Bringing music to all social classes

Abstract

In this article (which deliberately steals the title of an interview I gave to Catarina Dias (Dias, 2014) for the online academic jornal “Nós” of Minho University I present a summary of a teacher training project I have been developing at Minho University with the purpose of improving generalist teachers (kindergarten and elementary school teachers) music literacy. This project, which has been adjusted over the past eighteen years and also expanded to the classes of other Minho University teacher trainers working with me, aims at achieving a permanent and autonomous development of the future teachers listening and performing skills through the promotion of concert attendance, report writing and music instrument group learning. Although the project is developed at a late age of the teachers in training (and despite the evidence that its benefits would increase immensely in case it could be developed at an earlier period of their education), the results are very clear and solid. Some of these 18-23 year olds actually decide to continue their music education by enrolling in a music academy, private music school or private lessons when they finish the generalist teacher training degree. Their music education and humanist development is promoted, and they also will one day better promote the music education and humanist development of the children in their own kindergarten and elementary school classes.