Suggests that the bias linking guitars to popular culture has needlessly limited approaches to teaching guitar. Examines how each of five current programs develops different music skills. Advocates a comprehensive, multifaceted program capable of emphasizing student skills in melody, harmony, perception, creativity, and performance over six years…

Offers a systematic approach to creative learning in music through an analysis of the components of complex learning and creative activity. Outlines goals for fostering creative learning in music education, and delineates person, process, and product objectives. Suggests methods of evaluating creativity. (RW)

Discusses the impact of technology on music education and its implications for curriculum development. Recommends a curriculum for the musically gifted based on aural skills, electronic instructional tools, and a skilled musician as instructor. Offers suggestions on how this curriculum can be implemented and expounds on the use of electronic…

To develop listening skills for all types of music, teachers may want to try some of these imaginative teaching techniques. Describes some unconventional ear-training exercises, vocal exercises to encourage students to "paint with their voices", and "rebound" exercises to explore spontaneous relationships between sound and movement. (Editor/RK)

Establishing music as an integral part of the elementary curriculum is one of the most pressing challenges facing music educators. The tremendous motivational power of music should be utilized in education. Four music activities which can be used with elementary students to reinforce reading activities are described. (RM)

Proposes instructional strategies for directors of jazz groups, including guidelines for developing of skills necessary for good performance. Includes effective methods for positive changes in ensemble style. Addresses jazz group problems such as beat, tempo, staying in tune, wind power, and solo/ensemble lines. Discusses percussionists, bassists,…

Article considered human goals in music education. (Editor/RK)

Teaching music to the early adolescent is a challenging and sometimes difficult task. Characteristics of early adolescence are described, and reasons why some middle level music programs are not effective are discussed. Tips for tailoring instruction to this age group are presented. (RM)

Examines specific approaches and strategies for teaching discipline-based music education (DBME). DBME incorporates history, aesthetics, and criticism into traditional music education. Discusses creating a DBME unit, what questions to ask, and what resources to use. Includes a sample approach. (MJP)

Contends that children in the early childhood years do not compartmentalize knowledge and that the typical school curriculum presents artificial barriers to learning. Discusses the link between music and language acquisition and the significance of the home environment on music skill development. (CFR)

Observes that women's contributions to instrumental music frequently have been overlooked. Explains that, although women have written and performed music for string instruments for centuries, much of their work has been lost. Discusses some of the leading women composers. Suggests means of integrating women's works into the curriculum. Offers a…

Article described a program with the goal of developing a creative music curriculum that would interest and challenge sixth-graders. Students were motivated to write the lyrics and music for their own songs. (Author/RK)

Emphasizes that music educators need to learn the terminology of the gifted and talented programs in order to be recognized as one source of such programs. Explains terminology such as enrichment, acceleration, differentiated curriculum, and the use of these terms in curriculum development. (SLM)

Outlines the work of psychologist Howard Gardner, who isolated and identified seven basic, autonomous intelligences. Discusses the ideas presented at a 1989 South Carolina conference that probed the implications of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences for the arts and for education. Contends that the theory of multiple intelligences…

Suggests ways music teachers can improve their teaching and solve instructional problems by using existing research and conducting their own. Also offers strategies to help music district supervisors encourage effective use of research. Identifies several useful publications as sources of research reports. Includes a chart listing reasons and…