The working relationship of two novice songwriters is examined in this ethnographic study, which highlights the importance of common goals and values in a songwriting collaboration. Stemming from this core there are a number of sub-themes: the pair saw a popular song as consisting of melody, harmony, and lyrics; they played on the strengths and…

This article reports on a project called, "Everyday life as a perspective on music education in the classroom." Part of this project involved the construction of texts and lyrics by a group of students from year 5, in weekly music lessons at a regular primary school from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The article…

This article examines the division of music styles according to the conventional categories of classical, traditional and popular, and proposes the term "vernacular" as a complementary way of viewing various types of amateur music-making among diverse groups in modern societies. "Vernacular", as it is used here, includes the…

In this essay, the author describes her view of the concept of the aesthetic in music education as "essentially contested" and subject to reinterpretation. She attempts to expand "traditional" notions of the aesthetic in music education beyond a view of the aesthetic transaction as "passive," focused on audience-listening for traditional…

The Genesis Project is a multi-phase research project designed for the purpose of developing an in-depth understanding of the nature of musical creativity by investigating how composers compose. In this first phase of the project, an understanding of the four dimensions of musical creativity: (1) the "person", (2) the compositional…

For the last few years, the author has been implementing a pedagogy that infuses musical composition--specifically the recording of electronic music--into his first-year composition courses. The author and his students have been quite surprised by the theoretical and practical connections that exist between the production of popular electronic…

Many orchestra teachers have experienced feelings of panic when they first read the National Standards and realize that the coalition standard is for performance ensembles as well as general music classes. Teachers who are responsible for starting beginners or who teach intermediate players may wonder about the feasibility of teaching composition…

The paper considers the innovations and impacts of technology on the fine arts. It explores the effect of technology on how music is taught, studied, performed and created. There is a brief historical account of the recent advances in personal computers, MIDI, synthesizers and music software. The standard of technology competency, set by the…

This study explores the musical content and human processes of improvisations of children and adults using the phenomenological lenses of time, space and responsivity. Paired improvisational performances of two late-career adult composers and two 7-year-old children were analysed considering a lifespan-related perspective involving the origins of…

This book provides both new and experienced music educators with much-needed advice drawn from credible research and established approaches, but also includes practical application for the incredible variety of music classrooms that teachers face today. Kevin Mixon adapts research-based theories to fit typical situations that are not always ideal.…

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…

The book contains information on musical activities which were field tested in Project PASE (Program in the Arts for Special Education, Pennsylvania) classrooms with a wide range of exceptionalities from preschool age to adolescence. Activities are seen to help children become more aware of their bodies, feelings, and themselves; feel important…

This paper builds on the concept that fusion--the blending of styles and traditions resulting in new or hybridised genres--takes place in social interaction in the "transformative zone" (Bresler, 2003). First I explore the issues surrounding the tension that can occur between the need, or desire, to maintain cherished traditions and the…

The case study of a 78-year-old music composer who had had a stroke revealed that he had a severe reading disturbance, a well-preserved writing ability, and no appreciable aphasia. He continued to read music and to compose. His text and music reading performance under different conditions suggested that this unusual dissociation (alexia without…

The contents of this book, which explains the techniques of sound engineering, sound design, and composition for the theatre, are compiled for the theatre student who knows very little about sound. Topics of chapters are acoustics, systems, equipment, sound for a theatrical production, recording and editing techniques, composing and creating sound…