In secondary general music classes, music educators have the opportunity to bridge the gap between the music students' experiences in school and the music they engage with outside of school. According to Williams, nontraditional music students have musical lives outside of school but choose not to participate in traditional ensembles. In this…

Songwriting is a form of composition that relates directly to adolescents' personal experience of music. This article provides a rationale for establishing courses in songwriting at the middle school and high school levels. Other topics in the article include curriculum development, instructional procedures, and assessment. The article ends with…

In performance-focused ensemble classrooms, students and teachers often work toward convergent solutions (e.g., accurate notes and rhythms, agreeing on interpretation). Hierarchical structures may be in place in which it is considered inappropriate to question or disagree with an interpretation set forth by the leader. Teaching composition, in…

General music teachers might be faced with formal performance expectations placed on them by administrators. While performance expectations are common in performance-based ensembles, meeting these expectations can be cumbersome and daunting to those who serve in the realm of general music. Informances--informative presentations of student learning…

International-mindedness is defined in many different ways in education discourse. Some of the definitions include the ability to be open-minded and respectful of cultures and peoples or having an awareness of the interconnectedness of people not only intellectually but also with growing empathy. Do music educators have any role in helping…

Sheet music, song lyrics, and audio recordings may not be the first primary sources that come to mind when considering ways to teach about changes brought about by technology during westward expansion, but these sources engage students in thought provoking ways. In this article the author presents a 1917 photograph of Mountain Chief, of the Piegan…

The purpose of this study was to examine collaborative composing in high school string chamber music ensembles. Research questions included the following: (a) How do high school string instrumentalists in chamber music ensembles use verbal and musical forms of communication to collaboratively compose a piece of music? (b) How do selected variables…

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine the intersections of music making and teaching for four string teachers. Data included background surveys, three interviews per participant, videotaped classroom observations (jointly viewed during the second interview), and a focus group interview that included music making. Findings…

This study draws on ethnographic data from a year-long multimodal media production (MMP) course and the experience of an African American female adolescent who used the production of multimodal Hip Hop texts to express her creativity and growing socially conscious view of the world. The study demonstrates how students made meaning multimodally and…

Facing the ambiguous status of in-school music literacy, this follow-up eight-year study aims to touch on the effects of traditional staff notation (SN) learning on student's intuitive symbolizing behavior and musical perception. Subjects were 47 second-graders attending a religious Jewish school in Israel. One "pre-literate" meeting, in…

Maintains that, although none of the National Standards for Arts Education requires the use of computers in music education, it is assumed that computer use will expand. Discusses and reviews the use of computer software and other educational technology in the music classroom. Includes a list of three books for further reading. (CFR)

Maintains that, to improvise successfully in music, students must have an understanding of the creative process. Presents teaching suggestions for encouraging creativity in music classes. Maintains that improvisation is an excellent method for students to explore and practice creativity. (CFR)

Presents findings of a qualitative study of musical learning processes. Findings are reported in terms of the nature of strategies used by children as they work with peers to solve compositional problems. Also finds that successful students moved back and forth from holistic approaches to segmented activities. (CFR)