La última opinión del Tribunal Constitucional

The scope of evident musical styles differs markedly between each of the reviewed publications. ABC Sing contains the widest range, including traditional children’s nursery songs, together with others from the classical and romantic periods, musicals and opera, folk, country and western, and popular culture. Since the 1970s, ABC Sing

has included current hits by artists of the era including the Beatles, Credence Clearwater Revival, Peter Paul and Mary, Woody Guthrie, John Denver and Neil Diamond. Unlike Music Room and Upbeat, ABC Sing includes a large number of copyright songs in each annual publication. Furthermore, it contains the greatest breadth of musical genres of all of the surveyed resources, including jazz, swing, blues, folk, experimental soundscapes, music hall, folk ballads, Australian indigenous, African, Jewish, Asian, and world music.

Likewise, the compositions by the ABC Sing staff composers35 have incorporated styles ranging from contemporary atonal and aleatoric music, through to humorous and serious ballads, as well as rock. The inclusion of works by contemporary primary school music composers, educators and performers36 has further extended the breadth of musical styles represented in the publication. Such a practice also provides music and movement pieces more specifically targeted to government curriculum requirements.

Upbeat

As the author/composer of Upbeat, Jeffrey Leask demonstrates a preference for jazz and swing in his original compositions. He also composes in many other styles, such as march and waltz. Upbeat, like Music Room contains only a small selection of

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Lorraine Milne, June Epstein, John Shortis, Martin Wesley-Smith, Peter Combes, and Brian Fitzgerald in the 1970s, and in later years Rhonda Macken and Mark Weeks.

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98 copyrighted popular compositions, such as “La Bamba”, “Rock around the clock”, and “Purple people eater”. A number of copyrighted compositions from the 1988 edition do not re-appear in the 2010 edition, such as “Yellow submarine” and “This ol’ house”. Upbeat includes a broad selection of traditional Australian songs: “Click go the shears” and “Botany Bay”, as well as the British songs “The Grand old duke of York” and “The Skye boat song”. There are many of the same traditional pieces in

both Music Room and Upbeat. However, the latter presents them in their original

format, whereas Music Room offers contemporary, popular-song style rearrangements, such as rock or rap.

Music Room

Apart from the traditional, folk and children’s songs contained in Music Room, the majority of pieces are original works by the four author/composers. The kit includes a small number of copyrighted popular pieces, such as “Rock around the clock” and “The house of the rising sun”. Music Room’s original pieces reflect the composers’ stylistic preferences and performance histories in rock and folk bands, hence the predominance of contributions in blues, folk and rock styles. Traditional children’s songs often undergo a contemporary transformation, such as a rap version of “Miss Polly”, or the textual and stylistic changes that occur in “Twinkle twinkle rock guitar” (little star) and “Ride, ride, ride your bike” (Row, row, row your boat).

5.1.3 Notation

Apart from many spoken rhymes and chants, music notation is provided for all of the pieces in the survey. In the analysis undertaken in this research, each notated score was given a rhythm complexity rating from 1.0 to 3.5, based on the guidelines for primary students by Lois Choksy (1981). Table 25 outlines the ratings from 1.0 to 3.5 for rhythms.

For its assessment of the appropriateness of melodic and harmonic elements to the literacy capabilities of primary school students, the survey adopted guidelines recommended in The Kodaly Method (Choksy, 1988, pp. 47, 60, 112, 149) and the Kodaly Context (Choksy, 1981, pp. 166-169). The guidelines are regarded as upper limits for the purposes of this inquiry, since they are designed for rigorous Kodaly programs. The interviewed teachers reported using Kodaly processes in lower levels, and recorder and ensemble programs in middle and upper primary. As such, the

99 survey instrument also references the melodic and rhythmic features of pieces included in widely-used developmental recorder programs (Burns, 2006; Goodyear, 1956; Mead, 1996). With reference to the aforementioned sources, the survey adopts the model of melodic and harmonic literacy capabilities of lower, middle and upper primary students as set out in Table 26.

Table 25. The rhythmic complexity ratings of scores

Table 26. Primary music literacy capability guidelines with respect to keys and melodic lines

ABC Sing

576 songs from the 1999 to 2009 ABC Sing publications were surveyed in the current research. In all, only 21 songs (21/576 = 3.6%) were found to fit within primary music literacy capabilities. They were the songs with a range from middle C (C4) to F on the top treble line (F5), containing no more than one sharp or flat, and no single quaver rests, or compound rhythms.

37 _{In this research the lowest and highest notes in compositions were numbered according to the} following system: A1 to G1 is the lowest octave on the piano keyboard. A2 to G2 is the second lowest octave, etc. Middle C is C4—the fourth C note from the bottom of the piano keyboard. Through utilising this numbering system, all notes sort correctly into alphabetical ascending order in spreadsheets.

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The limit of primary classroom students’ rhythmic notational literacy is considered to be Level 1.0 to 1.5. ‘Sixteenth (semiquaver) rhythms are only approached in years 5 and 6, after 5 years of painstaking preparation with simple rhythms’ (Choksy, 1988, p. 150). Examples of rhythmic complexity levels were checked with the various instrumental and ensemble teachers.

Keys No more than one sharp or flat.

Melody Foundation to level 2. Simple 1, 2 and 3 note pieces

Middle Primary: 3 & 4 Basic keys and harmonies, and a melodic range increasing to an octave.

Upper Primary: 5 & 6 A broadening key and note range from C4 to G5 and A6; above the treble stave.37

Level Rhythmic units

1.0 Minims, crotchets, crotchet rests, quaver pairs. Smallest unit: a crotchet, crotchet rest or quaver pairs.

1.5 Add single quaver upbeats and very occasional other rhythmic unit additions to level 1.0.38

2.0 Semiquaver groupings in simple meters. Basic compound rhythms. 2.5 Complex dotted note rhythms in simple and compound meters. 3.0 Complex rhythms with syncopations and irregular groupings. 3.5 Very advanced rhythmic complexity.

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Upbeat

Excluding the 25 chants for which only words are given, less than 12% of the total 302 songs (37/302) match the literacy capabilities of children at the grade level corresponding to each kit. A closer examination of all of the songs appearing in kits 1 to 7 reveals a large number of compositions (98/302 = 32%) are appropriate to the literacy capabilities of primary age children older than those for whom the song is intended. Upbeat presents only three scores for performance by students on classroom instruments: “Witch’s Chant” (Grade 2), “Mother Caught a Flea” (Grade 3) and “Blues in D” (Grade 6). Each of those scores works at the basic level of pitch and rhythm. Surprisingly, 155 of the total 302 songs (51%) fit within the music literacy capabilities of primary-aged students, with by far the greatest proportion suited to upper primary levels (112/155 = 72%). Furthermore, they are suitable for singing and instrumental performance.

Of the 87 original compositions by the Upbeat author Jeffrey Leask, 9 are chants without scores, while the remaining 78 works are notated pieces. “Blues in D” (Grade 6) is the only item with instructions directing that it be read and performed by students on instruments. Seven pieces fit within the literacy capabilities of the grade for which they were written. It is interesting to note that 32 of the 78 original pieces by Leask (41%) fit within middle and upper primary music reading capabilities. In most cases, they are songs composed for infant grades with simple rhythms and melodies. Both traditional and original pieces with complex rhythms and melodies occur more frequently at upper levels. Excluding the chants, the rhythmic and melodic complexity of the remaining scores (46/78 = 59%) exceeds many primary students’ level of musical ability.

Music Room

Music Room consists of 102 notated melodic pieces. The melodic and rhythmic

complexity of 58 of the 102 works exceeds the literacy capabilities of primary students. While there are no instructions directing students to read notation, and/or perform pieces on melodic instruments, 12 of the 142 songs (8%) match the literacy capabilities of the grade for whom they are written. A closer examination of all of the pieces reveals a large number (33/142) suit the capabilities of primary students older

101 than those for whom they are intended: the great majority of which (27/33) suit upper primary capabilities. As stated earlier, the authors do not specify that any of the songs are to be read or performed on instruments. However, the survey of compositions undertaken in this research reveals that 43 of the total 142 songs (30%) fit within primary students’ music literacy skills and are suitable for performance on melodic instruments, such as xylophones and recorders.

Of the 93 original compositions in Music Room, 17 are chants without scores, which leaves 76 original melodic pieces. Whereas there is no stated requirement that any of the scores of original pieces are to be read by students, 33 of the 76 original melodic pieces suit the literacy capabilities of primary students—mostly upper primary. However, only 7 pieces could be read by students at the level for which they were written. Just over half of the original songs exceed the score-reading capabilities of primary classroom students altogether (39/76 = 51%).

There are 33 arrangements of traditional songs in Music Room; with no accompanying statement that students should attempt to read or perform them on melodic instruments. Whereas only 3 traditional songs are playable by children at the kit/grade for which they are written, a third of the arrangements (11/33) fit within primary music literacy capabilities. However, the subject matter of many of those songs is directed towards younger grades, therefore rendering this material unsuitable for older primary students. The complexity of the remaining scores exceeds primary student music literacy capabilities.