Australians' Attitudes to Music

This report presents results from a study of Australian households

which was commissioned by the Australian Music Association.

The results are based on 1,000 interviews with households randomly selected across all of Australia. Here are some of the findings:

36% of Australian households contain at least one person who now plays a musical instrument. This equates to a rough estimate of 4 million people of all ages (5+ yrs) who play.

Music players have a young profile. It was found that 35% are aged 5-17 yrs and a further 28% are aged 18-34 yrs. That is, almost two-thirds of music players fall within the 5-34 yrs age bracket - compared to just under half of the total population (5+ yrs).

Starting & Stopping Playing The majority of people (63%) start playing a musical instrument when they are aged 5-11 yrs. The main influences on taking up an instrument were parents, the development of one's own interest and school teachers (in that order).

Schools would appear to play an important part in exposing young

people to music; although those who have had private, one-to-one teaching are more likely to continue playing in later life. Some 49% of current players have had such private lessons.

Almost a third of those ceasing to play do so before they are

teenagers. A further 30% drop out by the age of 15 yrs. It would seem that a material proportion of this relates to the cessation of compulsory lessons at school; although there is a material element of waning interest and presumably increasing interest in other attractions.

It is estimated that there are now some 5.5 million people who are

lapsed players.

General Beliefs:The majority of the population (55%) believe that

music is a good hobby. This view is understandably more strongly held amongst those who themselves play (71%) compared to those who do not (43%). Just over half the population would also completely agree that music is a good means of expression (56%) and can provide a sense of accomplishment (55%).

With regard to young people, almost two-thirds of the population (64%) would completely agree that music is an activity that a child can enjoy all their life. Furthermore, music was viewed as being able to develop a child's creativity (58%) and that a school band was a good way of developing such skills (56%).

Most people would agree that all schools should offer an instrumental music education as part of their regular curriculum (34% + 57%). Around half of the population aged 12+ believes that music should be a mandatory part of the curriculum.

The report is much richer than the above summary would suggest.

Readers with an interest in the subject should find it a fascinating read. There is much information that can guide possibilities of programming for both music education in schools and music in communities.

Click here to read the report (523Kb PDF Format)