Can Aristotle's idea of practice be made fruitful for music pedagogical action in schools? That this is the case is repeatedly asserted in the music pedagogical discussion. This article takes up this assertion and develops a proposal for class music making based on Aristotle's theory of action.

Power relations operate in any educational setting, and there may be particular vulnerabilities in a tradition conducted in the relative isolation of the music teaching studio. These vulnerabilities have been highlighted dramatically in recent years through high-profile cases of power abuse, but power is implicated in a wide range of contexts…

Pasquale "Pat" Ciricillo (1907-1978) was a twentieth-century musician-teacher who incorporated multiple musical approaches in his work. Born to an Italian family in Cleveland, Ohio, Ciricillo's affinity for wide-ranging musicianship afforded him a storied career as a professional trumpet player in New York City. His success as a jazz,…

Student motivation is frequently an issue in general music classrooms, and many long-standing theories designed to increase motivation have the opposite effect. This article introduces Self-Determination Theory, first developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, as a theory of human motivation. A key element of Self-Determination Theory is the…

Popular songs are ubiquitous in the lives of school-age children, but the construction of traditional school music curricula does not always provide an adequate framework for studying them. In particular, the salience of words qua lyrics is an inescapable feature of popular songs, and recognizing the musical properties of those lyrics opens for…

In recent decades, the discourse of music education and education more broadly has shifted from curriculum-centered to student-centered approaches. In an effort to address the existential dimensions of education, Gert Biesta poses a rhetorical and theoretical alternative: "world-centered education," an orientation directed at enabling…

Black Music Aesthetics (BMA), guided by conceptual approaches grounded in African belief systems, are found in the structure and performance practices of Black musics. Music education in American society leans strongly toward Western European aesthetics, which includes: the centrality of rhythm, pitch, and harmony to musical understanding; a…

In international philosophy of music education, there are some philosophers who are important points of reference. One of them is the German Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). While his philosophy is complex, an oversimplified understanding of his ideas turned him into the "bad guy" of international music education philosophy, being in favor for…

With many activities vying for students' time and attention, helping young musicians achieve their potential while inspiring them to continue engaging with music throughout their lifetime is a vital part of the music educator's role. To accomplish this important function, the teacher may strive to fulfill students' psychological needs, leading to…

Research suggests that when we treat our non-obligatory activities playfully, we are more likely to engage with them and derive meaningfulness from them. Play is of interest to the field of music education on at least two counts: the perceived relationship between play and music, and the perceived educational aspects of play related to human…

Much of historical and contemporary music education research is influenced by a Cartesian ontology of opposition. This reinforces the classic function of music and music education: the exercise of possession, ownership and control. To confront these ideas, our article reimagines music education research through posthumanism and new materialism. In…

Energetic and electric, "samulnori" is a contemporary formalization of traditional Korean percussion music known as "p'ungmul." A description will be offered of the music, and of key musician, Master Kim Duk Soo who has dedicated himself to the design and dissemination of this highly regarded genre. A learning pathway on Korean…

Not all in-service general music teachers received instruction in vocal pedagogy for young voices. However, teaching children how to sing is highly complex. By understanding adult vocal registers and children's vocal development, as well as using effective vocal modeling and varied feedback, music teachers may create a learning experience that can…

Stories are more than they seem. Stories can connect humans with other humans, more-than-human things, animals, places and times. And stories can disrupt dominant ways of knowing and being in the world (Ranco & Haverkamp, 2022). Re-telling stories of connection and disruption in research, this paper shares four short autoethnographic musings,…

In East Africa, Tanzania's musical expressions are rich and varied, and typically a combination of music and dance. A description of "Nindo," a multipart vocal music form of the central Tanzanian Wagogo community, is provided, and a tribute is offered to the legacy of an important village artist, Mchoya, of the musical form that is begin…