Cecil Sharp's educational significance is clear – he introduced the music of an oral tradition into schools. Breaking the domination of the literate tradition was no mean achievement. Of course the general climate of educational reform helped, and folk song provided an ideal model of a supposedly instinctual form which would be able to transform the hitherto rigid style of schooling. Nevertheless the folk song movement developed into a narrow orthodoxy.

In his work Sharp probed into relationships between art, race, and national identity, and tackled notions of authenticity and knowledge; issues which are at the heart of the search for an adequate philosophy of music education.

There is no difference between the inherent musicality of people with impaired hearing and those with normal hearing. This applies even to the profoundly deaf, provided that music can adequately be perceived. Recognising the shortcomings of hearing aids designed primarily for speech, the author shows how music listening for the deaf can be very considerably improved by using readily available equipment to process sound in particular ways to compensate for different types of hearing deficiency. He observes that some deaf people seem able to perceive music, especially the pitch of notes, more clearly than others who are substantially less hearing impaired. A possible explanation for this paradox is given.

The work of American music educator Satis Coleman is little known. In the first half of this century she devised a music education programme that led children through music instrument making and playing, singing, moving and creating to develop a ‘seeking attitude’ to music and to life. Many of her ideas are pertinent today and her work seems, in many respects, far ahead of its time.

The writer and ten primary school teachers conducted a survey aiming to find out the extent of parental interest in musical activity in schools of contrasting location and character. Parents' interests and tastes in music were canvassed, together with the interest shown by children at home. They were also asked their opinions about various types of school musical activity. Results showed no lack of interest amongst parents, and strongest support for singing, moving/dancing, listening, and playing ‘school’ instruments. They also, overwhelmingly, would have liked their children to have had the chance of learning orchestral /band instruments. The survey was useful and encouraging, but improvements could follow in any future ones. Parents' views on educational concerns were illuminating and thought-provoking for teachers.

The value of playing by ear in instrumental learning has recently been well documented. By-ear reproduction of music is an activity which commands a high level of motivation from people of all ages, but it is seldom pursued in the classroom as an exercise in its own right, independent of improvisation. It is, in fact, ideally suitable for group work in the classroom, where it can be both satisfying for its own sake, and a means by which pupils gain essential aural skills.

The Drake Research Project (Music for Disabled People) is a registered charity which has links in London with Eltham College Sixth Form and the music departments at Deptford Green School, Charlton Park Special School and the City University. It is also associated with the Music Technology Group in the University of York, where a research programme is now in progress to develop new technological means to enable disabled children to take part in music making. On 24 November 1989 DRP held its inaugural seminar at Maria Assumpta House, Kensington, London. The seminar included a review of the Project's objectives, reports and demonstrations in the field of music and disability, and an open discussion which raised important questions about multi-disciplinary collaboration and the development of music software/ hardware for special needs users. This article summarizes the principal points to emerge from the seminar sessions.