The aim of Music Education at the School of Music is to explore the value of music in a variety of educational contexts, starting at birth and gradually developing to music in the lives of the elderly.
Music Education students serve the community in many ways. Second year students in the graduate programmes respectively create and perform an annual musical production for pre-schoolers (see video below) and a puppet theatre play. Third year BMus students organise a mini concert where guests are entertained with live performances to broaden their musical knowledge through active listening, while BA Music & Society students in their third year create and perform a mini-musical in the second half of the year. During our annual Music Education week in October, Music Education is celebrated with a festival consisting of a mini conference, career expo, a musical games event, musical stories, a multicultural festival, performance of an original comic opera, and a celebration of sound. The final year Music Education students are also responsible for the organisation of the mmino festival, a music festival that serves the schools in and around Potchefstroom. All these events are organised by the Music Education students as part of their module outcomes. Final year Music Education students also excel at research and present their work at a joint annual symposium with Wits. We have even had fourth year Music Education students who presented papers at international music education conferences and who published peer reviewed articles in accredited journals.
Music Education students gain valuable experience through observations in the field of Music Education at local nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools and specialized schools for learners with special needs. Students get many opportunities for practical teaching experiences in various contexts during their undergraduate studies.
In their first year of Music Education, students focus on Music Education in the Intermediate phase, and in their second year students study early childhood music education (ECME). Third year Music Education students focus on Music Education in the Senior phase and community music for the elderly, whilst students in their final year of study focus on music in the FET phase, and music for learners with special needs.
Through the Diploma Music Education course, students will gain experience in teaching music to Foundation and Intermediate phase learners in group contexts. The focus of Music education in the Diploma programme is on developing practical skills that can be used in a classroom with a strong emphasis on movement and music. Students will also learn to play various instruments that are useful in the Music Education classroom, such as the guitar, recorder, ukulele and various percussion instruments. In addition, students are required to master theoretical perspectives on teaching music in the Foundation and Intermediate phase, including teaching singing and the development of pitch awareness, teaching rhythm and the use of movement, play as an educational tool, developing listening and creativity, assessment and evaluation, and lesson planning.
For further information about Music Education at the School of Music, please contact Prof Mignon van Vreden.
