The report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education concluded with scant information about a need for fine arts in the schools. Outlined is an interdisciplinary course that uses many art forms--literature, opera, and symphonies--to prevent the extinction of music and art education. (RM)

The ballad is a primary medium for the reliving of historic events. Described is a joint music and social studies project in which junior high school students research historic events and write song lyrics. A composer gives a lesson on lyric writing, verse forms, and rhyme schemes. (RM)

Because of its exciting use of rhythm and its variety, African music is an excellent musical culture for study. Seventh and eighth grade students, with no prior musical training, learned to play African instruments and dance the Adowa, a traditional dance of the Ashanti people of Ghana. (RM)