Aural Cultivation : Radio Conservatory and the Development of Musical Literacy

This dissertation has the main purpose of analysing the biggest single musical educational project in Sweden, so far, Radiokonservatoriet (the Radio Conservatory) from an educational perspective. The project was planned and carried out in 1965–68. This was a time of change in Swedish society. The economy was stronger than ever which had made it possible to let education expand explosively. At the same time, the subject of music in schools was in trouble since the previous and obvious religious legitimacy had faded with secularisation. A lack of music teachers and a lack of relevant higher education in music were well known problems. The expectations were high on an educational project that was going to use media and new methods. Musicology was supposed to build the core of music teaching. In spite of the tough education with three new programmes every week, 132 students managed to conclude all the three courses and were awarded a diploma. In the analysis, I have used concepts from the theory of distance education. With great distance between teacher and pupil, the former has to create strong ”structure” and explicit declarations of how the material is formed in the sense of selection and progression. On the other hand, great distance creates a free space where the pupil can choose autonomously: where, when, and what to study. The Radio Conservatory was well aware of the pedagogic imperatives of the time: ”activity” and ”integration”. The included exercises show different activities of registering, analytic and creative kinds. Singing and playing instruments were not included as ”activities”. The integration of the project consisted of the fact that the three courses were given simultaneously. This gave advantages, but made the education extensive and disregarded the intention of blending different school subjects, which was the established pedagogic intention. The essentialistic striving to create a music subject built on musicology was fruitless. In the 1970s the interest in material theories and teaching content was marginalised in favour of formal theories. My proposal is that both these sides of interest, the material and the formal side of music education, should be balanced