Music teachers, like their colleagues in other fields, are living through a paradoxical time in schools. Currents of change in education and society seem to pull teachers in contradictory directions. Nowhere is this flux more apparent than in curriculum. While teachers are called upon to differentiate teaching approaches to meet the diverse needs…

This article provides teaching tips and materials related to recorder lesson. Teaching Recorder in the Music Classroom, by Fred Kersten, compiles more current recorder information than any other resource. In planning instruction, the major determining factor seems to be Rote or Note. This allows instructors to take familiar repertoire that…

Unlikely as it might seem, a simple request from music teachers to borrow musical instruments can be the beginning of a productive teaching and learning experience for students at their school. With a set of stringed and band instruments from their local music store, every student at a given grade level can have the chance to perform on an…

Article discussed the inquiry approach in teaching music. (Editor/RK)

This paper is one of the first presentations of research into brain gym's effectiveness in learning musical instruments. Brain gym (or Edu-K) is the popular, over-arching name for a system of exercises, approaches, and techniques intended to improve mental and physical performance. We explain the basic concepts and activities of brain gym and…

This article was motivated by a staff development session when the brass faculty of a conservatoire were invited to share and discuss their approaches to teaching. It presents the results of interviews with six well known woodwind or brass players who have also taught at one or more conservatoires in London for periods of between one and 40 years.…

Describes the Suzuki method of teaching which introduces young children to music and the violin so they can progress, after years of study, into standard violin literature. States that this method provides a base upon which the young violinist can develop musical maturity. (GEA)

A series of activities are described to introduce students to musical instruments. Children learn about woodwind, string, percussion, and brass instruments through observation of musicians, hands-on experiences, and recordings. Sample recordings and a bibliography are listed. (DF)

This investigation, which was part of a larger dissertation study, examined high-level performance in groups of people with developmental disabilities and the instruction that facilitated such performance. Specifically, it focused on those aspects of instruction that appeared to be particularly effective in eliciting a high level of performance in…

Learning music composition through use of innovative music symbols can be effective in stimulating student motivation and in developing learning comprehension. (RK)

The Appalachian Folk Music Project developed methods to teach folk music in the schools. Authentic material was identified and teaching methods appropriate to rural Appalachia were selected. Departures from the norm included teaching of instruments like the dulcimer, harmonica, and fiddle and the use of folk models whenever possible. (CS)

A continuing pedagogical problem with preadolescent string students is the introduction and development of finger-pattern concepts. The procedures outlined in this article not only introduce and reinforce a needed kinesthetic skill but also allow the child to be creative while making music in an American idiom--the blues. (Author/SJL)

In the fourteen years since the 1990 MENC preconference symposium Multicultural Approaches to Music Education in Washington, DC, music educators have come to recognize the need to include a variety of world musics in all music curricula, from elementary classrooms to advanced performing ensembles. Accordingly, there has been a significant increase…

This article tells about how teachers with little or no background in music at Aynor Elementary School in South Carolina are using the guitar to reinforce spelling, rhyming patterns, vocabulary words, history lessons, and math and science facts. Since 2003, 24 of the school's 30-odd teachers have learned to play well enough to accompany their…

Fiddling is a style of bowed string playing often associated with folk musicians in the Western world. Many styles have arisen in various parts of the planet, including, among others, Scandinavia, the British Isles, and the United States. String teachers can include fiddling in their classes or lessons in a way that benefits both the student and…