This project allowed Metropolitana to risk intervening in a field of action that had been excluded from the regular programme of its schools and orchestras.
MusicAIRE support, as well as the contractually established objectives and planning, provided the ideal circumstances to develop a pedagogical and artistic exercise of an eminently exploratory nature, in the sense that it is a territory that has yet to be explored.
Having overcome the periods of isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was important to regain confidence and bring people back together around music. Among the many experiences, there are several lessons to be learnt. It’s important to offer music teachers specific training to teach students with special needs – mastering the rudiments of Braille musicography is a good example of this. Like any other subject, teaching music requires a lot of knowledge and dedication.
But it also depends on differentiating factors. In an area as competitive as music is today, pedagogical resources and distinctive skills become an added value on the labour market, particularly for younger professionals to gain auspicious positions. In addition, it represents an extremely rewarding and sustainable opportunity for personal and professional fulfillment in the long term, as a motivational complement of great importance for planning a long-term career. As in so many other professions, the day-to-day hustle and bustle of music teachers doesn’t leave much room for further training.
There also seems to be no incentive on the part of employers for this to happen. Conservatoires are in danger of becoming musician factories, focusing exclusively on prizes, public recognition and statistical numbers.
The school’s role is much broader than that. Teachers need to feel stimulated to take on new challenges. What is certain is that the experience of the MUSICAR project has proved extremely rewarding for all of them. The quality of the participation of Metropolitana’s schools teachers in the MUSICAR project allowed us to conclude that, just as any student can succeed in the process of learning music, any music teacher, provided they have the will and motivation, is capable of teaching a student with functional impairments.
In this area, and in relation to the paradigms that predominate in music
schools, it will be necessary to reorient the execution criteria enshrined in exceptional technical and artistic performances. Only in this way will it be possible to understand the student in all his dimensions as an individual, to value other aspects that emphasise the importance of music for each person’s development and thus obtain teachings that can be applicable to any student in any music school.
Various capacities are already in place, such as individual tuition. However,
there is still the need to socialise with peers in ensemble classes. On the other hand, classical training is well aware of the importance of transmitting knowledge through regular, focused interaction, in a relationship of trust between teachers and students, between fellow teachers and fellow students. Despite all the existing music teaching manuals, nothing replaces the transmission of experience through personal contact.
Projects like MUSICAR may represent the long-awaited opportunity to think about teaching in a different way, less moulded around idealised performances, more focused on the uniqueness and harmony of each person, with an initial focus on the playful and creative dimensions.
By its very nature, the process of teaching an instrument is always an exploratory search for methodologies adapted to the difficulties and potential of each student. It is always necessary to reinvent and mold teaching methodologies to make learning more accessible, without giving up a culture of rigor, discipline and excellence. In any case, there must be no room for condescension. It is imperative to avoid any form of ableism, i.e. reducing an individual to their ability to do.
Music today is given a very restricted functional role, eminently mirrored in the figure of the virtuoso or romantic artist, as if it had to fulfill certain predicates in order to satisfy expectations. Music is much more than that. It is an activity that provides discovery, knowledge of the Self, the Other and the world around us.
Deaf and blind students invite us to think about music in a different way. We have a lot to learn from them about the nature of music, as they put us in front of limiting conditions. Their fascination with music leads us to seek an understanding that goes beyond the aesthetic or technical dimension.
Learning a musical instrument is a way for individuals to work on their self-esteem and feel fulfilled by overcoming difficulties with effort and dedication. Auditory memory, rhythmic control and focusing attention on exclusive listening are skills that benefit any individual. Blind or deaf pupils have highly developed specific skills compared to normal-sighted or hearing pupils. These differences must be put at the service of learning.
In particular, ensemble music practice provides a safe living environment that can stimulate the development of social skills and emotional expression. It offers psychomotor and relational benefits, develops resilience, imagination and creativity. Group music and the presentation of public auditions favors the regulation and control of tensions and states of anxiety, fosters integration and encourages active participation in social contexts.
The experience of the MUSICAR project, in particular the weekly percussion sessions that bring together dozens of deaf students in the very context of the school they attend every day, as well as the dynamics generated around teachers and families, was particularly revealing of the great importance that these activities have in the long term. The same happened with the choir of people who are blind or have low vision. In both cases, the opportunity to lead all the work towards a Final Concert with a professional orchestra to perform challenging repertoire in front of a full hall audience was the corollary of a pioneering idea that indicates good practices to be recovered in the programming of future Metropolitana seasons.