The author argues that concerts create pressures on the music curriculum similar to those high-stakes tests generate on the general curriculum. Three similarities are presented and discussed using the example of a concert the author organized: first, teaching to the test and the narrowing of curricular goals; second, evaluation by a single source…

Four-year-olds are still learning through discovery of materials. They are excited to share what they have been doing with their parents. And although they are capable of working together under the direction of the teacher, they are much more excited to share individually. This article illustrates how family day in the 4-year-old music class can…

Over the past decade, increasing numbers of students with disabilities have been placed in public school music ensemble classes. Participating in performance groups is an important part of students' music education. All students deserve the opportunity to make music and to experience the thrill of playing or singing with others. When students with…

This article presents an interview with E.J. Choe, director of the Music Academy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, on how she became involved in the use of technology to teach piano and how the software program Band-in-a-Box has helped her in teaching her students. Choe shares that instead of sitting at a grand piano in her…

Informances, informal and informative presentations of student learning that emphasize the learning process, provide an alternative to traditional concerts or programs, which may take general music classroom time away from activities not geared toward a specific performance. Informances are an excellent means of communicating educational…

In the first part of this two-part article, the author described Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell's (2004) exciting ideas for fully engaging students during listening lessons. He chose Everything But the Girl's song "Lullaby Of Clubland the Jay "Sinister" Sealee Remix" to model Dr. Campbell's pedagogical sequence. He also described the three-stage…

Teachers of young children probably spend more time teaching songs than any other aspect of music. Song literature is the foundation of music learning. Hundreds of songs, songbooks, and recordings of songs are available for teachers of young children. Two ways have been suggested as appropriate for teaching songs by rote: (1) the phrase-by-phrase…

Strong social skills are vital for successful functioning in life. Social skills can affect academic success, peer relationships, family relationships, employment, and extracurricular and leisure activities. Children and adolescents who display academic, social, and behavioral deficits are at risk for both short-term and long-term negative social…

This article discusses the numerous benefits of employing contrast-and-compare lessons in music education settings. Such activities focus on the elements of music through the higher-order thinking processes of analyzing, comparing, organizing, and evaluating. They also integrate with the teaching goals and practices of many general educators in…

In the nearly two decades since the 1990 Music Educators National Conference (MENC) preconference symposium on Multicultural Approaches to Music Education in Washington, D.C., music educators have come to recognize the need to include a variety of world musics in music curricula at all levels, from elementary classrooms to advanced performing…

The use of an academic notebook in an elementary music classroom is an effective way of integrating language arts into music instruction while helping students to reflect and think critically about music. Academic notebooks are student-created tools that help organize and track learning while students gain conceptual knowledge. The notebooks are…

This article discusses a better way to provide consistent communication with parents and showcase students' work. Podcasts are similar to favorite episodic radio shows or audio blogs, but are unique in that no longer must the listener tune in to a weekly show--or fear missing a favorite show. Favorite podcast programs can be automatically…

This article provides general music teachers with resources they can use in their class to: (1) introduce the instrument to their students; (2) energize and reshape their students' attitudes toward the instrument; (3) show older students who are very musical recorder and low flute players who share their love of the instruments through podcasts…

Young children learn through play. This has long been acknowledged in the writings of educational theorists dating back as far as Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel and is strongly supported by current early childhood research. Play is at the heart of contemporary early childhood pedagogy, and this has led to a strong belief in the importance of an…

In the nearly two decades since the 1990 MENC preconference symposium on 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, a significant increase in…