Expanding horizons in music education

The year 2017 not only marks the centenary of Finland’s independence but is also an anniversary year for Finnish music education.

Composing is acquiring an important role at Finland’s music institutes and schools. In the revised curricula, composing is identified as an activity that is – or at least should be – accessible to everyone and whose positive impacts extend far beyond the realm of music itself.

How does one organise arts education in a multi-ethnic society? Whose culture should be taught? What should be considered in drawing up a national curriculum for music? The Finnish-Nepalese-Israeli project Global Visions Through Mobilizing Networks is contributing to the development of music education in Nepal.

Pietarsaari, a tiny town on the western coast of Finland, boasts a degree programme unique for Finland, allowing students to specialise in Baroque music and complete a degree while working. The Baroque programme at the Novia University of Applied Sciences has proved attractive even for experienced musicians who are keen to learn more about early music.

Many of today’s Finnish professional musicians attended the Sibelius Upper Secondary School in Helsinki. In addition to general education and musical & dance tuition, the school provides contacts, networks and encounters.

The theory is that goal-oriented art education in Finland is provided for all residents nationwide, at school and through government-subsidised institutions. But in the Sámi homeland in the far north of Finland this is not always the case. In the field of music, this failing is being addressed through the Sámi music adult education project, supported by the European Social Fund.

Music student Perttu Pölönen had an idea. There are 12 notes in the classical Western scale -what would happen if you placed those notes on a clock face? With this in mind, Pölönen created the Musiclock, which was later reworked into an app. And there is still more to come.

What does democratic education look like from the perspective of music? In October 2015, the ArtsEqual research initiative was launched to survey equality in various branches of the arts. At its centre is Resonaari, a music institute leading by example to show what potential musicianship may be found in the margins of society.

"Rather than focusing exclusively on musical skills, Finnish music education aims to consider students holistically as human beings, from their very first steps. (-) Music education is not about the subject; it is about the people," writes Petri Aarnio in his column.