Each year, clinicians are invited to work with music ensembles at schools throughout the country, often in preparation for a contest or festival. Traditional clinics in which guest conductors refine and inspire students in the music-making process are wonderful events but arguably produce only short-term results, due in part to the limited amount…

An effective assessment process can improve student performance, guide instructional decisions, and advocate for a music program. Strategies include designing and administering reliable and valid measures of student learning and using assessments to enhance feedback, longitudinal documentation of assessment results for accountability, and a…

Hundreds of educators contributed to writing and reviewing the new National Core Music Standards over two years of development. Thousands more will find their professional lives shaped by these standards over decades to come. Three individuals involved in standards development explain.

Ensemble directors have a special interest in helping students learn to practice effectively. Practice is also an essential component of musical development. Music educators need to both teach effective practice strategies and guide students toward meaningful, thoughtful practice. Metacognition strategies are one way to accomplish this. Current…

Professional musicians and college students commonly study orchestral excerpts, but a similar practice has yet to be implemented in the band field. Due to their widespread use in orchestral auditions, excerpts have been incorporated as a tool for musical development. Many college professors regularly assign excerpt study as part of their…

The Connecting Parents with Learning Project (CPLP) is an attempt to involve parents in learning standards-based content along with their children. The CPLP can be especially effective in connecting with parents of different cultures because the children teach the parents. Furthermore, it removes the mystery of what the students are studying by…

Describes how to organize a successful college jazz festival. The author discusses how to find funding, the importance of getting good musical clinicians and star attractions, and the use of media to promote the festival. (AM)

Describes the development and implementation of the American/Icelandic Music Curriculum Project. The project's goal was to improve elementary and secondary music literacy through sequential music activities and to create guidelines to assist educators in preparing music curricula. A four-stage model for music curriculum design is discussed. (AM)

Music educators elected to offices in the state organization in charge of the West Virginia student chapters of the Music Educators National Conference describe their organization's objectives and strategies. (RM)

The author, who took a performing arts tour of Japan with 35 junior high students and seven adults, provides some tips to other music educators intending such a venture. Discussed are goals and objectives, getting things started, maintaining the pace, logistics, and final organization. (RM)

Discusses the educational benefits of using peer tutors for all students involved in music education. Explores how music teachers can develop and implement a peer tutoring program, discussing topics such as logistic factors, selecting and training students, pairing students together, and evaluation. Lists steps for implementation. (CMK)

How the Wichita (Kansas) Public Schools and the Wichita Symphony developed a young people's concert format that is educationally, musically, and logistically sound is described. A spirit of cooperation and interdependence between private and public art organizations is necessary to foster student interest in the arts. (RM)