Overview of development lines of music teaching methods in Finland

Abstract

This article provides a cross-sectional overview of the evolution of music teaching methods over a 160-year timeline. The objective of the study is limited to examining the mainstream trends in the development of methods, or their manifestations, as well as discussing the causes behind them. The objective is also to investigate the methodical state of the 21st century teaching. The data consists of previous studies, music textbooks and learning diaries of class teacher students (N=79). The analysis of the data is based on analytic-historical and data-driven content analysis. The time period from 1860 to1970 has focused on developing the methods. The participatory and functional methods have remained dominant for the longest time. As we enter the 1980s, methods are gradually being phased out and they are used only occasionally, or the main focus is not on them anymore. As a result, teaching methods are fragmented and their implementations depend on the teacher's pedagogical skills in music teaching.