Comparing International Music Lessons on Video

Video-recorded music lessons (on multi angle DVDs) were used to inspire and improve understanding among experts from different cultures and discourses of music education. To make the process manageable and focused we developed the Analytical Short Film (2-3 minutes) to address particular areas of interest and starting points for debate. We asked selected music teachers from seven nation-states to allow a typical and (in their opinion) good lesson to be recorded. We also asked the students and their parents for permission. At a symposium, national experts and researchers presented views on "their" lessons through Analytical Short Films. Discussion included implicit and explicit comparisons. The presenters also used a lesson from one of the other countries to stimulate discussion about assumptions in and challenges to their own views. We documented all comparisons made and compared these to derive cross cultural categories (tertia comparationis). These categories should be relevant for understanding what makes a music lesson "good". The different perspectives and discussions offered by the authors in this book - together with 10 DVDs, interviews with the teachers and students and associated research - provide rich and diverse material for researchers, teachers and teacher educators.