AND I AM SAYING IT
Welcome to my blog. As John Cage wrote, “I have nothing to say and I am saying it”. He went on to say “… and that is poetry as I need it”. In my case, that is blogging, as I need it. In 1966, Edwin Morgan made a brilliant poem called Opening The Cage from Cage’s statement by reordering the words. You may like to reorder the words of my blog, or filter them by category. In fact, this whole website (including all of the music and resources for teaching music) is just a filtering of categories of blog posts…
Anyway, here it all is in classic blog reverse-chronological style … everything I’m thinking about education, music, technology, philosophy, pedagogy, and more …
agapi AI Australia blogging choir Composition creativity curriculum daw digital Education GarageBand Government High School hip-hop ideology improvising Lesson plans Loops maker maker movement Music Music education Music technology NESA NSW PBL Pedagogy performing Piano poetry policy politics Production research resources sampling Sibelius songwriting sound design syllabus teaching tech technology writing
In defence of Explicit Teaching and Critical Thinking
The last few days, I’ve re-posted a couple of articles I played a minor role in authoring for the Australian Association for Research in Education. These focus on AERO (the Australian Education Research Organisation), the way they push out “evidence” for teachers to follow in Australian education (and the fact that is contested), the lack of independence or peer-review in that process, and a bit of history behind the idea…
Keep readingEvidence is important, but what is the problem?
A re-post of the second article we wrote for the AARE blog recently. This one a bit of a history lesson to get the current debate in perspective! By Brad Fuller, James Humberstone and Rachael Dwyer Following on from our previous piece, we explore the necessity for genuine evidence-based education practice to guide teachers’ work. What is evidence-based practice in education, really? By the early 2000s, the medical…
Keep readingAERO says educators can trust its evidence. Can they really?
This article is re-published from the AARE blog. I’ll be re-posting the second part tomorrow, and a follow-up post soon. By Rachael Dwyer, Brad Fuller and James Humberstone. Big credit to Rachael and Brad who did most of the work on this! The first in a two-part series on AERO and evidence. Tomorrow: Evidence is important, but what is the problem? The Federal Government has now ordered an…
Keep readingMy “Flip Sample” unit of work for middle/high school (e.g. year 7/8) students, updated to meet the new NSW Music 7-10 Syllabus
(And a GPT Agent for aligning the new Content Points!) I wrote this unit of work in 2021 when YouTube creator-producer Andrew Huang released his fantastically simple (yet still pretty powerful) Flip Sampler. I’ve already shared that original Unit of Work and some supporting resources here. It’s worth noting that the app now also works on Android devices! Today I’m sharing an updated version of that Unit of Work, now…
Keep readingNew Unit of Work planners for Stage 5, NSW Music 7-10 2024 Syllabus
At the moment I’m busy re-working some of my best high school units of work for the new NSW 7-10 Music syllabus (2024). While it isn’t due to be implemented for another year, the Department of Education as announced that teachers can start teaching it from this year if they wish, so here at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music we are making a quick shift to really focusing on the…
Keep readingDo the recommendations in the Initial Teacher Education report, “Strong Beginnings”, offer any benefits for the music education of Australian children?
On 6 July 2023, the Final report of the Teacher Education Expert Panel was released. At the time, I wrote a response for AMIE (the Access to Music Education for Inclusion and Equity (AMIE) Network is a collective of scholars and innovative music professionals from around Australia working to ensure that the lives of all children and young people, no matter their background, ability, or circumstance, are enriched by a…
Keep readingAdvocating for music education today – can we stay together?
We have many wonderful music education experts here in Australia, and around the world, who each advocate for music education in their own way. You might think that such advocacy would be applauded by all who work in music education, especially when we seem to be agreed that the importance of the arts is diminished in our high-stakes, standardised-testing, numeracy-and-literacy centred educational world. But it isn’t the case. Rather than…
Keep readingOur nationally-leading music courses are now under threat
I co-authored the following article with the brilliant Dr Jennifer Carter, the leading expert on music syllabus development in NSW, Australia. It will be very difficult to get the government to reverse these draconian changes – so please share publicly, write to your MP, and so on.
Keep readingThe first drafts of the new NSW HSC Music courses are coming, and they’re not great
I think that might be the first made-up click-baity title I’ve written since I called my 2016 TEDxOxford talk “The Science of Dubstep”. The latter was actually an advocacy piece for progressive music education, and I like to think quite a good one, but of course it got hated on by the Dubstep crowd, and fair enough. This title is equally spurious because, as ever, the NSW Education Standards Authority…
Keep readingNESA’s new Music 7-10 syllabus will contribute to teacher workload and burnout
There was a piece called “Teacher burnout fuelling national shortages” on the ABC’s Radio National this morning. The federal government reports that there will be a shortage of 4,000 teachers by the end of next year (honestly, I thought it was already higher than that), and that the main contributing factor is high workload resulting in burnout. In the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Arts and Music Education and Training in…
Keep readingMusicZettel S3E15 – Finding Our Voice
In this, the final episode of the season, I reflect on some of the (eight!) resources that the amazing Jess Lee, Lillian Li, Vicky Zhang made (with me getting in the way here and there) for Genevieve Lacey’s wonderful Finding Our Voice project which commissioned 8 new works from Australian artists including William Barton, Linda May Han Oh, Lisa Illean, Madeleine Flynn, Jenny Hector, Tim Humphrey, Mark Atkins, Erkki Veltheim,…
Keep readingMusicZettel S3E14 – Everything’s a project
This week I’m thinking about the project that I’ll create for our undergraduates and postgraduates at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music to learn about Project Based Learning (and similar pedagogies) with and through. In this episode, I share some of the previous projects with you, and talk about what Project Based Learning (PBL) is, and how when we do music education well, everything’s a project! Comments are still broken on…
Keep readingMusicZettel S3E13 – Explicit Teaching in Music Education
Explicit Teaching (not dissimilar to Direct Instruction) is really in vogue with our local government at the moment, and this coming week all government school teachers have to undertake professional development in it. Of course, there’s a research base behind the use of Explicit Teaching, but does much of that research come from music education? And if it doesn’t, what should music teachers make of Explicit Teaching and similar ideas?…
Keep readingMusicZettel S3E12 – AI and teaching music creation
I know, everyone is writing and podcasting about AI at the moment – YAWN! But the AI generation of music (audio) has just taken another huge leap forward, and in this podcast I wonder what it means for the teaching and learning of music creation – composition, songwriting, producing, and so on. Can students just get AI to do their work for them? Should we be encouraging it or banning…
Keep readingMusicZettel S3E11 Public blogging, Critical Thinking, & the Worldviews of Music Teachers
Today’s show is sponsored by Abble and their new product the iSlave Mini, as well as by FcDonald’s. Please check out these unreliable products! In this episode I’m reflecting on the list of pre-service music teachers’ blogs that I published via my blog yesterday, and the courses to which each relates. I make links to the brilliant Electronic Music School by Will Kuhn and Ethan Hein, and also to the…
Keep readingIntroducing the 2024 #SCMTME and MC1 Extension cohorts
Any of you who have been reading my blog this century will know that I’m a big fan of getting students to publicly blog about their project work, and to develop portfolios and professional websites online. There’s a research backing behind this, by the way. If you’re interested in that, I’ve posted three paragraphs from one of my own publications below. But I’m not starting with that, because I want…
Keep readingNSW Unit of Work planners for the current and new syllabi
I published these a few weeks ago, and then had an update to my website, and the post was deleted – sorry about that! Here I’m providing the Unit of Work planner that I developed to help our pre-service music teachers at the Sydney Conservatorium plan creative and musical units of work for Stage 4 (Year 7 & 8) classes. Following feedback from my colleague Brad Fuller, these were updated…
Keep readingMusicZettel S3E10 – Teaching music creation in Australia
Having had a grumble about the lack of an evidence-base in the local government’s supposedly “Evidence-based syllabus” in the last episode, I turn this into a positive, with the first of several podcasts accounting for my own research in music education, as well as others’. In this episode, specifically, my chapter on teaching music creation in Australia which is part of a relatively new book “The Routledge Companion to Teaching…
Keep readingMusicZettel S3E9: The new NSW Syllabus pt. 2 – When ideology gets in the way of educative evidence-based practice
Following on from the last episode of MusicZettel, in which I focused on the positive things about the new NSW Syllabus, in this episode, I look at the things that the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) got wrong, especially given that they’re claiming this is an “Evidence-Based Syllabus”. I hope that this critical look at the syllabus is useful for listeners in other states and countries also being…
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E8: The new NSW Syllabus pt. 1 – What is classroom music education for?
I’m asking the big questions today, prompted by the new year 7 to 10 (12 to 16 years) music syllabus released recently by the NSW Government: what is classroom music education for? What are the aims of this syllabus, and can we remember the good to avoid the not-so-good? Today I’m focusing (mostly) on what’s good in this new syllabus, and using that to advocate for the same aims in…
Keep readingA more considered response to the new NSW 7-10 syllabus
The Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) have published my considered thoughts on the new NSW years 7 to 10 syllabus on their blog. Please do comment there or here on this post!
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E7: Teaching music through sampling
In today’s episode I talk about ways I’ve used samping in my own composition and production, and ways that I’ve used it to teach composition and engage children in my music classes. There are lots of ideas, and examples of music that I’ve written. My page of resources on teaching sampling with the Flip Sampler app is available here. If you have any comments, I’d love you to leave them…
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E6 – The Maker Movement (pt 2) with Mr Phil
This episode of Music Zettel extends ideas about The Maker Movement for Music Education with a recording of my (lockdown) conversation with expert maker-teacher, Phil Nanlohy. Big thanks to Phil for recording this conversation for my students during lockdown, and also for giving me permission to include it in Music Zettel, even if that did take me a few years! I would really love to hear from you with any…
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E5 The maker movement with Caitlin & Rowena
In this episode of Music Zettel I revisit the topic of the Maker Movement in music education – something that I’ve discussed in prior seasons. I also bring something back from those prior seasons – interviews with teachers! Caitlin Sandiford is a brilliant music teacher who plays in ensemble QuartEd, is a composer and music producer, and is doing a research masters at the Sydney Con. At the time of…
Keep readingTeaching with Flip Sampler by Andrew Huang
I created a whole bunch of resources and a unit of work for high school classes when YouTube sensation Andrew Huang brought out Flip Sampler for iPhone and iPad a few years ago. I updated them this week for my Junior Secondary classes at the Sydney Con this week, and realised that while I’ve shared them a bunch of times with teachers and children around the world, I hadn’t added…
Keep readingLive-tooting responses to the new NSW 7-10 Music Syllabus
The new NSW year 7 to 10 music syllabus out. This is a subject dear to my heart, because years 7 and 8 are the only time in my state where (just about) every child gets music classes from a qualified music teacher. What goes in the syllabus is really important because we live in a world of compliance, and while many wonderful teachers teach beyond the syllabus, it will…
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E4: Structuring poetry, structuring music
In this episode, I show how setting a poem to music can be guided by the structure of the words, using an example from my latest music theatre work, Agapi and other kinds of love, created with poet and rapper Luka Lesson. I then explain how these students can use this approach as models for their own compositions and music productions, through free education resources I’ve shared. Music is by…
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E3: The sound worlds of Agapi
In this episode, I introduce the sound worlds that I created to reflect the narrative in my latest music theatre work, Agapi and other kinds of love, created with poet and rapper Luka Lesson. I then explain how these sound worlds can be used as models for student compositions and music productions, through free education resources I’ve shared. Music is by me, James Humberstone, and Luka Lesson. All text in…
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E2: Rapping about history
In this episode, I explain how to teach composition and production with free resources that I’ve made to go with my new show, Agapi and other kinds of love. These first set of resources are aimed at mandatory classes for middle or junnior secondary classes and use the title track, Agapi, as a model. Students make their own song based on this one. Music is by me, James Humberstone, and…
Keep readingMusic Zettel S3E1: The story of Agapi
In this episode, I explain the story behind my latest music theatre show, Αγάπη (Agapi) and other kinds of love, which is touring around Australia and the world in 2024. Music is by me, James Humberstone, and Luka Lesson. All text in and concepts for Agapi are by Luka Lesson and remain his copyright. You can access the learning resources I’ve made to go with the show here: https://humberstone.craft.me/AgapiRiverside You can…
Keep readingFree music education resource for Αγάπη (Agapi) and other kinds of love
As you can see on the dedicated page for my latest collaboration with Luka Lesson, Αγάπη (Agapi) and other kinds of love, we have a national and international tour in progress! In one of the first shows, at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta, NSW, there are two matinée performances for school students – so I thought maybe some education resources for teaching the music creatively to those students before or…
Keep readingIntroducing the 2023 #SCMTME cohort!
The tenth annual presentation of learning for my course Technology in Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music will take place this year on the 22nd of November. It will be live streamed from the Sydney Con YouTube channel, but if you are here in Sydney or within travelling distance we do invite you to this free catered event! I will post links once they are available. As regular…
Keep readingExploring the Harmonious Blend of Mindfulness and Music Technology in Education
The following blog post is written by ChatGPT as if I’m a student in my own Technology in Music Education course at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. After the post, I’ll share the prompts that led to its creation, which is preparation for the lecture next week (“AI in music education”, of course!) Oh, and by the way, my students have to write weekly blogs like this one for the…
Keep readingSchool mobile phone bans
A friend sent me a great meme yesterday – He framed it as some pushback from GenZ about the upcoming mobile phone ban in schools. Last year, my kids’ (government) school implemented a mobile phone ban with the use of Yondr pouches. Beforehand, the school asked for parent feedback, which I thought was a great thing. What worried me most was the framing of the problem: the school leadership team…
Keep reading2nd draft NSW 7-10 Music Syllabus draft is out
Those who’ve followed me on other social media will know that last year I formed a group of music education researchers, pre-service educators, and teachers from around the world to respond to a really dreadful draft update to the Music Syllabus for students in years 7 to 10 in NSW. We contacted some of the biggest academics who were cited in the government’s own syllabus Evidence Base, because it was…
Keep readingProject-Based Learning for digital sound communication
My wonderful colleague Brad Fuller and I published a paper on the pedagogies we’ve developed in a course I originally wrote on digital sound which has become really popular at the University of Sydney since the pandemic (it’s entirely online). The challenge in this paper was writing for the Media Journal in Music Education for the first time, and for two reasons: This paper was published late last year, and…
Keep readingThe Paul Grabowsky Sibelius Education Kit (from 2006)
There’s a funny story about this one. Sibelius 5 had lots of cool things to show off. A new audio engine, the Ideas Hub, support for VST and AU plug-ins, a new view in Panorama, super-easy cues and much, much more. Here in Australia Sibelius went all out and commissioned a work from composer Paul Grabowsky. The work, In Search of Comedy, featured a solo violinist with an accompanying orchestra ‘performed’…
Keep readingSibelius 7 Music Notation Essentials (Book, no longer in print).
Because this book is no longer in print, I have made the resources and tutorial videos (which are still quite relevant to the current version of Sibelius) available here! There are plenty of second hand copies of the book available if you need one. Sibelius 7 Music Notation Essentials was the only official, Avid-endorsed course for learning Sibelius, which I wrote after leaving Sibelius to teach and work on my PhD…
Keep readingStimulating music educator worldview change througha pedagogy of provocation, critical thinking and peer-review
This is the second research article arising from data collected from my MOOC, The Place of Music in 21st Century Education. Thousands of music teachers internationally have now responded to my “pedagogy of provocation”, in which we consider the latest research and practice in Music Education and try to challenge our own worldviews. Here is the Abstract: Contemporary literature suggests that music education is stuck in a cycle of cultural…
Keep readingAnnouncing the #SCMTME & MTeach Extension cohorts, 2022
Yes, it’s that time of year again, when I share my students’ websites with the world! We’re 11 weeks into my course MUED4002 Technology in Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and as usual we’ve learned lots of simple techy skills (audio and MIDI recording and editing, graphic creation, creative commons and notation software), and we’ve also explored the modern music tech world and thought about what it…
Keep readingSomething went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.