Almost all children in England aged from 11 to 14 years are taught music by a specialist teacher. On the other hand, children aged from 5 to 7 years are nearly always taught music by their class teacher. This paper addresses the issue of how children in the intervening years, that is children aged 7 to 11 years, might best be taught. It focuses on the music teaching in ten primary schools. Of the three most effective schools in the sample, one bases its music curriculum on specialist teaching, and the other two use a system based on class teaching. In the sample as a whole, there is no clear relationship between the teachers' qualifications in music, and the quality of their music teaching.
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