The specialised teaching of music within the Spanish Education system implies training which is both longer and more specific than that which is available within the general schooling system. These types of study programmes demand complete dedication and a great deal of psychological effort on the part of the student over a long period of time, as well as a substantial economic investment. Moreover, students must successfully complete numerous aptitude tests which require a high degree of motivation and the extensive development of auditory and artistic skills. The higher grade in music, which corresponds to the final stage of the educational system of this specialist teaching of music, confers upon the student a responsibility that culminates in the obtainment of a qualification equivalent to a university degree. This qualification in turn offers students work prospects that will allow them to achieve both economic and social independence. Higher music education culminates in the award of a degree that will give the student the means to achieve certain job expectations, and we try to understand the relationship existing between the music training and the academic training given to higher music education students, according to their real job opportunities and their own job expectations. Opting for a naturalistic view of reality, this research project does not aim to generalise the results obtained, but rather to offer an in-depth account of the cases that were studied. Due to the qualitative methodological approach that we adopted, we expect many of the students and teachers that were involved in this study to identify with the opinions that are expressed. The following research questions were formulated on the methodological and epistemological premise stated above: • What is the training received by a student of the higher grade of music like? • Does it correspond to what society currently demands of musicians or does it focus on the transmission of the cultural heritage of Western music without regard for whether this type of knowledge and skill is practical in the job market? • How highly qualified are these future music professionals? • Does the training provided meet the expectations that these students have with respect to a future profession? • Does the theoretical framework set out by the L.O.G.S.E. (Institutional Law on the overall structuring of the education system) correspond to the educational reality of those centres within which it is being applied?

In order to address these questions, teachers and students from different specialities were selected for the purpose of this study. This type of selection was deemed necessary due to the wide range of educational qualifications that are contemplated within the higher grade curriculum, varying from instrumental specialities of a practical kind to other subjects that are normally considered to be theoretical. The data collected would therefore be drawn from a variety of sources and would reflect the diverse nature of the reality being studied. As such, interviewees were chosen bearing in mind the distinction that can be made between instrumental and theoretical specialities. In order to carry out these interviews, a question and topic guide was previously elaborated.

We pursue a review on the quality of the teaching being currently offered at Spanish higher music conservatoires, relying for that purpose on the information provided by both teachers and students interviewed. The first goal would be to become aware of and then interpret the way in which such centres generally carry out their activities. On the other hand, it would be to achieve a more in-depth knowledge of the current higher music training and the students´ learning process. We intend to know: - Whether the training given in higher music education is appropriate or not. - To what extent the training qualifies students. - Whether the training takes into account the demands students will have to meet whenever they enter the music professional market. - Whether the new Spanish legislation reforming the general educational system will deal properly and effectively with the real educational situation at the conservatoires.