# Transcript

Welcome to the Open Educational Resource Course: Teaching Secondary Music – Issues in Practice.

Hello, I’m Gary Spruce. I’ve worked for many years in music education as a secondary school teacher and in initial teacher education.

I learned that music is one of the most rewarding subjects to teach in secondary schools but also that it is one of the most challenging.

For many young people music is a very important part of their lives and something about which they feel strongly, so we music teachers have a foundation of enthusiasm to build on.

But music teaching is more than just about reinforcing these enthusiasms. It is also about enabling children to develop musically, to help them become aware of the rich variety of music in society and the many ways in which it is practiced, and then to help them become fluent and knowledgeable in some of these practices themselves. This means challenging young people’s conceptions of what music is and what it means to be musical but also challenging our own conceptions as music teachers.

When writing this course I looked at key ideas and concepts that secondary music teachers at the beginning of their careers should know about.

These include what is meant by musical knowledge, what there is to teach and learn in music and the different ways in which young people are taught and learn musically. It concludes by proposing key principles to underpin a musical approach to music teaching, principles, which enable young people to develop musically.

I am sure you will find it interesting and useful.