The best moments happen when students begin to realize how much power they have and use that power to create. Composing as they master different instrumental stages helps students make composition and performance a natural step in learning. A step-by-step process (rhythm notation, add pitches, copy to a five-line staff, check work, and play) keeps…

Using music technology is a daily reality for music educators. The task may be as simple as readying a CD player for use in an elementary classroom or as complex as setting up a complete sound system--including microphones, mixer, amplifier, and speakers--for a live music production. One piece of music technology music educators constantly…

Language sometimes creates confusion when teaching music concepts to children. Incorporating children's literature may further enhance children's comprehension of music vocabulary when preceded by listening and moving experiences, as well as singing and playing instruments. "The Quiet Book," and its companion, "The Loud Book!" both authored by…

This theory-to-practice article focuses on interdisciplinary classroom activities based on principles of minimalism in modern music, art, and poetry. A lesson sequence was designed for an inner-city Grades 4 and 5 general classroom of English language learners, where the unit was taught, assessed, and documented by the authors. Included in the…

Increasingly, music teachers are required to assist, tutor, or teach reading skills in the music classroom. In the effort to meet such mandates, music teachers may be challenged to either relinquish valuable music instruction time or attempt to combine instructional strategies of both music and reading into singular lessons, units, and classroom…

Adhering to a constructivist approach, this teacher focused on problem solving and group discussion as she initiated a study of traditional notation. She began with the metronome to make the steady beat less abstract for those students who still learn best through concrete operations. The students were challenged to match magnets of various…

This column presents an outline for the secondary general classroom. The project, called a "soundwalk," requires students to use music, sounds, and technology to create immersive, cinematic audio tours of their school and community. The author argues that the soundwalk is a perfect opportunity for students within secondary general music courses to…

The methods of the Dalcroze approach to music education--eurhythmics, solfege, and improvisation--have had a profound influence on modern music education. In particular, the overt training in kinesthetic abilities, and the assertion that the relationship between music and movement is an intimate one, is at the heart of Dalcroze's approach to…

There are a number of disabilities that music educators may never encounter among their students in the music classroom; however, all music educators will have students with learning disabilities. Students with learning disabilities may have a variety of "presenting problems" that limit their academic and social success in the music classroom. The…

Access to world music resources such as videos and sound recordings have increased with the advent of YouTube and the efforts of music educators working closely with ethnomusicologists to provide more detailed visual and audio information about various musical practices. This column discusses some world music resources available for music…

A description of a listening activity for "Children's Song," a piece by Chick Corea, is introduced and developed. The use of materials and strategies for music making in early childhood settings was developed as a result of a teacher training and consultancy program implemented in a network of early learning centers in Spain. The main lines of…

The process of early intervention is a critical component of Early Childhood Special Music Education. Early intervention is the process of providing services, education, and support to young children who have disabilities or to children who are at-risk of developing needs that may affect their physical, cognitive, or emotional development. The…

This article looks at what a word wall is and its use in the music classroom. The author outlines steps for creation of a word wall within the music classroom as well as the importance of such a resource. The author encourages the creation and consistent use of the word wall as leading to the development of stronger musicians and also independent,…

Nancy White Carlstrom's children's book, "Northern Lullaby," conjures through poetry the beauty of the Alaskan landscape in the evening. The book provides an opportunity for music teachers to help their students transform text and visual images to music. The author describes connections for reading comprehension in the general music classroom and…

For many young children who are English language learners (ELLs), the transition from home to kindergarten can be challenging. Music teachers face the challenge of working with all individuals in a student population and often engage with children who represent home environments whose native language is not English. As ELL students adjust to the…