The integration of music technology into popular music ensembles: Perspectives of modern band teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Powell
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Music Technology ◽  
Student Agency ◽  
Music Ensembles ◽  
School Music ◽  
K 12

The increased presence of technology into music education classrooms has coincided to some extent with the increased presence of popular music into school music spaces, especially in the United States. This study examined the integration of music technologies into K-12 (ages 5‐18) popular music programmes in New York City (NYC). One hundred sixty-eight music teachers responded to a survey, all of whom had previously participated in a modern band workshop as part of the Amp Up NYC initiative. Results of the study found that many of the challenges of incorporating music technology into modern bands, including lack of access to technology or faulty hardware, are not unique to popular music ensembles. Some of the successes mentioned by the teachers, including songwriting, beat-making and increased student agency, provide a glimpse into the benefits that integrating music technology into modern band classrooms can offer.

George F. Root’s Normal Musical Institute, 1853–1885

2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-293
Author(s):  
Phillip M. Hash
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Private Lessons ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Education Data ◽  
School Music ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pedagogy And Curriculum

George F. Root, Lowell Mason, and William B. Bradbury opened the New York Normal Musical Institute in April of 1853 in New York City. Each term lasted about three months and provided the first long-term preparation program for singing-school masters, church choir directors, private instructors, and school music teachers in the United States. Students at the institute studied pedagogy, voice culture, music theory, and choral literature and had the opportunity to take private lessons with prominent musicians and teachers. The Normal Musical Institute relocated to North Reading, Massachusetts, in 1856 and, in 1860, began meeting in various cities throughout the country. In 1872, the school became the National Normal Musical Institute and continued under this name until its final season in Elmira, New York, in 1885. This study was designed to examine the history of this institution in relation to its origin, details of operation, pedagogy and curriculum, prominent students and faculty, and influence on music education. Data included articles from music periodicals and newspapers, pamphlets and catalogs from the institution, biographies of prominent participants, and other primary and secondary sources.

Modern Band: A Review of Literature

2021 ◽  
pp. 875512332098852
Author(s):  
Bryan Powell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Music Programs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
School Music ◽  
K 12

The recent increase in popular music education in K–12 school music programs is in part due to the expansion of modern band programming throughout the United States. Modern band is a term used to describe school music ensembles that include popular music instruments and focus on performing music that is meaningful to the students while incorporating songwriting. The purpose of this literature review was to examine relevant research related to modern band music programs in the United States and provide implications for music teaching and learning. Music researchers and professionals have recently addressed specific issues related to increasing the diversity of school music programs, addressing elements of culturally responsive curricula, and positively affecting the social and emotional development of students through modern band. Throughout this literature review, I provide implications for music teachers and discuss areas for future research.

A Rising Tide

2021 ◽  
pp. 265-274
Author(s):  
Will Kuhn ◽  
Ethan Hein
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Technology ◽  
Cultural Authenticity ◽  
Music Program ◽  
Popular Music Studies ◽  
Vernacular Music ◽  
School Music

This chapter reflects on the curriculum outlined in the book and how it fits into the larger music education landscape. While project-based electronic music may not be appealing to all music teachers, the benefits of this approach to music education generally are broad and substantial. An open-enrollment music technology course creates a culture of inclusion that can lend a school’s music program greater cultural authenticity and demographic inclusiveness. When students are able to create music in their preferred styles, it validates their musical identities and helps them build toward lifelong learning. There are racial politics underlying the gulf between “school” music and “popular” music, and the chapter discusses the opposition that each successive form of African-American popular and vernacular music has faced in the academy. Critical popular music studies animated by antiracism can serve to both advance social justice goals, and to strengthen and enrich music programs.

Habits of Mind as a Framework for Assessment in Music Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 201-224
Author(s):  
Jillian Hogan ◽  
Ellen Winner
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Arts Education ◽  
Habits Of Mind ◽  
Public High School ◽  
Student Agency ◽  
Thinking Dispositions ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Music Ensembles ◽  
School Music ◽  
High School Music

Music making requires many kinds of habits of mind—broad thinking dispositions potentially useful outside of the music room. Teaching for habits of mind is prevalent in both general and other areas of arts education. This chapter reports a preliminary analysis of the habits of mind that were systematically observed and thematically coded in twenty-four rehearsals of six public high school music ensembles: band, choir, and orchestra. Preliminary results reveal evidence of eight habits of mind being taught: engage and persist, evaluate, express, imagine, listen, notice, participate in community, and set goals and be prepared. However, two habits of mind that the researchers expected to find taught were not observed: appreciate ambiguity and use creativity. These two nonobserved habits are ones that arts advocates and theorists assume are central to arts education. The chapter discusses how authentic assessment of habits of mind in the music classroom may require novel methods, including the development of classroom environments that foster additional levels of student agency.

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.

Measuring pre-service music teachers’ creative identities: a cross-cultural comparison of the United States and Singapore

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (02) ◽  
pp. 197-210
Author(s):  
Clint Randles ◽  
Leonard Tan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Music Listening ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Creative Identity ◽  
Service Music

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine and compare the creative musical identities of pre-service music education students in the United States and Singapore. The Creative Identity in Music (CIM) measure was utilized with both US and Singapore pre-service music teacher populations (n = 274). Items of the CIM relate to music-making activities often associated with creativity in music education in the literature, including composition, improvisation and popular music performance. Results suggest, similar to findings of previous research, that while both populations are similar in their degree of creative music-making self-efficacy and are similarly willing to allow for creativity in the classroom, Singaporean pre-service music teachers value the areas of creative identity and the use of popular music listening/performing within the learning environment to a significantly greater extent (p < 0.0001) than their US counterparts.

Songwriting with digital audio workstations in an online community

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Clauhs
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
File Sharing ◽  
Digital Audio ◽  
Google Docs ◽  
Music Production ◽  
School Music ◽  
High School Music

Digital audio workstations and online file-sharing technology may be combined to create opportunities for collaborations among many groups, including performing ensembles, music technology classes, professional songwriters and preservice music teachers. This article presents a model for a digitally mediated online collaboration that focuses on popular music songwriting activities in school and higher education settings. Using an example from a high school music production class that collaborated with an undergraduate music education course through Google Docs and a file-sharing platform, the author outlines steps towards facilitating partnerships that focus on creating music in an online community. Such collaborations may help remove barriers between our classrooms and our communities as music teachers leverage technology to develop relationships with creators and performers of popular music everywhere.

Elsie Shawe, Music Supervisor in St. Paul, Minnesota (1898–1933)

2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-342
Author(s):  
Sondra Wieland Howe
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Accounts ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
School Music ◽  
The Board Of Directors ◽  
Music Supervisor

Elsie Shawe (1866–1962), supervisor of music in St. Paul, Minnesota, for thirty-five years, is an example of a music supervisor in the United States who was active in the formative years of the Music Supervisors National Conference (MSNC). Although she is cited only briefly in national accounts, there is a substantial amount of material on her career in local archives. In the St. Paul Public Schools, Shawe supervised classroom teachers, organized the school music curriculum, and conducted performances in the community. She served as a church organist and choir director in St. Paul and was president of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association. At the national level, Shawe was an officer of the NEA Department of Music Education and a member of the board of directors of the MSNC. Through her committee work, Shawe promoted the standardization of patriotic national songs.May 5, 2004November 10, 2004.

Then and Now

2017 ◽  
pp. 80-86
Author(s):  
David A. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
New Music ◽  
Music Programs ◽  
School Music ◽  
Education Profession ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Musical Styles

Fear of change is deeply embedded in the music education profession. It is a fear of the unknown—a fear of losing control over that with which music teachers are comfortable and confident. As a whole the music education profession resists the use of new music technologies. We are a profession that resists change, and this resistance has hurt us. This resistance is fast making us irrelevant in a musical world that is ever changing. Students currently in K–12, as well as in higher education, have grown up with new music technologies and related musical styles that are quite different from what they encounter in schools. The vast majority of these students see no place for themselves in school music programs. We are missing out on exciting opportunities that would be made possible by embracing new music technologies, especially when used in conjunction with corresponding pedagogies.

Popular music education and American democracy: Why I coined the term ‘modern band’ and the road ahead

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Wish
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
School Teacher ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Music ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Core ◽  
School Music

In this article, the author, the founder and CEO of Little Kids Rock, describes how his early work as an elementary school teacher providing an extracurricular guitar club, evolved into him founding a music education non-profit organization. By inventing the term ‘modern band’ and joining nationwide leading efforts for systemic change in US American music education, the author tries to place popular music conceptually and pedagogically at the core of school music programmes. The author briefly describes the causes of the exclusion of popular music from school music programmes before arguing that modern band can help to democratize school music education by making it culturally relevant, student-centred and inclusive. The article concludes with the author’s hopes for the future of music education in the United States.

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