Japanese children get 10 years of mandatory music studies, resulting in a population which can read music and appreciate it. History, theory, conducting, instrumental and choral performance, and reading and writing of music are taught. Japanese educators often criticize the approach as emphasizing the intellectual rather than the creative. (CS)

Outlines a variety of activities incorporating celebration and study of the Olympic Games into the music curriculum. Suggested activities are separated by elementary, middle school, and secondary levels. Includes a list of Olympic music recordings. (MJP)

Recommends incorporating singing activities as an instructional component of orchestra and band rehearsals. Notes that singing helps students develop aural skills, learn sight-reading, and make connections between the basic elements of music theory and the practical application of these elements. Also includes suggested activities. (MJP)

Uses E. D. Hirsch's concepts of art, culture, and multiculturalism to rethink the philosophy and practice of arts education. Analyzes culture and multiculturalism and suggests that music education be conceived in multicultural terms. Disputing Hirsch's cultural uniformity, maintains that music educators should preserve the integrity of music…

Expresses concern that students need to be exposed to many musical options. Reports on a study of 242 high school students in select and nonselect choral ensembles. Finds that both groups prefer popular music over other genres and that nonselect choir members rated country music higher than select choir members did. (CFR)

Describes a two-week arts appreciation unit implemented by a sixth-grade teacher at Graham Elementary School in Los Angeles. The unit introduces the students to Parisian art and architecture, the music of Wagner and Stravinsky, and the paintings of Monet and Chagall. Visual and aural exposure to art and music, group discussions, and hands-on art…

Frank Leto, a professional musician and a Montessori teacher, discusses his professional music career, family, the arts in Montessori education, the lifestyle of a professional musician, writing children's songs, and percussion instruments. Provides advice for teachers of music. (SD)

A questionnaire on their child's musical involvement and appreciation was completed by parents of 65 children who use cochlear implants. Findings indicated many of these children were involved in some type of formal or informal musical activity and few accommodations were provided in formal music classes. Correlations between speech measures and…

An exploration of the creative process in painting and musical composition, this kit, for use with grades 4-8, provides a structured plan that can extend over several class periods. In "Looking At Art," concentration is on one landscape painting with comparisons to related works. Historical and visual components are analyzed and works are placed…

This monograph examines the extent to which the U.S. adult population was involved in personal art participation in 1992, compares it to participation in 1982, and profiles personal arts participants. The National Endowment for the Arts attempted to determine the scope of adult public participation in the arts through the Surveys of Public…

Arguing that remedial/developmental students' lack of exposure to the fine arts relegates them to a permanent underclass within the student body, this paper describes the use of poetry, music, and other materials drawn from the fine arts in a remedial writing class. After presenting a rationale for including artistic concerns in the developmental…

This source book provides songs, activities, ideas, and hints on how to use folksongs with children. The book contains 30 folksongs and over 140 accompanying activities. The simplest activities work well for preschool children with the most complicated design for 10- or 11-year-old children. Each activity utilizes one of the 30 songs and supports…

This text consists of a series of classroom handouts created over a two-year period as a supplement to the text used in a junior college music and visual arts appreciation course. These materials are designed to be presented in a one-quarter course in fine arts appreciation for nonmajors who are unlikely to take further courses in either music or…

Using music and the visual arts as stimuli in the teaching of short story writing, the six-week course described in this guide is designed to improve students' appreciation of elements common to these art forms and to increase their use of these elements in their creative writing. The guide points out that attitude surveys have shown that these…

This booklet provides a brief overview of the fine arts curriculum and a detailed explanation of the music education program for the state of Texas. The overview of the music curriculum includes the rationale and the scope and sequence for elementary and secondary education. The special music programs for junior high are general music, band,…