Page 1

Teaching music
at secondary school
School resources

Since the second half of the twentieth century, music education in schools has seen a gradual shift
away from a musical appreciation approach that was common to throughout most of the twentieth
century, towards a more practical approach to teaching, learning, and assessing music. There has
been ongoing debate among music educationalists as to whether music education should emphasise
listening and theory or playing and performing. However, if one of the objectives of music education
is to provide students with both an understanding of and experiences in and with sound so that they
can learn to express themselves musically, it stands to reason that students need to engage with both
music conceptual knowledge and practice. Therefore, while the turn towards more practice-focused
programmes was both welcome and necessary, it is also important to ensure that practice does not
supplant theoretical and conceptual knowledge. Ideally, the two types of knowledge complement
each other.

As described in Music education in schools, the shift towards music as practice runs the risk of
sidelining the ‘knowledge-that’ required for deep learning1. For example, if music focuses only on
procedural skills without reference to knowledge-that (theoretical knowledge), students may well be
short-changed as they do not have access to or at least awareness of the knowledge about how music
works. For example, students may be taught a number of songs on the ukulele, which, if done well, is
likely to be an engaging and rewarding experience. However, if concepts such as keys, chords, harmony,
melody, and so on are not also introduced, learning the ukulele can become context-bound rather than an
experience that can open up other forms of experience and learning2. This is not to say that music theory
and conceptual knowledge should dominate the content and pedagogy of classrooms, but rather that it
should be integrated into creative, music-making activities such as composition.

There is considerable research from social realism and cognitive science that suggests the need to
recalibrate the balance between ‘knowledge-that’ and ‘know-how-to’ if we want deep learning to occur.
Imagine a scenario where a teacher wants to develop students’ listening capabilities to utilise in their
music making – in other words, to be able to listen beyond a surface level and, over time, become
musical critical thinkers. Students first need to listen to and recall a lot of different types of music.
Secondly, they need to develop fluency with a range of music-specific concepts and language that
describe musical processes and phenomenon3. Thirdly, students need to find out what has been written
about the significance of the music in which they are particularly interested within its stylistic field.
These three aspects involve using concepts as the conduit of learning. In other words, if a student wants
to understand, share their understanding, and argue in favour for a particular piece of music, they need to
be able to aurally perceive how the music is constructed and creates its affects, describe these aspects,
and then devise an argument in the music’s favour. The student might need to call on concepts such
as chordal juxtaposition, regular and irregular phrase lengths, timbral combinations, changes of meter,
and so on; to put what they hear into words and to form their argument about why this music is worthy
of study.

This type of criticality cannot emerge without a great deal of listening experience (the musical equivalent
of learning ‘content’ and ‘facts’ stored in the long-term memory), fluency with the specialised conceptual
language of the subject, and putting this growing knowledge to use in performing, composing, arranging,

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and so on. Cognitive science research indicates that students need to encounter lots of factual content
which is ordered and categorised through the main concepts of the subject. If our curriculum is
predominantly a practice-based one, focused on the ‘know-how-to’ of performing and composing, it is
important also to teach the ‘knowledge-that’ (conceptual knowledge) that can deepen the knowledge of
the practice.

Ideally, the two forms of knowledge go hand-in-hand and enhance each other, although there is always
more pedagogical challenge with how to approach music theory in ways that do not turn students off
its importance. In this regard, it is advisable that music lessons begin with action and sound, and that
concepts are brought into learning conversations as they are required. In the popular Musical Futures
approach primarily used at intermediate and lower secondary school, students are given a high level of
control over content selection, sequence, and pace of learning, with an emphasis on applied knowledge
(know-how-to) as they learn to play songs of their own choice in friendship groups. Theoretical
knowledge (knowledge-that) only appears when it is needed, if at all. An expert teacher may utilise
the Musical Futures approach as a mechanism for motivation and practical engagement in the junior
levels of secondary school and then, over time, may gradually reveal the concepts (knowledge-that)
embedded in the music and the musicking. Rhythm games, learning popular songs with ukulele or guitar,
and composing using sequencing software are all excellent content for the development of musical
know-how-to and knowledge-that required for deep learning. Ideally, theory should be embedded in and
emerge from practice, so theory’s meaning and use are made clear to students, rather than theory being
approached as something that is abstract and acquired from a book.

Lesson exemplar: Introduction to chords on the ukulele

Planning for teaching should start with the key question: ‘what is it I want my students to learn?’ To
enable deep learning, lesson design needs to clarify the subject concepts that underpin the chosen topic.
For example, in the lesson outlined below for Year 9 or Year 10 music, the goal is to teach the class to
play chords on the ukulele. This is fun and interesting in itself, but teachers can also use this activity as
a means to increase students’ understanding about chords, chord progressions, and harmony en route
to composing their own songs. The deeper level of learning is about the concepts – in this case, chords
and chord progressions – which are generalisable subject concepts that can be applied to many different
styles of music and many different learning contexts such as composing, performing, and analysing. In
this way, the lesson is not only about learning to play chords on the ukulele, but also about other equally
important empowering music knowledge such as understanding how harmony, realised as progressions
of chords, generates form and structure in music.

In the sample music lesson outlined below, students explore the main concepts of chord and chord
progression (both quite dense ‘knowledge-that’ concepts made up of related superordinate and
subordinate concepts) and the skill of chord finding and playing a chord progression with a regular
pulse on the ukulele - ‘know-how-to’. The key argument in this approach to lesson design is that it is
necessary to differentiate between knowledge-that – the concepts and content – and the skills and
competencies - know-how-to – in order to make sure that each is well taught and that they are brought
together. Teaching only skills limits students’ wider understanding of how music actually works, while
teaching only how things work without making music fails to recognise music as an aural and practice-
based phenomenon. First and foremost, we must make sounds and make music, and then we can bring
conceptual understanding to what we do.

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Lesson Design Dimensions

Intended Learning Outcome(s): At the end of this lesson

• Students will know that a chord is two or more notes sounding together that creates harmony.

• Students will know that a chord progression is two or more chords sounding in a sequence.

• Students will know how to play the chord progression I, IV, V, I in C major on the ukulele, keeping
a steady pulse.

Key Subject Concept(s): Related Subject Concept(s):

chord, chord progression harmony, pulse, beat, rhythm, tempo, ensemble, tab
notation, strumming, tune

Skills: Chord finding and changing on the ukulele, maintaining pulse and tempo

Key Content/Activities: (briefly state the key material/activities that actualise the concepts or skills
to be taught): learning a I, IV, V chord progression in C major on a ukulele in groups and culminating
activity playing as a class with a backing track.

Connection to previous and subsequent lesson(s): This lesson reinforces and extends prior
knowledge of beat, ensemble, and tempo, and introduces the concepts of harmony, chords, chord
progressions, and tab notation. It is setting up the foundations required for song writing.

Assessment for Learning: (data for the teacher on how students’ learning is going):
Students will perform the chord progression as a class and in groups finding each chord and
executing the chord changes accurately while maintaining a steady pulse. The teacher is assessing
chord accuracy, chord change accuracy, maintenance of beat, and ensemble accuracy of each
student in small groups. Exit cards can be used for knowledge-that definitions.

Resources: teacher composed or pre-existing song, class set of ukuleles, PPT slides with definitions
of key concepts, ukulele info (parts, tab for chords), and task instructions, Axis of Awesome YouTube
clip, chord progression backing track.

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Lesson Pedagogy Dimensions

Timing Concept(s) Content and Learning Activities Assessment for

(mins) and/or Skills Learning
(as appropriate)

5 minutes chord Priming: teacher sings and plays a self- Gauging students’
progression composed or pre-existing song using the I, prior knowledge:
IV, V, I chord progression on the ukulele and
Ask: what was I
then asks a series of questions to highlight
doing? Can you break
(‘thingify’) the key concepts of chord, chord
down what I was
progression, strumming, beat, and tune.
doing into different
parts and name
them? (singing, tune,
lyrics, strumming,
chords, harmony,
chord progression,
pulse, beat, rhythm)

5 minutes chord, Cognitive Strengthening: show definitions on

harmony, slides:
chord
‘chord is the name given to two or more notes
progression
played simultaneously to create harmony and
which can be played in a sequence to produce
chord progressions’.

5 minutes chord Re-Priming: show the Axis of Awesome

progressions YouTube clip – this demonstrates how most
popular songs use the same set of chords

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=dFpryVMgni0

5 minutes chord Setting up the task: on slides, introduce

progressions the parts of the ukulele, provide chord tab
diagrams for chords I, IV, and V in C major, and
demonstrate the chord sequence in a steady
4/4 metre. Organise groups of 4-5 and issue
pre-tuned ukuleles.

10 minutes chord shapes Breaking down/scaffolding the task: Teacher is assessing

chord accuracy
(i) learning the chords as separate finger/hand
placements. Teacher circulates and indicates
how much time is left for the task.

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10 minutes chord Then Teacher is assessing

transitions (ii) working on the transition between chords I chord accuracy,
to IV, IV to I, I to V, and V to I. In 4/4 time strum chord changes,
each chord three times then rest on beat 4 to maintenance of beat
give time to change the chord /hand position. in small groups
Keep a steady, slow beat, and gradually
increase the tempo. Teacher circulates and
indicates how much time is left for the task.

10 minutes playing Transition: to whole class activity rehearsing Teacher is assessing

a chord the chord progression together with a backing chord accuracy,
progression track, emphasising ensemble through the chord changes,
as a class - concepts of beat, pulse, and tempo. maintenance of
beat and ensemble
beat, pulse, Ukuleles packed away.
accuracy of each
and tempo
student in small
groups.

5 minutes Students fill in an exit card self-assessing AfL feedback for

how they are going with playing the chords teacher next steps.
accurately and in time. The exit card also asks
them to define chord, harmony, and chord
progression.

Reflection/Evaluation: (what went well? what needs to be amended?)

Glossary
Articulation: the way in which a sound is attacked or sounded

Dynamics: how (relatively) loudly or softly music is played

Graphic notation: the representation of sounds and form through graphic means rather than using
traditional notes on a staff

Musicianship: musical intelligence, or the ability to engage with and respond to music

Pitch: how (relatively) high or low a note is

Staff: the set of five horizontal lines used in typical Western musical notation

Timbre: the tone colour or quality of a sound

Tab (tablature) notation: a diagrammatic from of notation that indicates where the fingers are placed to
generate a chord on a guitar or ukulele.

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Useful resources
Ministry of Education. Into Music series: Volume 1 (2001), Volume 2 (2002), and
Volume 3 (2003).

Ministry of Education (1992). Music education: Standard two to form two: A

handbook for teachers. Wellington: Learning Media.

Regelski, T. (2004). Teaching general music in grades 4-8: A musicianship

approach. Oxford University Press.

Endnotes
1 McPhail, G. (2016). The future just happened: Lessons for 21st-century learning
from the secondary school music classroom. Curriculum Matters, 12, 8-28.

2 Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan Company.

3 I call this ‘thingification’. ‘Thingification’ occurs when we name things, usually

as concepts: for example, we might hear certain things happening in a piece of
music (such as syncopated rhythms or loud dynamics), but until we have them
pointed out and have the teacher introduce the specialised language for that
thing, we have not ‘thingified’ it! Having specialised language gives the student
power to hear and talk about things.

PREPARED FOR THE EDUCATION HUB BY

Dr Graham McPhail
Dr Graham McPhail is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social
Work at the University of Auckland. He took up this position in 2015 after twenty
years of work in the secondary education sector. His research is centred on
the role of knowledge in the curriculum, in particular within C21 schooling and
music education contexts. He was lead editor for New Zealand’s first volume on
secondary school music education Educational Change and the Secondary School
Music Curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand published by Routledge in 2018. Graham
has published widely, with over 50 outputs in a wide range of journals, books, and
CDS both in New Zealand and internationally.

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