In the first decade of this century, two comprehensive studies were conducted on the scope and content of music in grades 1-10 in Icelandic compulsory schools. The studies revealed an increase in music programs over the previous decades in most schools. Furthermore, they found that music teachers were conservative in their choices of methods and activities, albeit content and mostly well supported by their superiors. Shortly after these studies came out, a new national curriculum was implemented, reflecting an alternative vision on the role of the arts in compulsory education. This resulted in a different approach to presenting the arts than in the previous curricula. The shift of focus within the national curricula had unforeseen implications for the arts and music programs in schools. This presentation will report on recent studies on the current state of music education in Icelandic compulsory schools. Data was collected through teacher interviews and field visits. Furthermore, local school curricula were analysed to reveal the implementation of the national curriculum on the implementation in individual schools. The findings reveal that although music has a strong status in some schools, there are more schools with no music program or reduced music programs than before. In fact, where music programs are in place, they lack continuity, and many teachers do not feel sufficiently supported. The presentation will focus on comparing the state of music education in Icelandic compulsory schools before and after the 2013 national curriculum. In this analysis, the approach of critical theory was applied to find possible causes and effects when reflecting on changes in laws and regulations and how this can play out in the field, using a long-term reflection approach. For example, the decline in the performance of Icelandic students in PISA in the years since the implication of the 2013 national curriculum, deserves attention, particularly in the light of the effects on music and the arts.