Equal opportunities for access and success in music

Responding to the legislator's wishes

It has long been known intuitively that any style of music practised develops musical aptitude (Teplov 1966; Shuter-Dyson 1994). Since then, neuroscience has demonstrated that exposure to music, and in particular active listening to it, already goes a long way (Bigand 2004; Tillman & al., 2005). It is therefore accepted that the traditional innate/acquired opposition no longer has any place in the discourse of music teaching professionals: musical aptitudes develop, like any other aptitude, if they are stimulated. In Geneva, the legislator wants this stimulation. Eleven schools are subsidized for extracurricular teaching, and some 50 Orchestras in the Classroom (OEC) are located in the Priority Education Network (REP). Pupils in these classes benefit from two years of collective instrumental music lessons, as part of their school curriculum. Instruments (brass, woodwind, strings, percussion) are loaned to them.

Nevertheless, not all districts of Geneva or communes in the canton have the same interest in this effort to democratize musical practice in the school setting. And when it comes to access to out-of-school-time music lessons, the local study by Cecchini & Dutrévis (2022) reveals two parameters in particular that need to be considered if pupils currently on the margins of musical learning are to become interested: their musical tastes and the accessibility of lessons, in the continuity of the school day and within a geographical radius close to the school building.

Survey and map for steering

In order to pinpoint the location of CSBs and the availability of music lessons close to schools (the "quarter-hour city" principle), we have, in partnership with the University of Geneva, mapped the current offer. Since 2021, the Department of Social Cohesion has had a map window, a "statistical analysis tool on the socio-economic situation of the 475 neighborhoods (or sub-sectors) making up the canton of Geneva". Subsidized music education was not included in the database. The HEM carried out an exhaustive survey to gather all the information needed to pinpoint the exact situation in 2024. The precise coordinates of teaching locations (geolocation) were used to calculate the accessibility areas of each offering and to define areas with little or no service, where a population of potential students exists.

Developing a targeted offer

Now that accessibility has been mapped out, the EMH wishes to respond to the second parameter that encourages students to take extracurricular music lessons: their taste. It will also have to take into account the need to stimulate musical aptitudes and the low financial means of the families concerned. We are currently working on a targeted teaching offer: a group body music class that requires no instruments and can be set up in any classroom, ideally within the school building itself. To be continued.