I am an elementary music teacher (ages 5-11) in New Hampshire, USA, and the core of my curriculum is folk music!

what context were you working in a school? regular music teacher, one off workshop, series of after school sessions etc…
I work full-time in my own classroom at one school (population 350). All of the children have music with me twice a week, for about 35 minutes at a time, during their school day.


t kind of material did you present? Music/song/dance/history/folklore etc…
A wise-ass answer would be "yes!" I teach songs, play-party games, throwing in history, geography, folklore, literature, and the poetic essence of the songs. I also teach music literacy, intonation, harmony singing, rhythm skills, listening skills, and general all-around Golden Rule social skills!


t are your reasons for using folk material in your educating process?
Because I love it, and if I don't love something, I don't teach it. Folk material connects me directly to those who have gone before. I try to impart to my students the wonder of the fact that we are singing actual words our forebears sang, hearing the same sounds, feeling the same vibrations in our heads, etc. And the music is still so alive, so topical to today!


t teaching methods do you employ during your sessions (please give a mark of 1-10 describing the importance of each in an average session
I made 1= primary importance   10- least importance

Historical instruction 4
Practical 2
Experimental 5
Research (mine or my students? Mine- 4, students- 8)
Learning by ear 2-3 depending on age of student
Learning from notation 3-4 depending on age of student
Disscussion/question-answer 4
1-1 nstruction 8 (no time!)
Group instruction 1
Student led 5- happens sometimes, not often enough
Tutor led ???


Did you make use of 'world music'? From where, for what purpose?
Oh, yes. From all over- Africa, Japan, China, Latin America, - my school often has cultural ambassadors who spend the school year with us!


did you approach the issue of introducing music from different cultures?
Very matter-of-fact so as to make it seem very natural. Lots of praise for "mastering" a foreign language. The kids love the music- we enjoy the variety.


important do you think it is to place folk material in a context, or can you just use the material as part of the normal musical repertoire? I try to use a context AS PART OF the normal musical repertoire! I try to give some background for everything I teach, however brief. But I think it's very important for the children to know where a song is from, and what purpose (holiday, work song, etc) the song serves.


Is there anything inherent in folk music, song and dance that has specific educational benefits?
Music is a vital part of every culture. Hear and "know" the music and you know something about the culture or historical period you didn't know before and couldn't learn in any other way. Music also enters the brain differently than written or spoken facts- and it "sticks" longer. Children are often "kinesthetic" learners, and teaching a dance from another culture or historical period puts their whole body into that context. I could go on, but I'll leave it at that for now!



Do you include improvisation/composition as a part of your course of education? What relationship does this have to the use of traditional material?
Some. Some songs beg for new verses.
If we are learning Asian music, we might improvise on recorders or xylophones on a pentatonic scale.
When I do a blues unit, my 5th graders (10-11 year olds) might be given a I-IV-V-I chord progression and told to write a 12-bar blues verse or two.
My 4th graders might write a vers-chorus song as part of a unit.
The list goes on...

What aspects of education can be successfully fulfilled by using folk music/song or dance?
What aspects of education can't be successfully fulfilled by using folk music/song or dance?
But a short list includes:
Maths
History
Geography
Literature
Reading and language skills
physical education
art
health
the aforementioned Golden Rule

Is there enough provision within the current system for students to have access to traditional song/music/dance? How would you like the system to change?
At my school I wish for longer blocks of time with them. We just get started on something, and they have to go on to another class, and I've got another bunch waiting in the wings. But I really can't complain- I have an exceptional job!

Fay, I'd be happy to talk with you some more. Obviously I'm from the US and you're writing from what I'm guessing to be the UK. But PM me if you want more from me!

Allison