Abstract :
The introduction of a National Curriculum to England and Wales in 1988 provided the
first compulsory framework for music education. Writing in 1996, Mills suggested that in
ten years time the impact of this change would result in primary school student teachers
needing refreshment, and not development, of their musical knowledge. This five-year
study examines primary school student teacher’s knowledge of the musical elements as
they entered the one year Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course in one
institution. The results suggest that some elements as defined by the relevant national
curricula (duration, pace, pitch and silence) do indeed need only refreshment, but others
(timbre, texture, dynamics, structure) need significant development in schools and in
training courses.
