This article seeks to reignite debate about the purpose of a university music education. Taking inspiration from Randall Thompson's 1935 investigation of the role of music preparation in U.S. colleges and universities, an analogous call is made for a less vocational approach to the study of music. The author claims that the music education…

Music education has many "elephants" in its classrooms: obvious major problems that go unmentioned and suffered silently. Two of the larger, more problematic "elephants" are identified, analyzed, and critiqued: (1) the hegemony of university schools of music on school music and the resulting focus in school music on…

In 1989, Bennett Reimer wrote that there are three ways through which people can experience music: performing, listening, and composing. Similarly, in the current National Standards document, MENC [now the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)] identifies performing, creating, and responding to music as the "fundamental music…

There are many assessment initiatives and policy changes happening in Illinois concerning learning and teaching expectations that involve K-12 students, teacher candidates, and current teachers. The Illinois State Board of Education has adopted new Math and English Language Arts standards for K-12 education known as the "New Illinois State…

This article describes uses for podcasts in music education, focusing on learner-created podcasts as an opportunity for students to construct and represent knowledge. The author outlines a podcast assignment that enables secondary and postsecondary students to examine and more deeply understand the meaning music holds for them and the role it has…

Although the influence of the school music teacher in a student's decision to pursue an undergraduate music education degree is well documented, little is known about the contribution that state music education associations (MEAs) may make toward a student's decision to major in a music-related field. Data do suggest that students'…

The digital or information age promotes a liberal, more empowering way of learning and interacting or as Bob Stein, founder of the Voyager Company and the Institute for the Future of the Book, says, "If the printing press empowered the individual, the digital world empowers collaboration." Cynthia Johnston Turner, director of wind…

Among the elements required to develop a comprehensive understanding of music is students' ability to perceive, recognize, and label the harmonies they hear. Harmonic dictation is among the strategies that teachers have traditionally chosen to help students develop harmonic awareness. However, the highly idiosyncratic ways that students approach…

Composition pedagogy is explored from the perspective of a composer and a music teacher educator in this article. The primary goal is to help practicing music teachers develop strategies that will encourage students to create original music. The authors provide reflection about the process of helping students compose on the basis of personal…

Excellent musical ensembles have a strong sense of communal identity among the participants. Because of scheduling challenges and performance priorities, it is difficult to build camaraderie during rehearsal time other than through music making. This article explores the processes, benefits, and challenges of implementing a writing component in an…

This article describes a music program in a prison where two preservice music education majors conduct a choir of the inmates. The mission of the choir, framed in the context of social justice, is to move beyond barriers to create communities of hope that restore, enlighten, and transform lives through music. It is an outlet for the inmates to…

This article covers current trends in disability rights and raises questions about how society's views of disability influence the music education of students in need of special education services. Brief overviews of the disability-rights movement in the United States and of federal laws pertaining to disabilities and education are included. Next,…

A great deal of discussion of religious music in schools has been generated in our field. As we become increasingly sensitive to the diverse interests of the multiple stakeholders in public schools, issues of political correctness and pedagogical goals are raised. The author poses questions about religion and music education. To generate a…

In recent years, popular music has become a growing area of music study and is increasingly accepted in schools and universities around the world. Despite this general enthusiasm, classically trained music teachers bring a certain hesitation to this art form, perhaps because too few have had formal hands-on experience with it. This article…

University programs often require preservice music educators to complete some small- or large-group instruction before beginning student teaching. One of the tools used to deepen these preservice teaching experiences and consequently the pedagogical knowledge for these teachers is to have them reflect on their teaching episodes. Video reflection…