Now in its twenty-fifth year, Music Education Research remains committed to reporting on, and discussing, research and methodological issues from the point of view of philosophy, sociology, psychology and comparative studies. As editor in chief, my concern is with the dissemination of ideas relating to practical and theoretical developments in the field and to ensure that the journal continues to provide an international forum for cross-cultural investigations and discussions relating to all areas of music education.
I am delighted that Hilary McQueen and Esther Cavett have accepted the invitation to take on the role of guest editors for this Special Issue. The topic, 'Challenging approaches to music curricula and literacy today', grows out of a report by Hilary McQueen commissioned by the Society for Music Analysis (McQueen, 2020). The trustees of the Society wanted to investigate a perceived gap in the music literacy knowledge and skills of students applying for higher education music courses.
In a spirit of collaborative working, McQueen as author of report and her ‘critical friend’ Cavett (the trustee most involved in the original research) invited music education researchers to reflect on, and develop, thinking about some of the main themes emerging from McQueen’s research.
In addition to celebrating how one far-sighted initiative by one academic society can generate ripples of new thinking and research, I believe that the Special Issue can stand as an illustrative example of the convening power a society such as the Society for Music Analysis might have, and, as such, become a prototype for future collaborations within and beyond these pages.
I am pleased to accept the invitation to add a few words to this special edition of Music Education Research on ‘Challenging approaches to music curricula and literacy today’. The Society for Music Analysis welcomes those with interests in all musical repertoires and cultures; it promotes music theory and analysis in the broadest sense, including formal and critical theory, aesthetics, semiotics, music psychology, cognitive science, music technology, and many other subdisciplines and inter-disciplines. Accordingly, the SMA is intrinsically collaborative in ideology and approach. It was therefore with great pleasure that I learned of the generous invitation of Mary Stakelum, editor in chief of this journal, to Hilary and Esther to edit a special edition that would interrogate some of the main themes arising from Hilary’s 2020 research report, commissioned by the SMA.
The articles within this Special Issue reflect on some of the report’s key findings, including the importance of developing the kind of teaching in music theory and aural training that can accommodate different traditions and trainings, the crucial and often hidden resource offered by instrumental teachers, the urgent need for digital music literacy to become a core part of curricula, and the need to address issues of social justice in music education. This is particularly germane to the teaching of music theory, which has been so maligned in recent popular press yet need not signify exclusion and privilege. Many of these themes will also be represented in the SMA’s first Summit on Music Literacy at the University of Cambridge (8–9 July 2024). Through this event, we want to bring together the widest possible range of stakeholders involved in the teaching, performance, and study of music today, and to have an open and robust debate about the future of music literacy in UK music education. We want the summit to lead to the creation of a music literacy network which can generate further research and influence future policymaking.
In this special issue, Music Education Research and the Society for Music Analysis have together captured the zeitgeist of music education and related research today. It is troubled, pluralistic, passionate, dynamic, exciting, and demands urgent attention. It is also a field where educators need to collaborate in order to interrogate our own positionality so that we serve the needs of the people we teach, and so that our discipline can thrive.