The values of contemporary music in the context of the content school education

The article not only critically assesses school practice based on the Polish concept of music education and some assumptions and demands of pop-cultural education, but also proposes alternative solutions. The overriding idea is the necessity to base education (which should be the practice of music rather than learning about music) on contemporary works with undeniable artistic values. Looking for such works, the author relies on his own classification, in which the basic categories are ‘subtlety’, ‘originality, uniqueness’ and ‘the creator’s intention’.