The jazz ensemble represents an important performance opportunity in many school music programs. Due to the cultural history of jazz as an improvisatory art form, school jazz ensemble directors must address methods of teaching improvisation concepts to young students. Progress has been made in the field of prescribed improvisation activities and…

Students are motivated when they have a constant system of rewards. They have a desire to please others and be recognized. It was with this idea in mind that the Smokey Road Middle School Band in Newman, Georgia, started using the "Power in the Progress System" in 2011. This system, created by H. Dwight Satterwhite, a professor of music…

Creativity can be experienced in many roles of musicianship: performing, improvising, and composing. Yet, activities that encourage creative thought in our music classrooms can be a challenge to implement. A strong music education curriculum for middle school general music is important; as this may be the last time we reach students who do not…

This article provides guidance for music teachers who want to introduce Korean folk music to their students. It introduces "Arirang"--both a specific folk song and a category--and describes three different versions: the "Miryang Arirang," the "Jindo Arirang," and the "Gyeonggi Arirang." The…

Previous generations applauded grant-funded programs that brought living composers into the lives of K-12 music students. The current economic climate, however, limits opportunities similar to those enjoyed in the past. We designed a virtual composer-in-residence experience that uses technology to overcome the barriers of funding limitations and…

One of the great challenges ensemble directors face is selecting high-quality repertoire that matches the musical and technical levels of their ensembles. Thoughtful repertoire selection can lead to increased student motivation as well as greater enthusiasm for the music program from parents, administrators, teachers, and community members. Common…

Knowing how students engage with music outside school music programs can help music educators and their programs evolve. This article offers a look at music teaching and learning in terms of how people are increasingly interacting with music in participatory ways that involve digital technologies and media. This participatory culture offers a…

By using a Smart Board or other "smart" technologies, it has become possible to teach interactively with students. One of the hardest concepts for middle schoolers to understand is key signatures. The Smart Board has changed the way the author reinforces key signatures with all her students, beginners to eighth graders. In this article, the author…

This article describes a culturally responsive music curriculum through which students and teachers affirmed diverse stories of individuals present in our public school community. An arts-integrated curriculum project helped make learning more meaningful while concurrently creating a safe learning space for students. This grant-funded project…

This article offers a discussion about some of the accommodations and modifications used in music instruction. The focus here is on the musical tasks and challenges faced by band students with visual impairments. Research and literature reveal an interest in the topic but a lack of accessible materials for immediate use in the classroom and…

Helping young musicians learn how to practice effectively is a challenge faced by all music educators. This article presents a system of individual music practice instruction that can be seamlessly integrated within large-ensemble rehearsals. Using a step-by-step approach, large-ensemble conductors can teach students to identify and isolate…

Teaching students to practice independently is an important part of a music teacher's work. Yet, many common techniques used to teach and enforce student practicing, such as practice charts and performance tests, can backfire, causing students to practice inefficiently or lose their love of music. In search of a method of teaching practicing that…

This article addresses the pervasiveness of harassment in schools in the United States and presents ways to recognize and stem bullying in music classrooms. Music educators are in a unique position to recognize atypical behaviors in their students. Music educators who teach middle and high school ensembles often retain the same students in their…

There is a substantial body of literature on music education in urban settings; however, few resources are available to music educators working in other increasingly diverse school districts across the United States. This article offers a discussion of language barriers and miscommunications between music teachers and students whose cultural…

One of the biggest challenges that teachers of adolescents face is the necessity to motivate them. This article begins with an overview of motivational theories and then focuses on process theory and its application in the middle school and high school classrooms. An effective teacher can create motivation in students by forming relationships with…