Group cooperation, inclusion and disaffected pupils: some responses to informal learning in the music classroom

Written version of RIME paper (GCID) for MER, Exeter 2007

the teacher and structure the task in a slightly different way to what is normal in most
classrooms?¹

The project which is the topic of this afternoon’s talk grew out of my previous
book on how popular musicians learn (Green 2002). Amongst other things, that book
considered the nature of the musicians’ learning practices when they are operating
informally, outside educational provision. As a result, I suggested it was helpful to
identify five main characteristics of their informal learning practices, which differ
quite radically from most formal educational practices. They are:

• that learners always start with music that they know and like;

• that the main learning practice involves copying recordings of real music by
ear;

• that learning takes place alone and, crucially, in groups of friends, mostly
without adult guidance or supervision;

• that learning is not progressively structured from simple to increasingly
complex, but holistic, idiosyncratic and haphazard;

• and that listening, performing, improvising and composing are all integrated
throughout the learning process.

The project attempted to adopt and adapt these five characteristics of informal
learning, and bring them into the secondary school classroom. Our research took place
in altogether 21 schools, although since the research phase to-date, over 2,500 people
in schools and other places have downloaded the materials.

The lessons occurred in normal curriculum time, with one lesson of about an
hour a week. During the first lesson, each class had a brief discussion of how popular
musicians learn informally. The pupils were then told they were going to learn
informally, based as far as possible on the five characteristics of informal music
learning just identified. So they split into small friendship groups of about 4 or 5
pupils, and went off into separate spaces (practice rooms, corridors, storerooms or

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