Basic music awareness amongst Maltese youths

Abstract

Music awareness will discuss the basic musical knowledge one has. This includes not only the individuals' interests, but also the music education which one has received. In Malta, unfortunately, there is no specific mandate that makes the teaching of music obligatory at all levels in primary and secondary schools. This research project was designed to establish the basic music awareness amongst a sample of Maltese youths, and also to identify their source of knowledge. The research instrument used was an interview of 26 structured questions. A pilot study was performed beforehand, with only minor changes being found to be required. The results demonstrated that several Maltese youths lack the basic music awareness which everyone should have. It was also found that quite a high percentage of the youths interviewed did not receive any basic music education throughout their school years. On the basis of the findings, recommendations are proposed for the implementation of continuous music education in both primary and secondary levels of education, in order that the results obtained through this research are used to the fullest extent.