Yamaha develops Yamaha Music Schools and other music education programs on a global basis to provide opportunities for people of all ages to experience the joy of musical instrument performance and to learn about music. We have been advancing the School Project primarily in emerging countries since 2015. This project is an initiative for supporting children lacking opportunities to play musical instruments by helping them experience the joy of musical instrument performance. Together with local subsidiaries in target countries, Yamaha is creating opportunities for children to play musical instruments in various settings throughout society.
One characteristic of the School Project is the Music Time Program, a unique progra m that provides musical instruments, teaching materials, and instructional know-how in a packaged format in regions where music education primarily consists of classroom learning lacking opportunities to actual play instruments. It is not uncommon for music teachers in such regions to have almost no experience playing instruments. To address this issue, we supply educational content that enables students to have fun learning how to play instruments like recorders and portable keyboards. As of March 31, 2020, the School Project was being instituted in five countries. In these countries, this program is adapted through means such as the incorporation of local music traditions and the holding of events allowing participants to present what they have learned. Through this approach, we are delivering more energizing musical instrument experiences matched to the local culture of the respective countries.
The ultimate goal of the School Project is to provide children all over the world with equal access to high-quality musical instrument performance experiences. One success with this regard is expected to be seen in Vietnam, where we have been engaged in efforts to introduce and entrench instrumental music education into elementary and junior high school education in collaboration with Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training. As a result of these efforts, recorder instrumental music education is scheduled to be introduced into the educational curriculum guidelines of this country in September 2020, providing children with equal access to musical instrument performance experiences.