According to the Ministry of Education, the project, which started a few weeks ago, will be developed over the course of this school year, based on the schools’ existing expertise. “Different concepts should be designed that are individually tailored to the schools,” it continues. “In collaboration with the participating schools, teaching materials, learning videos and further training units are created, tested, optimized and tailored to fit.” Freelance music teachers and music clubs could also help develop models to support these schools with recorder lessons.
Criticism of the opposition
The Green opposition in the state parliament recently complained: “Recorders, federal youth games and gender bans: the priorities of the new state government in education policy show very clearly: Instead of tackling the major challenges in our schools, the new Minister of Education (Armin Schwarz, CDU) is busy Better with symbolic politics.” At the same time, there are financial cuts in education policy.
Wiesbaden primary school music teacher Sabine Schmand says: “Recorders have been unpopular for decades, but they offer a good opportunity to encourage children to make music. Soprano recorders have a good range, are inexpensive and easy to clean and don’t break as easily as violins with elementary school students.”
“Different access to sheet music”
The state government’s project is good because it promotes the joy of making music among the youngest students right from the start. Your own playing practice is “a completely different approach to music notes,” emphasizes Schmand. It is important to have entire classes learn the recorder: “If it is just a working group, you won’t reach all the children. Some people prefer to play football or don’t come because they belong to less educated backgrounds.”
