Children's Ways of Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom

This article focuses on children's musical play, including that involving interactions with popular music and popular culture. It outlines features of musical play, especially as found in communities of practice in the playground, and the disjunction that may often occur between children's challenging, social, and participatory enactment of play and the pedagogical characteristics of classroom music. The article suggests a child-centered approach to music learning and teaching that endeavors to bridge the gap between children's external, informal music-making and musical experiences in the school.