I hope that the following is of interest for anybody involved in music education, and I would welcome any comments or requests for further information. Also please let me know if you are involved in such a project and we will include you in our forthcoming Education links.

1) Internet Resource pages.

The web authoring involved here did take time to produce (i.e. more than normal lesson planning) though there were considerable benefits for the students and the teacher which may be summarised as follows:

An interesting resource for a work with good Internet links (and sound clips and score excerpts in some cases) supports self study and frees time in lessons to listen and discuss the music. It is a good idea however initially to take students to an area where they can have access to a computer each (with headphones)and provide guidance on essential research skills to the less confident if asked for. I found setting a few questions on the resource to be of value, especially where the answers can only be found by exploring the web links supplied.

The concept of linking documents both via the Internet and between the pages on the resource made me think carefully about cross-referencing when preparing the notes. A valuable aspect of this kind of resource (and this kind of learning method) is that the students are only one 'click' away from reading one page with another (e.g. Cage's ideas on the use of silence in music with Stanislaw Hansel's ideas on the same). Links to sites which explain terms (e.g. integrated serialism), provide a fast way of checking understanding without needing to break the session to consult a book etc. Sites can be down but, careful checking by a teacher prior to use, as to the reliability of a site, is an essential part of the preparation.

I found that the resource helped focus the minds of the students on the works and the composers, and helped in the initial stages of question preparation for the performers. Students (quite understandably) have little or no experience of new music and to get to a deeper level of questioning about this music, takes gentle but instructive preparation.

2) Discussions between students, composer and performer via e-mail.

The intention was that the performers would be able to give the students insight into their preparations for the concert, through discussion of the learning process involved, discussion about musical detail and other questions which they found of interest. The email discussions helped to develop ideas for the 'live' seminars and ultimately to enhance the students' enjoyment and experience of the subsequent concert. The areas of greatest interest were firstly the learning process for this 'strange' music, and the audience reaction to a concert of New Music. Students seemed less interested in discussing the details of the pieces themselves - perhaps the resource notes and the lessons were enough for them! From a teaching viewpoint the e-mail discussion gave us a structured approach to the seminars and ensured continuity of ideas. The time (2 hours) passed very quickly which was partly due I'm sure to good preparation.

The e-mail discussion provided excellent starting points for the seminars. It is important to ensure that the 'live' discussions have enough scope to add more to points already raised via the emailing.

I found it of value to put the performer/student e-mail discussion on-line and allow others participating in the project to read it. This gave it a sense of importance and helped put across a seriousness of intention on the part of the teacher, and conveyed to the students the value of their involvement.

I would finally recommend that the teacher begins a project by setting up e-mail accounts (e.g. hotmail.com). Students use a common password so that access can be had to all the discussions in order to have all the material on line, and it is also the resource for the seminar content preparations.

3) The Open Rehearsal and Concert

Some of the best comments I received from students were:

"Well, I enjoyed the concert a lot more than I thought I would!" and "I couldn't believe the audience for this music, Amazing!"

The intensity of the open rehearsal of Lutoslawski's 'Grave' made a particular impression, as did hearing the works live after previously hearing them only on CD and tapes. The visual presentation including the projected images of the performers and the projected paintings in the Cage were much remarked upon. The experience was musically enriching and the students have the ability to say that they were part of a rare opportunity to hear the works featured, and it was an experience they will never forget. The audience for the concert, which included the students, was extremely attentive and appreciative.

Click here for Resume of the Seminar Discussions