Marching Forward: The Music Education Innovation and Legacy of James R. Wells (1931 – )

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-178
Author(s):  
Glen A. Brumbach
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Student Leadership ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Band Directors ◽  
Comprehensive Musicianship ◽  
School Year ◽  
Education Innovation ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Instrumental Ensembles ◽  
Insight Into

James R. Wells, retired professor of West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania, could be considered one of the most influential and innovative band directors of the late twentieth century. Wells influenced and mentored many current leaders in the music education field as well as created educational music programs that continue today. In the 2016–2017 school year, Wells’s ensemble music adjudication festival programs involved more than 220,000 students. To gain further insight into the origin and development of these leaders and programs, I conducted an oral history case study with Wells. I collected interviews, e-mail correspondence, and artifacts provided by former students and colleagues of Wells’s to provide additional facts and corroborate Wells’s memories. Results demonstrated Wells incorporated comprehensive musicianship and aesthetic education in marching band pedagogy, professional development and educational experiences for music educators through films, workshops, and adjudicated festivals. He also empowered student leadership and promoted gender equality in instrumental ensembles. Knowledge gained from this study provides insight into the origin of these important music education individuals and programs. I hope that the findings in this study serve as an inspiration to future music educators as they continue to improve and create new experiences and opportunities for students.

scholarly journals An Artistic Virtue? Student Perceptions of Humility in Music Participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-58
Author(s):  
William J. Coppola
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Band Directors ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Music Participation ◽  
Band Students ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Middle Schoolers ◽  
Different Types

Humility is considered to be an important social virtue, particularly in interpersonal contexts. Given the highly social nature of music participation, researchers have begun exploring the potential role that humility might play in music education. The purpose of this study was to examine how middle school, high school, and undergraduate band students ( N = 116) perceived the virtue of humility, including whether they viewed it to be a social strength among various types of musicians. Results indicated that students viewed humility to be a positive quality and a social strength for different types of musicians (i.e., band directors, section leaders, famous musicians). However, middle schoolers struggled to articulate a meaning of humility consistent with accepted definitions put forth by social scientists. Based on these findings, I offer recommendations for music educators to model and promote humility as a positive and necessary virtue in their ensembles and classrooms.

scholarly journals “It’s Just the Way I Learn!”: Inclusion from the Perspective of a Student with Visual Impairment

2018 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Danni Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Music Ensembles ◽  
School Music ◽  
And Training ◽  
Insight Into

This article describes the inclusive experience of a student with visual impairment in secondary band settings. Information obtained from students with visual impairments who have experienced active participation in school music ensembles may provide much-needed insight into instructional strategies that could improve inclusion. Many music educators believe they lack adequate resources and training in including students with visual impairments. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the experience of participating in secondary performing ensembles from the viewpoints of students can help guide the efforts of those involved in their music education.

Difficult but Sensitive: Participant Observation Research in Music Education

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Bannister
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Wide Acceptance ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Observation Method ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

There have been numerous calls for the use of qualitative research in music education. Music educators have been slow to heed these calls, despite the wide acceptance of qualitative methods in other areas of education research. This paper describes the place of qualitative paradigms in the gamut of research methodology and assesses the potential of the ethnographic techniques of participant observation and ethnographic interviewing for music education. In doing so it responds to Swanwick's (1984) critique of participant observation method by, (a) describing some of the techniques' philosophical bases, (b) citing several model ethnographies in other disciplines, and (c) reviewing some of the ethnographic research literature which, the author argues, has recognised the particular strengths and weaknesses of qualitative method and developed a strong philosophical and empirical rationale for its use. The author argues that ethnographic method has much to offer as we seek solutions to the problems of understanding music education in its social context in the late twentieth century.

The Philosophy of Assessment in Music Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 32-55
Author(s):  
Roger Mantie
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Authentic Assessment ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Common Theme ◽  
Education Assessment ◽  
Consequential Validity ◽  
Mandated Testing

Philosophies of assessment are rare, perhaps even more so in music education. This chapter, arranged in five “movements” intended to reflect various ways of examining assessment issues, considers prominent themes emerging from the music education assessment literature, such as accountability, authentic assessment, consequential validity, legitimacy, mandated testing, metaphor, power-knowledge, and self-determination. The author asks questions such as, To what extent should philosophical commitments be voluntary versus compelled? To what extent should music educators be able to collectively determine educative values and to what extent should others (policymakers, local communities) have a say in what should constitute valuable learning in music? A common theme throughout the chapter is the urge for caution and reflection so that well-intended assessment efforts do not undermine cherished goals for music education.

Could There Be Deleuzian Assessment in Music Education?

2019 ◽  
pp. 121-136
Author(s):  
Lauren Kapalka Richerme
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Continuous Assessment ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Philosophical Inquiry ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Musical Practices ◽  
Contemporary Education

Authors of contemporary education and arts education policies tend to emphasize the adoption of formal, summative assessment practices. Poststructuralist philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s emphasis on ongoing differing and imaginative possibilities may at first glance appear incompatible with these overarching, codified assessments. While Deleuze criticizes the increasing use of ongoing assessments as a form of control, he posits a more nuanced explanation of measurement. This philosophical inquiry examines four measurement-related themes from Deleuze’s writings and explores how they might inform concepts and practices of assessment in various music teaching and learning contexts. The first theme suggests that each group of connective relations, what Deleuze terms a “plane of immanence,” demands its own forms of measurement. Second, Deleuze emphasizes varieties of measurement. Third, those with power, what Deleuze terms the “majority,” always set the standard for measurement. Fourth, Deleuze derides continuous assessment. His writings suggest that music educators might consider that assessments created for one musical practice or style should not transcend their own “plane of immanence,” that a variety of nonstandardized assessments is desirable, that the effect of measurement on “minoritarian” musical practices must be examined carefully, and that it is essential to ponder the potentials of unmeasured music making.

Music Teacher Education Program Practices: Preparing Teachers to Work With Diverse Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Mara E. Culp ◽  
Karen Salvador
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Diverse Learners ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Education Programs

Music educators must meet the needs of students with diverse characteristics, including but not limited to cultural backgrounds, musical abilities and interests, and physical, behavioral, social, and cognitive functioning. Music education programs may not systematically prepare preservice teachers or potential music teacher educators for this reality. The purpose of this study was to examine how music teacher education programs prepare undergraduate and graduate students to structure inclusive and responsive experiences for diverse learners. We replicated and expanded Salvador’s study by including graduate student preparation, incorporating additional facets of human diversity, and contacting all institutions accredited by National Association of Schools of Music to prepare music educators. According to our respondents, integrated instruction focused on diverse learners was more commonly part of undergraduate coursework than graduate coursework. We used quantitative and qualitative analysis to describe course offerings and content integration.

Integrating popular music into urban schools: Assessing the effectiveness of a comprehensive music teacher development program

2021 ◽  
pp. 025576142098622
Author(s):  
Hal Abeles ◽  
Lindsay Weiss-Tornatore ◽  
Bryan Powell
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
New York ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
School Year ◽  
Music Program ◽  
K 12

As popular music education programs become more common, it is essential to determine what kinds of professional development experiences that are designed to help teachers include popular music into their music education classrooms are effective—keeping in mind that the inclusion of popular music in K–12 classrooms requires a change not only in instrumentation and repertoire but also pedagogical approaches. This study examined the effects of a popular music professional development initiative on more than 600 New York City urban music teachers’ musicianship, their pedagogy, and their leadership skills throughout one school year. Results revealed increases in all three areas, most notably in teachers’ musicianship. The study also showed an increase in teachers’ positive perceptions about their music programs, specifically, their level of excitement about the state of their music program and that their music program was more effective at meeting their students’ needs than it had been previously.

High School Band Directors’ Perceptions and Applications of Democratic Rehearsal Procedures in Concert Band Rehearsals

2021 ◽  
pp. 875512332198929
Author(s):  
Alec D. Scherer
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Concert Band ◽  
Band Directors ◽  
School Level ◽  
High School Level ◽  
Classroom Dynamics ◽  
High School Band ◽  
Student Ownership ◽  
School Band

The purpose of this study was to examine inservice high school band directors’ perceptions and applications of democratic rehearsal procedures in concert band rehearsals. Respondents ( N = 216) were members of the National Association for Music Education who were currently teaching concert band at the high school level. Respondents indicated that “identify and describe opportunities for individual and ensemble performance improvement” and “student-led sectionals” were considered the most important democratic rehearsal procedures for their students to experience. These same procedures were also the most frequently used democratic rehearsal procedures. Analysis of open-ended responses revealed that respondents believed student ownership, student engagement, and student growth as musicians and leaders were advantages to implementing democratic rehearsal procedures. Potential disadvantages included issues related to student ability, rehearsal time limitations, unfamiliar classroom dynamics, and availability of classroom resources. Implications for music teachers are discussed.

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.

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