As an opportunity for art education, music schools are a vital component in forming the culture of an individual and society. Since music schools
6 The curriculum is intended for preschool institutions, compulsory primary and secondary schools, and for the subjects “music culture” and “musical arts”. On this basis, the Art Education Act should also be elaborated, but this reform has not yet been implemented in Croatia.
encourage musical art, it is possible to develop music competences7, musical skills, knowledge and, as Gardner (1993) and Armstrong (2006) point out, music intelligence.
Music schools are an opportunity for children from the earliest age to deal with music in the institutional environment and with experts who follow and support their development. According to Središnji državni portal [Central State Portal]:
The aim of the music education system is to enhance society with music art through education and training of professional musicians of different profiles and professions. The tasks of music schools are to enable acquisition of musical skills and the students’ full musical development, to promote music through public activity and upgrade music culture in the school environment.
Primary music schools can carry out the program of a music kindergarten, a music playroom, a preparatory program for music education, etc. Basic music education is carried out according to the primary school curriculum and lasts six years (students are mostly nine to fourteen/fifteen years old).
Preparatory music education for secondary school is carried out according to the artistic curriculum and lasts two years. Secondary artistic education follows the arts curriculum and lasts four years (students are aged fourteen/
fifteen to eighteen). Each level aims to acquire knowledge and abilities for work and/or continued education. In addition to the core part of the curriculum, which is mandatory for all pupils, the differentiated part of the art education curriculum is oriented towards subjects and/or modules that meet the learners’ interests in accordance with the school’s possibilities.
The above-mentioned points underline that school identities can be shaped and school activities extended, both affecting modernization.
Students with a (pronounced) inclination for music can enroll in the first grade of primary music education when they are seven years old8 and satisfy the criteria prescribed by the art education curriculum. They may
MUSIC SCHOOL OUT OF THE BOX / SABINA VIDULIN
7 To be competent means to have knowledge, skills, and qualifications, but also beliefs, attitudes, and motivation that will make it easier for individuals to work in a practical situation. (Vidulin-Orbanić, S., Duraković, L. 2012).
8 As a rule, children enroll in primary art school after completing the first or second grade of compulsory primary school. Primary music schools must have a program for at least three musical instruments.
Primary music schools offer individual and group lessons, as well as class tuition and tuition in larger ensembles (choir, orchestra). A primary music school class has twelve to seventeen pupils. The number of pupils in a group depends on the program and can range from two to eight students (Pravilnik o osnovnom umjetničkom školovanju [Regulations on Basic Art Education] 1993).
also enroll in the first preparatory class of secondary music school9 as long as they are no older than fifteen. After completing primary music education or preparatory music education for secondary school, students can enroll in the first grade of secondary music school if they fulfill the criteria prescribed by the art education curriculum and pass the entrance examination10. After finishing secondary music school and passing the entrance examination, students can enroll in music/art academies or faculties. Students who received individual, private education and did not attend art schools may, depending on their personal needs, take private lessons and do the final exams at basic art schools.
Primary and secondary music schools are elective. Primary music education is provided in certain regular compulsory schools, in separate departments, or in independent music schools. Students attend both compulsory school and music school. In the compulsory school, they have general subjects, while they study music subjects at the music school.
The compulsory part of the primary music education program comprises instrumental training as a basic subject, solfeggio (ear-training), and ensemble playing. The elective part of the program can be another instrument, music theory, or ensemble playing (Pravilnik o osnovnom umjetničkom školovanju [Ordinance on Basic Art Education] 1993).
In secondary school, the subjects depend on the orientations, which can be theory, vocal training, or instrumental training (Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i sporta 2008). Some students simultaneously attend secondary music school and secondary school (high school). Students who attend secondary music school receive the diploma as a musician and can acquire the following qualifications: instrumentalist, singer, music theorist, instrument maker, and restorer of instruments.
Students acquire musical skills, develop their musical understanding, and promote their musical skills through public activities in the environment in which the school operates. The aims of music education are to acquire knowledge, develop students’ skills and abilities in a variety of artistic fields
9 As an exception, bassoonists, tuba players, and contrabassists can enroll in the first preparatory class of secondary music school up to the age of 18, female singers up to the age of 20 and male singers up to the age of 22.
10 Students may enroll in the first grade of secondary school up to the age of 17 and at maximum 18 years.
There are exceptions, connected to occupations and for extraordinary talent. For more information, see Zakon o umjetničkom obrazovanju - Art Education Law (2011) http://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/
sluzbeni/2011_11_130_2602.html (25 August 2017).
and enable the development of their creative potential (Vidulin 2017).
Music education facilitates the development of cultural expression with respect to tradition, the nation, civilization, as well as the cultural and artistic environment. It encourages and promotes the students’ intellectual, creative, esthetic, and social development in accordance with their abilities and inclinations and develops the ability to connect art works with the social environment and historical circumstances.