Triggers can be used in PowerPoint to start animations, but they can also be paired with other images to help make these images appear in a random order. This allows the teacher to begin where students are rather than being locked into a click sequence. When labeling a new concept for the first time, triggers can be particularly useful.

Children's picture book biographies on composers and musicians can prompt powerful music learning experiences. Biography breaks are the reading aloud of a picture book biography and the questions or activities the teacher engages students in while and after reading the book. In the music classroom, biography breaks can be used with children of all…

Fred Rogers's television program, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", connected with young children and educated them about difficult concepts for more than 30 years. The author analyzes and discusses several principles and pedagogical techniques that were used in Rogers's television program, including communicating with children,…

In the early part of the 1970s, multicultural music education began in earnest and was focused primarily on the curriculum used for music: textbooks, method books, and repertoire. At the turn of the 21th century, however, culturally responsive teaching emerged as the predominant pedagogy for relating to students. It was considered a…

Two Supreme Court cases have served to frame our legal rights and responsibilities regarding a Free Appropriate Public Education for students in our music classrooms and ensembles. This article serves as record of the two cases and their merits, according to the Supreme Court, as well as the actions recommended based on the court decisions.

Individualized instruction and differentiation are fundamental concepts of the Dalcroze approach to music education. Émile Jaques-Dalcroze believed that students learn to be musical by different modalities. His three core branches, eurhythmics, rhythmic solfège, and improvisation, are intertwined with active listening, positive self-expression,…

Navigating the acronyms and labels when working in schools can be challenging and overwhelming. But knowing the appropriate terminology when working with students with disabilities is an important part of understanding students' diagnoses, communicating with parents and other school personnel, and engaging in effective teaching practices to foster…

Classroom management skills and related issues are usually top concerns of preservice and new in-service music educators. This column, the first in a series about classroom management issues, is about designing lessons to avoid common behavior issues. There are many more variables to consider besides curriculum when designing a lesson, such as the…

In this article, I aim to critically analyze theories contained within Dr. Christopher Emdin's newest book "For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood (and the Rest of Ya'll Too!)" in the context of the music classroom. To begin, I summarize Christopher Emdin's theories of both "reality" and "pentecostal" pedagogy and then…

This article highlights a group ballad project which is a part of student experiences in Sing and Shout!, a course that integrates academic study with singing and song writing to develop a deeper understanding of problems in society. Students explore the intricacies of song composition and social consciousness drawn from past events that reflect…

Using data from a parent survey, the author examined factors that influenced parents to enroll their children in a 5-day summer music camp. Survey questions included (a) What were the determining factors for enrolling your child in the class? (b) What activities did your child enjoy/value the most? (c) What musical activities do you and your child…

Investigates whether there have been any changes since 1974 in general music-education classes' repertoire of songs through the examination of major series textbooks. Discloses that the chosen music still originates from Western musical roots, but today the music teacher has a wider variety of non-Western music from which to choose. (CMK)

Reviews various studies on childs play and its relation to young childrens development in music learning processes and explores the role that cognitive and social play categories have in studying childrens play with music. Provides strategies for initiating music-play opportunities in a preschool classroom. (CMK)

Investigates the effects of the discovery approach to movement-based instruction on children's level of musicality. Finds that the students with the highest musicality were girls, demonstrated reflective movements and a personal sense of style while moving, and made sense of the music by organizing, categorizing, and developing movement ideas.…

Explores a study that quantifies preschool children's music learning preferences in teacher-intitiated environments by observing the children on video to determine their flow experiences where the challenge level and skill level are both high. Stresses that using flow to measure music experiences provides a means for teachers to evaluate student…