Aspects of dance training can be helpful in improving performance skills on the piano. These include correct posture, breathing, and a physical sense of self. Learning to move to music, whether through formal training or on one's own, can help relaxation, concentration, and endurance. (CS)

Describes an individualized music program designed for a nonverbal, 18-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. A music consultant assisted the special education teacher in planning music activities and adapting music-making methods to the student's level of speech and motor-skill development. The student's interest and participation in music activities…

Discusses classroom management techniques and music activities for handicapped children in mainstreamed and special education classes. Classroom techniques are designed around students' poor reading and concentration abilities, multisensory experiences, and consistent discipline using positive reinforcement. Music activities are used to reinforce…

Discusses the role of popular music choirs in secondary schools and colleges. Their extensive repertoires, including folk music, jazz and show-tune medleys, and variety music, make pop choirs an excellent method for teaching singing skills and music theory. Information on starting a pop choir is included. (AM)

The responsibility for helping students attain competence in music-reading skills must fall on choral directors and choral music teachers from middle schools on up. Teachers must teach rhythmic and tonal vocabularies and pitch accuracies. Methods are described. (RM)

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)

The instructional program, "Learning About Social Behavior," was designed to teach social and behavioral skills to elementary students in regular and learning disability classrooms. Students are taught with strategies used in reading, math, and assertiveness training. (Author/AM)

Describes the Orff-Schulwerk approach for teaching music to children. The objective is to awaken aesthetic responsiveness. Learning activities are designed to highten sensory awareness, provide genuine aesthetic experiences, promote musical skill development, and stimulate conceptual learning and improvisation. (AM)

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,…

Discusses how Orff-Schulwerk methods are used to teach music ensemble skills to mentally retarded adolescents. The author describes how the analysis of basic musical tasks reveals the essential subskills of motor coordination, timing, and attentiveness necessary to music-making. Specific teaching methods for skill development and Orff…

Maintains that elementary music programs are an asset to the instrumental teacher. Discusses how the pedagogical techniques used in elementary music programs can be applied to instrumental classes. Analyzes aural learning, movement, hand signs, familiar songs, and phasing and form. Suggests how these can be incorporated into instrumental classes.…

Discusses the contribution of Zoltan Kodaly to music lesson planning. Emphasizes preparation, presentation, and practice as the three important strategies in teaching concepts and skills to be included in a lesson plan. Includes a sample lesson plan covering a semester and advice on choosing song material. (DK)

Discusses the selection of material for vocal performances by high school students. Describes adolescent voices as young with little vocal technique and only partially developed or unused register. Includes considerations of breath management, tessitura, energy, subject matter, and language. Provides a list of songs meeting appropriate…

Presents a collection of teachers' ideas on instruction for musical improvisation. Includes suggestions for ascending grade levels, spontaneous composition, and creation of sound maps. Recommends making technique training fun and creative through improvisation. Suggests that children be taught to think in sounds and to experiment with variations.…

Addresses the issue of master music teachers' motivation. Describes motivation as a learned habit reflecting these characteristics: clarity of purpose, delayed gratification, consistent persistence, continual self-evaluation, open-mindedness, emotional maturity, no fear of failure, and self-discipline. Attributes master music teachers' success to…