Western culture has developed a concept of knowledge as divided into discrete categories, which are reflected in the disconnected subjects of school curricula and the titles of university faculties. However, June Boyce-Tillman believes that music should be intimately bound up with the wider curriculum, particularly in the areas of personal,…

Humans are all one species with one brain and neural system, yet consciousness about their existence is highly contextual. Any culturally transcendent view will still be limited to one's personal experience, analytical capabilities, and cultural shaping. Nevertheless, looking beyond humans' narrow perspectives is essential if they are to find…

School music education in Japan is in a less than ideal situation. In April 2002, the new course of study was implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The total number of music classes in the new curriculum was reduced to 33% of what it had been by the end of 2002. The reduction went from two hours…

Musicians make music; that is, the performance of music involves applied knowledge or know-how. Can a discursive understanding of what the musician does be attained, and does the attempt to achieve this put at risk the very art it aims to capture? In other words, what can be said of the nature of performance and does what is said turn a living…

What is music? What should be taught when music is taught? How should it be taught? In the early twentieth century, these most foundational questions relating to music education were addressed by the highly regarded, though less well known, educator and researcher, Otto Rudolph Ortmann. In 1922, he published an article in which he outlined a…

Claudia Gluschankof begins this article with two confessions. First, music was not her favorite class at school. She cannot even recall what was done there. It did not at all connect with the powerful, meaningful place that music had in her private life, where she loved to sing with family, and play and sing in ensembles in classes at a private…

June Boyce-Tillman explores the values implicit in the Western musical traditions that also dominate music education. She examines the five interlocking areas of materials, expression, construction, values, and spirituality and how these areas create a more holistic way of conceptualizing the musical experience within music education. By…

Mark Garberich responds to June Boyce-Tillman's "Towards an Ecology of Music Education," by saying that it challenges the foundations of music education philosophy and its application to practice. Garberich believes that beginning with the identification and clarification of what are described as "subjugated ways of knowing," she advocates the…

In this article, the author discusses three themes related to Tony Palmer's paper: (1) her agreement with the content of his paper in general; (2) some remarks on elements of what he deals with, including notions about the concept or a vision of what music education should be in the US and in the rest of the world and an approach to training music…

Anthony J. Palmer's paper continues an absolutely necessary discussion on the general education core curriculum for American undergraduate students. Initially, Palmer summarized the global conditions with which we are presently confronted. This discussion led him to the reexamination of the general education core at the undergraduate level. The…

Masafumi Ogawa cares deeply about improving music teacher education and has grave concerns about Japan's current music education and teacher training system. He notes reduced instructional time, cuts in teaching positions, and classroom management issues resulting in the devaluing of music education by administrators, students, and the general…

Masafumi Ogawa's paper presents challenge after challenge facing the teacher and the teacher educator in Japan. One has the sense that a lifetime of frustrations with the national curriculum, the set-up of student teaching, and the definition of music as a school subject each made its way into the paper. Even choosing to focus on teacher training…

Peter Webster believes that a study of the history of music teaching and learning in North America will likely reveal very few examples of extended and well-argued professional discourse. By "discourse" he means a continuous expression or exchange of ideas designed to present contrasting views on important issues in the music teaching profession.…

Proposes the educational activities in a modern, multicultural society and explains that these aims have strong implications for the ethical import of music education. States that music has a significant role in the personal and social development of students. Discusses the potential impact music education has on society. (CMK)

States that the alliance between story and music within Native American culture can be carried over into the curriculum. Provides a rationale for utilizing story while teaching Native American music, specifically related to the multicultural curriculum. Discusses the value of cultural music to the multicultural curriculum. (CMK)