This book is for educators, including practising and intending teachers in schools and colleges and instrumental teachers. It will also stimulate non-teachers who are nonetheless curious about the role of music in our lives and will find its way to music lovers, musicians and those in the fields of psychology and sociology of music.
* The first two chapters are concerned with the nature of music itself, with its value and metaphorical significance and with the social context of musical understanding. These are important issues for musicians and music educators.
* The central chapter of the book focuses on music education. Through practical examples, Keith Swanwick teases out the interrelated layers of musical experience and sets out fundemental prinicples for music educators, whatever the particular context of music teaching.
* In many countries, demand for accountability has led to the development of state guidelines, national curricula or 'standards'. Valid and reliable assessment of students' work has become an area of concern, and is addressed in the penultimate chapter.
* The book ends with a consideration of the relationship between institutionalised music education and the wider community, suggesting ways in which formal music education in schools and colleges may adapt to a changing world.