STAR-POST (Music) July 2018 STAR-POST (Music) July 2018 | Page 7

What this diagram shows is that there are two
main reasons for assessment, to help learning and
doing, or to audit learning and doing. Most music
teachers want to help their pupils, and so the
assessments that they make are undertaken with
this in mind.
So to go back to the original question, how to
assess musical creativity? I think we need to think
why we are doing it, and how it (and we) will help
the pupils as a result. Viewing it like this has proved
helpful for many teachers, as it takes it away from
being solely an assessment issue, and becomes
one of teaching and learning, which teachers
normally feel much more equipped to deal with.
Prof. Martin Fautley discussing lesson
ideas with a music teacher at the Primary
Music Star Champions workshop
What does it mean to assess musical learning in a manner that is ‘musical’?
This is another really good question! Sometimes I think as music education
professionals, we shy away from making qualitative judgements about ‘being
musical’, and instead we focus on the technical details:
Is the
phrasing
correct?
Is the
fingering
appropriate?
Is it
in
tune?
Does it start
and stop
properly?
And so on.
But we can make musical judgements, and we can also share these with our
learners, even if they are hard to quantify.
A useful experiment is to try this with a class you have a good rapport with.
Ask them to perform, say, their group pieces, and then ask the rest of the
class to describe the musicality or musicianship of the performances. You may
well find that their views accord with yours, even if none of you can actually
pinpoint exactly what musicality is! Maybe give it a try?
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