Photo: Margot Müller

This year's meeting focused on the collaboration between music schools and elementary schools. In an investigation prior to the event, the music schools indicated the types of projects and collaborations that currently exist - it was found that the range is very broad and that in many places collaboration is regulated and institutionalized. La materia "Musica e movimento" è saldamente integrata nell'insegnamento quotidiano in numerose scuole di musica. Many music schools collaborate in annual projects, which include project sessions, instrumental presentations, concerts and workshops for groups of musicians. It is also very common to work together in the context of more important events - concerts or musical events, especially in the national period.

Due esempi di collaborazione istituzionalizzata sono stati brevememente presentati alla conferenza regionale. Inoltre, un cortometraggio dell'EMSA ha animato la discussione. EMSA ("Una scuola (di musica) per tutti") è un modello dalla Germania con vari elementi costruttivi, che mira ad approfondire la cooperazione tra scuole di musica e scuole elementari, sia a livello pedagogico che strutturale. The basis of this model is the appointment of two "musical coordinators", one from the elementary school and one from the music school, who guarantee reliable and professionally managed processes and procedures, which provides a solid foundation for cooperation.

Le successive discussioni sul palco e di gruppo sono state molto animate. La collaborazione tra scuola di musica e scuola elementare è stata descritta dalla maggior parte dei partecipanti come auspicabile e fruttuosa. Due cose sono state evidenziate come importanti. In the first place, cooperation must be legally established. And in the second place, the music teachers, who are already used to teaching individual lessons, should undergo continuous training to obtain the necessary tools for group lessons.

Philippe Krüttli ed Eva Crastan del Consiglio direttivo ASSM, come pure Andrea Kumpe e Matthjas Bieri del Dipartimento Musica della Scuola universitaria di Lucerna hanno ringraziato i partecipanti per i loro contributi e le discussioni stimolanti, invitandoli ad uno stand-up lunch.

Il primo giorno, il programma prevedeva il Forum Formazione Musicale 2025 e nello stesso anno il 50° anniversario dell'associazione. Le discussioni hanno messo in risalto che il 2025 potrebbe diventare un punto culminante nella storia dell'associazione. The Board of Directors discussed a number of Scottish topics in the field of music schools and the Good Practice competition for projects in music schools. È seguito una preziosa discussione con Lorenzetta Zaugg dell'Ufficio federale della cultura sullo stato del programma "Giovani Talenti Musica". In the meantime, almost all the cantons have been able to present their own projects: the ASSM has made them available at the earliest opportunity on its website. Another federal program, "Youth + Music", in the next funding period will focus on the same opportunities - a possible amplification of activities has been discussed. The meeting was followed in a more relaxed manner by a seminar by Mami Irisawa on Gregorian chant and the music of the XVI century - after a brief introduction and with the help of the choir of the monastery, the Board of Directors sang "Ave Maria" in quattro voci.

Another key point of the rally was an intervention on artificial intelligence by Richard-Emmanuel Eastes, lecturer at HES-SO, who will accompany the association in the field of digitalization from 2022. "L'intelligenza artificiale non è un trucco magico ((ce n'est pas un truc magique))", ha detto, riportando come esempio positivo il fatto che ChatGPT può essere utilizzato in modo sensato come coach sia dagli insegnanti che dagli allievi. La sua conclusione: bisogna imparare a utilizzare l'IA.

Il presidente dell'ASSM Philippe Krüttli has dato il benvenuto a quattro rappresentanti dell'Associazione delle scuole di musica di Zurigo per avere uno scambio di idee. "Vogliamo utilizzare la rete di contatti e promuovere gli scambi tra i Cantoni", he affermato. The "Giovani Talenti Musica" program and the protection of data in music schools were also discussed. An accomodating aperitivo in the garden of the monastery and the following dinner further enhanced the mutual understanding and the good cooperation.

After another day full of topics, such as the multi-objective plan, which is approved every year by the Assembly of Delegates in November, Philippe Krüttli expressed his appreciation for the great atmosphere and the concentrated and creative cooperation, already offering a preview of next year's event. Nel 2024 il ritiro si terrà a Ginevra.

Picture: Margot Müller

This year's meeting focused on cooperation between music schools and elementary school. In a survey before the event, music schools indicated what kind of projects and collaborations currently exist - it turned out that the range is very broad and that collaboration is regular and institutionalized in many places. The school subject "Music and Movement" is firmly integrated into everyday teaching at many music schools. Many music schools collaborate on annual projects. These include project weeks, instrument presentations, concerts or band workshops. Collaboration is also quite common for larger events - concerts or musicals, often around Christmas time.

Two examples of institutionalized cooperation were briefly presented at the regional conference. In addition, a short film by EMSA provided food for thought. EMSA ("One (music) school for all") is a model from Germany with various building blocks that aims to deepen cooperation between music and elementary school in educational and structural terms. The basis of the model is the appointment of two "music coordinators", one from the school and one from the music school. They ensure reliable and professionally designed processes and procedures and thus also a solid basis for cooperation.

More about EMSA in the short film:

The subsequent panel and group discussions were very lively. Most participants described the collaboration between music schools and elementary school as desirable and fruitful. Two things were highlighted as important. Firstly, cooperation must be legally institutionalized. And secondly, music school teachers, who are often mainly used to the setting of individual lessons, should be able to acquire the necessary skills for group lessons in initial and further training.

Philippe Krüttli and Eva Crastan from the VMS Board and Andrea Kumpe and Matthjas Bieri from the Lucerne School of Music thanked the participants for their input and stimulating discussions and invited them to a standing lunch.

On the first day, the Forum for Musical Education 2025 and the 50th anniversary in the same year were on the agenda. The discussions already showed that 2025 could become a highlight in the history of the association. The board discussed burning issues in the music school landscape and the good practice competition for projects at music schools.

Young talents in music

This was followed by a valuable exchange with Lorenzetta Zaugg from the Federal Office of Culture on the status of the "Young Talents in Music" program. Almost all cantons have now been able to submit concepts - the VMS will make the concepts available on its website as soon as possible. Another federal program, "Youth + Music", will focus on the topic of equal opportunities in the next funding period - a possible expansion of the offer was discussed. In the evening, a workshop by Mami Irisawa on Gregorian chant and 16th-century polyphony provided a lively atmosphere - after a brief introduction and supported by the acoustics in the monastery church, the board sang "Ave Maria" in four voices.

Artificial intelligence and music schools

Another fixed point of the retreat was an input on artificial intelligence from Richard-Emmanuel Eastes, lecturer at the HES-SO, who has been supporting the association in matters of digitality since 2022. "AI is not a magic thing ((ce n'est pas un truc magique))", he said and gave a positive example of how ChatGPT can be used sensibly by both teachers and students as a coach. His conclusion: dealing with AI needs to be learned. 

Exchange with the Association of Zurich Music Schools

VMS President Philippe Krüttli welcomed four representatives of the Association of Zurich Music Schools to an exchange. "We want to use the network and promote exchange between the cantons," he said. The "Young Talents in Music" program and data protection in music schools were also discussed. A cozy aperitif in the monastery garden and the subsequent dinner further promoted getting to know each other and the existing good cooperation.

After another day filled with topics such as the multi-year target plan, which is submitted to the Assembly of Delegates for approval in November, Philippe Krüttli thanked everyone for the good atmosphere and the concentrated and creative collaboration and gave an outlook for next year: the retreat will take place in Geneva in 2024.

È evidente: l'IA fa corrugare la fronte. Sono già innumerevoli le canzoni che circolano su Internet create dall'intelligenza artificiale. Miley Cyrus singing Radiohead? Nessun problema, e incredibilmente bene. Indubbiamente il mondo della musica sta per essere invaso da un'ondata di cui non è ancora possibile valutare gli effetti. Lo stesso vale per il contesto pedagogico, dove sorge la domanda se un interlocutore di IA sia in grado di aiutare sufficientemente bene gli allievi nell'apprendimento di uno strumento al punto da poter sostituire l'insegnante, almeno in parte. On the other hand, like the stampa e Internet, l'IA non scomparirà. Per gli insegnanti di strumento e voce potrebbe anche essere utile, facendo attenzione, cavalcare l'onda - per rimanere aggiornati. L'intelligenza artificiale può ispirare, può rendere più efficienti i processi, motivare gli allievi, sgravare gli insegnanti. Gli strumenti riportati nella seguente lista sono al momento gratuiti o costano 20-40 franchi all'anno.

Playbacks

In this area, the IA already helps to save a lot of time. Interesting è ad esempio Lalal.ai. Permette di togliere voci premendo semplicemente un pulsante, per esercitarsi sulla voce mancante o avere il playback di una canzone attuale. Moises combina diverse cose in unico strumento. È possibile suddividere le canzoni, fino a cinque tracce singole e scelte a piacere. Successivamente, si possono adattare i ritmi delle tracce estratte e trasporli in altre tonalità.

Sperimentare con il songwriting, apprendere alla scuola della musica

Con AIVA, si può scegliere tra una varietà di stili, oltre a impostare la lunghezza, il ritmo e il tipo di battuta. Lo strumento genera poi una canzone, le cui tracce possono poi essere regolate a piacere. Boomy funziona in modo simile, ma è possibile registrare in aggiunta tracce audio, inclusa la propria voce. Currently, the results of these tools are being considered more in the context of the entertainment of tomorrow. Tuttavia, uno dei possibili futuri leader di mercato di Google, MusicLM, è già ai blocchi di partenza e gli interessati possono attualmente farsi mettere in lista d'attesa.  Il diretto concorrente MusicGen di Meta al momento crea solo brevi frammenti di 12 secondi ciascuno, ma le prime prove audio mostrano già una grande differenza tra il primo e l'ultimo strumento menzionati.

Ascolta: https://ai.honu.io/papers/musicgen/ 

Notazione musicale

ScoreCloud si definisce come "il software di notazione musicale più intelligente".  Lo strumento crea partiture modificabili da file midi o audio - volendo, anche direttamente dalla voce. I risultati sono sorprendenti. Ciò consente agli allievi di creare molto rapidamente le proprie canzoni a casa.

Trascrizione

Con Chordify, facare passare la canzone desiderata, si ottengono tabelle della diteggiatura per pianoforte o chitarra. This allows all students to select the canzoni of their preferred musical style at home and to listen to them directly without the instructor having to first watch and record videos or audio files.

Creare materiali didattici

È noto che ChatGPT maneggia le informazioni in maniera molto liberale. Tuttavia, è già molto utile nella versione gratuita (come Bard di Google) se non si trova l'ispirazione per un brano adatto a un particolare allievo o a un argomento specifico - o se si vuole scrivere una lettera, riassumere testi lunghi, mettere insieme una strategia sui social media. Jasper è a pagamento, ma è ancora più utile perché fornisce link con ulteriori informazioni.

Amministrazione

Numerosi programmi di mail offrono già il supporto di IA. With Gmail, for example, "Smart Reply" is useful: prepara belle e-mail in divers varianti in modo da poter rispondere semplicemente premendo un pulsante. Interesting also the function "Summary Cards", which presents visually in a way chiara informazioni importanti derivanti dalle e-mail. Spark Mail offerre qualcosa di simile. Anche per quanto riguarda i vari compiti della vita quotidiana, la compilazione del calendario e gli appunti delle riunioni, l'IA offre buoni servizi - ad esempio, workstream.ai è già disponibile.

Ci farebbe piacere ricevere le vostre opinioni! 

State già lavorando regolarmente con l'IA? Avete provato uno strumento in particolare? O vedete altri utili impieghi per l'IA nella vita quotidiana di una scuola di musica? Mettetevi in contatto con la nostra redazione, vi interpelleremo per una breve intervista. Vi ringraziamo anticipatamente e ci rallegriamo fin d'ora di un vostro contatto!

From generative AI Dall-E generated images

One thing is clear: AI is raising eyebrows. Countless songs created by artificial intelligence are already circulating on the internet. Miley Cyrus sings Radiohead? No problem, and amazingly good. The music world is undoubtedly facing a wave whose effects cannot yet be predicted. The same also applies in the educational context, where the question arises as to whether an AI interlocutor could support pupils in learning an instrument well enough to at least partially replace the teacher. On the other hand, like the printing press and the internet, AI is not going to disappear. Riding the wave cautiously - to stay with the image - could also be worthwhile for instrumental and vocal teachers. AI can inspire, make processes more efficient, motivate students and relieve teachers. The tools listed below are currently free or cost between 20 and 40 francs per year.

Playbacks

AI can already save a lot of time in this area. One interesting example is Lalal.ai. This allows voices to be subtracted at the touch of a button - for practicing or playback of a cutting-edge song. All in one Moises. Songs can be divided into up to five individual tracks and extracted as desired. The tempos of the extracted tracks can then be adjusted and transposed to other keys.

Experimenting with songwriting, learning musical styles

With AIVA you can choose from a variety of styles and set the length, tempo and time signature. The tool then generates a song whose tracks can then be adjusted as required. Works in a similar way Boomywhere additional audio tracks can be recorded - including your own vocals. At present, the results of both tools are more likely to be classified as Saturday evening gimmicks. However, one of the presumed future market leaders MusicLM from Google is already in the starting blocks, and interested parties can currently join the waiting list. The direct competition MusicGen from Meta only creates short snippets of 12 seconds each at this point, but the first audio samples already show a big jump between the first and last two.

=> Listen to here first examples of

Music notation

ScoreCloud describes itself as "the most intelligent music notation software".  The tool creates editable scores from midi or audio files - if you like, directly from the vocals. The results are amazing. Students can quickly create their own songs at home.

Transcription

With Chordify you run the desired song and receive fingering charts for piano or guitar at the same time. This allows students to select songs for their own musical tastes at home and play along directly without the teacher having to search for and transcribe videos or audio files first.

Compile teaching materials

That ChatGPT is known to be quite liberal with facts. Nevertheless, it is (just like Bard from Google) is already very useful as a free version if you lack inspiration for a suitable piece for a specific student or a specific topic - or if you want to write letters, summarize long texts or put together a social media strategy. Jasper is subject to a charge, but is even more helpful because it provides links with further information.

Administration

Numerous mail programs already offer AI support. With Gmail, for example, "Smart Reply" is helpful: it prescribes friendly emails in different variants so that you can reply at the touch of a button. Another interesting feature is "Summary Cards", which presents important information from emails in a clear visual format. Something similar is offered by Spark Mail. AI will also be very useful for various everyday tasks, compiling timetables and taking notes from meetings - for example, the following is already available workstream.ai.

Feedback welcome! 

Do you already work regularly with AI? Have you put a particular tool through its paces? Or do you see other useful applications for AI in the day-to-day running of a music school? Get in touch with the editorial team and we will contact you for a short interview. Thank you in advance, we look forward to hearing from you!

From generative AI Dall-E generated images

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Il presidente Philippe Krüttli commentato l'attuale situazione del Nuovo Messaggio sulla cultura 2025-2028. Tra le altre cose, il Comitato direttivo ASSM desidera sottolineare l'importanza dell'accesso all'educazione musicale di bambini in età prcolare e di studenti professionali nonché del programma Giovani Talenti Musica. A questo proposito è in contatto con l'Ufficio federale della cultura.

As far as Giovani Talenti Musica are concerned, Switzerland as a whole is already making great strides. In July, three quarters of the cantons presented a letter of intent to the UFC, and among these, four quarters of the cantons have already presented their own definitive concept. The first approval at Swiss level was recently granted to the canton of Nidvaldo.

Eva Crastan, responsabile del dipartimento Public Affairs, has sollevato il tema delle conferenze regionali. There are currently two regional conferences that take place every year at the Swiss level - in French-speaking Switzerland and Central Switzerland. Nella Svizzera centrale, la conferenza regionale nell'anno scolastico '19/'20 è stata caratterizzata dall'incontro di scambio tra la Scuola universitaria professionale di Lucerna - dipartimento Musica e le scuole di musica, fungendo quindi sia da vetrina e collegamento con l'università e la ricerca, sia come scambio a livello cantonale. The Conference Romande has a more informal character and takes place every year in December in a music school. Around half of all directors and all directors of the region take part in these events. The ASSM Board of Directors is committed to being available to support, at an administrative and organizational level, the cantons wishing to establish and organize this type of regional conference, if necessary also in collaboration with university schools. 

Christian Braun spoke about the situation of the work on digitalization - the aim, as discussed at the last Assembly of Delegates, is to provide all music schools with a basis for developing their own digital transformation strategy. While Thomas Saxer has taken action on the projects of the two schools Quarte and Precollege, the structures will soon be integrated between them, without them having to be externalized as originally planned.

Various delegates have spoken about the different political developments in the various cantons. In the canton of Argovia, for example, in the spring of 2023, an initiative was approved by various parties to improve equal opportunities in the teaching of music. In Ticino, an initiative presenting a similar proposal was submitted by around 11,000 companies - in the testo of the initiative, among other things, an increase in public contributions was approved with the aim of reducing imports, which are currently extremely high at the expense of parents. 

Infine, Regula Gehrig, direttrice della Scuola di musica di Reinach AG, among gli applausi, ha ricevuto il certificato del marchio di gestione della qualità quarte Open Label appena conseguito per la scuola.

Photo: Anicia Kohler

How does an instrument feel? How does it sound? Choosing the right instrument is not easy for children and parents. With the music kindergarten, MS Olten fills a gap and accompanies children into the world of music and the music school with a wide range of activities. The lessons take place in groups of twelve and are jointly organized by two instrumental teachers and a teacher for music and movement. The music kindergarten offer was included in the music school's catalog of subjects in 2022 after a first, very successful pilot year - four classes will be run in parallel in the 2023/2024 school year. The costs for this will be covered by the regular budget. "It's a pragmatic project with the resources we have available," says Head of School Sandra Rupp. "We are delighted with the positive feedback from everyone involved, especially the parents!" For the second time in a row, Olten Music School won the VMS Good Practice Competition's Audience Award for its kindergarten. 

Picture: ZVG

After years of intensive touring and employment at music schools in various cantons, Stampfli decided to pursue further personal development. He became increasingly interested in organizing a music school and decided to acquire the necessary skills at the Bern University of the Arts. "Since graduating, I've basically been doing the same thing on a day-to-day basis as before - only my work is focused on a two-and-a-half kilometer radius instead of on projects in Berlin, Sao Paulo or Zurich," he says with a smile. During the interview, we discuss three points of his Master's thesis.

Music school networks communities ... 

More and more music schools are joining forces and are active in several municipalities. "We can literally link communities together harmoniously," writes Stampfli - be it through public concerts by students or teachers or other joint cross-community events. This results in a cultural mission in addition to the educational mission - people from both communities come together at concerts and get to know each other in an informal setting. 

... and generations

The same applies to encounters between generations, which are promoted through regular, broadly programmed concerts in retirement homes. Here too, Stampfli sees the music school as having a cultural responsibility. By having students play not only classical or traditional music, but also contemporary pop music, both the musicians and the audience broaden their horizons. "Music can be perceived as a gift - in the widest possible range of styles, eras and instruments," he says.

Networking with elementary school teachers

Stampfli describes the collaboration between music teachers and elementary school teachers as part of the joint music lessons (in accordance with Curriculum 21) as being characterized by a great deal of respect - sometimes even too much. Music teachers have great respect for classroom management, and teachers in turn have great respect for their music teaching skills. A training course is therefore planned to get to know each other, including a block of impromptu music-making to break down further inhibitions. 

Well positioned for the 50th birthday

The development process at Kilchberg-Rüschlikon Music School will continue over the next few years. An important step so far has been the new affiliation agreement and the newly negotiated salary agreement for the music teachers. This means that the music school - which coincidentally shares its birthday with Headmaster Stampfli - can prepare for its 50th anniversary in 2027 on a solid basis.Picture: ZVG

_____________________________

President Philippe Krüttli commented on the status of the New Cultural Message 2025-2028. Among other things, the VMS Board would like to place particular emphasis on access to music education for preschool children and vocational school students and the Young Talents Music program. It is in contact with the Federal Office of Culture in this regard.

There is already a lot going on throughout Switzerland when it comes to Young Talent Music. As of June, three quarters of the cantons have submitted a declaration of intent to the BAK, of which four cantons have already submitted their finished concept. The first approval in Switzerland was recently received by the canton of Nidwalden.

Eva Crastan, responsible for Public Affairs, introduced the topic of regional conferences into the discussion. Two such cross-cantonal conferences are currently held across Switzerland every year - in French-speaking Switzerland and Central Switzerland. In Central Switzerland, the regional conference was merged with the exchange meeting of the Lucerne School of Music and the music schools in the 19/20 school year and thus serves both as a showcase and link to higher education and research as well as cantonal exchange. The Conférence romande has a more informal character and takes place in December at a music school. Around half of all head teachers in the region take part in both events. The VMS Board emphasizes that it is happy to provide organizational and administrative support to cantons wishing to set up and hold such regional conferences, if necessary also by liaising with universities.

Christian Braun spoke about the status of work on the digitalization concept - the aim, according to the discussion at the last delegates' meeting, is to provide music schools with a basis for developing their own strategy for digital transformation. And Thomas Saxer reported on the project development at the two labels Quarte and Precollege, whose structures will be aligned in the near future without being outsourced as originally planned.

Several delegates reported on political events in their cantons. In the canton of Aargau, for example, a non-partisan motion to improve equal opportunities in music lessons was adopted in spring 2023. In Ticino, an initiative with similar concerns was submitted with around 11,000 signatures - among other things, the text of the initiative calls for an increase in public contributions so that the current extraordinarily high parental contributions could be reduced.

Finally, Regula Gehrig, principal of the Reinach AG music school, was presented with the certificate of the newly acquired quarte Open Label quality management label to applause.

Photo: Anicia Kohler

The CEGM coordinates and manages the training program. This includes not only musical training, but also basic rhythmic training (Jacques Dalcroze), dance and theater.

The ten schools affiliated to the CEGM cover all styles of music, all ages and all requirements. The little ones can enrol in the Bubble d'air or the Musical Espace; brass ensemble lovers will choose the Ondine genevoise or the Cadets de Genève; contemporary music fans will attend the School of Musical Technologies; people attracted by a humanistic education will turn to Studio Kodály; rhythm is taught at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze; dance at the Geneva School of Dance; the string players at Archis Accademia.

Together, the CEGM schools offer an educational program that covers three main categories: basic training for those who want to learn and develop an amateur artistic practice; intensive courses for students aged around 6 to 14 who want a broader education; and pre-professional courses reserved for the most motivated and talented students. School discounts are available in the last two categories.

Finally, it should be noted that the CEGM also has a Center for Contemporary Music, created a few years ago on the initiative of a group of teachers with the aim of facilitating access to and promoting the learning of recent musical works. This center manages teaching materials and scores that are made available to teachers and students. It also organizes auditions, shows and concerts.

www.cegm.ch

How can we reach the children at school? The team at the Pfannenstiel music school in Meilen ZH asked themselves this question in the spring of the second year of the pandemic. "It was clear to us that we needed something new," says principal Kerstin Wiehe. The decision was quickly made to produce a film in the style of a game - a journey through the music school in a virtual world, so to speak. Due to the limited time available, several project teams were formed. One team developed the film, while another worked on a related teaching unit, and a third contacted the elementary school and organized the school visits, etc.. Within a few weeks, a ready-made double lesson was created, including a film, presentation of instruments and a practical sequence with singing and body percussion. For Kerstin Wiehe, this parallel, agile way of working was the key to success. "There was a reciprocal effect," she says, "The different groups were able to make the necessary changes immediately and benefit from each other. That was great fun."

In the first year of implementation in 2021, the resulting project "MUSiK! - Music in the Classroom" with the film "MUSIKGEISTER" reached 75 school classes and 1700 children. In the next school year, enrolment figures at the music school rose by around seven percent, while they continued to fall at other music schools in the area. Kerstin Wiehe clearly attributes this to the project. Not only the teaching unit with the film itself, but also the parallel press work and the recognizability of the music spirits contributed to this. Teachers said that the children could still sing the "Farandole" motif by George Bizet a year later.

The Pfannenstiel music school will continue with the project in the future. Based on the story of the music spirits, a teacher has also developed a computer game for learning sheet music, which will soon be published. "We can well imagine developing further educational material," says Kerstin Wiehe. The team also found that the music ghosts are not only inspiring in terms of content, but also visually and stick in people's minds - this provides a good basis for further digital and analog tools.

Learn more: Pfannenstiel Music School

How can we bring children to school? Il gruppo di lavoro della Scuola di musica Pfannenstiel di Meilen ZH è posto questa domanda nella primavera del secondo anno di pandemia. "Per noi era chiaro che avevamo bisogno di qualcosa di nuovo", afferma la direttrice della scuola Kerstin Wiehe. Si è rapidamente deciso di produrre un film che si presenti come un videogioco - praticamente un viaggio attraverso la scuola di musica in un mondo virtuale. Dato che avevamo poco tempo a disposizione, sono stati formati diversi gruppi per il progetto. One has developed the film, while at the same time the other has developed the relative teaching unit and the third has contacted the elementary school to organize classroom discussions, etc. After a few weeks, a double lesson ready for use was created, including film, presentation of instruments and a practical sequence with music and body percussion. Per Kerstin Wiehe, this modo di lavorare in parallelo e dinamico ha determinato il successo del progetto. "Ne è scaturita un'interazione", dice, "I diversi gruppi hanno potuto apportare direttamente le modifiche necessarie e beneficiare l'uno dell'altro. It was very diverting."

Nel primo anno di realizzazione, il 2021, il progetto risultante "MUSiK! - Musica in classe" with the film „MUSIKGEISTER" (fantasmi musicali), has involved 75 classi di scuola e 1700 bambini. Nell'anno scolastico successivo, il numero di iscrizioni alla scuola di musica è aumentato di circa il sette percento, mentre ha continuato a diminuire nelle altre scuole di musica della zona. Kerstin Wiehe attributes this increase to the project. However, it was not only the didactic unit with the film that contributed, but also the promotional work and the musical fantasies. The teachers reported that the children were able to sing George Bizet's "Farandole" one year later.

La scuola di musica Pfannenstiel will continue with this project in the future. Sulla base della storia dei fantasmi musicali, un insegnante ha anche sviluppato un gioco per computer che aiuta ad imparare le note e sarà pubblicato a breve. "Pensiamo di elaborare altro materiale pedagogico", afferma Kerstin Wiehe. Inoltre, il gruppo di lavoro ha scoperto che i fantasmi musicali ispirano non solo in termini di contenuti, ma anche visivamente e rimangono nella mente delle persone - questo fornisce una buona base per sviluppare ulteriori strumenti digitali e analogici.

Per sapere di più: Pfannenstiel Music School

The canton of Bern is the second largest canton in Switzerland in terms of both area and population. It is geographically heterogeneous - flat, hilly or mountainous - and accordingly the cantonal territory includes cities and agglomerations as well as small hamlets. Another special feature of Bern is its bilingualism. "Cela ne nous pose pas de problème", says Hans Peter Hess, who himself lives in bilingual Nidau, with a grin. The very different educational concepts in the two language regions sometimes cause discussion in the canton - President Nicola von Greyerz sees this as an enrichment.

The current focus is on talent development at VBMS. "We have updated our concept and adapted it to the federal framework conditions," says Hans Peter Hess. Now it's all about implementation in the individual schools. He sees talent development as an important addition to broad-based development, even if it is time-consuming and is only aimed at a very small number of pupils. "I'm enthusiastic about it," he says. "With talent development, wanalog takes a big step forward in terms of musical education."

Another important topic is cooperation with the elementary school. "It's important to me that it doesn't depend on individual people whether this kind of collaboration takes place," says Nicole von Greyerz. Project-oriented collaboration works very well, for example in the context of musicals. The aim of the VBMS is to strengthen and institutionalize this collaboration. To this end, a new position for the coordination of music schools and elementary school was created at the beginning of 2023 - Isabelle Lehmann, deputy head of the Biel music school, was hired.

The financing of music education is also an issue in the canton of Bern. In addition to contributions from the municipalities and the canton (30%), parents pay an average of CHF 780.00. Music schools are fundamentally too expensive and a new system is needed, according to Hans Peter Hess. The "Finances" working group was therefore recently reactivated. This means that neither the VBMS Board nor the office will run out of work - although Hess will hand it over in summer 2023. The long-standing VMS delegate is retiring and is looking forward to devoting himself to making music again with a newly founded band.

Association of Bernese Music Schools