Barriers to Making and Learning Music

Many children face barriers to learning and making music. Sometimes it can be as simple as the fact that what’s being offered to them doesn’t engage them, or at worst, makes them feel that music isn’t for them. Other barriers include:

Life condition — young people with learning difficulties, physical and/or sensory impairment, lifelong complex needs and/or communication difficulties.
Geographical Issues — young people with a challenge related to where they live. This could be about such issues as rural isolation or living in areas of social and economic deprivation or issues of geographical safety.
Identity or background — where issues and structures within the dominant society create inequalities and barriers to musical progression for people with particular identities and backgrounds. That could include gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, cultural or faith based backgrounds.
Life circumstances — young people who bully or are being bullied, who live in state or foster care, refugees — to name but some.
Behavioural issues — young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties especially those who become excluded from mainstream school.

Mullen et al 2011/2018 – adapted 2020, page 181

The above definition was developed by Dr Phil Mullen, community music training and inclusion strategist who also wrote our Inclusion Strategy. It summarises the circumstances facing young people who are more likely to be excluded from music making and learning. The definitions are particularly helpful as they suggest that, as in the social model of disability, it is society that has created the challenge/barrier, not the person themselves.

What is musically inclusive practice?

Musically inclusive practice ensures that all children and young people who want to can make music. It can only happen by embracing a wide range of genres and styles, supporting participants to achieve social and personal outcomes as well as musical ones, and having a music education workforce which can work with young people of all backgrounds, needs and interests. Definition from Youth Music.

Inclusion involves change. It is an unending process of increasing learning and participation for all students. It is an ideal to which Hubs can aspire but which is never fully reached. But inclusion happens as soon as the process of increasing participation is started. An inclusive Hub is one that is on the move. (Adapted by Dr Phil Mullen from Booth and Ainscow, 2002: 3)

As a hub, we need to ensure that we:

identify and work to break down any barriers to music-making that young people face
put the voices of children and young people at the heart of work which is relevant to their needs and interests
place emphasis on young people’s self-expression and musical creativity
support a diversity of high-quality music-making across a wide range of genres and musical activities
actively work to create understanding among all those involved in music education of the different approaches to teaching and learning
do this through all areas of our work: making inclusion a central factor in funding and resource allocation; strategy and planning; programming/curriculum; staffing and professional development.

Inclusion is therefore central to our values, our plans, and our actions.