If you can: iinclusion in music making

This paper steps outside of conventional frameworks of schooling and examines inclusion from the perspective of eight young people and adults who play Scottish fiddle music in a group. The participants were asked to talk about their experiences of playing and their involvement with the group in practice and performance sessions. The group had been portrayed by its members as both inclusive, in the sense of involving players with a range of abilities (including children with dyslexia and dyspraxia), and successful as players, judged by the number of invitations to play and the children's regular success in the local Young Musician of the Year contest. It is argued that young people's experiences of inclusion and participation in fiddle music offer some valuable insights for school inclusion. These do not amount to a model to be applied to the school context; rather, they will hopefully alert teachers to new possibilities for encouraging and supporting the complex process of inclusion.