Musical experience can promote relationships, and new kinds of flourishing that can challenge dominant assumptions about the lives of people with disabilities. Approaching music through organized, developmental and sustained approaches should be available to all, but are often not promoted or considered for those with a disability in school or community environments. The Adaptive Music Bridging Program established in Melbourne, Australia in 2023 engages students aged 8-14 with a disability in ensemble based instrumental lessons, cultivating musical skills, literacies and knowledge through weekly participation. The Adaptive Music Bridging Program is examined as a case study qualitatively analysing voices of students, parents, and teachers to explore how adaptive pedagogies and teacher practice positively impacts learning, efficacy and self-determination of students with a disability. We interrogate participatory pedagogies that foster inclusion and belonging, promoting positive learning behaviours, musical engagement, and the setting and meeting of students own musical goals. The study asserts a praxis that implicates important questions for the field of disability studies and mainstream music education in schools, communities and private studios, regarding the marginalization and exclusion of people with disabilities, the value of pedagogic, relational/ theoretical discourse that allows music teachers to approach their profession with access and equity at the heart of what they do, who they teach, and what they aspire for their students. 

• Κοινωνικό μουσικό περιβάλλον
• Μουσική εκπαίδευση για την κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη και την ισότητα
• Μουσική και κοινότητες

Anthea Skinner