The Music Educator as a Policy Analyst

2019 ◽  
pp. 127-150
Author(s):  
Patrick Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Music Educators ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
Policy Analyst ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Policy Language ◽  
Policy Engagement

This chapter is the most practical and instructive of the book’s chapters. It aims to delineate very concrete ways of looking at accepted tools, spaces, and practices in policy. The chapter presents music educators with an entry point to this policy vocabulary. The chapter admonishes the reader that these are only tools, however, and as such their yield is dependent on our capacity to discern, contextualize, and frame. While the chapter describes policy language, instruments, and tools, it avoids the misperception that technical acuity is a necessary first step, one that allows one to enter the realm of policy. Such a view inevitably delays policy participation and discourages policy thinking. Knowing the context is the only prerequisite for policy engagement.

Becoming an Anti-Racist Music Educator: Resisting Whiteness in Music Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Juliet Hess
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
The Way

In this article, I propose some ways that music educators might become anti-racist. I explore the ways that Whiteness manifests in music education and subsequently examine actions we might take to resist this Whiteness. Ultimately, I suggest anti-racism as a way forward for music education. I delineate some of the ways that Whiteness operates in music education, not to discourage educators but rather to encourage us to notice the way Whiteness pervades our field.

The Mindful Music Educator: Strategies for Reducing Stress and Increasing Well-Being

2018 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Arbaugh Varona
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Occupational Stress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Reducing Stress

How can we help music educators who struggle with high levels of occupational stress and burnout? Decades of medical research suggest that mindfulness-based interventions can increase well-being and reduce stress. This article provides an overview of mindfulness practice and a series of mindfulness-based strategies to help music educators manage occupational stress and avoid burnout. With practice, music educators can become more aware of the factors contributing to their well-being and use mindfulness-based strategies to manage symptoms of burnout.

Egalitarian Music Education in the Nineteenth Century: Joseph Mainzer and Singing for the Million

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-45
Author(s):  
Jane Southcott
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Working Classes ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
New System

In the 1840s, massed singing classes led by charismatic pioneer music educators such as Joseph Mainzer (1801–1851) sprang up across the United Kingdom. Mainzer was a much respected composer, music journalist, and music educator. Born in Trèves (Prussia), he traveled across Europe and settled in Paris, where he was part of the revolutionary Association Polytechnique that offered free education to the working classes. His mass singing classes were a remarkable success but aroused the suspicions of authorities. Mainzer left Paris for political reasons and moved to England, and after teaching across the United Kingdom, settled in Edinburgh. His arrival in Scotland was greeted with a degree of adulation reserved for celebrities. Across Scotland classes were established to disseminate his new system that was taught in larger centers and most small towns. Although Mainzer’s fixed-doh system did not long survive him and the subsequent arrival of the tonic sol-fa method in the 1850s, his work (and that of others) created an environment in which popular singing classes in schools, churches and the community could flourish. Mainzer was a skilled and charismatic educator. He advocated tirelessly for lifelong music education for all. Mainzer has been overlooked and deserves recognition.

Technology Fundamentals

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-44
Author(s):  
William I. Bauer
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Operating Systems ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Digital Audio ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Music Software ◽  
Internet Resources

An understanding of various technologies is an important component of one’s TPACK. This chapter presents the essential technological knowledge and skill necessary for a music educator to successfully begin to utilize technology for music learning. Topics include explanation of the key components of computers and their operating systems, description and comparison of MIDI and digital audio, discussion of graphic and video media, identification of types of music software and the evaluation of software titles, and exploration of internet resources that may be used for music learning. Free and low-cost implementations of these technologies are emphasized; using technology to facilitate music learning does not require excessive amounts of money. Since technologies are always being refined and improved, with new technologies that may be applicable to music learning constantly emerging, music educators need to maintain a mindset of ongoing professional learning in this area.

Assessment Practices of American Choral Music Educators

2019 ◽  
pp. 378-400
Author(s):  
Al Holcomb
Keyword(s):  
Choral Music ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Choral Ensembles ◽  
American Choral Music ◽  
Improving Teaching And Learning

This chapter describes traditional and student-centered assessment practices used in American school choral settings. It presents choral assessment as a means for communicating expectations to students, improving teaching and learning, evaluating achievement with objectivity, and providing multiple sources of feedback toward improvement. Technology-assisted assessment, student-constructed portfolios, and Model Cornerstone Assessments are highlighted as efficient ways to demonstrate accountability of standards-based learning in the choral ensembles. The chapter provides a rationale for choral music educators to explore student-centered assessment practices, including student-developed rubrics, ongoing opportunities for reflection and revision, and use of multiple sources of feedback to promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and musical independence. It suggests that increased emphasis on emerging assessment practices in choral music educator preparation and professional development is needed to influence choral music educators’ practice of meaningful assessment.

A home on the floor: The musical expression of a DJ in a queer place

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan G. Schaller
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Dance Music ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Musical Expression ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Electronic Dance Music ◽  
Musical Development ◽  
Layered Samples

Existing studies about DJ learning and experience hint at the importance of place and music in the development of DJ musicianship. An exploration of the experiences of a queer DJ performing electronic dance music in a queer place might broaden our understanding of how musical expression and identity intermingle with musical places. I sought to understand how the monthly queer event Bronco functioned as a place for musical expression for an electronic dance music DJ named Greg. Using the remix as a methodological framework, I layered samples from interviews and field texts to depict Greg’s experiences alongside my own at Bronco. Findings illuminate the role of place in Greg’s musical development, performances and expression of musical and sexual identity. The resonance of Greg’s experiences with my experience as a queer music educator is discussed as well as considerations for music educators who may seek to include electronic dance music in classroom settings.

Choral Configuration: An Overview of Research and Implications for the Choral Music Educator

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Kari Adams
Keyword(s):  
Choral Music ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Optimal Configuration ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Apply Research ◽  
Published Research

Choral configuration, an umbrella term that refers to acoustical placement, formation, or spacing among singers, may cause noticeable transformations to the sound of a choir and the vocal production of ensemble members. Researchers have sought to discover how and to what extent these variables affect the choral sound. The purpose of this article is to examine published research in the area of choral configuration. This article concludes with implications for how choral music educators might apply research to create an optimal configuration for their ensembles.

Ralph L. Baldwin: His Influence on American Music Education through Teaching, Publication, and Service

2020 ◽  
pp. 153660062090132
Author(s):  
Casey L. Gerber
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Summer School ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
American Music ◽  
Sight Reading ◽  
Teaching Philosophy ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Untimely Death ◽  
Narrative Study ◽  
Language Of Music

Ralph L. Baldwin (1872–1943) was a prominent music educator who, in addition to his role as a teacher, was an author, composer, and leader of various professional music organizations. Baldwin later became known through his many publications and as the administrator of the Sterrie Weaver Summer School after Weaver’s untimely death. This narrative study was intended to describe the teaching philosophy developed by Baldwin. In addition, the visibility and recognition brought to Baldwin through his books in the “Music Education Series,” published by Ginn and Company, were detailed. Baldwin advocated teaching sight reading or the “language” of music to balance out the rote singing methods being used. He blended the rote and note philosophies much like his predecessor Sterrie Weaver. While Baldwin’s methods and publications are not necessarily used in American classrooms today, it is important to recognize the quality ideas and resources that he offered to music educators of that time. Baldwin’s publications are a good example of an effective instructional method, including materials, that directly preceded the adoption of current methods and approaches to music education.

scholarly journals True Reflections on Barron’s Reflections of Canada: “Canada 150: Music and Belonging”

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Ardelle Ries
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Sensitive ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Folk Songs ◽  
First Century ◽  
A Cappella ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
Canadian Music ◽  
French And English ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Twenty First Century

Esteemed Canadian music educator John Barron (1939–2014) commissioned and edited Reflections of Canada (RofC)—a three-volume collection of 147 Canadian folk songs arranged for a cappella choirs between 1985 and 1991. Published by Frederick Harris Music, RofC contains folk songs derived from Indigenous, French, and English traditions and was considered to be a fine resource for music educators. In the late 1990s, RofC was declared out of print, with publishing rights returned to the editor, composers of the arrangements, and other copyright holders. To celebrate confederate Canada at 150 and brought back by popular demand, a two-volume second edition of RofC has been created and will be released by Cypress Music in June 2017. Through narrative and ethnographic inquiry, the factors that influenced the genesis and subsequent demise of the first edition will be discussed, followed by an examination of the process and challenges encountered in the creation of a culturally sensitive second edition that embodies a realistic reflection of twenty-first-century Canada.

Demystifying World Music Education: From Guiding Principles to Meaningful Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Mellizo
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
World Music ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
General Music ◽  
Music Pedagogy ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Music Educator ◽  
World Music Pedagogy

Over the past several decades, music education scholars have put forth a variety of convincing rationales for world music education. Yet the gap between theory and practice in this area persists. In theoretical ways, practicing music educators acknowledge the value of world music learning experiences, but many remain reluctant to fully embrace and embody this approach in practice. Through this article, one practicing general music educator shares her personal experience of writing, implementing, and subsequently observing another music educator use a new world music curriculum resource, inspired by the music traditions of the Fon people in southern Benin. As our understanding of world music pedagogy continues to evolve, more practicing music educators should share their unique perspectives and experiences. These “snapshots” from the field can help other (perhaps more hesitant) music educators envision what this pedagogical approach might look like in their own classrooms.

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