In our growing digital age, young children are inevitably exposed to a variety of technology and media devices. We see 2-year olds taking "selfies" on their parents' phones, iPads and e-readers filled with children's books and games, and thousands of songs stored on iPods for children to listen to and sing along. The ways in…

Implementation of the English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards (CCSS) reduces the traditional separation between the study of different subjects. Increased focus on nonfiction reading and writing means more incorporation of other content, such as music, into language arts classes. CCSS's emphasis on speaking and writing across…

Young teachers often struggle with pacing and the ability to cover more than one or two songs and activities in a single 30-minute general music class. Included in this article are lesson activities that show it is not only possible to include many of the National Standards in a single lesson, but also possible to sing, play, and create in every…

The purpose of this article is to introduce the characteristics of Korean rhythmic patterns and provide effective ways to teach Korean rhythms based on the theoretical and pedagogical approaches derived from 5,000 years of Korean musical tradition. First, we have provided the fundamental principles of Korean rhythms that represent the culture from…

This article seeks to characterize culturally responsive teaching; consider how it differs from other pedagogical approaches in music education informed by culture, such as multicultural music education; and offer ideas for making the general music classroom more culturally responsive.

The following article provides strategies and suggestions for integrating creative drama into the general music classroom. Various learning theories and basic theatre concepts will be discussed. Integrating music and drama can be an engaging tool for various types of learners. The author provides a sample process drama lesson on Civil Rights…

A musician and a mathematics educator create and implement a set of elementary school lessons integrating music and math. Students learn the basics of music theory including identifying notes and learning their fractional values. They learn about time signatures and how to determine correct note values per measure. Students are motivated by…

The educational practices of the municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy, are celebrated as among the best in the world. Inspired by this educational system, schools across America have adapted the Reggio Emilia approach. Yet, music educators may be unaware of its principles as the approach is not often discussed in music education literature. The…

The Common Core Standards and the wide-spread state adoption have implications for music teachers. Alignment with English language arts Common Core Standards is discussed, with examples provided for elementary general music experiences. The author notes the challenge of retaining focus on the music domain while meeting the expectations of the…

In today's complex music software packages, many features can remain unexplored and unused. Software plug-ins--available in most every music software package, yet easily overlooked in the software's basic operations--are one such feature. In this article, I introduce readers to plug-ins and offer tips for purchasing plug-ins I have…

Improvisation, the third content standard for the National Standards for Music Education (Music Educators National Conference, 1994), has received less attention from music teachers. This article advocates for more improvisation specifically free improvisation in general music classrooms. The nature of free improvisation, and its evolution in the…

With the increase of preK programs in public schools, music educators are increasingly more involved in teaching 3- and 4-year-old students. Many music educators find this difficult, as teaching young children requires different--and often unfamiliar--training and experience in child development and appropriate early childhood methodologies. This…

With more than 850,000 apps currently on the market, there are multiple apps that can be used to help all students in music education, particularly those with special needs. This article lists low-budget apps useful for the elementary or secondary general music classroom.

This column offers the personal reflections of the author on being a member of the band Touch, an iPad performing ensemble composed of music education faculty members and doctoral students at the University of South Florida. The ensemble primarily performed its own arrangements of popular music selections from a number of genres including, but not…

This article presents a recipe for making attractive, informative tutorials that can be sent to students and parents via e-mail or posted on a school website. Although tutorials are often included with software, many are either too complex or too rudimentary to directly address music educators’ unique needs. The recipe focuses on the following…