Instrumental group teaching. An agenda for democracy in Portuguese music education

Abstract

The Portuguese system of music education has long been characterized by the existence of educational subsystems (generic, specialized and professional) that stem from different philosophical foundations, develop different pedagogical strategies and aim at different artistic goals. The fact is that students in the generic subsystem seldom learn how to play an instrument or read notation, rarely have their music aptitudes tested and almost never receive appropriate training and music vocational counseling. This article focuses on theoretical and research foundations for the proposal of instrumental group teaching as an agenda for democracy in Portuguese music education. The concept of music as a sort of “external body of knowledge” that can be understood and appreciated by everyone without actually learning how to play, sing, read or compose music is rejected on the premises of philosophical incongruence. Promoting aesthetic appreciation of music without its practice perpetuates the failure of generic music education.