How Popular Musicians Learn : A Way Ahead for Music Education

During the last 150 years or so, many societies all over the world have developed complex systems of formal music education based on Western models. Common to most are one or more of the following: educational institutions, from primary schools to conservatories, partly involving or entirely dedicated to the teaching and learning of music; written curricula, syllabuses or explicit teaching traditions; professional teachers, lecturers or master musicians; systematic assessment mechanisms such as grade exams, national school exams or university exams; music notation; and a body of literature, including texts on music, pedogical texts, and teaching materials.