Music Education for Life

The Australian Chamber Orchestra Foundation Program recently concluded a study in a Western Sydney Primary School. The Program implemented music education for all students in Years One, Two and Three. Students were provided instruments and took part in a three-year intensive music learning program which included:
1. Weekly class instruction and ensemble playing, led by trained ACO instrumental teachers, involving singing, moving, and technical instruction on their instrument;
2. Weekly small-group string lessons with ACO
instrumental teachers; and
3. A daily practice session led by classroom teachers, supported by video resources developed by the ACO.
A critical component of the program design is the co-teaching partnership between instrumental educator and classroom teacher. They meet regularly to plan lessons, share insights, discuss student progress, and find solutions to challenges, resulting in an ongoing feedback loop between program design and program delivery.

Music learning is a uniquely effective tool in improving brain function and providing learning experiences that enhance executive functioning, specifically in resilience, also referred to as ‘grit’. These skills form the foundations of effective learning and are essential in order to see academic improvements in subject areas such as reading and numeracy, and can have long lasting benefits into adulthood.

Research has identified the critical factors of music learning required for notable and sustained musical and cognitive development. In an analysis of over three decades of research, Collins (2014) found that music learning needs to: 
• commence before 7 years of age;
• involve music making through singing, moving and/or learning a musical instrument;
• take place in both group learning (ensemble) settings and individualised (small group or individual) music lessons; 
• be undertaken regularly and continually (every week) for a minimum of two years and ideally for three to five years, for more sustained impact;
• follow a sequential and scaffolded curriculum;
• be delivered by teachers who are trained in teaching music; and
• include the reading of age-appropriate music notation.