogy, shaking up educational paradigms as we know them. It puts teachers and learners at the center, emphasizes learning processes, individual development, and collective work, and gives voice to those who may not have been heard in traditional learning contexts.

In this symposium, we present five contributions which aim at exploring the topic of music-inclusive and music-exclusive educational contexts. By trying to give voice to those involved in these contexts, we highlight the structural and ideological constructs that create barriers for some teachers and learners.

By means of biographical perspectives, we will bring to life different voices in four different countries (Germany, Greece, Spain, and Sweden), which will shed light on how teachers and learners deal with diversity and inclusion in different contexts in terms of digital accessibility, taking into account the further development of professional identities and the construction of safe, inclusive spaces for all teachers and learners.

The presentations underscore the value of inclusive training programs and adaptable teaching practices that enable music educators to support heterogeneous classrooms and foster an inclusive environment. The role of teacher beliefs, attitudes, and biographical experiences are central to the symposium, which are the beginning for further discussion.

Nowadays, with the increasing acceptance of CCM (commercial contemporary music) voice pedagogy in music schools and colleges curricula, it is the right time to find alternative interesting options to the most taught CCM genres (musical theater, pop and jazz), so teachers and students alike can not only be presented with a remarkable, though little understood, repertoire, but also help decolonize the popular voice curriculum.

The objective of this workshop is to show through active and passive learning the rich variety of South-American vocal styles and music genres, to help build the bridge between outsiders and insiders.

Initially, we will focus on listening, watching and discussing a few seminal examples of some important Latin-American genres. We will talk about how genres as different as Brazilian bossa nova, MPB and baião, Argentine tango and chacarera, Paraguayan guarania and Venezuelan joropo can be taught in the classroom with the help of cross-training pedagogy and hybrid singing techniques.

In the second half of the workshop, the focus will shift to exercises and practical tips. Participants will vocalize and sing short phrases in Spanish and Portuguese, with guidance on adjusting the vocal tract accordingly. The specifics of style will be presented in conjunction with technique and practical exercises. Finally, the group will perform short pieces in three contrasting styles: one bossa nova, one tango, and one baião, demonstrating the application of these adjustments in current Latin repertoire. Cross-training is an effective method for achieving optimal performance levels and mitigating the risk of injury in athletes and singers, who are indeed "vocal athletes." When applied to popular genres, this pedagogical approach has demonstrated highly positive outcomes in preparing professional singers for a diverse musical career.

Due to its complexity and hidden processes, learning music presents peculiar challenges. By constructing activities with the help of software, such as Max/MSP, it is possible to reveal these processes and add the attributes of the game. In doing so, fluid and captivating learning meets the unveiling of its processes.

The aim of the workshop is to showcase some of the projects developed on Max/MSP to address specific ear training challenges in the dimensions of rhythm, melody and harmony, implementing a direction in the activities that is considered pedagogically correct and, at the same time, through gamification, promoting an increase in motivation.

Using a cell phone, PlayStation Buzz controllers or controllers built specifically for the purpose, made from curtain rods, activities are explored in a game format, either individually or in groups.
Melotrix: participants listen to a melody, with no rhythm, which is projected; sometimes, with predetermined intensity, there are differences between what is written and what is heard. The participants have to react to the mistakes with the PS Buzz controllers.
Rhythmobira: two to four participants, each with a rhythmic line; each rhythmic line is written with ratio signs, in a kind of a beatbox. At a metronome signal, the group has to coordinate the rhythmic phrases, percuting on sticks.
Intertoca: A melody plays, without rhythm, at predetermined intervals. Various activities can be done: one of them can be to respond on the instrument as the melody plays.

The gamification dimension lends a highly motivating attribute to the activities.
The participants' responses reveal otherwise hidden decision-making processes in performance. These activities therefore serve not only as highly engaging musical learning processes, but also as demonstrations of performative decision-making processes

This workshop explores the transformative power of digital sampling as a didactical tool for counterstorytelling (Hess 2019), focusing on the marginalized role of women* in electronic music and hip hop historiography. The participants engage with the sounds and voices of female* artists through hands-on sampling techniques. Through listening, sampling, editing and discussing, we will challenge dominant narratives and explore how these genres have historically marginalized women*’s contributions. Participants will create their own tracks, fostering a deeper understanding of how sampling can be used as a form empowering knowledge practice in music education.

Against this background, the practice of sampling is introduced not just as a set of technical skills but rather as a means of unlearning, recontextualizing and reclaiming narratives. Ultimately, the session will provide educators with the tools and perspectives necessary to incorporate diverse musical actors, practices, perspectives, technologies, and voices into their curricula, fostering an inclusive approach that highlights the vital role women* have played in shaping music all along.

Emphasizing on diversity, we are aiming at offering educators approaches to integrating digital sampling techniques into their teaching, thus encouraging students to critically engage with music and sound.

Hess, J. (2019) ‘Moving beyond resilience education: musical counterstorytelling’, Music education research, 21(5), pp. 488–502.

This presentation is based on the autoethnographic approach to research and writing, which seeks to describe and systematically analyze personal experience in order to understand cultural experience (Ellis et al., 2011). Autoethnography is a useful way to reveal hidden narratives, struggles, and resilience of early-career music educators (Adams, Ellis, Jones, 2017; Bohner, Ellis, 1992). Through self-reflection and personal narrative, young music teachers can articulate experiences that often remain unspoken within traditional educational research frameworks (Hayler, 2012; Pinner, 2016). This approach allows for a deeper understanding of the cultural and institutional challenges they face.

As a teacher-researcher reflecting on my own teaching experience, I discuss the challenges I encountered as a music teacher at the beginning of my career. The biggest challenges involved adapting to school norms, meeting administrative expectations, managing the balance between creative autonomy and curricular demands, as well the problematic nature of applying my own educational beliefs in practice. During my first five years, I continually reflected on my pedagogical practice, taking notes on my computer, writing down my experiences, as well as thoughts and feelings about teaching. These notes became the foundation of this study.

By revealing my story and insights, this presentation aims to shed light on how autoethnography not only serves as a method of inquiry but also as a tool for empowerment, enabling young teachers to voice their experiences, shape their professional identities, and foster personal growth (Dyson, 2007; Barley, Southcott, 2019). Attendees will gain an understanding of how autoethnographic methods can be applied in educational research to address the needs of novice educators, and contribute to creating a more supportive, empathetic, and responsive environment within music education.

EMP (Elementare Musikpädagogik/Elemental Music Pedagogy) can be defined as a movement-oriented variant of music education that uses the expressive media of dance, music, singing and language in their variety. EMP lessons in the conception of Carl Orff pursue creative activities as a guiding principle. One quality of EMP is undoubtedly its multifaceted approach to content, which emphasises exploration, improvisation and composition and promotes a multimodal engagement with the chosen material (cf. Kalcher, 2017, p. 209).

The guiding question of the present study is whether children differ in terms of performance depending on whether or not they have had prior EMP interventions or musical experience: Are there statistically significant effects of EMP interventions, prior knowledge, motivation and cognitive skills on the internalisation of Elemental musical skills (EMS) of primary school children?

Data from 8- to 12 year- old pupils (N = 624) taken from 9 elementary schools in 38 classes were examined. The developed EMS-Test is based on Dartsch's “EMP learning domains” (cf. 2010, p. 248f). The items were adapted for the age group and examined in a group context, typical for EMP. A balance between performative (technical, reproductive) and inventive (creative, transfer from one art form to another) activities were also considered.

The analyses were estimated using path analysis, structural equation modelling and multilevel modelling. Significant positive correlations were found between EMP interventions and Elemental musical skills. The most important learning modulating variables for Elemental musical skills are the motivation, prior knowledge and cognitive abilities of the students as well as the EMP teaching principles of the classroom teachers. In addition, theoretical, methodological and practical implications are discussed.

References

Kalcher, A. M. (2017). Musikalisch-tänzerische Gestaltungsprozesse als kooperativer Akt. In S. Karoß & S. Schroedter (Eds.), Klänge in Bewegung. Spurensuchen in Choreografie und Performance (pp. 203-212). Bielefeld: transcript.

This research aims to explore the concept of music education among non-musician students enrolled in a Master’s Degree program in Primary Teacher Education at an Italian university. As highlighted in music education literature, it is essential to reflect on the social representations of music (Addessi, Carugati, & Selleri, 2007), as these can influence teachers' professional identities and the teaching-learning relationship in the classroom. To explore this issue, a qualitative research was conducted as a case study involving 50 students. Data were collected through two questionnaires and analyzed thematically. The questionnaires were completed by the students at different times: one before and another after three lessons of a Music Education workshop. The workshop lasted a total of 12 hours and was conducted by a specialized music teacher using various approaches, including Music Learning Theory (MLT) by E. E. Gordon, Orff-Schulwerk, and Dalcroze-inspired activities. The findings indicate a shifting perspective on music education. The high levels of enjoyment and interest in the workshop demonstrate that engaging with music adds significant value to the development of a new concept of music education—one that is not solely focused on teaching notation and singing, but also emphasizes the importance of embodying music, expressing emotions through music, and incorporating movement in relation to music.

Though the release of ChatGPT in 2022 has served as a catalyst for human-computer-interaction in general (Weßels 2023) and although different ways of integrating AI tools in music education have been tested and established since then, most of this has been done working with Large Language Models (LLMs) and is thus text-based (Bade 2023, Tress 2023, Unterreiner 2024). As a discipline, which above-all deals with somewhat creative, music education has still to come up with ways how to integrate specific AI tools at differing depth-levels. For the area of songwriting or music creation these depth-levels could be labeled (1) text-to-song prompting (e.g. udio or suno), (2) text-to-sound-prompting (e.g. SynthGPT) as well as (3) development and establishment of custom GPTs. The aim of this paper is to share examples for all of these three levels of AI-integration into practical human-computer-interaction-songwriting, and it does so while focusing on teaching and learning situations in community music setting, including learners of different educational backgrounds, ethnicities, age, gender etc. The second goal is to present findings on the used polyvalent learning spaces which are characterized by a high degree of scope for learner participation by actively opening up the boundaries not only between formal and informal types of learning (Elmore 2019), but also between different types of space in a semi-permeable way. The context and place of this study is the so-called Digital Learning Campus (DLC) Luebeck, a learning center run by three different universities, the regional open broadcast center and over 30 associated partner institutions (https://dlc.dh). The DLC which is funded by the EU (EFRE) with over 8 Mio. Euro and thus provides the rare opportunity to set aside sufficient material and personnel resources for the project to address people (and collect data) on a regular basis.

My research investigates how teenagers learn while producing music on laptops in a maker space dedicated to digital music production. This space consists of a room equipped with musical instruments, laptops, sound interfaces, and microphones, where students can experiment with the equipment and explore music production. The environment, though partly set in an upper high school, is rather informal, lacking teachers, instructions, and defined goals. Understanding informal learning, emphasized by different authors (Sefton-Green, 2004; Eschach, 2005; Green, 2010), is essential for integrating informal elements into lesson designs (Buchborn, 2021; Buchborn & Tress, 2023) that connect to students' real-life experiences (Crawford, 2009; Abrahams, 2015; Hein, 2017).

The theoretical framework for the study is rooted in the post-digital paradigm, thus focusing on the interaction between people and digital tools (Clements, 2018). Therefore, music technology is considered here as a social practice to teach rather than just as tools for teaching. My hypothesis is that learning in music technology contexts is unique and context specific.

By combining various learning models, an analysis grid inspired by Folkestad (2006) with four main dimensions (situation, learning style, intentionality, and ownership) was developed, and will be further developed.

Participants complete a pre-session questionnaire to outline their musical and technological background. During the sessions, their interactions with the devices are recorded. A qualitative analysis of collected data (screen and room audio/video, and participant interviews) aims to understand their learning processes through the observed and reported practice.

The findings will contribute to didactic reflections for music education in secondary schools by considering students' informal musical experiences. This study seeks to offer insights into real life for designing music education that incorporates contemporary digital musical practice of adolescents. The first results will be discussed in line with both didactic frameworks and curriculum structures.

Technological advancements have transformed musical skills, cultural awareness, and artistic identities (Hugill, 2008). These transformations have implications for music education (Väkevä, 2013). Hugill (2008) emphasises the importance of developing a personal aesthetic, understanding contexts of one's work, and acquiring specific musical and technical abilities. Authors like Hugill (2008), Väkevä (2013) and Clements (2018) increasingly argue for the importance of critically reflecting on the impact of digital technologies. With the concept of post-digital musicianship, we refer to Hugill’s reflections to describe musicianship in the digital age, involving the integration of technological advancements with traditional musical skills, cultural awareness, and artistic identity.

In our paper, we will present the results from a study investigating how university music students describe the development of post-digital musicianship within an interdisciplinary project and how they discuss emerging digital technologies and musical practices as a relevant part of music education and music teacher training. Aim of the interdisciplinary project was the development of a multimedia performance in a group of 4-5 students, using practices like DJing and VJing. These practices were new to the students, as was performing live as a group resulting from their work. The students were supposed to combine digital practices with non-digital practices.

After the project, group discussions were led in which the students’ learning experiences during the project, their approaches to the development of the performances, and the final performances were critically reflected, using excerpts from video recordings of the performances as stimulated recall material. The group discussions were recorded and transcribed. We use documentary method to analyse the interview material and to reconstruct students’ expectations and perceptions of the development of their own artistic practice (Bohnsack et al., 2013).

We will discuss our results against the background of approaches modelling professional competences of future teachers (Puffer & Hofmann, 2022; Frederking, 2022).

The RESONANCES research project is an in-depth exploration of the impact of international educational exchanges on music teaching and practice, based on qualitative research attentive to the current and future directions coming from intercultural encounters in music education.

Education in the field of "classical music" is perceived by practitioners and researchers as being based on Euro-centric methods, emphasising the individual to the detriment of constructive group interactions (Baker, 2016; Bond, 2017). Moreover, in the age of globalisation, there is a need to integrate multicultural perspectives, particularly concerning the relationships between teachers and students, but also considering repertoires, to foster intercultural understanding in the practice and teaching of music (Barton & Riddle, 2022; Hess, 2015; Thumlert & Nolan, 2019). Most young musicians are attentive, connected and increasingly well-informed about this lack of response on music education.

Drawing on a team of experts in music education and sociology, our research seeks to better understand the role of sharing experiences between young multicultural musicians on their musical practice and their own teaching methods, focusing geographically on Central Europe and Latin America. Started in July 2024, our two case studies outline the mutual sharing bonded by diverse voices in contexts of intercultural exchanges: (1) between the Haute école de musique de Genève and NEOJIBA in Salvador da Bahia; and (2) the international programme Academy for Impact Through Music, which focuses on training young music teachers from all continents to enhance their ability to contribute to the personal and collective development of students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

At the end of 2025, we will organise an international conference and present a report on these subjects, using the concept of resonance (Graber & Sumera, 2020; Nijs & Nicolaou, 2021; Rosa, 2019) as a key analytical lens. This conference is a great occasion for sharing preliminary results.

This presentation introduces a student-centred music education initiative to promote inclusivity, diversity, and social cohesion in South Tyrol’s multicultural school settings. Known for its rich cultural diversity, South Tyrol has recently seen an increase in migrant students, making culturally responsive education more essential than ever. The project provides weekly music lessons where singing acts as a bridge, fostering social connections and helping migrant children adapt to their new communities. These sessions encourage creative engagement, allowing students to explore and express their unique musical identities.

The initiative demonstrates the profound impact of singing and collaborative music-making in building cross-cultural understanding and a shared sense of belonging. Through carefully crafted lessons, students reflect on their cultural heritage while connecting with the diverse backgrounds of their peers, fostering empathy and mutual respect. By nurturing students as active creators, the project equips them with essential tools for self-expression and connection in an inclusive and supportive environment. The presentation will outline the project’s design, outcomes, and practical strategies, offering educators effective methods to celebrate diversity and build cohesive communities.

This presentation reports on ethnographic research conducted with pupils from two primary schools in South Tyrol, Italy, where all students come from migrant families. South Tyrol’s linguistically segregated education system presents significant challenges for implementing inclusive education initiatives and complicates relations between migrant communities and the host society. The two selected schools provide a unique opportunity to reflect on the broader impact of segregation in education. Children educated in ethnically homogeneous environments often encounter greater difficulties adapting to a diverse and interconnected world. The project’s true strength lies in using music as a dynamic tool to help children navigate the complexities of multicultural environments.

Background: Research on the non-musical benefits of music education and musical ability has increased, showing improvements in general cognitive skills, visuospatial abilities, and language. Studies specifically link music education to language development, suggesting shared characteristics despite distinct neurological pathways. Positive associations with vocabulary, phonological awareness, and reading are frequent. Music intervention programs targeting children from disadvantaged backgrounds also show promising language skill improvements, though research on this specific group remains scarce.

Aims: This study seeks to investigate: the relationship between music education, musical ability, and language skills in a sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged Portuguese children; and the relationship between specific aspects of musical ability (melody, rhythm, memory) and language components (oral comprehension, reading, grammar).

Method: This longitudinal study involved 102 children aged 6-7 years attending second grade in public schools identified as Priority Education Intervention Territories in economically disadvantaged areas of Porto. Classes were randomly assigned to either the music or control groups. Children's abilities were evaluated before and after a year-long weekly music program led by qualified music instructors. Measures included: a) a Portuguese language test developed specifically for this study; b) a musical ability test (MBEMA; melody, rhythm, memory); and c) a brief version of WISC-III.

Results: After controlling for IQ and musical ability, the findings showed that music education improved oral comprehension (β=.24). Musical ability also predicted language skills, particularly reading and writing (β=.24) and oral comprehension (β=.20). Within musical ability, melody and memory significantly predicted language skills, specifically reading and writing (β=.21).

Conclusions: Our study found a positive effect of music education on oral comprehension. However, it found no associations with grammar and reading. Regarding musical ability, results show a positive association with reading and oral comprehension. These findings suggest the potential of focused musical interventions to promote language development in children from disadvantaged contexts.

Background

Scearace (2016) has proposed that the maintenance of vocal health is of paramount importance for all, with particular relevance for those engaged in vocal performance. Alderson & Alderson (2020) highlight the singer's experience of vibrations in multiple bodily regions. Chipman (2008) emphasised that, when employed correctly, the voice should not become hoarse or strained during use.

The initial phase in attaining natural vocalisation entails the establishment of a synchronised functioning of the muscular system (Dimon, 2011). Kiik-Salupere & Ross (2020) highlight the importance of maintaining physical health as a fundamental aspect of a singer's profession.

Aims

The objective of the study was to elucidate the understanding of singing students regarding the optimal utilisation of the voice during singing, as well as to ascertain their preferred vocal techniques. The research questions were as follows:

1. What were the most prevalent vocal issues among singing students?

2. How do singing students cope with vocal problems?

Method

The research method is qualitative, which permits the collection of information in the form of personal experiences and statements from the sample.

The sample for the pilot study (N=14) was constituted of music students enrolled in the Bachelor's programme in Integrated Art, Music and Multimedia at the Baltic Film, Media and Art School, Tallinn University.

Results

The voice was evidently experiencing a degree of discomfort as a consequence of a number of factors, including psychological stress, performing when unwell, singing with a fatigued voice, not warming up, and inappropriate vocal technique.

The implementation of breathing exercises, increased water consumption, and vocal exercises in a tranquil state of mind proved advantageous for vocal health.

Conclusions

The findings of the study indicate that young people engaged in vocal activities should be furnished with a more comprehensive understanding of the optimal utilisation of the voice.

Choral competitions have long been valued for their capacity to provide ensembles with public recognition and foster technical refinement and collective identity. Nevertheless, scholarly discourse suggests a duality in their influence. While Battersby (1994) highlights competitions as powerful motivators that elevate ensemble quality and institutional prestige, Stollak and Stollak (2015) caution that competitive frameworks in choral education may paradoxically undermine sustained musical engagement by shifting focus to external accolades over intrinsic artistic fulfillment. An emphasis on measurable outcomes may sideline deeper aesthetic education. As students mature, their focus often pivots from external rewards to valuing artistic expression itself (Stamer, 2004, 2006). Millard (2014) and Fauls (2008) further underscore that while competitions can serve as catalysts for musical growth and cultural exchange, an excessive focus on evaluation risks diminishing intrinsic motivation. Despite these contributions, research on choral competitions remains limited, especially outside the U.S. context.

Recognizing both the positive and challenging dimensions of choir competitions, this study seeks to explore how choir conductors perceive their role within competitive frameworks and how competitions influence their educational practices. It examines conductors’ approaches to competition participation, repertoire selection, and motivational strategies. Utilizing an anonymous online survey across multiple European countries, this quantitative study gathers insights from conductors working with singers aged 15 to 19. The survey addresses conductors’ views on competition-related benefits, motivation, and definitions of success, analyzed through descriptive and causal-nonexperimental methods. The results of preliminary findings, as broader research is planned as part of a doctoral study, suggest varied conductor perspectives, reflecting a range of educational and artistic values within choral pedagogy. These insights aim to inform a more nuanced understanding of how competitions shape the professional development of conductors and influence the artistic journey of their choirs, balancing performance goals with long-term motivation and community engagement.

As an affordable and accessible instrument, the ukulele offers valuable opportunities for creative expression in music education, making it an important tool in music education programs. Research also supports its integration into diverse educational settings (Doebler, 2021; Giebelhausen & Kruse, 2018; Kruse, 2013; Thibeault & Evoy, 2011).

This study, conducted at the Department of Music Education, Bursa Uludağ University, examines the integration of improvisation and movement-based approaches into ukulele teaching. It focuses on the development of vocal improvisation skills, creativity and emotional states in music education students using the ukulele as a teaching tool. A needs assessment conducted in the spring of 2024 led to the introduction of an elective ukulele course designed to integrate ukulele knowledge into the pedagogical practices of future music educators. Sixteen students who chose to take the elective ukulele course participated in a 10-week class that included structured vocal improvisation activities while learning to play the ukulele. By incorporating rhythmic, tonal and movement-based activities, the lessons encourage students to explore musical improvisation and develop their individual musical voices in a supportive, student-centered environment.

Data collection includes pre- and post-assessments to measure creative thinking (Torrance Test of Creative Thinking) and improvisation skills, assessed using a researcher-developed rubric. Emotional states are tracked using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), while qualitative data are gathered through researcher journals and semi-structured interviews. Preliminary observations suggest an increase in improvisational ease and creativity, with students demonstrating increased confidence in generating unique musical ideas in spontaneous music-making.

The results of the study will highlight the potential of integrating movement-based and improvisational approaches into ukulele education. By enabling students to discover their unique musical voices and providing opportunities for spontaneous expression, the approach fosters a more inclusive and empowering music education experience that can provide a foundation for sustained emotional well-being.

European societies are generally marked by cultural heterogeneity. As this has been the case for a long period of time it holds true even more so today when migration of any kind is omnipresent. Manyfold musical practices can therefore be encountered everywhere. What does that mean for music making and music production? The German ensemble [name of the group] will be presented as an example of new ways in musical practices and in transmitting this music to youth audiences. The symposium unites three different perspectives.

Germany has since the 19^th century been a country marked by migration to and migration from the country. However, the character has changed since the middle of the 20^th century. While at first migration included mostly people with German cultural background, since the late 1950’s migration from the Mediterranean countries had prevailed. Accordingly, it made sense to think of music education in terms of a limited number of “cultures” encountering (e.g. (Adamek, 1989; Merkt, 1985). However, since the large migration numbers 2015 and since the war in Ukraine, the migration background has become more divers (Bundesregierung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, undated). Hence, the emphasis in music education both in theory and in practice is shifting from the encounter with a specific culture to the process of “culturalizing” itself (Blanchard, 2019, 2021). Talking about different musics has been the predominant form of dealing with multiculturality although the lacking of musical practices and music itself has been stressed (Riedel, 2012). The music itself has gained less attention. Cultural diversity is often regarded as a matter on concepts of didactics (cf. Schippers & Campbell, 2012), not of musics itself. Here the proposal for a symposium comes in.

In promoting creativity and diversity in music education, collaboration and responsiveness are key to group improvisation, maximising the impact of creativity-focused curricula. Drawing on the work of Vygotsky, the Activity Theory (AT) framework (Engeström, 2014) explores how practice-based activities engage children in musical expression through improvisation. Emphasising individual creativity and sociomusical responsiveness, the constructs of Creative Musical Agency (CMA) and Socio-Musical Aptitude (S-MA) (MacGlone, 2019) provide insight into the dynamic flow of musical expression and communication in children's group improvisation.

This research aims to explore children's experiences and perspectives of music engagement during improvisation activities within the AT framework, using the visual research method (Zhukov & Barrett, 2023) and the Draw-and-Tell Conversation method to capture both verbal and non-verbal communication (Driessnack, 2006).

Following a series of music improvisation activities organised by two music specialists and an educational rehabilitator as part of the Everyone Can Improvise (ECI) Erasmus project, a group of 25 children aged 6-7 were invited to draw their experiences after the activities.

Using the children's perspectives from their drawings and statements, alongside the researcher's visual perspective, three new codes were identified within the existing AT categories: movement, participation in storytelling and role-based percussion play. The storytelling, initially led by the teacher, incorporated different musical forms and provided structure through role allocation and rule setting, indicating the interaction of AT elements and contributing to a deeper understanding of the improvisation process. Ultimately, this allows the teacher to step back and let the children independently create sound stories around their own themes, further developing their CMA and S-MA.

The use of visual research methods enhances the understanding of group improvisation as a key aspect of children's musical development and provides insights into both verbal and non-verbal expression, with important implications for further research and development in this field.

In an era where music education is evolving to embrace student-centered expression
and creativity through an inclusive musical dialogue, understanding the factors that
contribute to engaging and transformative learning experiences is crucial.
This study investigates the complex interplay between task constraints, learner
characteristics, and flow experiences during musical improvisation in schools. Using
a quasi-experimental design, 111 intermediate-level music students completed four
improvisation tasks that varied in degrees of improvisational freedom and preparation
time. Flow experiences were measured after each task, along with assessments of
personality, musical skills, and self-regulation.
Results showed significantly higher flow states under low constraints, when
improvising freely and with preparation time. Self-regulation was found to be a key
mediating factor, with highly self-regulated students maintaining flow even under
more constrained conditions. The type of improvisation task and experience with
improvisation were the strongest predictors of flow, followed by self-regulation,
openness to experience and class group.
These findings support a shift towards a more process-oriented, student-centered
approach to teaching improvisation that considers individual differences and fosters
self-regulatory skills. By examining how to structure improvisation activities to
enhance engagement across diverse learners, this research contributes to our
understanding of creating inclusive and transformative music education
experiences. Ultimately, our research can contribute to innovative approaches that
empower individuals to find and express their unique musical voices.
In this contribution we will present the main findings of our study and elaborate on the practical implications for music education and teacher training from the framework of
constraint-led pedagogy.

Relationships between music making and human well-being is a main topic in music pedagogy, because making music is related to personality development, creative self-expression and increasing the quality of life. Singing is a unique activity during which the human brain is involved in almost all cognitive processes: music perception, cognition, emotion management, learning and memorization (Hendry et al., 2022).

The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between the well-being of boys' choir members and singing in the choir. Since the satisfaction with life scale evaluates an individual's conscious evaluative judgment of his or her life using the individual's own criteria, it is advised as a complement to scales that concentrate on psychopathology or emotional well-being. For the purpose of this research, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWL) questionnaire adapted for the children has been used. Scale consists of a 5 item self - report measure, which is designed to measure global life satisfaction of children and adolescents. The scale was adapted for children from the Ed Diener (1985) original Satisfaction With Life Scale.

The Sample consists of 30 boys choir singers and 30 boys who were not singing in the choir as a control group. The sample has the same school, age range (8 to 13), grades (2 to 7), education system and socio demographic.

Choir singing promotes a sense of happiness, increases the ability to concentrate, singing involves learning and activating processes of perception, thinking, memory and imagination, promotes a sense of belonging. The above processes are essential factors in promoting well-being. However, it is still unclear to what degree the individual level of musical engagement and musical skills is related to the subjectively perceived level of satisfaction with life in school-aged children.

Lithuanian traditional polyphonic songs, known as sutartinės, enjoy a distinctive and significant place in the world’s musical heritage. These songs are characterised by a distinctive musical language (narrow range of melodies; cross-rhythms and rhythmic syncopations; seconds between voices, archaic forms of polyphony), old texts and elements of ritual choreography. The musical language and performance peculiarities of Sutartinės offer a wide range of possibilities for their use in the music classroom, developing students' musicianship and music listening skills.

Aims: to introduce the participants to the Lithuanian polyphonic songs Sutartinės; to try out various ways of performing them; to demonstrate the possibilities of using them in the music classroom (including performance, composing, music listening).
The structure of the Workshop:
1. Brief presentation of the Sutartines' genre: features of their musical language and peculiarities of their performance.
2. Singing practice: with the workshop participants we will try out the archaic polyphony techniques of the Sutartinės: antiphony (call-and-response), drone, paraphony in parallel seconds, canon.
3. Creative activity: composing polyphonic songs according to the given conditions.
4. Active Music Listening: elements of the Sutartinės in symphonic music by Lithuanian composers (J. Juzeliunas' Symphony No. 5: The Songs of the Plains); Rock-Sutartinės’ karaoke.
5. Summarising the possibilities of using Sutartinės in a classroom; discussion and questions.

Presenters of this workshop hope that this genre of Lithuanian vocal polyphony will be of interest to music educators of other countries, enriching the class repertoire, opening up new experiences and opportunities for music making.

In improvisation, players are confronted with the unpredictable. The degree of the unpredictable, however, varies depending on the objective and style of each improvisation. In this workshop, I will introduce various improvisation prompts and concepts using practical exercises, followed by guided reflections to help participants make use of what they have experienced. This includes the question of how a concept or task can be adapted for different target groups. Here I draw on years of trying to find tasks interesting for beginners as well as experienced improvisers.
We will play improvisation games featuring body percussion and vocals and talk about how to transfer their principles to different instruments. After each improvisation, we will reflect on the didactic principles behind the rules applied. We will also discuss the question when it makes more sense to use non-musical cues such as texts, titles, pictures, films, etc., and when it seems more advisable to work exclusively with musical criteria, including reasons.
More general topics we will discuss are: The impact of improvisation in terms of decision making, individual responsibility for musical production results when improvising as part of an ensemble, developing democratic skills, dealing with mistakes, the potential of improvisation for working with big heterogenic groups, and the inclusivity of the games played throughout the workshop.

References:

Darling, D. (2011): Return to child..

Healy, D.J. and Lansinger Ankney, K. (2020) Music Discovery: Improvisation for the Large Ensemble and Music Classroom. Oxfort University Press.Heble, A. and Laver, M. (2016) Improvisation and Music Education: Beyond the Classroom..

Kanack, A. K. and Smolen, S. J. (2012): Improvising string quartets: Part of the creative ability development series. Company.

Sawyer, R. K. (Ed.) (2011): Structure and Improvisation in Creative Teaching..

Stevens, J. (2007) Search and reflect. A music workshop handbook..

Hand in hand with the development of the new competency-oriented curricula for music in Austrian schools, a series of learning sequences were developed specifically for primary schools as music for every day. Nearly all of them can also be easily transferred to secondary level or Higher Education. They can be found on the Pedagogy Package website of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Their use is free. These learning tasks are exemplary, have a high quality in terms of subject didactics and correspond to the requirements of the new curricula. Many also include dialogical-integrative learning approaches. Teachers can use them directly 1:1 in class or as inspiration for their own ideas on developing learning tasks. In addition, they should also initiate and promote processes of collaborative lesson development and Practitioner Research between students or teachers in school practice and Higher Education. This creates learning opportunities that shapes music lessons more innovative today and in the future.

As one example among many, during the workshop first the method concept "Tableaux Vivants with Music" will be presented. Music by Johann Strauss will be linked to his monument in Vienna Stadtpark, or a painting by Renoir to the music of Satie and much more. The Participants create still images called Tableaux Vivants. In this way, they begin processes of storytelling without words and in an improvised way, combining elements of music with art, history, technology and more. Subsequent reflection discussions about what was experienced and observed lead and broaden the view from the learning environment of school and university to people, communities and their places, where the engagement with music and art in dialogue with others also plays a central role. Some further selected parts from these curricular-related learning sequences finally deepen what is intended by “Music for Every day”.

This workshop is grounded on a theoretical model by the title the Multisensory Musical Design (MMD). At the paper, three main features, faces, spaces and timelines are being defined as meanings for learning in music as integrated in education. The MMDesign theoretical model was developed for a flexible reflection tool, both for the degrees towards early childhood – and primary school teacher qualifications. It connects with the student teachers’ experiences of live music before the studies, during the music course, and towards the future motivation, supported with individual goal setting and a pedagogical learning process, within the framework of the course.

The aims of this workshop are set for a hands-on experience of the tool. Faces, spaces and timelines are grounded on the musical-linguistic elements, and explored both as intrapersonal and interpersonal dialogues. This theoretically defined model will be explored to understand the humanly-oriented nature of the multidisciplinary, multidimensional musical phenomena. A creation of a comprehension for the deepest layers of a music experience as integrated in learning will be aimed for, to foster the work of the ISME SIGPrime network.

The activity includes a short music learning experience, the dive in to the MMD tool in practice, and a shared discussion, supported by the core ideas of the theory behind the tool. A holistic music lesson goal-oriented plan model is being used as a support for the reflection of the learning experiences.

The MMD Forms reflection tool will be openly shared for the participants to use and further develop / adopt for various individual purposes. It is being supported by prior paper publications. This open process will support the further developmental dialogues, to access music as integrated especially in generalist education, supported by the work of the ISME SIGPrime network, sharing the practice-based research with the EAS PriME group

The EDI Guidelines (https://www.ediguidelines.se), an outcome of the Swedish government funded practice-based school research project “The Digital Student - Challenges and Opportunities with the Computer as an Instrument in Music Education” (2021-2024), provide a valuable resource for integrating Electronic Digital Instruments (EDI) into music education in upper secondary school. This workshop is designed to test these guidelines in a practical setting and equip educators with the tools to implement them in their own teaching practices.

During the workshop, participants will engage with the EDI Guidelines through hands-on activities, including creating, producing, and performing music using digital tools. Participants need to bring their own laptop with Ableton Live installed (link to free 30-day trial: https://www.ableton.com/en/trial/), control surface (such as Ableton Push, Novation Launchpad, or keyboard), headphones and necessary cables to connect everything together.

The workshop will feature presentations and case studies that demonstrate real-time collaborative music-making by students and teachers. Attendees will have the opportunity to test the guidelines, providing feedback and insights that will help refine and improve the resource.

Key objectives of the workshop include:

• Testing the EDI Guidelines through practical application in a workshop setting.

• Gaining hands-on experience with digital music-making tools.

• Gathering feedback to enhance the guidelines for future use.

• Inspiring participants to implement and adapt the guidelines in their own teaching environments.

By focusing on the practical application and future implementation of the EDI Guidelines, this workshop aligns with the theme of the 32nd EAS Conference, “Unlocking Voices: Shaping Music Education Futures.” It aims to empower educators to embrace emerging technologies and innovative approaches, fostering a dynamic and inclusive music education landscape. This workshop, part of a learning offer developed in the ERASMUS+ funded project TEAM (https://teacher-academy-music.eu), offers the opportunity to join a teachers' network to further explore and implement the EDI-guidelines in music education practice.

Latin America is renowned for its rich cultural diversity, which significantly influences the daily musical practices of Brazilian children. This workshop seeks to immerse participants in a variety of methodologies, exploring rhythms and diverse music styles from the region. Additionally, it will address themes such as creativity, musical play, planning, and effective classroom management. The session has three axes. The first one is a set of active and creative music and movement practices based in Latin American repertoire, organised as a class designed for children 0-8 years. The second axis is the reflection on the main concepts and theories that define our latest research approaches. The third axis is the discussion on how we plan and conduct music classes for children under that framework. Sample activities: “Tic tac carambola,” a song with movement involving sound and silence where participants dance and suddenly stop during moments of silence; and “Eu morava na areia, sereia”, a song with question-and-answer verses, encouraging lyrics improvisation and creating an original way of interacting through the rhythm of the words. The main concepts involved in the workshop are: i) the importance of exploration in fostering creativity for babies (Thompson, 2001); ii) the role of music in children’s cultures (Sarmento, 2021) in and outside teaching and learning contexts; iii) the dimensions of self-knowledge, autonomy, and diversity involved in musical creativity (Nachmaninovitch, 1990); and iv) the connections between musical creativity and children’s musical agency (Madalozzo, 2024) in different teaching and learning settings. The main implications for future practices are the discussion on how creativity leads to autonomy in expressing oneself through music, ultimately increasing interest and enjoyment in participation; and the reflection on planning and classroom management, focusing on structuring music classes for children where the adult-teachers’ eyes and ears are tuned to their musical background.

This study examines the professional experiences and expectations placed on young female music educators entering municipal music schools in Germany. As Heilmann (2001) describes, women are often confined to stereotypical expectations of gentleness and agreeableness in the workplace – and when they deviate from these norms, they frequently disrupt the preconceived beliefs of those around them. These dynamic shapes the professional actions and self-perception of young female music educators, presenting them with specific challenges. Against this backdrop, the study explores how young women experience the expectations placed on their behavior upon starting their careers and how they navigate these pressures.

The study is based on interviews with three female-perceived music educators in their first three years of employment in music schools, utilizing Grounded Theory, as outlined by Anselm Strauss and Barney Glaser, to systematically capture and analyze their experiences. The theoretical framework draws on Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and social field, as well as Judith Butler's theories of subjectivation and gender. The concept of "participatory interest" describes the tension between adaptation and resistance within the social field of the "music school."

The findings reveal that the work environment in music schools defines specific realms of action for female music educators, strongly shaped by gender-specific and age-related expectations. This dynamic of adaptation and resistance influences both the educators' self-perception and positioning within the institution. By focusing on gender-specific and age-related constructs, as well as concepts like agency and subjectivation, this study highlights how social expectations can either reinforce or disrupt the performative reproduction of gender roles, impacting the agency and professional identity of female music educators.

This research contributes to music education scholarship by highlighting the previously overlooked perspective of young female music educators and examining the significance of social lines of difference within the music school profession.

Music education in primary schools plays a key role in the development of children, providing them with fundamental knowledge, experiences, and skills related to music. In the context of contemporary education and a complex, globalized, and increasingly digitalized economy and society, creativity and critical thinking represent key skills that need to be developed (Vincent-Lancrin, S. et al., 2019). Creative musical activities in primary school education, including improvisation, composition, and music creation in both individual and group settings, encourage students to actively engage in making and experiencing music. Through this process, educators can nurture each student's unique interests by focusing on their musical and personal development, empowering them to cultivate musical identities and express their creativity.

This study presents findings from an analysis of curriculum reforms in primary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on Sarajevo Canton, the first region to implement a reformed curriculum with innovative teaching methods in the 2022/2023 school year. This curriculum incorporates various musical activities to enhance students' engagement, and for the first time, "Creativity and Performing Music" has been introduced as one of the three main areas in the Music subject across all grades. To evaluate the impact of these changes, research was conducted among music teachers in Sarajevo Canton using a questionnaire that featured both open-ended and closed-ended questions, along with a five-point Likert scale to assess the effect of creative musical activities on students and the teaching process. The findings emphasize the significance of incorporating creative musical activities into the curriculum and their role in promoting educational and curricular reforms. However, improvement is needed in their integration into lessons, especially considering active student participation in this domain. Prioritizing creative musical activities in primary curricula is essential for future music education reforms, acknowledging students' benefits and the challenges music education faces in contemporary society.

There is a consensus between worldwide policy-makers on the impact that AI will have on the education sector long before ChatGPT opened pandora`s box (Giannini 2018). Since 2022 – with the ubiquitous availability of AI chatbots – the resulting implications for the general public have become tangible. How extensive the consequences can possibly be, has also been subject of expert discussions (Weßels 2023). Following these thoughts, it is hardly surprising that AI is pervading and will continue to pervade the field of music education. Within music education, the current guidelines and frameworks (e.g. for the use of digital media, AI etc.) have been undermined virtually overnight by the enormous power of AI, while it is becoming the new default setting of people's everyday worlds (Bade 2023) which in turn carries the potential for a great divide: The rapid development of partially deregulated markets contrasts with educational systems that tend to be rigid. Chaos seems to be inevitable here, since across different borders there might be ideas and concepts, but no AI regulation act yet to channel disparate flows of information, ideas, thoughts and developments or to give them a framework.

The paper seeks to channel different voices and concepts that have been presented so far (Holster 2024, Zhang et al. 2024, Qian 2023, Sánchez-Jara et. al. 2024, Arnecke et. al. 2024, Milakis et. al. 2024, Bade 2023) in a comparative study to gain an overview and deeper understanding of the various discourses circling around AI and music education. The aim is to reveal the different degrees of depth of human-machine interaction within the different case-scenarios and to make the respective role of human or non-human actors visible within what I call human-computer-interaction music education. Key takeaways should be a deeper reflectivity for music educators wanting to implement AI in their teaching.

Since the beginning of humankind, the use and development of technologies have played an essential role in enhancing human abilities and creating new possibilities for action and expression. As such, new technologies have captured the imaginations of (music) educational scholars and practitioners.

One of the latest developments in the evolution of digital (educational) technologies is the ability to enrich or "augment" reality with digital content, thereby establishing an "augmented reality" (AR). The integration of Augmented Reality (AR) into Music Education (MusEdAR) seems to have great potential due to its multimodal nature and modes of interaction. However, it is still in a nascent state.

In this presentation, I explain the need for a solid interdisciplinary knowledge base to advance and pedagogically anchor the design and use of MusEdAR (Nijs & Behzadaval, 2024). First, I critically discuss the current state of the art in MusEdAR. I then propose a pedagogical framework for designing and using new MusEdAR applications, and I provide concrete ideas on how to implement this framework.

In addition, based on the framework, I discuss gesture-based MusEdAR as a promising avenue, connecting it to the Internet of Musical Things, which involves an extension of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm to the musical domain (Nijs & Turchet, 2024).

Finally, I discuss the need for fundamental research on the use of movement and visuals, in view of their evidence-informed implementation into MusEdAR. I exemplify with an ongoing study, involving the use of different types of visualisation to support synchronisation with music (Behzadaval, Tekampe, & Nijs, in preparation).

Inclusion and acceptance of diversity through the arts are central themes in the ongoing discussions within the educational community. Through a broad range of theories, educators can shape their own personal views and practices on these issues. But what happens when, in real working conditions, they are called upon to act inclusively? This paper voices the experiences of a team of educators—a music teacher, two special education teachers, and a psychologist—working at a Special Education Primary School who, responding to a call by the Greek National Opera, participated in a music-theater program.

The program, titled “The talisman”, aimed at introducing students and educators of general primary schools to the world of musical theater and preparing them for a final performance at the end of the school year. Starting with the train-the-trainer method, educators were trained in innovative teaching methods and techniques (such as “From Ear to Body” by Dimitra Trypani) to deepen their understanding of the musical and theatrical requirements of the play, which they then applied as informal learning practices to their students. Aware that the program was designed for general education students, the educators of the special education school had to utilize every educational tool available to achieve the best possible preparation for their students. Using a holistic approach and personalized learning strategies tailored to their students' needs, the educators used a variety of resources including new and "open-source" technologies, sketch drawing, storytelling and more, to promote inclusion -not just in theory, but in practice.

Through personal reflection, diary recordings, and informal discussions with the participating educators, students, and their parents, this case study highlights the preparation process for a group of children with multiple disabilities to participate equally in a music-theater performance, along with the challenges and ethical dilemmas that arose, as well as the outcomes achieved.

Group improvisation might empower students to express their unique musical voices. Indeed, each student is invited to choose his own way to contribute to a shared music performance. This can be described as a creative experience following the framework proposed by Glaveanu and Beghetto (2021), as group improvisation is intrinsically linked to bodily moment-to-moment interaction and its result is an emerging musical quality. In this sense, the concept of embodiment has gained rising interest in music education research and creativity (Bremmer, 2015; Bremmer & Nijs, 2020, 2022; Schiavio & Nijs, 2022). According to the 4E approach to musical creativity (Van der Schyff et al.,2018), the place of the body can be considered as central for understanding musical interaction and learning. From this perspective, improvisation can be considered as a dynamic creative process where cognition is embodied (linked to bodily actions), embedded in a specific environment (situated), which can be extended by social interaction and artifacts, leading to an emergent quality of understanding, the enactive cognition (Hayes, 2019).

The aim of this qualitative study is to (1) identify the determining aspects of the creative experience in group improvisation, and (2) to describe the role of the body. An arts integration project through group improvisation was developed over twelve lessons with students (13- to 14-year-olds) from a secondary school in Madrid Province (Spain). Participant and non-participant observation, and group interviews were implemented, transcribed, and coded thematically (Braun & Clarke, 2020).

The results show group improvisation as a dialogical, and meaningful creative experience, in connecting students to each other. Their feelings and sensations are identified as significant elements to construct their creative actions. The body acted in different ways to bring forth musical ideas in an open-ended process where musical qualities emerge in real time experiences.

The ability to accompany songs is a crucial component of general music teachers' professional competence, as outlined in teacher education regulations (e.g., KMK, 2019, p. 42). The present study deals with classroom-specific instrumental accompaniment, understood as a general term for activities where teachers accompany the melody of a vocal song (or instrumental piece) with a self-played and created guitar arrangement (Uhl et al., 2021). Successful professional performance in this area of work demands a high level of professional skills (Puffer & Hofmann, 2022).

The present study aims to identify the specific professional requirements for guitar-based song accompaniment in schools and situate them within a framework of teachers’ professional competence (Blömeke et al., 2015; Puffer, 2021). To achieve this, a mixed-methods approach was applied, combining a systematic literature review with expert interviews with experienced school and university music teachers. Interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz & Rädiker, 2023). In a third step, the results from the literature review and interview analyses were combined to create an empirically supported, domain-specific model of professional competence.

Data analysis revealed that high-quality song accompaniment in general music classrooms requires much more than just musical abilities and skills. Further competencies, such as domain-specific professional knowledge, are essential and closely intertwined with musical proficiency. Additionally, the capacity to adapt both musical performance and instructional strategies to the current situation and the students’ needs seems essential for optimally supporting their musical learning. This adaptability can be seen as a mediating factor between individual abilities and skills.

The findings of this study can inform the further development of music teacher education programs and serve as a foundation for future research. The presentation provides deeper insights into the research process as well as additional results.

As part of a composition commission from Theater St.Gallen, I am creating a 20-minute piece for the St.Gallen Symphony Orchestra, scheduled to premiere in May 2025. The theme of the composition, "The Sound of St.Gallen," aims to integrate the acoustic impressions and perceptions of St.Gallen’s population into the work. This approach fosters a dialogue between artists and the public, enhancing participation, inclusion, and involvement by actively embedding residents into the creative process.

Unlocking Voices: In classical concerts, the audience often represents a hidden and largely overlooked voice. In our project, however, the public’s voice is invited, heard, and woven into the resulting music. Through a series of workshops, residents are encouraged to share and refine their interpretations of the city’s characteristic sounds. In these workshops, running from September 2024 to February 2025, we sing, improvise, listen to music, discuss, arrange, and create together. Musicians from the orchestra also participate in the workshops, enabling an exchange of ideas between professional musicians and the community, along with collaborative experimentation in sound and music. As the composer, I will ultimately weave these ideas into the composition.

At the 32nd EAS Conference in Portugal, I like to explore the community’s role in the composition process and the challenges and successes of this participatory approach in my presentation. I will focus on how this concept, with its participatory methods and social engagement, serves as an innovative framework to fostering a forward-looking, enriching music education. The goal is to demonstrate, how active co-creation and community dialogue can contribute to developing a more inclusive and diverse music practice. Finally, I’m looking forward to engaging in a discussion on the influence and significance of participation and inclusion in contemporary music with the audience at the EAS Conference.

This round table focuses on the great opportunities we see in strengthening the student voice during music teacher training in certain ways. It will start with general thoughts and visions on the relevance and chances for empowering the students voice in music teacher training: How can we motivate students for active participation in the study programs? Where and how can we offer space for co-responsibility and co-design? As cooperation competence is one of 17 ‘future skills’ that are considered essential to promote in students as part of higher education (Ehlers, 2020), we will ask: How can we support collaboration and (international) networking, as we know that future generations and future (music) teachers will have to deal with tasks and challenges that they will only be able to solve in cooperation with other highly qualified people. They should not only develop their individual cooperation skills during music teacher training, but also become motivated to help shaping the study environment, to bring new projects into life and take co-responsibility.

Specific examples of successful projects, which strengthened the student voice will be presented (including reflecting surveys), like the new successful and constantly growing network of music teacher training students from music universities in Germany (“SchulMusikAustausch“).

A central aim of this round table is to include the perspectives of all participants and to learn from each other. Therefore we will use different working methods to encourage the colleagues (and hopefully also students from various countries/institutions) to discuss crucial questions in different groups and in the plenum.

Student mobility and school internships abroad open doors to places of learning that expand and create spaces for a diversity of voices. Which international gates are open to all our music education students? What baggage do they claim? This round table session presents insights from the ERASMUS+ project TEAM (Teacher Education Academy for Music), which seeks to reshape music teacher education (MTE) by enhancing student mobility and fostering inclusive learning experiences abroad.

While international experiences at esteemed institutions are valued for enriching MTE, mobility remains complex, with low participation among performing arts students (Hovdhaugen & Wiers-Jenssen, 2021). Diverse MTE curricula and financial barriers further complicate mobility, challenging the provision of equitable exchange opportunities across Europe.

Mobility is about navigating departures and arrivals, providing students with access to diverse educational experiences and the opportunity to expand their personal, cultural and professional perspectives. For example, by participating in a school internship abroad, students learn to question their existing perceptions of normality (Rotter, 2014), and are supported in the development of language sensitivity and other skills which are increasingly important in educational contexts (e.g., Cheng & Huang, 2023; Marx & Moss, 2021, Habron, 2007).

In this session, we share developments from the TEAM project. First, we will introduce design principles for mobility. These principles, informed by study plan analyses, a comprehensive literature review, and qualitative interviews with students, teachers, and administrators, aim to support meaningful mobility experiences. We invite participants to join our discussion, offering feedback and sharing their perspectives on the proposed design principles. Second, we will present and discuss helpful hands-on tools for accompanying school internships abroad. These tools (e.g. mentoring materials, tools for fostering cultural sensitivity) have been developed in a Design Research setting (Bakker, 2018) and will be used in the new TEAM-IN Network to which participants are welcome.

Singing has been shown to enhance children’s general well-being while promoting social skills and a sense of agency. Music educators should think creatively about incorporating singing into their classrooms to promote these ideals.

We believe that every child is innately musical and has the ability to listen, sing, dance and express themselves through music. Well-designed learning experiences can bring out the “whole musician” in every child. In addition to musical development, music education also fosters critical thinking, psychomotor skills, social awareness and moral and cultural values — essential components of holistic development and agency. Singing, as one of the most accessible forms of musical expression, enables educators to teach children to become responsible, creative and self-determined individuals, rather than passive listeners or imitators.

This session will present a holistic approach to singing based on multinational experiences with children. The focus is on promoting ownership and self-management by emphasising individuality, creativity and equality. Participants will take part in dynamic activities including quick response exercises, singing with movement, body percussion, dance, movement improvisation and creative techniques that address the themes of democracy and inclusion in the music classroom.

By integrating singing and music activities, educators can encourage children to develop their sense of agency by:

(a) making independent choices,

(b) interacting with their peers,

(c) expressing feelings and taking initiative, and

(d) being recognised as active, capable musicians.

This session will introduce strategies that use singing and movement as a means to support individual agency and encourage active participation inside and outside the classroom.

The Cantar Mais website (https://www.cantarmais.pt) is a comprehensive resource for music education, offering a wide range of songs, educational materials and tools for teachers and students.

This interactive presentation will guide participants in exploring and effectively using the resources available on the Cantar Mais website, while engaging in musical activities, as follows:

• overview of the Cantar Mais project and its mission to integrate singing into children's education;
• how to free register and access the Cantar Mais website and how to navigate through different key sections;
• exploring repertoire and educational materials, guiding participants in selecting a song from the different categories available, including Portuguese and world traditional songs;
• how to access and use related educational materials, such as sheet music, lyrics, video and audio files.
• how to use the different musical resources in classroom settings, emphasizing interactive and creative methods.
• experiencing diverse ways of teaching and learning songs;
• interactive song exploration and singing, including a lyrics creation activity.

This is a presentation that combines a practical website navigation with engaging hands-on activities, ensuring that participants leave inspired and ready to use Cantar Mais' resources in their musical life and activities.

Note:

Number of participants: 50 (maximum)

Materials needed:

• Computers/tablets/smartphones with internet access
• Projector and screen
• Speakers for audio playback

Graphic Suite is a performative action that blends experimental music, dance and technology to explore the interaction between sound, body and objects in artistic creation (Murillo et al., 2024). This interdisciplinary work employs unconventional instruments and electronic devices, rethinking the notions of "instrument" and "musician" while fostering co-creation among performers. Participants integrate movement and sound in a collaborative process, dissolving boundaries between music, dance and visual art to create an immersive experience.

The activity unfolds in three phases: Introduction, Color and Resonances. In the first phase, sound improvisation and collective movement are encouraged through objects such as lanterns and plastic materials. The Color phase delves into voice and free movement using light and plastic, expanding participants’ sensory perception. In Resonances, industrial fans are used to transform the space, creating sonic and visual landscapes in interaction with plastic and light.

This performative action is grounded in an inclusive pedagogical perspective (O’Neill, 2015)​, where all participants, regardless of background, are considered creators. The goal is to highlight collaboration and accessibility in artistic creation, incorporating improvisational techniques and sensory exploration that stimulate creativity and communication across artistic languages. In terms of practice implications, Graphic Suite invites a rethinking of traditional pedagogical models, promoting an inclusive and experimental approach to music education that explores the plasticity of form through sound, dance, and ephemeral sculpture.

Time: 90 minutes.

Technical Requirements: Large, dark space; two industrial fans.

Participants: Up to 25

Art for childhood has still had little space for discussion in music teacher training courses. Therefore, based on the need to provide undergraduate students with a space for musical creation and performance for children, combining classroom experiences with performance experiences, the Bambulha Group: Music for Children was created in 2019. This is an Outreach Project of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, which aims to encourage artistic/musical and academic production and creating a space for dialogue on music for childhood production (Broock, et al, 2020). The Bambulha Group develops actions such as: musical performances for children in schools and several spaces and workshops for children and educators. In addition, the project offers the annual course called Children's Music and Cultural Production, which is the focus of this experience report. The course is aimed at undergraduate students in music and other areas and aims to discuss musical production FOR, WITH and OF children, and different conceptions of childhood (Ramos, 2018; Carvalho, 2022). The course has been organized into three parts: (1) theoretical and conceptual discussion about music and childhood (Ilari, 2009; Beineke, 2008; Pereira, 2010; Schafer, 2011); (2) open classes with invited educators and artists; (3) practical experiences including creation of a children's song and a small artistic performance open to the public, considering elements analyzed and discussed during the classes. The experiences lived in this project have constituted necessary laboratory where teaching and artistic practice have been able to coexist in direct contact with children. Students in the course could reflect on issues related to art for childhood, compose songs and create performances for children, expanding their educational practices. Considering the university environment, we perceive how such actions have privileged the relationships between Teaching, Research, and Outreach Actions, having as a guiding thread the theme of art for children.

This research explores the current situation of primary school music education in Wuhan, China, focusing on the perspectives and challenges faced by music teachers. Using a cross-sectional descriptive empirical analysis method, the research involved 423 primary school music teachers from Wuhan. It employed the existing "Questionnaire on the Situation of Music Education in Primary Education in Beijing and Shanghai," which has psychometric properties validated for reliability and validity. The Mann-Whitney U-test (Mann & Whitney, 1947) was used to determine significant differences in teachers' performance across variables such as socio-demographic profiles, habits, and resources available in the classroom. The analysis of questionnaire dimensions revealed that teachers in Wuhan were particularly concerned with categories such as materials and resources, current legislation, evaluation, methodology, the current state of school music, and professional self-perception. Teachers in Beijing and Shanghai also showed high levels of concern for materials and resources as well as current legislation, underscoring these as common focal points across the three regions.

This research is grounded in constructivist and critical pedagogy theories, emphasizing the co-construction of knowledge through teacher-student interaction and focusing on the roles of teachers in the education system, as well as the influence of socio-cultural factors on music education practices. These theories provide an academic perspective and practical guidance for analyzing the challenges faced by Wuhan’s primary school music education.

The insights from Beijing and Shanghai serve as a reference point for identifying systemic challenges in Wuhan. By highlighting key areas of concern, this research aims to raise awareness among Wuhan educators and policymakers, promoting improvements in music education practices. It also lays the foundation for further comparative research on common issues in primary school music education across China.

In recent years, musical improvisation has gained increasing attention in music education discourse (Treß, 2022). As a result, the integration of improvisational formats into teacher training has also been promoted (Biasutti, 2017; Treß et al., 2022; Wright & Kanellopoulos, 2010). However, there is still limited empirical research on the learning and reflection processes that take place in teacher students when engaging with improvisation.

This study investigates music education students' reflections on their attitudes toward vocal improvisation, using situational analysis as the methodological framework (Clarke et al., 2015). The analysis draws on voice memos recorded by participants immediately after improvisation seminars, capturing authentic and spontaneous reflections. The aim of the study is to understand how students perceive improvisation and what factors influence shifts in their attitudes. Through situational analysis, the study also explores how individual reflections and social contexts shape students' perceptions.

The findings indicate a significant change in students' openness and confidence regarding improvisation. A key factor highlighted by participants was the collaborative and supportive environment of the group, which encouraged them to explore creative ideas without embarrassment. Additionally, students were surprised to discover the wide range of forms that improvisation can take, including unconventional sounds, which expanded their understanding of the concept.

This study aligns with the conference theme Empowering Diverse Voices in Music Education by exploring how music teacher students engage with vocal improvisation, fostering creativity and self-expression in an inclusive, collaborative environment. By focusing on student-centered learning, the research emphasizes the transformative impact of improvisation in shaping diverse musical identities and broadening students' understanding of musical practices beyond traditional genres.

The integration of advanced technologies into music education has revolutionized the learning experience. This transformation is rooted in the foundational educational theories of constructivism. Digital applications have proven to be powerful tools that enable students to build their musical understanding both independently and through collaboration with peers. This approach has been particularly effective through game-based learning, which creates an immersive and enjoyable environment where students can successfully engage with various musical tasks within the curriculum framework. The evolution of these educational technologies continues to advance, with Extended Reality (XR) tools now offering students opportunities to develop even deeper musical knowledge and skills.

Our practice-based research in Cyprus public secondary schools, investigated technology-enhanced music education, across Key Stages 3 and 4, involving over 70 students. This practice-based research implemented various technological tools, that could support musical skill development (listening, singing and composing), as defined by the National Music Curriculum of Cyprus.

These technological interventions included Virtual Musical Instruments, AI-powered learning platforms/applications (EarMaster, AIVA and Semi-Conductor), XR performance simulators (Virtuoso and Maestro- VR games, Merge Cube- MR & AR application), and various DAWs (Bandlab and Soundtrap). Preliminary findings revealed significant student engagement, increased motivation and musical comprehension, based on the assessment of students’ resulting compositions and self-evaluations of their experience, skills-development and enjoyment of these lessons. These positive results were particularly noteworthy given the implementation challenges faced across school environments, including limited access to technological resources and the necessity for external technical support.

This practice-based talk contributes to understanding how advanced digital technologies can create more inclusive, interactive music learning experiences that accommodate diverse student backgrounds and learning styles, as well as offer creative and innovative pedagogical ideas for the inclusion of technology in the music classroom.

In my PhD project, I investigate how songwriter-producers learn, particularly in bedroom studios where songwriting, producing, and instrumental practices merge (Barna, 2022). The presented part-study asks how "inspiration" is fabricated within songwriting-producing processes and what relevance this has for informal music learning. This builds on research on popular music learning in private leisure contexts (e.g. Bell, 2018; Kattenbeck, 2022) takes a socio-material perspective (Godau & Haenisch, 2019; Hvidtfeldt, 2017). The role of reception and reference has been reported for professional songwriters (e.g. Barber, 2017), but not yet for amateurs in bedroom studios, where relaxation-oriented reception and musical-generative practice are closely intertwined (Eusterbrock et al., 2021, p. 196).

The study is based on artifact-stimulated interviews with two teenage songwriter-producers and draws on Actor Network Theory (Latour, 2005) and Situational Analysis (Clarke, 2021). It traces the "chain of transformations" (Latour, 1999, p. 71) between inspiring elements, specifically the "inspiring vibe" of a model song and an "inspiring" YouTube video, and the interviewees' own songs. Tracing the chains of transformations points to essential skills for musical-creative practice in the post-digital age.

In the situations studied, the reduction of contingency through the integration of inspirational elements seems to be essential for the musical processes to be possible at all. The inspirational elements serve as orientation and reference, and thus as a link to genre-specific discourses and conventions. As access to audio fragments has never been easier, navigating the endless supply becomes a key challenge. The ability to find, select and collect inspiring elements, as well as to develop symbiotic relationships between musicians and algorithms, thus become crucial skills. So 'inspiration' is neither mystical nor a short-term motivational boost. It is the determination of a direction in a contingent, interconnected culture as well as a guiding element for the songwriting process.

Background

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, there is a serious shortage of music teachers and enrolment figures at universities for the music teaching profession are falling. The reasons for this have been uncovered by the MULEM-EX study, among others. Extensive options for action for universities were identified (Lehmann-Wermser&Witte 2024). Studying music must be made more attractive for prospective students and new concepts for music teacher training must be designed and evaluated. This is particularly important due to the fact that only trained music teachers are able to support pupils in the best possible way, regardless of how close their parents are to music (Weyrauch 2024).

Aims

While AI still hardly plays a role in music lessons at school (Weyrauch et al.,f.c.), but is to be more strongly integrated into schools and lessons in the future (KMK [10.10.2024], BMBF-project:Kumus-ProNeD[2024], Hecht&Krämer,f.c.), it is necessary to think about the possible use of AI in music teacher training, taking into account the didactic aspect. New technologies are used in music teacher training at universities, although their use differs between academic and artistic music teachers (Brunner et al. 2024).

The aim of this study is initially to compile “good-practice-examples”, which will be critically discussed in order to derive concepts for the pedagogical use of AI in the field of music at schools and universities.

Method

First, a questionnaire will be used to ask music university teachers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland whether they have already developed teaching concepts involving AI.

In the second step, music university teachers are selected from this sample and asked about their concept and its implementation with the help of a guided interview. The interviews are evaluated based on Kuckartz (Kuckartz&Rädiker 2024).

Results

The results from the questionnaires and interviews will be presented at the conference and conclusions will be discussed.

Community-based music programs can have a transformative impact on building relationships within local populations. Music teachers have long relied on the parents of our students to fill the seats of our performances and support our student’s musical growth away from the school classroom. Researchers have focused upon the use of parent “booster” organizations to provide support, raise needed funds, and advocate for healthy music programs in schools (Elpus & Grisé, 2019; Jones, 2019; Lilliedahl, 2021). These community supports are similar to those found in youth sports programs (Stefansen, Smette, & Strandbu, 2018). In an increasingly fragmented world, school music programs which prioritize community engagement hold great potential, not just for developing musical skills, but for creating stronger, more meaningful social bonds between community members. In this session, we will discuss how community engagement within school music programs can foster a sense of belonging and create support and growth for students.

As a public secondary school band teacher in Midwestern USA, my program was supported by a well-developed parent volunteer network of strangers who were motivated to work for their children. They constructed sets for end-of-year performances, fundraised to offset costs, bonded as community members and created friendships which strengthened the band program and enriched the social culture of the larger community. These contributions directly benefited the students and enhanced their musical experience.

The power of a mutual community relationship can be endlessly beneficial. Directors can work with community businesses to collaborate on music performances and supporting student success. This could include hosting a performance, providing food and beverage in the lobby, or sponsoring a fundraiser. In return, the business gains exposure in the community while investing in the success of young musicians. Through great stewardship, directors can engage community members, businesses, and the students to create a sustainable partnership model.

Background

UNESCO’s vision of transformative education is about increasing learners’ capacities and motivating them to take action for a more peaceful and sustainable planet (UNESCO, 2022).

Aims

Music education can enliven and propel learning that transforms individuals and communities. However, to realize that potential, teachers must mindfully structure and support educational experiences to optimize what students will take away (Wasiak, 2013). The research-informed Music for Transformative Education framework was designed to guide teachers in harnessing music’s transformative power.

Method

Developing the framework began with analyzing UNESCO policy documents to distil key education priorities. Next, music projects submitted by teachers from schools around the world were examined. Finally, survey and interview data from teachers in over 30 countries were collected and analyzed.

Results

The resulting framework identifies four dimensions of music learning:

• Learning actions
• Learning context
• Learning relevance
• Learning outcomes

At the heart of a music education ecosystem (Damsa et al., 2019), students engage in learning actions (e.g., preparing a performance on a theme of environmental sustainability). The actions are influenced by factors within the learning context (e.g., access to instruments and a performance space and teaching approaches). The actions are fueled by relevance to students’ lives (e.g., the opportunity to address a meaningful issue, and to communicate what they want to express). The actions lead to learning outcomes (e.g., knowledge of environmental issues, performance skills, etc.).

This paper provides descriptions of music learning projects from around the world that illustrate in detail how the framework functions in real-world applications that centre sustainability principles to raise awareness and promote environmentally responsible practices.

Conclusions and implications for music education

Music learning experiences are sites of tremendous potential. The Music for Transformative Education framework is a research-informed thinking tool to help teachers design and support transformative music learning experiences across music education contexts.

Cuts to school music education in the United Kingdom have not been felt equally, leading to concerns that access to music will only become available for the privileged few. Music conservatoires are specialist higher education providers, access to which is through audition whereby a high level of musical proficiency is expected. In 2018, only 15 out of 430 (3.5%) conservatoire entrants were from a ‘highly deprived background’ (Daubney, Spruce and Annetts, 2019: 17) and Blamey, Kokot and Scharff (2014) found that only 3.9% of conservatoire students came from areas of low higher education participation neighbourhoods.

This study sought to understand the experiences of undergraduate music students from state-school backgrounds and who had faced barriers to accessing music education growing up. Data collection took a two-staged approach with two UK conservatoire institutions during 2022-23. Firstly, an online survey (x=54), then semi-structured interviews with 9 students totalling 305 minutes. Interview participants were selected through a purposive maximal sampling approach, and data were analysed through thematic analysis.

The findings from the data emphasise the importance of access to high-level music education prior to studying, with many students from state school backgrounds feeling ‘behind’ their peers from private and specialist music schools, or those who had access to high-level music education programmes such as junior conservatoires or national level music ensembles. The findings reveal how attending these programmes helped students to develop not just higher-ability performance skills but were a significant part in students’ decisions to study music at a conservatoire, shifting their view from music as a ‘hobby’, to a serious career path. These financial barriers at such a pivotal point in a young persons’ life, should be of major concern for music education and industry stakeholders, challenging the notion of the music industry as a meritocracy.

This presentation explores possibilities of innovative music pedagogies that can relate to the challenges of current higher music education institutions, recuperating a sense of community, rather than focusing on individual practices inherited from the conservatoire’s models. The context of our work is based on the actions of ‘Projeto Conectar’, which aims to contribute to the renewal of music teaching and learning processes, centred on the human being and their creativity, in a horizontal, diverse, dialogical, and sustainable manner. We are going to discuss the process and some results from a series of workshops promoted by ‘Projeto Conectar’, that took place at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, with a group of 40 participants, among music educators, undergraduate music students and leaders of social projects, for 4 days. The main findings point out for the urgent need to change undergraduate curricula so that music students can expand their skillset – musical, artistic, social, human, being able to act in different contexts of today’s world. Participants mentioned the richness of the experiences lived in the workshops, which were based on a holistic perspective, clearly contrasting to the fragmented education they are used to receive in the university system. The consequent implications for music education will be demonstrated through ways in which quality music-making can be achieved through collaborative composition, performance, and active listening within a creative music education environment. The presenters will offer insights into exercises and approaches that enables people to feel a valued and capable participant in a shared musical experience. These processes, whether in a formal or non-formal education setting will be presented as a ‘way in’ rather than a prescribed set of activities, with effectiveness described and implemented in relation to their particular purpose and context.

Keywords: creative-collaborative practice, ensemble of possibilities, dialogical approach

This article, produced as part of the Curricular Policies and Innovation course for the PhD program in Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovation at the University of Madeira, offers a comprehensive analysis of various topics related to social inclusion. It addresses the definition of this concept, the European Union's strategies, and a range of existing projects that serve as pertinent examples. The aim is to explore how music can play a strategic role in the process of social inclusion. The Arts, particularly musical activities, emerge as a fundamental element in establishing and strengthening relationships among individuals, as evidenced by the diverse projects discussed in this study.

Throughout this work, practical examples will be presented to illustrate how artistic and social practices serve as a foundation for personal development and social integration of those involved in such initiatives. A recurring element in many of these examples is the vital role of the group, highlighting the importance of collective dynamics in promoting social inclusion as a central element in the activities undertaken.

The study thus emphasizes music as a powerful tool not only for artistic expression but also as a vehicle to promote social cohesion, personal development, and the integration of individuals in collective initiatives, thereby reinforcing the focus on social inclusion as a primary objective.

This study explores how paintings serve as stimuli and reference points for composing music in individual instrumental lessons with children aged 8 and above, focusing on their concept development, strategies, and decision-making to understand aesthetic transformation processes. Building on prior research in group composition with visual references (Kranefeld, 2008; Voit, 2018) and case studies with an associative theme (Janczik, 2024), this work examines detailed individual cases, where ten participants transformed a selected painting into music for their own instrument. The complex study framework is grounded in research on art (Pape, 2016; Sowa, 2016) and child education (Vogl, 2021). Data collection included two interviews each: one on response to the painting and corresponding initial musical ideas, and another on strategies and decisions after composition. Musical concepts were documented through composition process recordings, observations and notated and played compositions, allowing analysis of aesthetic transformation processes over time. Data is organized using MAXQDA and Miro, and analyzed with Grounded Theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1996; Strübing, 2014).

The key results focus on two major transformation types: primary (direct transformations of visually formed concepts to music) and reflective (retrospective connections of music to painting), in which – alongside previously learned musical concepts – language (Fodor, 1998) and intermodal analogies (Haverkamp, 2009) are posited central. Additionally, the study draws on theories from cognitive sciences (Margolis & Laurence, 1999) and neuropsychology (Nikolić, 2016) to extract and describe these transformations in detail, providing a deeper understanding of how visual stimuli support composition and the related perceptual and cognitive processes.

The results provide valuable insights into age-appropriate, language- and cognition-based, instrument-specific, and educational approaches to composing, which can enhance creative and instrumental teaching. This is important because composition is often underrepresented in instrumental lessons, leaving creative potential untapped.

In recent decades, music education has shifted towards innovative models that transform traditional practices. Among these, a sound-based approach stands out, emphasizing timbral exploration, creativity, and a departure from conventional tonal parameters (Landy, 2007). Similarly, a new trend advocates for contextualizing activities within interdisciplinary projects that integrate diverse languages and areas of knowledge (Murillo et al., 2024).

Petit Luthiers is a project designed to promote reflection on contemporary creative processes and encourage a cross-disciplinary perspective. It was implemented over three months in 5th grade with weekly four-hour sessions, involving 25 students, 7 teachers, and an artist-researcher. The methodology adopted a multidisciplinary, sound-based music creation approach (Landy, 2007), combining play and experimentation to explore contemporary artistic language (Murillo et al., 2024). The project’s final output was the sound design of a story, with activities including sound exploration, analog-digital experimentation, movement, and creative word games. The classroom was transformed into a laboratory for interdisciplinary artistic experimentation, fostering collaborative co-creation.

Students reflected on the creative process, noting how they developed a personal outcome from sound. They emphasized that music enabled them to imagine, create, and enjoy, with teamwork seen as essential to the experience. While teachers recognized the project’s pedagogical potential, some highlighted challenges related to its slow pace, abstraction, and a lack of motivation to continue. Both perspectives stressed the importance of teachers experiencing the process firsthand to effectively convey it and challenge stereotypes of contemporary art in education.

Landy, L. (2007). Understanding the Art of Sound Organization. The MIT Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/7472.001.0001

Murillo A., Mateu-Luján B., Tejada J. y Gonzalez-Zamora A. (2024). Activistas del sonido: niños y artistas como co-creadores en experiencias multidisciplinares con música electroacústica en un centro de alta complejidad. Arte, Individuo y Sociedad, 36(1), 169-181. https://doi.org/10.5209/aris.90246

The interaction between the arts, according to a multimodal approach, is one of the challenges of art education. It is based on the assumption that sounds can be perceived by sight and suggest imagery and energy, stimulating a cross-modal interaction (Zimmerman & Lahav, 2012). At the same time, the translation process among different domains, such as visual and sound, may enhance the expressive nuances and creativity in the arts involved. This assumption was one of the standpoints of the Italian pedagogue Bruno Munari to develop children's artistic creativity.

The pedagogical projects I will describe have been conducted with pre-service teachers of an Italian music conservatoire and with children beginner players. The first free improvisation model is based on the musical interpretation of the features of abstract paintings converted into digital motion paintings. After observing and analysing movements, colour, time, space, line thickness, and signs of an abstract painting, players are prompted to discover a musical transposition according to their instrument's or voice's expressive nuances. The second model is a musical and visual improvisation realised in real time between two children in the role of drawer and a player. The drawer interprets the sounds into a painting, and the player improvises the marks of the picture into music.

The primary purpose of this kind of free improvisation is to lead beginners and experts to explore the different qualities of the sound in a meaningful way; these qualities include variations in dynamic, articulation (legato and staccato), tempo, melodic profile, and expressive gestures while they search for a transposition from signs to sounds.

Accordingly, although each language has its own semantic and structural idioms, a multimodal approach involving visual and musical domains can provide interesting insights into children’s creativity development.

Based on the experience of almost ten years developing and implementing the first voice program specifically to educate hybrid singers specialized in Latin-American vocal styles in a four-year program at the XXX University, this proposal explores the possibilities and advantages to structure a program based on a variety of vocal styles.

The methodology applied in cross-training pedagogy is based on the following principles: a) teaching two or more styles during the lesson; b) functional training (focus on building the instrument); c) interleaved and spaced practices, with variable repertoire and/or styles (such as bossa nova on Mondays and tango on Tuesdays), without focusing primarily in repetition; d) goal towards achieving a good level in different styles, not optimal level in one style; e) vocal music appreciation of Latin-American styles (knowledge of the possibilities of this repertoire); f) focus on peer-to-peer learning, where students from different backgrounds and experience can exchange musical insights; g) foment professional preparedness and independence (to create a band, buy a microphone, know song forms and decide about keys).

In a four-year voice program, there is almost never enough time to prepare a full-fledged artist, so maybe this time could be used to multiply the student’s options and technical abilities and avoid poor musicality and lack of muscular flexibility and functionality. The results, based on the profile of students who graduated, point to an increase in artistic and aesthetic boundaries, strength, coordination and endurance as well as an expansion in vocal flexibility and stylistic independence. Also, there is a perceived growth in employability, since the music business look for singers who can perform in more than one genre, and have adaptable skills, varied repertoire, entrepreneurship, individual expression, creativity and like to collaborate with peers.

In the context of special needs education, a creative music listening tasks with a digital tool (MusicEyes) has been proposed to help students to express their emotions and to collaborate. Students are invited to transform forms and colors of a graphic score (video) provided by the tool according to their listening experience. The goal for the students is to develop transversal skills like communication, collaboration and creativity.

To foster students’ verbal expression in a creative and collaborative listening task, teachers need specific techniques to elicit musical knowledge (Chatelain et al., 2019; Zandén, 2018) and to guide classroom talk. Moreover, a secure environment is necessary to give students a feeling of confidence and a safe space for self-expression which is even mor important for vulnerable students. Specific creative scaffolding gestures can help students to develop creative ideas collaboratively (Giglio, 2015).

Our question is: Which creative scaffolding gestures are used by the teachers in a creative music listing tasks in special needs education to foster students’ verbal expression?

The task has been realized during several lessons by three groups of 3 to 8 students aged from 7 to 14 and their classroom teachers in three different institutions in Switzerland.The verbal interactions in the classroom and the interviews with the three teachers involved are transcribed. As a result of a qualitative analysis of the verbatim, different scaffolding gestures are identified.

First results show that teachers give students clear rules and guide the momement of explanation in a very tight way. With the help of the tool, specific moments of the music are pointed out that students can comment on. The task design, supported by the tool's affordance and the teaching gestures encourages vulnerable students to express their listening experience. We discuss these results by comparing them to those previously observed in ordinary classes.

This presentation delves into ongoing debates surrounding gender-neutral education and explores the unique challenges associated with male participation in choirs, spotlighting the Drakensberg Boys Choir's distinctive approach to holistic education. Unlike most boys’ choirs, the Drakensberg Boys Choir is embedded within a boarding school setting, using choral music as a central pillar in fostering the development of well-rounded individuals.

A longitudinal study conducted across 2015, 2018, and 2023 employed semi-structured questionnaires to capture choir members' perceptions of their experiences. The findings underscore the diverse range of skills—musical, social, and behavioural—that boys acquire through choir membership. These results reveal that boys’ choirs transcend mere entertainment; they serve as cultural institutions that nurture boys into socially adept and well-educated young men. This affirms the intrinsic educational and cultural value of boys’ choirs, extending far beyond their musical or traditional roles.

The study also highlights the need for boys' choirs to adapt to remain socially and educationally relevant. It urges leaders in administration and the arts to adopt innovative strategies and form interdisciplinary partnerships, leveraging multimedia tools to reframe boys’ choirs as dynamic contributors to modern music education rather than static vestiges of tradition.

Additionally, the presentation addresses the pressures placed on single-gender education by the increasing push for gender-neutral policies that prioritize inclusivity and embrace the full spectrum of gender identities. Balancing the rich traditions of boys’ choirs with the imperative to create equitable spaces presents a significant challenge for schools. Effective solutions must reconcile these traditions with the broader goal of supporting all students, regardless of gender.

Drawing on field research, online studies, and a comprehensive literature review, this work provides a pedagogical framework aimed at ensuring the continued relevance, credibility, and vitality of boys’ choirs in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.

Round Table Session (90 min)

Presenters (60 min): Rūta Girdzijauskienė (Lithuania), Chrysanthi Gregoriou (Cyprus), Ruta Kanteruka (Latvia), Branka Rotar Pance (Slovenia), Ene Kangron (Estonia)

Plenary discussion (30 min)

Moderators: Rūta Girdzijauskienė and Ene Kangron

Key topics for the discussion:

• How performing at the Olympiads contributes to empowering the students´ musical voices?
• Challenges for the future of the IMuO in the context of music education: how to motivate students to develop their creativity?

The International Music Olympiade (IMuO) is aimed to promote music education and creativity in music among European pre-university students. Its primary goal is to offer a platform for self-expression, and cultivate students' musical skills in a diverse, international setting.

The organization of the IMuO is similar to the International Olympiads in mathematics, physics or history, which are organized for students of general education schools. The Music Olympiad is designed for talented young people who are interested in music. IMuO is organized in every two years as a competition amongst individuals. The Contest takes place in two age groups: students aged 10-15 years and students aged 16-19 years. The Olympiad consists of three parts: vocal presentation, performance of original composition, a short test of musical knowledge.

The authors aim to present examples from different International Music Olympiads. The main findings are:

• · IMuO provides a unique platform for young musicians to express themselves and share their musical talents on a international stage.
• · IMuO fosters collaboration and community among participants. Events include performances, and cultural exchanges, providing a unique opportunity for young artists to present their work on an international stage.
• · The Olympiad encourages students to explore and refine their musical voices by engaging in a variety of events.
• · National and international Olympiads play an important role in supporting music education in the context of general education

Background. Music listening has a fundamental role in music education. When listening to classical music at school children show difficulties to focus their attention on the music, which is often unfamiliar and complex to them. Some music educators have proposed strategies to develop children’s listening skills. Research has suggested the benefits of both movement activities and visual materials to enhance music perception in non-musically trained children.

Aims. The ‘Active music listening’ approach, created by Belgium music pedagogue Jos Wuytack, who has been inspired by pedagogues such as Dalcroze and Orff, aims to teach children to understand and enjoy music better. It demands children’s physical and mental participation, before and during the listening activity, and it uses visual perception to enhance musical perception.

Short description of the activities. This workshop demonstrates teaching strategies for children and young people to learn the musical materials of orchestral pieces through verbal, vocal, instrumental or bodily performance (e.g. singing, playing, moving, dancing). Subsequently, they listen to the music while following a ‘musicogram’, which is a visual scheme representing musical elements and form. During the listening activity, participants recognize musical themes, various elements and form, and therefore the music becomes more familiar to them, which is essential for their appreciation and enjoyment of it.

Implications for practice. Listening to music at school may also be a window for learning other arts and school subjects, within an interdisciplinary perspective in music education. Being an expression of human culture throughout times and across spaces, music relates to our physical and social world (e.g. History, Geography, Sciences) and to other artistic expressions (e.g. Dance, Theatre, Literature, Painting). As music teachers, we need to actively participate, listen to, experience, feel and understand music, to be able to share with our students our enjoyment and passion for music.

Vocal Statements is an educational project that aims to empower young people—particularly those from low socioeconomic backgrounds—by engaging them in choral singing and vocal expression. Working predominantly with students aged 12–16 in neighborhoods where arts education is limited, Vocal Statements helps participants discover their voices, both literally and figuratively. Through learning songs in various languages from around the world, students not only experience the joy of singing but also develop skills that are essential in any future profession, emphasizing the universal need for voice and self-expression.
During this workshop both Carmen Hovestad and Jaap de Jong will present the methodology of Vocal Statements, as well as the implementation into the curriculum of the Music in Schools department of ArtEZ University of Arts, in Zwolle, The Netherlands.
Through group performances and collaborations with local institutions, Vocal Statements nurtures students' sense of identity, voice, and agency, enabling them to engage actively in society by learning to communicate who they are through music and the arts.
The methodology centers around creating a safe, inclusive environment in which playfulness, vulnerability, and connection are prioritized. Carmen Hovestad, a vocal educator, and her team foster group cohesion, allowing students to express themselves on social issues through group singing. The project’s origins trace back to 2017, initiated by opera singer Anthony Heidweiller and choir conductor Rohan Poldervaart, who envisioned diverse artistic representation by integrating arts education into pre-vocational secondary education in culturally diverse areas. Heidweiller’s vision, alongside educational approaches by Rohan Poldervaart laid the foundational principles of Vocal Statements, combining embodied singing and vocal leadership with inclusivity.

This workshop builds on Ellis P. Torrance's (1966) Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, originally developed for assessing creativity in drawing. Through further development supervised by the second author of this workshop (Kasak, 2017; Lait, 2018), these exercises have been adapted to the fields of movement and sound, unlocking new forms of creative expression in music education via multisensory methods. This workshop aligns with the conference theme by encouraging participants to explore and express their individuality, while introducing approaches to nurture creativity and shape the future of music education through dynamic, embodied practices.

The primary aim of this workshop is to engage participants in creative thinking exercises that foster improvisation through the combination of movement and sound, supporting participants to explore the relationship between body movement, sound, and creative expression.

The workshop progresses through three stages:

1. Use: Participants are guided to creatively use one body part and at the same time one sound.

2. Combine: Two body postures and three movements (walking, jumping, spinning) are combined, while simultaneously exploring two to three sounds.

3. Complement and expand: Participants will explore complex movements across a room by connecting distant points through movements. Similarly, sound exploration will expand by filling an octave or larger interval with multiple sounds.

These exercises are performed in groups, fostering polyphony, harmony, dissonance, and interaction. By integrating movement and sound improvisation, this workshop provides music educators with practical tools to unlock their students' creative potential. The exercises encourage participants to explore their own creative voices while fostering collaboration in group settings. This approach helps shape the future of music education by promoting active, embodied learning and encouraging students to express themselves through innovative, multisensory methods. These techniques can be adapted to a wide range of educational contexts, offering new ways to nurture creativity and personal expression in music learners.

Despite the challenges that music teaching presents to teachers in special schools, there is a distinct lack of research-informed discussion regarding Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) music pedagogy. Much of the available research that connects disability and music is from the fields of music therapy, music psychology and neuroscience, and is not aimed at or particularly accessible for teachers. There is also a lack of professional, practical guidance that illustrates effective approaches to practical music teaching that are specific enough to address the degree of severe and profound learning difficulty that pupils in special schools typically present with (Ockelford, 2008).

Based on a doctoral research thesis that examined the efficacy of a skills-based, classroom-based teacher development model in SEND music in the UK, this workshop shares practical examples and suggestions of the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) required for teaching music to pupils with SEND. Findings from the research thesis indicate that SEND music pedagogy mirrors Early Years music pedagogy (Bremmer, 2021) to some degree, particularly in its child-centred approach. Practical examples will highlight the importance of teachers:

• developing their own active strategies and drawing upon familiar SEND teaching strategies to teach musical concepts
• carefully selecting appropriate and accessible untuned percussion instruments
• using a wide range of non-verbal strategies and cues
• using movement and/or props to support non-verbal strategies and cues
• adapting the pace of singing
• exploring their own vocal sounds and mirroring those of their pupils
• adapting familiar songs and improvising new ones in response to pupil interests and engagement.

This workshop and the doctoral research it is drawn from provides a unique insight into SEND music pedagogy that has the potential to inform teacher development models in music for special school teachers on a larger scale. At present, this is not commonly offered in professional or academic training.

The population of students in today’s learning settings has become increasingly

diverse in a number of ways, including how they learn best. While music

educators are expected and required to find ways to reach every student, they have

received little training or support in pedagogical approaches that include all learners.

This has led to a great deal of frustration among educators, who find themselves struggling to engage and include students with disabilities and diagnoses. It has also led to far too many missed opportunities for

student learning.

The interdisciplinary field of accessible music education addresses this need by

training and supporting music educators in pedagogical approaches that combine

evidence-based practices and principles from special education with evidence-based

teaching strategies in music education. Accessible music pedagogy gives music

teachers the tools that they need to reach every student in music lessons, classes,

and ensembles, no matter how they learn best. The Berklee Institute for Accessible

Arts Education (BIAAE) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA provides a wide range of

professional development resources, workshops, programs, and consultations in

accessible music education.

Through presentation, activities, and facilitated discussion, this workshop will

introduce attendees to accessible music education pedagogy.

Participants will experience some of the ways that music educators learn about key

concepts that are the foundation of accessible music education pedagogy, as well as

about overarching principles from special education that they can incorporate into

planning, implementing, and assessing music learning. Through hands-on activities,

attendees will engage with some of the specific pedagogical strategies of accessible

music education that music educators experience in professional development

sessions and courses. Participating in and thinking deeply about professional

development for music educators in accessible arts education will provide a

springboard for discussion about ways that the field can better prepare and support

music educators to reach every student.

“One Thousand Birds” is a Companhia de Música Teatral (CMT) project designed to inspire awareness of environmental issues, the importance of caring for others, and the necessity of nurturing our planet — universal themes that call for attention from early childhood. In today’s world, where preserving the environment is even more critical, fostering poetic ways of seeing and listening emerges as a powerful and essential approach. The project draws inspiration from a Japanese tradition of the Orizuru, an origami bird, a symbol of peace and happiness: a legend tells it that the wish you think of while making one thousand birds come true. The project began in Vila Nova de Famalicão (Portugal) and has since taken flight, expanding in various forms to other cities such as Fundão, Coimbra, Lisbon, and Loulé. “One Thousand Birds” has also reached Brazil and, through the SenseSquared Erasmus+ Project, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway.

This workshop aims to: (i) raise environmental awareness, foster creativity, and enhance emotional expression while equipping teachers with adaptable strategies to integrate these themes into classrooms across different educational levels; (ii) encourage the participants to connect with nature, think creatively, and express themselves through music and movement.

The workshop creates a holistic environment inspired by birds and nature. Participants will craft an “Orizuru” and create graphic scores while listening to soundscapes. They will play with syllables from a phrase to use in a vocal warm-up and communicate with gibberish and bird-inspired vocal sounds, exploring how different emotional intentions are reflected in vocal production. The participants will also engage in movement activities through the "woodpecker dance" and a calming nightingale-inspired song that will conclude the session.

The implications of this work are to demonstrate how artistic practices can enhance environmental education and inspire interdisciplinary teaching.

From teacher-centered instruction to student-driven learning strategies, there is a spectrum of choices that educators can choose from to engage students in developing critical listening and musicianship skills. However a teacher-led music class or ensemble, inherently “top-down in nature” with students dutifully following directions, might not provide sufficient opportunities for the development of music understanding and independent musicianship, or allow students to be involved in any decision-making processes. Shuler (2011) stated a major reason that so many students set aside their instruments or vocal skills after graduation is because their music instruction has been primarily teacher-centered —in other words, teachers have done most of the steps in the processes for the students. Valuing individual contributions to a group is a pillar of most every chamber music ensemble and can also be a powerful instructional strategy. Larson (2010) reported that a common thread in the continuation of music making into adult life is the experience of participating in a musical ensemble in which the student had a voice or a significant say in decision-making. Music teachers may need to step back at times and allow students to find their way and construct their learning through collaboration with their peers, fostering independent learning for long-term problem-solving skills.

This workshop will provide music classroom teachers and ensemble directors an opportunity to reflect, discuss, and experience several practical teaching strategies that enhance student musicianship though collaborative learning. Attendees will participate in music learning tasks that demonstrate various roles of the teacher/director in student-centered learning, as well as begin to develop ways to facilitate student self-assessment skills. Music educators will leave this session with a better understanding of how to effectively manage student-centered learning and self-assessment in music, as well as gain several practical strategies to improve student musicianship and artistry.

This session explores Circle Singing as a transformative practice for enhancing vocal skill, fostering social-emotional growth, and creating a powerful sense of community. Drawing on techniques that harness the voice as both an expressive and collaborative instrument, the session introduces participants to the fundamentals of Circle Singing, including vocal improvisation, structured spontaneity, and group-driven musical creation. Through interactive exercises, participants will experience the dual benefits of Circle Singing: developing vocal proficiency and engaging in meaningful social-emotional learning. The session emphasizes accessibility and inclusivity, offering practical strategies for educators and community leaders to integrate Circle Singing into various settings.

By engaging participants in vocal exercises that prioritize listening, collaboration, and spontaneous expression, this session not only strengthens individual musicianship but also fosters a sense of unity and belonging. Circle Singing’s adaptable format makes it suitable for diverse educational environments, with proven benefits in confidence-building, creativity, and community connection. The session will offer attendees resources for continued practice, alongside guidance on adapting exercises to meet different skill levels and incorporating Circle Singing into inclusive, accessible learning environments.

In today’s interconnected world, higher education institutions must equip students with the skills to address global challenges, emphasizing intercultural exposure and collaboration. This practice paper explores the outcomes of a newly launched Blended Intensive Program (BIP) under Erasmus+, involving the University of Granada (Spain), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), and the University of Oldenburg (Germany). First implemented in the Spring Semester of 2023, the program is now in its third cycle, combining online instruction with an immersive, in-person teaching event at the host institution.

The BIP’s primary goals include broadening students' perspectives, fostering transversal skills, and developing forward-thinking competencies. Data collected from the first two cycles show that students benefitted from exposure to diverse viewpoints, pedagogical methods, and European contexts. The program enhanced communication, intercultural competence, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, while also integrating competencies like digital literacy and sustainability practices to prepare students for future professional demands.

This new form of Erasmus mobility -Blended Intensive Program- and this application "Mapping Music Education Research", is evidenced to contribute to building a global perspective in music education, with tangible impacts on students' skills and intercultural understanding. It provided opportunities for in-service and future music teachers to gain new knowledge, network with fellow students and teachers from other European countries and understand the role of music in other cultures and educational settings.

This paper relates to the EAS conference theme by addressing the area of Innovative Educational Approaches. This new form of mobility scheme for higher education allows students to immerse into the content of the program and at the same time develop intercultural skills, tolerance and understanding. It further touches upon the area of adaptment to the changed needs of educational landscapes as it is a flexible and short-term mobility program addressing the needs of postgraduate students and in-service music teachers.

This communication is part of the project “A Sound-Centred Approach to Music Education: A Pedagogical Framework for a New Paradigm in Teaching and Learning Music During Childhood” (SCAME). The project seeks to challenge the dominance of Eurocentric approaches in music education (Bartel, 2004; Gaztambide-Fernández, 2010; Recharte, 2019) by proposing a pedagogy focused on sound and sonic phenomena, closely related to Landy’s concept of ‘Sound-based Music’ (2007, 2012).

This communication presents an action-research study from SCAME’s exploratory phase, conducted from October 2023 to June 2024 with two musical initiation classes in a Portuguese specialized Music Education context. Through seven two-hour sessions with each class and a full-day workshop, the study examined how a sound-centred approach could foster collaborative creativity (Veloso, 2017) in the creation of two sonic pieces inspired by short stories. The process culminated in a final concert, offering a shared performance with the children’s families. Data were collected through video recording, participant observation and group interviews, focusing on the ways in which children engaged with sound, each other and the short stories.

The findings highlight that the children were deeply engaged in the creative process, actively experimenting with new sonic possibilities to express emotions and ideas. Their engagement went beyond simply reproducing familiar sounds, as they worked together to co-create rich, emotionally resonant sonic atmospheres. This collaborative dimension fostered an open exchange of ideas, allowing the children to collectively shape the sonic representation of the stories.

The study suggests that this sound-centred approach offers a compelling alternative to traditional music education practices by promoting direct engagement between children and the medium of sound through collaborative creativity. However, a future successful implementation in conservatories and music academies requires structural changes, particularly in teacher training and curriculum flexibility, to accommodate the unique potential of Sound-based Music Education.

This contribution presents the findings of a holistic, interdisciplinary approach integrating music and second language acquisition. Grounded in the Italian educational context, this research aligns with the European perspective on policies for the inclusion of newly arrived students (CoE, 2022).

It examines the potential benefits of music, song, creative and playful activities to second language acquisition, emotional well-being, and motivation (Sun, Yang, & Liang, 2024; Caon, 2023; Crawford, 2019; Denzin & Brown, 2015). Through a series of cooperative activities and layered processes, students collaboratively composed new lyrical sections for the songs, which they also performed. The author's original conception of songs and teaching materials considered students' characteristics (age and language level), learning objectives, guiding themes, and target phonemes. Central to this approach is the importance of the teacher-student relationship (Wentzel, 2012), the role of emotions (Swain, 2013), and the use of cooperative learning strategies (Martinez, López, & Seijo, 2020).

This study primarily uses a design-based research approach. Four case studies were conducted with lower secondary school students (ages 12–14), including groups of newly arrived students and multicultural/multilingual classes (15–22 students per group). The latter group’s activities were designed to address varying levels of Italian proficiency and to value multilingualism. Despite a diverse range of origins, particularly among second-generation students, the majority of migrant students came from Peru and Bangladesh.

Data collection involved audio-video recordings, participant observation, questionnaires, and interviews. Analysis, including transcription, coding, and thematic analysis, revealed the positive impact of music and creative activities on L2 development, emotional well-being, and motivation

In a social context where migration is both a present and future phenomenon, continuously evolving, the promising results of this study underscore the importance of further research into how music education can contribute, through innovative strategies, to the development of a democratic and inclusive education.

Nuri Harun Ateş is a versatile Turkish singer who fluidly crosses genres, including Western classical music, pop, and nostalgic tunes, singing in multiple languages such as Turkish, French, Italian, English, and Kurdish. Trained as a classical countertenor, Ateş skillfully navigates his vocal range, seamlessly transitioning between his high range and chest register to suit the song and genre. This fluidity is central to his artistic identity, not only in his voice but also in his genre-blending approach—such as fusing Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen with the Turkish classic Bağdat Yolu to create a unique oriental-pop fusion. His fluid artistry is equally reflected in his public persona, where his eclectic style choices—clothing, accessories, and hairstyle—challenge conventional boundaries. Amid Turkey’s traditional social climate, Ateş, a self-identified queer artist, uses styling choices often associated with femininity to encourage his audience to question established gender norms. His lyrics, which explore universal themes of love and relationships, subtly express his sexuality in lines like “I said I wear what I want / I say what I want / You can’t command the heart, that’s just how it is” and “Can somebody please tell me, what is this normal?”

Inspired by post-structuralist and queer theories, including Butler’s ideas on gender performativity and Doty’s “queer moments,”, this paper presents the early stages of an exploratory and descriptive study examining the complex intersections between music, gender, and language through the lens of Ateş’s voice and artistry. Using a case study approach, the research combines media analysis, music analysis, interviews, and live performance observations. These data are being analyzed through grounded theory principles, allowing themes related to music, gender, language and identity to emerge organically. The study aims to provide actionable recommendations for formal, non-formal, and informal music education contexts. This paper will discuss the relevance, methodology, and core research questions while presenting preliminary findings.

Interdisciplinary music teaching explores music within a broader context of a various fields and disciplines. Research has shown that the use of the interdisciplinary methodology in school has positive results as it enhances students' motivation to learn and unifies different learning subjects. In this proposal, ‘Simultaneous Learning’ (SL) is used as a way to apply interdisciplinary teaching in primary school in music. ‘Simultaneous Learning’ (SL) is a practical pedagogical approach for instrumental music developed by the British music educator Paul Harris, aiming to empower music students and enable them to become complete, and creative musicians, holistically educated. SL is based on four ideas: teaching proactively, teaching through the piece’s ingredients, making connections, and empowering instead of judging. According to Mateos-Moreno & Erlanson (2024), despite the fact that the method has been used for two decades worldwide is not yet enough explored academically. In this study I provide ways of adapting SL to general music teaching in primary school using interdisciplinary activities. More specifically, the study is focused on the ways with which these activities could be drawn from one piece of music at a time as the method suggests. Lesson plans and activities are constructed as units and not as fragments of music knowledge. Singing, performing and learning are achieved through the connection of music with other disciplines and with students’ every-day experiences. Participants included a class of 20 students of a class in a primary school of Greece (grade 5). Data will be collected by semi-structured interviews and teacher’s diaries kept on a daily basis during a period of 8 weeks. Preliminary results have shown that this method affects participants’ learning experiences by strengthening and simulating their engagement to music learning. Educational implications could be considered those related to schools’ curricula, and teachers’ flexibility and confidence to transform their teaching methods.

This practice-based research examines the integration of creative disciplines—music, art, dance, and film—within Estonian general education schools, exploring how interdisciplinary teaching practices can reshape music education. Situated within the context of Estonia’s evolving educational landscape, where cross-disciplinary collaboration is increasingly emphasized, this study focuses on the Model of Integrated Learning and Teaching of Creative Subjects (2019) as a tool for transforming the learning experience. Participants include 12 educators across music, art, dance, and film who are actively engaged in interdisciplinary teaching.

The project aims to investigate how teachers combine music with other creative subjects to create dynamic, holistic learning experiences for students. By employing the integrated model, the research explores both the effectiveness and challenges of cross-disciplinary teaching from the perspective of practicing educators. The goal is to identify sustainable, adaptable teaching strategies that foster creativity and inclusivity across subjects (Remm, et al 2024).

This presentation will provide an overview of the course designed to introduce the integrated model to creative subject educators, as well as a newly developed format for recording and documenting learning units. It will also highlight specific learning units already created using this model, demonstrating its practical application and potential for wider adoption.

The long-term outcomes of the project include a repository of teacher-developed interdisciplinary learning units that have been successfully implemented in classrooms. These resources will serve as practical tools for educators worldwide, contributing to the ongoing development of music education by providing an adaptable framework for fostering creativity and collaborative learning.

Large amateur or school ensembles such as bands, choirs and orchestras often face criticism for their conductor-centered practices, leaving little room for students’ voices concerning the music they rehearse. This practitioner study aimed to bridge the feedback gap between musicians and score, informing my practice as a conductor and arranger by incorporating musicians’ perspectives.

Adopting a praxial perspective (Small 1998; Elliott, 2009), I viewed orchestration as an arrangement not only of sounds but also of amateur players’ music-making. I sought to identify large ensemble music-making principles from amateur musicians’ feedback on their parts. I wrote a challenging arrangement of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas for a youth orchestra, which closely collaborated with several surrounding music schools. After preliminary sight-reading and rehearsal, 55 musicians annotated their parts and participated in focus group discussion within 12 instrument sections. The complexity of the piece intensified feedback, while the annotation method, using stickers and colors, added a playful element that reduced inhibition. Focus groups discussed, prioritized and formulated alternatives based on these annotations.

A reflexive thematic analysis of annotated sheet music and focus group transcripts revealed a focus on the enjoyability of the written music. Playing the melody and fitting the affordances of the instrument were key contributors. Physical and cognitive effort and efficiency played a large role, as did being able to follow the group, for which time-related (e.g. rhythm, tempo) parameters were essential. Experienced players had a leading role.

The findings inform my practice as a conductor and arranger, and contribute to the limited research on musical meaning-making in (large) ensembles. They illustrate the educational interaction between ensemble scores and amateur musicians’ music making. Such interactions in a nonformal setting can contribute to authentic ensemble experiences in instrumental school ensembles.

Background

Many studies have explored the benefits of choral singing for wellbeing in adults, but
research specifically focused on youth remains scarce. Choral singing in youth has shown
physical, emotional and social benefits (Acquah, 2016; Clift & Hancox, 2001; Linemmann et al., 2017). In order to address this gap, this qualitative study aims to gain a deeper understanding of experiences of youth choir members, which will then inform a subsequent quantitative phase.
Aims
The study aims to understand the connection between choral singing and wellbeing in
youth, specifically: motivation of youth to join and maintain engagement in choir, the
perceived effects of choir participation on their wellbeing, why they consider choir singing as
beneficial for their wellbeing, and factors within choir participation that may potentially
diminish their wellbeing.
Methods
This study employed a qualitative research approach, as a part of a larger research.
Focus group interviews were conducted with five groups of 4-7 Serbian youth choir members, aged between 15 and 24 years, including female/mixed choirs and school/extracurricular
choirs. Interviews focused on: motivations, experiences during rehearsals/performances, social connections, and the role of the conductor. Thematic analysis was performed using
MAXQDA.
Results
The findings suggest that choir participation supports youth wellbeing, through: social
support within the choir, emotional benefits, and traveling for performances, which fostered
participants’ commitment. Members reported improvements in self-confidence, musical and
social skills, and described rehearsals as both relaxing and enjoyable. The conductor’s role
was essential, in providing both musical and emotional support, fostering positive environment. Challenges included performance-related anxiety and balancing choir with other responsibilities.
Conclusion
This study highlights youth choir participation as a valuable contributor to wellbeing,
supporting social connections, emotional expression and personal growth. These insights
provide a foundation for the next quantitative phase, aiming to further examine these effects
on a larger sample.

This presentation is part of a doctoral research project with the main goal of evaluating the presence of specialist music teachers (SMT) in Portuguese and Brazilian early childhood education institutions (ECEI) and their contributions to the children’s musical experience and education. To this end, a multiple case study (Stake, 2009; Yin, 2010) with a mixed approach was developed. The first stage was an exploratory survey that allowed mapping the presence of SMT in ECEI (0-5 years) in Portugal and Brazil. In the educational systems studied, the single-teacher generalist model predominates; however, evidence collected reveals that the presence of SMT is a reality in various contexts throughout all regions of both countries, in public and in private institutions. The main reasons given by the representatives of the institutions for hiring SMT were the recognition of the importance of music for child development, life and education, and the specialized knowledge and training of SMT that can make music a more meaningful experience for children. The participants in the study emphasized that the pedagogical action of SMT in ECEI is more effective and in-depth, mainly because they provide access to a variety of music instruments and carry out activities with musical and pedagogical goals. These factors are part of the evidence of a growing phenomenon in both countries and confirm ECEI as a relevant field of action for SMT. Challenges such as the lack of economic resources to hire SMT and the need for available SMT with qualified pedagogical profiles for this age group point to the urgence of the revision of music education public policies in terms of early childhood educational programs and goals, teacher training degrees for this age level, and the scientific and pedagogical professional qualifications required to become a music educator in ECEI.

Zarza Project is based on engaging young audiences (Secondary School students) with Zarzuela, a traditional Spanish musical and theatrical genre. As an art form rich in cultural heritage yet often overlooked by modern listeners, Zarzuela's preservation and appreciation among younger generations have become increasingly critical. In a previous study (Authors, 2024) we have addressed the gap in audience engagement by identifying factors that could foster interest and connection with Zarzuela among youth. One of the most important strategies for connecting Spain's Operatic Tradition is to build meaning and give resources to Secondary Education teachers. Then, they could transfer the objectives and activities to the classroom before and after students visit the Zarzuela Theatre to have the embodied experience of listening to the genre in the place designed for this purpose.

Using a participatory action research approach, this study collaborated with the Zarzuela Theatre of Madrid, Teacher Training Educators from Theatre, Voice, Music, Dance, and the city where the project is based. A toolkit was designed, including multimedia resources, interactive activities, and contextualized storytelling techniques that align with students' interests. Workshops were conducted to train teachers in the student-centered approach, emphasizing the stimulation of intrinsic motivation and student-active learning. Feedback will be collected through Secondary teachers’ surveys, and teacher interviews (focus groups) to assess the effectiveness of these strategies.

As teachers, we bring traditions, customs, methods, and practices to music education. These have been shaped by who we are, where we learn, and how we learn. That's why "empowering voices through music education" can mean different things to different people: For some, empowerment may be the ability to decide on work processes, methods, and topics. For others, it can be the opportunity to work independently and creatively. For yet others, empowerment is the ability to work purposefully, and in another case, it can be the opportunity to make their voice and musical ideas heard.

In order to better understand the different meanings, opportunities and barriers of 'empowering voices' for pre-service music teachers (Bain, 2010), we are conducting research in five different countries, using qualitative and quantitative methods, from three different approaches:

1. A bibliographic review approach to analyze different curricula (Davis et al., 2014).

2. An online survey to ask pre-service music teachers about their perspectives. These data will be analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively (Baur & Blasius, 2022).

3. A field research through online workshops in which some of the pre-service music teachers who participated in the survey will reflect on the survey results and summarize their interpretations in recorded interviews and videotaped statements (Nieswand, 2020).

By comparing findings from the bibliographic review, survey data, and workshop reflections, the study ultimately seeks to provide actionable recommendations for creating more inclusive, reflective, and empowering music education environments.

Following, through group discussions and shared reflections, in this roundtable presentation, we aim to foster meaningful dialogue, compare perspectives, and celebrate the diversity of voices in music education, enriching the collective understanding of teaching and learning across Europe.

Traditional music as a vital component of cultural heritage, connects generations through shared identity and history. In Cyprus, tsiattisman (τσ̆ιάττισμαν) is a distinctive singing musical tradition that reflects the linguistic richness and creative spirit of the island. This workshop introduces participants to the art of tsiattisman, fostering an appreciation for Cypriot traditional music, while promoting creativity and self-expression. Tsiattisman is a form of improvised, dialogic singing rooted in oral traditions. Typically performed in pairs or groups, it involves the spontaneous exchange of rhyming verses, often in a playful or competitive manner. These verses, characterized by humor, linguistic dexterity, and rhythmic precision, draw inspiration from themes of daily life, social commentary, or entertainment. The melodic simplicity and the distinct rhythmic patterns support the improvisational nature of the performance, encouraging real-time collaboration and creativity. Beyond its entertainment value, tsiattisman preserves elements of the Cypriot dialect, providing insight into the island’s cultural and linguistic history. This tradition serves as a form of oral storytelling and a medium for transmitting cultural values across generations.

The workshop is around a humourous story about a group of goblin creatures (Kalikantzaroi) based on cypriot folklore through watching videos of tsiattisman performances, and exploring the traditional occasions where they are performed, such as family gatherings, weddings, and festivals. Participants also learn about the instruments land lute, violin, tampoutsia, pithkiavlin that are invlolved into the tsiattisman, with live demonstrations by the two presenters. Also, interactive activities help participants discover the two fundamental rules of tsiattisman improvisational processes. They will learn songs and, in groups, create their own tsiattisman inspired by daily life. By emphasizing improvisation, creative thinking, and collaboration, the workshop demonstrates how tsiattisman can be integrated into contemporary music education, empowering diverse voices and adapting to changing educational landscapes. This ensures the tradition’s continued relevance for future generations.

The value of improvisation has long been recognised in music education. However, the multiple approaches and conflicting ideals connected to the teaching of improvisation, the uncertainty of improvisation, and the gap between theory and practice have challenged the actuation of improvisation, particularly free and vocal improvisation, in classrooms.

The workshop introduces practical facilitation techniques and pedagogy for free improvised vocal play, which can be applied in various music teaching and teacher education settings. The approach's pedagogical-philosophical basis ensures it can be used with communities and groups with diverse skills and voices. This approach allows us to experiment with holistic expression, movement, and all kinds of sounds, textual and lyrical materials. The musicking is interwoven with reflective discussions on the experience in a way that allows the co-construction of a safer space for encountering the ephemeral quality and uncertainty of social and musical improvisation.

The free vocal play draws on sociological and social psychology perspectives and conceptualisations of music as a social and relational process (DeNora 2000, 2013; Small 1998). This research-based (Siljamäki 2021, 2023) and interdisciplinary approach of collaborative free vocal improvisation with social awareness at heart draws on and applies principles of practice from improvisational theatre (Dudeck & McClure, 2021), playful learning, mindfulness, inclusive pedagogy (Henley 2019) and pedagogical tact (van Manen 1991).

According to the research study underlying this approach, free vocal play can inspire musical studies, the learning of musical skills, the acceptance and embracing of diversity, the learning of socio-emotional and musical skills and creative ability, and the broader well-being of the participants.

Participants are expected to participate in improvising and gain first-hand experience of the practices and facilitation techniques. Handouts will include the main conceptualisations and key points of facilitation.

In an era where social media platforms like TikTok have transformed the way we engage with music, it is crucial to explore how these digital spaces can be harnessed for creative music education. This workshop offers a systematic and reflective analysis of music video content in short-video formats, focusing on their potential to empower diverse voices and foster inclusive classrooms.

Participants will engage in the analysis of popular formats such as Challenges, Tutorials, Reaction Videos, and Vlogs. We will investigate how these formats operate, including the mechanics behind viral content creation, and discuss their implications for music education. Special attention will be given to the creative possibilities that these formats offer for students of varying backgrounds, abilities, and musical preferences, aligning with the conference’s theme of inclusivity and diversity.

In the practical segment, attendees will become content creators themselves, developing short music videos tailored for classroom use. By integrating interdisciplinary methods, such as digital storytelling and performance, the workshop will highlight the pedagogical benefits of using emerging technologies to enhance learning experiences in music education.

This session aims to inspire educators to rethink the future of music education, using social media not only as a tool for creative expression but also as a platform for fostering critical thinking, collaboration, and cultural awareness. Ultimately, it offers insights into how music can shape democratic values and support innovative educational approaches.

Format: 90-minute interactive workshop

Implications for Practice: This workshop equips educators with practical tools to integrate social media-driven creativity into the music classroom, promoting inclusivity, student engagement, and the use of emerging technologies.

Vision impossible? – A university of music and a facility for short-term juvenile detention following the same path

This practice paper presents and examines the transformative potential of a cooperative music education practice and research project that addresses a target group that remains unheard in discourses of music education: Young people who get in conflict with the law and remain “invisible” (see Hickey 2015). Building on a unique cooperation between the University of Music Luebeck and the Facility for Short-term Juvenile Detention Moltsfelde, the project AUFTAKT deals with discovering the extent to which the specific measure of short-term juvenile detention can represent a space for cultural education and be integrated into the cultural infrastructure of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The project’s aim is to provide access to cultural education for juvenile and adolescent offenders and cement the importance of music as an aspect of the resocialization process.

Whereas the project follows three pillars in its design (1. research, 2. science communication, 3. transfer), we want to show in this paper how transfer becomes visible throughout the development of the project. Therefore, key moments, experiences and irritations are identified that have significantly shaped the process and in which traces of transformation can be experienced. In order to shed light on these moments, we draw on short stories in the form of vignettes as a “condensed narrative of lived experience” (Schratz, Schwarz & Westfall-Greiter 2012, p. 11). The vignettes are then illuminated using theories and methods of social systems (Luhmann 2023; Niesen & Willke 2007).

The project development shows how transformative processes can be initiated at different levels through interdisciplinary or inter-institutional cooperation and opens up new perspectives on the role of music education as a bridge between social institutions and society in order to sustainably promote participation and include underrepresented people.

In this presentation we share our approach, drawing on Patricia Shehan Campbell's phases of listening pedagogy and Christopher Small's concept of 'musicking'. Campbell's pivotal question in World Music Pedagogy (2019, p. 20) -“Can music professionals work together to provide students with genuine experiences in music that is alive and present in our communities?”- has also shaped our practices. Our commitment to “Musicking” (Small, 1998) underscores the importance of active engagement in music through listening, singing, playing, and moving. As "Viva La Musica", a group of six music educators, our mission is to create inclusive spaces where community members can access and enjoy music, fostering cultural appreciation, empathy, and meaningful connections through participatory experiences.

Our workshop, held at the city’s musical instrument museum, welcomed all adults, with no prior musical knowledge or specialization required, bringing together individuals who share an interest in music from diverse traditions. This workshop aimed to deepen participants' engagement with music by exploring elements such as rhythm, melody, harmony, form, and style through attentive and engaged listening activities using both Western art music and Turkish art music traditions. Through these activities, participants enhanced their appreciation for diverse musical traditions while also developing a deeper understanding of their own musical heritage.

Participants' written feedback emphasized an increased awareness of their musical abilities, a newfound joy in making music, and greater confidence. The experience with Western art music contributed significantly to this new awareness, which, in turn, positively influenced their understanding and appreciation of Turkish art music. By fostering a sense of community and connection through attentive and engaged listening experiences, the results of our workshop showed that we had achieved our goal of inspiring and unlocking musical voices while promoting equal access to music for all.

The Erasmus+ program serves as a platform for fostering international collaboration and innovation in music education. This presentation examines the transformative impact of three Erasmus projects—SPACE, AMiE, and FASE. These initiatives highlight how international partnerships enhance music pedagogy, promote cultural exchange, and empower diverse voices.

The SPACE project equipped educators with STEAM tools, integrating music to inspire innovation. AMiE explored the role of music in emotional well-being through arts and mindfulness. The ongoing FASE project addresses environmental awareness and gender equality in STEAM education, culminating in a Science Opera that blends music, science, and storytelling to engage students and educators in sustainability.

The projects faced challenges such as coordinating between higher education and secondary institutions, aligning curricula, and addressing cultural and linguistic diversity. Embedding music within STEAM frameworks sometimes created tensions between artistic and scientific priorities, while ensuring inclusivity demanded significant effort to provide equitable access. Despite these hurdles, SPACE integrated music into STEAM tools, AMiE showcased its emotional impact, and FASE is employing music to tackle global issues. These successes underscore music’s potential to foster creativity, inclusivity, and collaboration.

Participants in earlier projects were primarily higher education students in arts and teacher training, while FASE engages high school students, ensuring gender balance to encourage women in STEAM. Collaboration involved a consortium of three higher education institutions, a secondary-level music school, and a private company. FASE evolved to include two music/art schools, one secondary-level science school, and a company specializing in opera and theater, demonstrating a commitment to interdisciplinary approaches.

These projects emphasize music’s role in shaping sustainable practices, empowering diverse voices, and fostering community engagement, inspiring innovative and inclusive educational frameworks.

Music Theory and Aural Training (MTAT) is a disciplinary domain that, although it’s a constant curricular element in the formal construction of higher music education, registers an irregular evaluative presence in the field of music training. A presence that we call volatile considering the variable acknowledgment that is assigned to the discipline, in terms of programmatic autonomy, pedagogical identity and curricular dimension.

The purpose of this research paper is to present and share the first results of a three-year project, concerning the MTAT within the scope of different Higher Music Education Institutions courses in Europe. The objective is to apprehend, characterize and reflect about three main dimensions: i) what are the curricular, programmatic and organizational characteristics of the discipline in the different contexts and courses observed; ii) what kind of pedagogical approaches the teachers of the institutions observed resort to their practices in order to achieve the same supposed goal: learning to internalize and externalize music with understanding and mastery; and iii) what type of analysis model can we build to understand, critically and globally, the educational and pedagogical affiliation that the discipline assumes in the course of its practices.

The observation in loco of several schools visited for short periods is enriched by the construction of a logbook, analysis of institutional documents, development of informal conversations with different actors, and the design of a Postmodern pedagogical analysis model for the discipline.

The innovative curricular and organizational particularities and the original and recurring pedagogical practices observed (Conservatorio Superior de Musica de la Catalunha; Royal Academy of Music of London; Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles; Zurich University of the Arts, Mozarteum University; University of Music and Arts Vienna; or Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and others) provide a huge musical learning richness and uncover professional paths of teaching with excellence in MTAT.

Current situation

Music teaching and the associated discipline of music didactics is often described as a ‘poorly structured domain’ (Puffer, 2021, p. 14) due to its strong practical orientation, as well as its weak scientific foundation. Accordingly, the incorporation of music education research findings into the subject didactic training of teachers is a challenge (Blanchard & Huber, 2014). One of the reasons for this may be that music education in Switzerland is traditionally understood as an applied discipline (Spychiger, 2013) and cannot (yet) look back on an ‘own’ academic tradition (Huber et al., 2021, p. 44).

Theoretical approach

Based on Shavelson's (2020) considerations on 'Brokering the Gap', the assumption that teaching should not be unidirectional but multi-perspective and reciprocal, this contribution discusses how the gap between practical orientation and scientific foundation can be bridged in the field of music didactics. As Shavelson assumes that this can only happen through participatory processes, the author argues that local time-spaces (Joyce, K. E., & Cartwright, N., 2020) such as workshops or lectures in institutions are needed where research and application transfer can be organised according to specific circumstances, such as didactic content.

Empirical and methodological approach

After an intervention in which music teachers were provided with scientific knowledge, they were asked about its impact a year later. Based on the findings, a possible transfer of research knowledge into education programmes can be reconstructed. The results will be used together with an autosociological analysis based on critical self-reflection and 'participative objectification' (Bourdieu, 2002) to further develop the research question.

Implications

It is assumed that systematic reflection in peer groups between music lecturers and researchers, with the ‘return to one's own person with the intention of creating knowledge’ (Rieger-Ladich & Grabau, 2018, p. 791) can enable all participants to act as ‘brokers’ in their fields.

The CREDMUS project (ref. 2023-ARMIF-00007) is an innovative research initiative in music education aimed at fostering creativity in the initial training of primary school teachers. Funded by AGAUR (Agency for Management of University and Research Grants), the project brings together faculty from six Catalan universities (UdG, UVic-UCC, UAB, UB, UdL, and Blanquerna-URL) and teachers from both preschool and primary schools across the region. Taking a transdisciplinary approach, CREDMUS seeks to bridge academic research with classroom practice. Its primary goal is to strengthen creative capacities and equip future educators with tools aligned with Catalonia’s current curriculum framework.

The research is based on a qualitative methodology grounded in interpretive and socio-critical paradigms. It unfolds across several phases, including conceptual development, analysis of teaching practices, and the design of targeted proposals for university training. In the first phase, the research team reviewed specialized literature and developed glossaries on creativity in educational contexts. The second phase involves analyzing music course content through discussion groups and conducting six case studies in both primary and preschool settings. The third phase focuses on creating a catalog of pedagogical proposals to promote creativity in teacher education and establishing shared learning outcomes across all participating universities.

Preliminary findings highlight key elements linked to creative teaching practices and approaches for fostering student creativity. Analysis of faculty discussion groups has revealed diverse expert perspectives on defining creativity, its essential components, and suitable creative methodologies and assessment criteria. Observations in primary school classrooms show both the potential and challenges of integrating creativity into teaching practices. Ultimately, CREDMUS aims to develop and disseminate creative pedagogical proposals resulting from inter-university collaboration. These resources are designed to be accessible in primary classrooms, aligned with core curriculum guidelines, and to have a significant impact on teacher training in Catalonia.

In our research project »Digitality – Diversity – Producing: Practices of Popular Music in School and Teacher Development«, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, we underscore the importance of diversity-sensitive approaches to digital music production techniques in music education and especially teacher training, requiring adaptable environments that foster creativity and inclusion. In this paper we show how working with loops can provide just such environments, enabling students to explore both differences and similarities while engaging musically. By reframing the endless cycle of loops as a continuously unfolding process, educators can create space for innovative thinking and nurture curiosity. This is especially relevant given that many students connect with music digitally. Starting a performance with existing loops can reduce common barriers to musical practice, presenting a sonic material at hand that is already there. This material, on the other hand, can then help to tackle complex topics within cultural contexts surrounding these sounds. Loops then become a tool for better understanding how technological advancements impact social inequality and representation. In our sub-project „Impro-Loop“ we focus on improvisation on digital and non-digital instruments combined with digitally produced loops, while in the sub-project „Breaks and Samples“ we invite students as well as teachers to engage with music as material through digital DJing-practices. Drawing upon previous research efforts based primarily on best practice and ethnography through participatory observation, our presentation highlights promising techniques for advancing diversity in (digital) music education via loop-centered methodologies. Through exploring these practices, we aim to inspire continued growth and development of inclusive teaching strategies designed to serve today's diverse learners.
Main references:
Siedenburg (2022): »Gendersensibler Musikunterricht«. In: Klingmann / Schilling-Sandvoß (Hg.): Musikunterricht und Inklusion. Innsbruck.
Stillar (2005): Loops as Genre Resources. Folia Linguistica 39
Wolfe (2020): Women in the Studio. Creativity, Control and Gender in Popular Music Sound Production. New York.

With the ongoing digitalization of education, the digital transition in music education has become essential for integrating digital technologies into teaching without losing the traditional values of musical practice. From September 2022 to February 2024, the Erasmus+ project DigiMusi: Digital Transformation in Elementary Music Education was conducted as a Portuguese-Spanish partnership to develop and implement strategies for digital transition in music education. This study, part of DigiMusi Project, aimed to explore the impact of digital transition on students, teachers, and families in a Portuguese Music Conservatoire that implemented a learning management system (LMS) for teaching and individual practice of music theory.
This exploratory case study observed and analyzed the implementation of i-MUSI, a progressive and interactive music theory platform, over six months with seven first-year music theory classes, involving approximately 108 students and seven teachers. Data were collected through field observations, demographic questionnaires, and seven focus group interviews—one with teachers and six with students and their families. Ten students from each class and their parents were randomly invited to participate in interviews. A thematic analysis identified benefits, limitations, and strategies for digital transition. The results showed that the platform can optimized teaching, fostering self-regulation and autonomy in practice, and increased motivation through diverse resources. It particularly helped students who struggled with music theory and allowed more interaction between lessons, balancing digital and non-digital activities. However, challenges included technological dependency, increased screen time, limited real-time feedback, accessibility issues, and the need for varied content.
Participants emphasized the importance of balancing digital and traditional methods, responsible technology use, and human connections. The study underscores the need for critical evaluation and consideration of all stakeholders’ needs to effectively support the digital transition in music education.

Primary school teachers who teach music as a non-subject often experience their singing as inadequate. They sing with the children with a guilty conscience (Hammel 2011) or avoid singing altogether (Schellberg 2005). These research findings are consistent with observations from music subjects in university teacher training programmes for students without music as major subject.

All children should have the opportunity to develop their singing voice. However, there are not enough specialists in the schools (Lehmann-Wermser 2020), and most families hardly sing at all (Weyrauch 2024). This is why singing in primary schools is also left to teachers who teach music as a non-specialist. By training their singing skills, primary school teachers should overcome their fears of singing. In addition, they are to receive content and technical support for everyday school life so that they can sing with the children more often and with better intonation.

In collaboration with several institutions, an app (prototypes) has been developed to help practise secure intonation and provide a repertoire of songs and playbacks. Both application areas are coordinated with each other.

This article describes how the app was developed with the help of participatory design and illustrates the process step by step: At the beginning of the winter semester 2024/25, the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau developed the didactic concept based on the wishes expressed by students (critical friends). Aalen University then developed prototypes for the app's user interface, which were presented on 20 January 2025. In April 2025, recordings will be made with musicians from the State Philharmonic Orchestra and professional singers. The technical implementation will then be completed and ready for use in October 2025.

After that, the app will be used in everyday life at schools, regularly evaluated and revised. It will also be made available to nursery teachers.

The use of digital technologies in music lessons at school enables learning arrangements that offer a space for innovative (Ahlers, 2018) and creative learning processes (Lam, 2023). In addition, digital literacy skills can be promoted (OECD, 2020).

The concept of live coding offers a special opportunity for interdisciplinary learning in the subjects of music and computer science (Blackwell et al., 2022; Burnard et al., 2014; Petrie, 2019). In contrast to previous research projects, in this teaching project the use of the visual programming language “Scratch” was investigated, as it is more accessible for learners due to its graphical, block-orientated interface.

The teaching project was first trialled with a school class of learners aged 12 to 13 and in a second cycle with learners aged 14 to 15 at a secondary school in Germany. The aims were to develop competences in the areas of computational thinking and composing music as well as to promote the learners' creativity. To this end, a series of 8 lessons was developed based on the principles of self-directed and individualised learning.

There is particular potential in self-direction, which goes hand in hand with increased motivation and individualisation. The thinking and structuring processes from the field of computational thinking required for composing with a programming language opened up new approaches to musical phenomena such as metre, rhythm and pitch for the learners. In addition, learners with little previous music-related experience benefited from the low-threshold nature of the compositional approach.

The study aims to investigate the use of music education in inclusive classes in ordinary schools to show substantial evidence on how musical experiences may impact the various forms of development of children with ASD and ID. The research synthesizes the advantages of music in education by examining several musical applications found useful for special needs students. The paper presents some applied examples to fulfill this vision based on our dialogue about various music applications music games, songs, rhythm activities, in the field of special education in Albania and highlights the importance of utilizing music education as much as possible in inclusive classrooms. The study was conducted in a school in Vlora, Albania with five children attending this school (mean age 8-13 years) who presented ASD and ID or other related disorders. For this study is used the descriptive and linear quantitative method of time series measurements based on sequential descriptive and numerical characteristics as it attempts to prove the hypothesis. The study investigates how the intervention through the music sessions has influenced psychomotor, communication (verbal and non-verbal), social development of the participants, evidencing the developmental trend that resulted after the implementation of the music education sessions. A structured checklist utilized to evaluate their progress over a three-month period, facilitated by music education sessions. From the first measurements to the third one it is noticed that musical experiences as a tool for stimulation influenced the improvement or enhancing the psychomotor development of children with ASD that attend the music classes by using different musical activities, rhythm, body movements, game songs, based on a sequential systemic educational process that respects the individualities of each child. The results showed that the active music interventions of group singing, playing instruments, rhythmic games and synchronized giving-and-taking should be encouraged over passive listening.

Music education plays a significant role in valuing cultural diversity and promoting inclusive practices within the school environment. In Portugal, where approximately 14% of students come from diverse ethnic backgrounds, musical education has the potential to act as an effective tool for inclusion and for valuing the cultural identities present in the classroom.This study utilised repertoires based on the research of Hermínio do Nascimento, a pedagogue and composer who documented the musical diversity of the Lunda region in Angola during the 1960s, through sound recordings, films, and editions of musical anthologies.

The action-research study, conducted in a specialised music school and involving students from the 3rd to the 12th grades, was structured into two main phases. The initial phase involved a literature review and an analysis of Lusophone repertoire, with pre-surveys revealing the students’ lack of familiarity with traditional music from Portuguese-speaking African countries. The practical phase included the creation/application of teaching materials encompassing vocal, instrumental, and dance activities framed within their cultural and historical contexts.

The results of the study highlighted a range of significant benefits stemming from the exploration of previously unpublished Lusophone repertoire in lessons, as evidenced by post-intervention surveys analyses and the presentation of the activities to the school community. The implementation of this repertoire also demonstrated that music education contributes to the development of social and cultural competencies, which are essential for nurturing citizens committed to diversity and capable of empathising with other cultures. The practical implementation included activities such as repertoire analysis and performance, which are essential for learning and acquiring musical skills, as well as reflection on the historical and social contexts of the selected works.

The project, as planned and implemented, is adaptable for application in other educational contexts and can incorporate musical traditions from other parts of the world.

Until recently there has been a lack of research on the experiences of Black & Brown people both in music education (Bull et al., 2022) and the music industry (BLiM, 2021) in the UK. Why a lack of engagement and progression exists and how historic and current music education structures may or may not be affecting the identities, education & career choices of Global Majority citizens in the UK has not been explored. This research sought to understand the experiences of members of the Global Majority (preferred term to BAME) in the UK, which research has reported to be Eurocentric and "overwhelmingly White".

This exploratory study followed the journeys of eleven Global Majority1 teachers and musicians2 from their early experiences within the UK music education system up to their present professional careers in music. A qualitative approach was taken utilising focus groups with eleven adults. Additional focus groups with ten students presently engaged in music education offered a current perspective and comparison with adults’ experiences, allowing for reflection on possible trajectories.

The research question asked whether a predominantly White, middle-class music curriculum has an effect on the musical behaviours and identity of members of the Global Majority in the United Kingdom. Findings showed that musicians and music teachers had experienced considerable barriers in music education and musical careers, which had an adverse psychological effect, typically recognized later in life due to the subtle mechanisms of racial discrimination at work via music education. An understanding of racialised peoples experiences is paramount to implementing effective strategies to increase engagement and progression in music education and importantly to reduce harm. This research gives evidential support to those who wish to press the importance of addressing racial inequity in music education and industry. An anti-racist stance in music education is recommended.

This presentation explores the preliminary findings of the TEAM (Teacher Education Academy in Music) project, which aggregates data from 20 national reports across Europe to map the landscape of Music Teacher Education. Our research, guided by the project's structured framework, examines the common challenges and innovative practices in music teacher education across these countries. Data was collected through contributions from 20 national coordinators of the European Association for Music in School and was analysed through thematic analysis.

Findings identified several common challenges in music teacher education in Europe. These include the limited frequency of music lessons and the assignment of music teaching responsibilities to generalist teachers without specialised training. Music is frequently perceived as a marginal subject, leading to a shortage of qualified music teachers and a decline in enrollment in teacher training programs. Additional issues encompass the quality of music education, scarcity of didactic resources, underutilization of technology in music lessons, and an imbalance between musical and pedagogical skills in teacher training.

In response to these challenges and in an attempt to adapt to changing educational landscapes in music teacher education, several innovative practices have emerged. Continuous professional development initiatives are implemented to keep teachers abreast of the latest methodologies and technologies with emphasis on practical teaching skills, integrating theoretical knowledge with real-world classroom scenarios, and incorporating new technologies in music teaching and learning. Furthermore, music teacher education programs are being restructured to offer a broad spectrum of artistic, practical, theoretical, scientific, didactic, and pedagogical skills, enabling teachers to conduct diverse musical activities effectively.

The findings underscore the necessity for a comprehensive and adaptable approach to music teacher education, addressing existing challenges while embracing innovative practices to enhance the quality and effectiveness of music education across Europe.

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the Music Curriculum development processes in Germany, Ireland and Lithuania, and is being carried out within the context of the Erasmus+ TEAM project.

Music curriculum development is a dynamic and multifaceted process that reflects the cultural, social and educational contexts in which it occurs. Curriculum impacts on various stakeholders within the learning and teaching process: students, teachers, school authorities, parents and the wider society. The development of an official curriculum and accompanying documents is often the responsibility of a curriculum developer consulting with an expert group (Bens et al. 2021). Who participates in this ‘expert group’ varies widely, which has led us to pose the following questions:

• What stakeholder voices’ contribute to the decision-making process within curriculum development?
• How to they contribute and to what extent?

We explore these questions through documentary analysis which involves reviewing, evaluating and synthesizing the information (data) gleaned from official documents (Kutsyuruba 2023). Our starting point was a systematic analysis of the relevant documents, including national education policies, curriculum guides and supporting publications as well as relevant information on government websites. From this process we established the criteria which best facilitated us in conducting a comparative analysis (Ragin, 2008; Milošević & Maksimović 2020) of the data across three countries. These include: policy framework (for curriculum development), stakeholder involvement, curriculum content and perceived challenges.

Early results reveal that much of the decision-making process is the responsibility of ‘expert groups’ with varying levels of consultation with music education scholars, teachers, teachers’ organisations and students.

Through this research we aim to provide valuable insights for educators, policymakers and researchers in adapting to changing educational landscapes. Ultimately, it advocates for a collaborative framework that not only empowers underrepresented voices but also fosters a more equitable and relevant music curriculum for all learners.

The objective of this year's symposium, hosted by the Special Focus Group "DigiTiME", is to concentrate on the training and professional development aspects of post-digital teacher education (Buchborn & Treß 2023, Campbell & Olteanu 2024, Clements 2018). In doing so, we recognize that post-digitality and competence-oriented training approaches represent two distinct perspectives.

The DigiTiME Symposium comprises two distinct sections. The initial portion will encompass the presentation of three pivotal, cross-project research topics, including: topic 1) the findings of an integrative analysis of policy documents, curricula, and pedagogical practices in music teacher education; topic 2) an investigation on identities, emotions, and sustainability in digital music education in the age of AI; and topic 3) an exploration of concepts and challenges in further training on digital practices for music teachers.

The second half of the symposium is dedicated to the exchange of ideas with the audience attending the symposium. The presentations, data, and results will provide a foundation for discussions in thematic groups with the participants, which will focus on the conceptualisation and comprehension of competencies at all levels of professional development.

Musical improvisation is a powerful musical practice, fostering creativity (Treß, 2022), self-expression (Biasutti, 2017), and social interaction (Lage-Gómez & Cremades-Andreu, 2019). Research indicates that collaborative improvisation can create inclusive spaces (Siljamäki, 2021), allowing participants from diverse backgrounds to explore their musical voices (Treß et al., 2022). Aligned with the EAS Conference theme "Unlocking Voices: Shaping Music Education Futures," this workshop by the ImprovME Special Focus Group emphasizes collaborative improvisation using voice and body. The workshop aims to foster inclusivity and creativity in music education through participant-driven content.

Workshop Objectives:

1. Empower Diverse Voices: Engage participants from varied backgrounds in spontaneous music-making.
2. Foster Inclusivity: Approaches to create an open, error-friendly environment that encourages exploration and embraces diversity.

3. Enhance Community Building: Strengthen connections within the ImprovME SFG, promoting collaborative improvisation and innovation.

The workshop for the EAS Conference in Évora will be collaboratively planned and executed by participants of the ImprovME Special Focus Group. This process will involve a series of online meetings prior to the conference, allowing interested members to contribute their ideas and expertise. These preparatory sessions will ensure that the workshop is well-structured and aligns with the group’s objectives. The collaborative approach aims to leverage diverse perspectives and expertise, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement among participants, enhancing the quality and impact of the workshop at the conference.

The workshop is ideally scheduled to follow the Open Space sessions of the conference, allowing participants to seamlessly transition from discussions to practical applications of their ideas in a collaborative musical context.

Singing has long been a medium for promoting ideals of freedom, such as through freedom songs or movements like the Singing Revolution. Multicultural songs further contribute to cultural understanding and foster values like justice, equality, and inclusion. Beyond these ideals, singing supports the holistic development of children, helping them build the social and contemporary skills essential for thriving in the 21st century. When designed to nurture both musical and personal growth, learning experiences enable the emergence of the whole musician.

This workshop focuses on exploring the foundational elements of African music—particularly beat, rhythm, and movement—as tools for developing children’s cognitive, communicative, physical-motor, and social-emotional skills. Participants will actively engage in singing and dancing to African songs while discovering how these musical elements can enrich holistic child education.

The workshop provides a fun, dynamic, and multi-sensory experience, showcasing:

• How to integrate physical, cognitive, social, and emotional learning areas for a well-rounded approach to children’s education.
• The effectiveness of multi-sensory methods in teaching basic music concepts.
• Ways in which music promotes group learning and teaches social skills like cooperation and adaptability.