This article places in historical context the three operas written by Alan Ridout for the choir of Canterbury Cathedral during the 1960s. Analysis of these works and their gestation is presented as a microcosm representing wider developments in music education since then. The analysis weaves together personal recollections, authenticated through…

Student motivation is frequently an issue in general music classrooms, and many long-standing theories designed to increase motivation have the opposite effect. This article introduces Self-Determination Theory, first developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, as a theory of human motivation. A key element of Self-Determination Theory is the…

Pasquale "Pat" Ciricillo (1907-1978) was a twentieth-century musician-teacher who incorporated multiple musical approaches in his work. Born to an Italian family in Cleveland, Ohio, Ciricillo's affinity for wide-ranging musicianship afforded him a storied career as a professional trumpet player in New York City. His success as a jazz,…

Mentoring is a critical element in the well-being, socialization, and professional identity development of graduate students. Yet in music education, little is known about the graduate student mentoring experience from the mentors' perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine music teacher educators' perspectives…

Popular songs are ubiquitous in the lives of school-age children, but the construction of traditional school music curricula does not always provide an adequate framework for studying them. In particular, the salience of words qua lyrics is an inescapable feature of popular songs, and recognizing the musical properties of those lyrics opens for…

In recent decades, the discourse of music education and education more broadly has shifted from curriculum-centered to student-centered approaches. In an effort to address the existential dimensions of education, Gert Biesta poses a rhetorical and theoretical alternative: "world-centered education," an orientation directed at enabling…

This article explores and develops possible additional understandings of the term "artistic citizenship" as: 1) a lens to promote critical reflection; 2) a developing inclusive artistic identity; and 3) action for change. First, I provide a general overview of artistic citizenship in order to familiarize the reader with its current…

While the proper teaching of technique is vital to the execution of a beautiful sound, many teachers forget an incredibly important fact: Most beginning students have very little idea what their instrument is supposed to sound like. It is in the teacher's interest to control the conversation by putting fine examples in front of the student. The…

This article reports on a survey of Norwegian compulsory school music teachers, in which 293 teachers from 239 schools participated. In addition to providing demographic information, the teachers were asked what kinds of music their students listened to, sang, played, and created during lessons, and what activities this music was part of. We…

Energetic and electric, "samulnori" is a contemporary formalization of traditional Korean percussion music known as "p'ungmul." A description will be offered of the music, and of key musician, Master Kim Duk Soo who has dedicated himself to the design and dissemination of this highly regarded genre. A learning pathway on Korean…

The concept of "happiness" has long been debated, particularly as interpreted through utilitarianism (e.g., Ahmed, 2010a, 2010b). This paper, however, takes as its point of departure the virtue ethicists' (e.g., Aristotle, ca. 350 B.C.E./1999; Foot, 2001) understanding of eudaimonia and interprets "happiness" through the lens…

In East Africa, Tanzania's musical expressions are rich and varied, and typically a combination of music and dance. A description of "Nindo," a multipart vocal music form of the central Tanzanian Wagogo community, is provided, and a tribute is offered to the legacy of an important village artist, Mchoya, of the musical form that is begin…

In northeastern Thailand, the beating heart of tradition and music intertwines seamlessly. The objective of this study was to explore the significance of percussion instruments in Isan Thai folk music within the context of music education and learning. The scope of the research site spans the northeastern Provinces of Thailand. The study employs…

This review provides a summary and discussion of the 'Music Literacy' strand (day 1) of the Society for Music Analysis's OxMAC conference (University of Oxford, July 2023). The review highlights how the ever-expanding range of musics currently studied in higher education calls for an increasingly multifaceted understanding of the term 'music…

The early language environment, especially high-quality, contingent parent-child language interactions, is crucial for a child's language development and later academic success. In this secondary analysis study, 89 parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to either the Music Together® (music) or play date (control) classes. Children were 9- to…