The article explores curriculum change in Scottish schools between 1978 and 2000 and its impact on learning and teaching. This period produced far reaching alterations to music curriculum thinking and practice. However, there is presently only limited reference within music education literature to strategies that either support or enhance our understanding of the change process. An attempt is made to address some of these omissions, to identify the conditions that most effectively foster and manage change and so establish a clearer basis for future studies. The wider implications of music curriculum change for classroom practitioners are considered, together with conclusions and implications concerning future curriculum policy in this area.