Mathematics and Music are closely connected and their multifaceted relationship has been explored since ancient times. Pythagoras was one of the first who discovered and formalized one of those connections by studying the arithmetic of musical intervals, expressing them by numerical ratios and relating ratios to consonance/dissonance notions,…

This article presents a project, Shapes of Water, funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, which gave music education students the opportunity to compose children's songs about climate change with the help of artists from two fields (contemporary circus and music) and a scientist (chemistry). The article outlines the ways in which the composing…

Conventional music learning in schools could benefit from the study of the music from films, television, and video games. This article offers practical applications for including film music as an outlet for analysis, an interdisciplinary compositional art form, a viable teaching tool, and an authentic performance/production experience. Music…

This article details the experiences of two teachers attempting to move music-enhanced English curriculum--using music to teach--to a music-integration approach to teaching--students creating music and advancing their knowledge in English.

A conversation between the Director of the University of Manchester's Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub and the Education Director of England's Halle Orchestra explores the relationship unfolding between science and music. The interview focuses on synergies between music and science and how the two subjects can…

International-mindedness is defined in many different ways in education discourse. Some of the definitions include the ability to be open-minded and respectful of cultures and peoples or having an awareness of the interconnectedness of people not only intellectually but also with growing empathy. Do music educators have any role in helping…

Choral directors will always be assessed by the quality of their choral performances. The concepts presented in this article are designed to strengthen and improve choral performance. If choral directors can design an individualized assessment plan and implement some of these ideas during each grading period, grades will be more equitably…

This annotated resource guide presents 133 pieces of music inspired by astronomical ideas, discoveries, or history, organized in 22 subject categories. Both classical and popular music are included, but only when a clear connection to astronomy could be established. Depending on your musical tastes, you are likely to find some pieces resonating…

Oulipo (Ouvroir de Littérature potentielle, or Workshop on potential literature), an over 50-year old movement that began in France, seeks to apply mathematical constraints to literature and the arts. In this article, I will give a brief survey of this movement and how I have built a learning module based on it for my mathematics for the liberal…

For the last few years, the author has been implementing a pedagogy that infuses musical composition--specifically the recording of electronic music--into his first-year composition courses. The author and his students have been quite surprised by the theoretical and practical connections that exist between the production of popular electronic…

A learning sequence is sketched that enables children to have valid experiences in music, language, mathematics, and movement, more or less simultaneously. The activity starts with a short tune and works toward a song as the solution to the problem. The creation of a dance follows the writing of the song. (RH)

Addresses how the National Standards can be incorporated into band rehearsals using the music piece, "Balladair" (Frank Erickson), as an example when teaching techniques and musical concepts. Provides ideas such as using material from "Balladair" to create warm-ups or relating the piece to other arts. (CMK)

Describes a project in which band students rehearsing Anne McGinty's "Atlantis" explored the city by building a model. Explains that students worked in groups as researchers, poetry and story writers, designers of the city, builders of the city model, and thinkers charged with generating ideas. (CMK)

With the help of the music, physical education, and art teachers, two third-grade classes wrote, scored, and produced an original operetta in a five-month interdisciplinary classroom project. The process is outlined and recommended by the authors for almost any grade level. (SJL)

This article describes Elder's Wisdom, Children's Song (EWCS), an innovative community arts initiative wherein Minnesota youth and elders turn life histories into song. According to the project's founder, Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter Larry Long, the interdisciplinary and intergenerational effort seeks to "honor elders, educate students…