THE TEACHING OF FOLK MUSIC AT SCHOOL : Through the Appreciation of Asian Folk Music

Abstract

It is one of the essential aims of school music education to develop a sensitiveness to the cultural heritage of the world through an understanding and appreciation of music in its various types and styles. The first thing to be done to achieve this aim is to introduce into school music as one of its main activities a new musical experience of understanding and appreciating Asian folk music, including the traditional music of Japan. This paper gives a brief account of the experimental study which was made for the purpose of finding new teaching materials and methods appropriate for the aim mentioned above.