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…

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…

The opportunity for individualized instruction in the college studio allows the studio teacher to be a strong influence on the development of music students. The private studio can be an arena for standards implementation, bringing all aspects of a comprehensive music education to fruition. The college studio teacher is often the only teacher who…

While music is as old as humanity, conducting as a profession is relatively new. Although a nineteenth-century model has served as the template for the training of conductors, many undergraduate conducting students will spend their teaching careers working with inexperienced and/or amateur musicians. Additionally, the size of many ensembles in…