An important aim of this article is to show that, although Hong Kong's overall education system has encouraged an integration of global, national and local cultures, there are barriers and difficulties in achieving this goal beyond the implementation of school music education. Data are drawn from a questionnaire with 1806 students (880 boys and 926 girls) attending grades 7-9 in 16 Hong Kong secondary schools. This article elucidates students' experiences of school music and interprets their musical and other experiences. It is argued that the Hong Kong music curriculum does not have the flexibility to be able to adapt to global, national and local cultures. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)