This study examines the learning processes that take place when upper secondary students apply and generate theories while drawing on their preferred music and writing songs of their own. One music theory teacher and two researchers collaborated to design an emergent sequence of lessons focusing on students' interests, questions and creative work.…

Multi-styles string education includes musical practices from close to 30 identified styles. Adding the multi-styles approach into curriculum may not be easy: Pedagogies may be different from those needed for Western classical music, the primary style most practicing teachers have studied. As such, the decision to start incorporating multi-styles…

This action research study provides insight into the learning of university music education students who participated in a popular musicianship experience. The participants were thirty-four music education students (i.e. pre-service music educators) at an American university enrolled in a student-directed Popular Musicianship course. Although…

The 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…

Many music educators feel unprepared or are unsure of how to use popular music in their classrooms. This article details the author's experience designing, implementing, and revising a student-centered guitar curriculum in an urban middle school. Reflecting on this experience, the author defends the place of popular music and informal pedagogy in…