Fundamental or Frill?: Music Education in Australian Schools Since the 1880s

Abstract

This article argues that the development of music education since the middle of the nineteenth century has not simply been a case of slow growth and gradual improvement, but rather that it entered the curriculum, at worst by default, and at best under a different guise. It provides an overview of curricula and practises in both state and private schools in Australian from the second half of the nineteenth century, and follows their development from then until the recent past. It considers the reasons why music was introduced, the purposes it was intended to fulfil, and identifies some factors, such as class, gender and the creation of public school systems themselves, that have had ongoing effects. It illustrates changes in the ways music was taught and the purposes it was perceived as fulfilling, by looking at three time periods - from 1880 through the 1890s, from 1910 through the 1920s and from 1950 through the 1960s.