This article deals with the educational potential of community music. First, the author introduces the concept of community music and discusses its special position in today's society. Community music can play a significant role in promoting active music-making, particularly for those people who do not make use of standard musical arrangements.…

The mission of MENC: The National Association for Music Education is to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all. Now on its 100th year, MENC continues to influence music education today. In this article, the leaders of MENC share their views on the organization's achievements and developments. MENC President…

This article profiles Jacqueline Thrasher, a longtime elementary instrumental music teacher from Phoenix who was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in November 2006. She is currently band and orchestra director at Lookout Mountain Elementary School. When asked about her new life representing District 10, Representative Thrasher makes…

While being part of a good band program has positive benefits, participating in a great program often provides even more benefits. The reputation of a great program is usually far-reaching, attracting, statewide, and possibly national attention. Additional monies, more alumni support, special performance opportunities (all-state, Midwest, etc.),…

Best-selling author Marcia L. Tate brings her trademark "dendrite-growing" teaching strategies to this practitioner-friendly collection of brain-compatible methods for engaging K-12 students in social studies. Included are 20 proven strategies and more than 200 grade-leveled activities for applying them. Teachers will find concrete ways to…

The activities of children at the White House Conference on Children are described. (CK)

The study reported in this paper explores parents' musical practices with children under the age of five in the home environment. A survey was sent to parents in three preschools, asking about parental music background, young children's involvement in music programmes, types of music children were exposed to in the home and frequency of musical…

We observed 17 graduate and advanced-undergraduate piano majors practicing a difficult, three-measure keyboard passage from a Shostakovich concerto. Participants' instructions were to practice until they were confident they could play the passage accurately at a prescribed tempo in a retention test session the following day. We analyzed the…

The purpose of this article was to identify the interactions between students' cultural background and the conditions of teaching and learning at the University of the Basque Country. A group of second- and third-year students was selected because of their special involvement in musical activities, i.e., singing in a choir, singing and playing…

In this article, the author explains that before beginning to create concert programs, it is important that ensemble conductors first develop a long-term curricular plan to which each individual program will contribute. He continues that if an ensemble curriculum is devised so that students make progress over the long term, dynamic growth can take…

In the interaction between the child and the adult, interest can be a significant motivational initiator of activities. Systematic monitoring and development of the interest in music activities enables the teachers to influence the preschool children in forming a positive attitude towards the art of music. The research involving preschool…

The flute is one of the more accessible instruments for beginners and is a popular choice for many elementary and middle school students. It is relatively easy to create a decent, usable sound with a flute, and it is more portable than most instruments. While starting a flute choir has a lot of benefits, arranging a band has a lot of challenges.…

Tradition has it that the best way to familiarize oneself with a musical work is to attend a live performance. Teachers urge promising students to frequent concert halls, clubs, or stadia. Musicologists typically adopt the perspective of an ideal concert-goer when arbitrating matters of interpretation or evaluation. In this article, the author…