Popular & Informal

Virtually all films/movies contain music and we tend to watch them in a fairly informal way. Whether we're watching at the cinema or at home, on a big or small screen. My life is currently filled with advertisements for this film and I'm excited to see it!

SO SO SO many of us learn music from the films we watch as children. The music in the films made by the Walt Disney Company has had a huge impact on many children across the world. Many children memorise these songs, some before they can form full sentences.

This almost magical way of listening to, copying and then making music is driven by the intrinsic motivation of the child and for me, is a tidy example of informal learning.

"Informal Learning is a model of self-directed learning that aims to enhance student motivation, enjoyment and skill-acquisition in music lessons by tapping into the real-life learning practices of popular musicians." (Koelma, 2024)

Within a school music classroom, there is a danger of teachers being consumed by the requirements of the syllabus, expectations of their school community, as well as the cultural expectations of institutional music education, that feels as though there is little time to include informal learning.

It may come as a surprise that despite the popularity of Disney music, it is not valued by all music educators, even when it is valued by their students.

Professor Lucy Green's ground breaking research identified five areas of the student-centred, contemporary pedagogy - Informal Learning. Her research into how popular musicians learn was prompted by her own experiences as teenager and young adult. It looks at music education from a sociological perspective and how music education can inform and reflect stereotypes within culture, as well as challenge them.

Below is a diagram of the principles from the not-for-profit organisation Musical Futures , who provide professional learning, resources and community connection.

Its important to note that although the informal learning principles were formed by research on how popular musicians learn, the principles can be applied to any type of music and do not suggest that everyone should learn popular music!

 Musical Futures are all about implementing informal learning in today's music classrooms. Their website and workshops are resources I look forward to using in my future classrooms.

Being popular as a music teacher is one of my aims, because I want all students I work with to know that music is for them. By giving students autonomy in what they learn and connecting with them by knowing what music they enjoy and creating opportunities for informal learning of this music, will hopefully foster a positive classroom environment and a lifelong connection to music!

References

• Bull, A. (2019). ‘Everyone Here Is Going to Have Bright Futures’: Capitalizing on Musical Standard. In A. Bull (Eds.), Class, Control, and Classical Music (pp.50-69) Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190844356.001.0001

• Cayari, C. & Smith G.D. & Buehlman, B. (March, 2021) Scholarship in Conversation | Lucy Green on Sociology, Gender, and Informal Music Learning [Audio Podcast] In Music2Gether https://open.spotify.com/show/1oUPnZOG0eqEZEz1e5emTw

• Green, L. (2016/2022) How Popular Musicians Learn: A Way Ahead for Music Education. Routledge

• Green, L. (2008/2016). Music, informal learning and the school : A new classroom pedagogy. Taylor & Francis Group.

• Koelma, C. (2024) Week 10 Informal Learning Seminars, Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.