In this study, the author examines the relationship between tone production and language among children from Ghana. The results suggest that linguistic content influences melodic movement. To a large extent, the singing development of these children is made possible through play and the other culturally acceptable repertoire that they hear around them. The author concludes that teachers should be encouraged to develop exercises that enhance vocal development while rooted within the children's musical cultures.

South Africa is undergoing dynamic changes affecting all aspects of life, and legacies of the previous regime have a bearing on these changes. Music educators informal institutions face many challenges. Music-making in the informal sector is extensive, ongoing and relevant. Today, one of the greatest challenges for music educators in the formal sector is to realise the importance and value of developing a philosophy and process of music education that emanates and evolves from musics and musical practices existing in southern Africa.

How can music help to create a culture of tolerance when there are fundamental problems in decoding the messages in the musk of others? There is quite good access in British and other schools to musical materials from Africa, and use has been made of them, but there is a question as to whether this use is appropriate and acceptable. The concept of ownership of such music is briefly discussed, and the relative effectiveness of its transmission. This is then set in the contexts of Music Education and the strength of Christianity in contemporary Tanzania, including some of the problems perceived by Tanzanian students and teachers. These contexts have to be acknowledged, and the article concludes with two suggestions for making the inclusion of African music in British schoob a more transformative experience, ideally through direct links with sources of African music in Africa.

The recent explosion in ‘world musics’ can be seen as a positive element for music education; but a failure to adopt a well-grounded and consensual approach in British educational institutions may well signal problems for the future of music as a curriculum subject. This paper problematises the use of non- Western musics in schools and colleges, it recognises the need for a more thorough conceptual stance and a reappraisal of the music curriculum and, among a number of options, suggests an anti-racist and intercultural perspective as a possible way forward.

The attainment of Zimbabwean independence in 1980 resulted in a variety of pressures on the curriculum for the education of music teachers. These pressures included dissatisfaction with the Eurocentric bias of the existing curriculum and demands for shifting the bias of education towards the promotion of previously marginalised aspects of Zimbabwean culture. This paper outlines the effects of these pressures on curricular innovations in Zimbabwean traditional music at Hillside Teachers' College, Bulawayo, and explores the possibilities for the future development of traditional music curriculum.

The development of musicians and the continuity of the musical art should be the main thrust of music education. The institutions of education should therefore be equipped to mould the development of music in society and to make the strongest input into musical expressions that are fashionable, acceptable and available. Formal music education came to Nigeria by way of Western institutions, drawing from the cultural traditions of Western societies. On the other hand, the media and other agencies have brought in other types of music acceptable in Western societies outside their academic sectors. Musical and cultural contact has given birth to the contemporary popular music of Nigeria that integrates Nigerian and non-Nigerian elements. With the growth of city life, commerce, industry and communication, this music has grown in popularity, in some cases sweeping every other thing aside. The attendant ‘pop phenomenon’ also means that cultural intrusion from outside Nigeria has grown more menacing. Who controls the popular music in Nigeria today? This paper tries to answer this question and in addition presents some data on the prevailing perspectives in the hope that the Nigerian Government and all music educators should range plans and solutions against them.

This study investigates the in-service training needs of the primary school generalist teacher in Botswana. The findings established that singing is a major cross-curricular activity in schools. Dance on the other hand, despite being the most popular form of entertainment in and outside school, is not regarded as an aspect of music education. Instrumental teaching is virtually non-existent. Teachers' interests in further musical training are influenced by a misconception that singing should be the main activity in music lessons. As a result most are only interested in improving their skills in areas that will improve their singing, such as theory of music to aid sight reading.

This article considers ideas and issues raised by an examination of the function of education, particularly music education in Ghana. There are many musical traditions in Ghana that the people want to pass on to the younger generation. How are these to be taught or learned? Where are the duties and boundaries of formal education to be drawn? What can be expected of parents and family? What is the situation for the teacher, given that few teachers return to their native area after training at a centralised institution? The article is based around an interview with the Paramount Chief (Naa) Puoure Puobe Chiir VII of Nandom in the Upper West Region of Ghana. He is one of twenty-five members of the National Council of State of Ghana (a non-elected Upper Chamber) and, as mentioned in the interview, vice-president of the National House of Chiefs and Chairman of its Research Committee.