HCM CITY — Current methods of teaching music in high school should be adjusted to improve teaching quality, experts said at a recent seminar held by the HCM City Conservatory of Music.

The event, the first where experts in education and training reviewed the current situation of music education, attracted many high school music teachers, lecturers at the conservatory and other universities and college, and academics and other experts in the field.

The participants stressed the importance of music education in school and the attention needed from local authorities.

Dr Tạ Quang Đông, director of the HCM City Conservatory, said that music is an integral part of life and has significant impact on human’s emotions and work motivation.

However, music has not been emphasised enough, he said, adding that music teachers tend to rely on textbooks only, and students do not have enough skills to analyse a piece of music.

“Primary schools face many difficulties in music education,” Dr Nguyễn Long Giao, president of Lý Thánh Tông Secondary School in District 8, said.

“There are only one to two music teachers at some schools and some music classes are taught by the teacher in charge of the class,” he said, adding that many schools lack necessary teaching facilities.

Lecturer Bùi Thiên Hoàng Quân at the HCM City Conservatory said that 37 music lessons offered for students per school year were not enough.

Dr Võ Văn Lý added that there should be a balance between music theory and practice. The amount of time used for instrument training should be increased as well.

On a different note, Đông said that music education in European and American countries was highly professional. Many students in these countries who have particular musical talents are offered scholarships with many benefits, he said.

A number of solutions were discussed at the seminar, including how to make students more interested in music education; how to professionally train music teachers; how to efficiently recruit music teacher graduates from professional music academies; and how to build attractive extracurricular activities for students, among others.

The project “Education of Ethnic Music in Schools in HCM City between 2016 and 2020” was also mentioned as a significant project that has been carried out in three stages. — VNS