This address by Lilla Belle Pitts was prepared for a joint symposium session of the convention of the California-Western School Music Conference and the California Secondary School Principals, held in San Francisco, March 1937. The symposium theme was "Music Education in the Secondary Schools." Pitts said in this address that it was…

In his book "Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools," Charles Hoffer reported a lack of consensus among music educators when considering the essential components of a middle-level general music course. Today, this condition persists. The increasingly diverse nature of students and schools makes a singular, model curriculum for middle-level…

Discusses how music teachers can begin a gospel choir at the middle school through university levels. Provides a historical background on gospel choirs and presents the benefits of having a gospel choir. Focuses on issues teachers should address, how to teach this type of choir, and common misconceptions. (CMK)

Discusses how secondary education music teachers can team teach in the instrumental music classroom. Focuses on issues involved, such as defining team teaching, the influence of the curriculum, and deciding upon discipline strategies. Addresses the positive and negatives of team teaching. (CMK)

Focuses on creating warm-up exercises for use with choral groups, offering tips for developing the exercises. Explains that a warm-up is useful for teaching students to sing, listen, and learn specific music concepts and activities. Provides a list of additional resources and example activities. (CMK)

Describes how to develop a choral festival, explaining the importance for the music teacher to plan and set priorities. Discusses what to look for in a conductor and accompanist, how to select the repertoire and facilities, and create the schedule. (CMK)

Highlights the results of a survey that examined what influenced young people to select music education as a career. Provides suggestions for recruiting future music teachers during high school, such as providing opportunities to teach or encourage greater participation of underrepresented students. (CMK)

Describes how to introduce opera to students through the use of prompting strategies. Explains that these strategies encourage active participation by students and help to improve listening skills. Focuses on prompting strategies, such as matching characters to songs, identifying, and sequencing songs. (CMK)

Focuses on the use of service learning in music education, particularly at the secondary and university levels. Provides background information on service learning and addresses the benefits of this approach. Discusses how to develop a service learning program, the activities, and assessment. (CMK)

States that outside factors affect talented high school and university students when making decisions about selecting a major other than one that will lead them to become a future music educator. Explains how current music teachers can encourage students to choose music education as a major by clearly stating the career advantages and…

Discusses how to implement student self-assessment and large-group assessment in the high school instrumental music classroom. Reports on the students' thoughts about these assessment types. Includes various forms to assist in assessment. (CMK)

Addresses the second volume of "Get America Singing...Again." Focuses on using songs from the theater to teach students in the music classroom. Provides a discussion of songs in various categories, such as family, regionalism, and recreational activities. (CMK)

Focuses on preventing performance-related injuries for music students. Discusses techniques for preventing injury, such as warm-ups, information on stretching and strength training, exercises for the upper arms, torso, and for selected muscle groups. Includes illustrations for some exercises. (CMK)

Discusses the process of creating small ensembles in the choral classroom addressing various issues such as how to develop the groups, choose the music for the groups, and rehearsals and performances. Explores the benefits of small ensembles. Includes a bibliography of resources and information on evaluation. (CMK)

Discusses why students who play musical instruments should participate in a chamber music ensemble. Provides rationale for using small ensembles in the high school band curriculum. Focuses on the topic of scheduling, illustrating how to insert small ensembles into the lesson schedule, and how to set up a new schedule. (CMK)