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Abstract

As a topic, folk music inclusion in the European school system dates to the 19th century. It has continued throughout the 20th century with the inclusion of other “nonclassical” genres such as popular and world music. In Greece, the inclusion of traditional instruments in the curriculum of public Music Secondary Schools occurred in 1988. This happened for the first time officially in a state educational institute. This fact led researchers to investigate how folk musicians of the past learned and transmitted their art. This article explores the teaching methods used by a 70-year-old santouri (Greek hammered dulcimer) player on a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. Although the musician mentioned above had learned his art through the traditional oral method of apprenticeship, he held a teaching position in an educational institute of formal music education, a very different context from the one he learned. The authors aim to investigate how the context of an organized music lesson may affect how a folk musician of the past generation tries to transmit his art to youngsters by teaching. Furthermore, the record of his teaching methods can be useful to younger teachers of Greek traditional instruments, but it can also contribute to the broader discussion of informal music learning.

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