After getting her master's degree from UCLA, Nancy Wills dreamed of starting a school-based guitar program so she could teach students to make music on the instrument she'd loved since she was a kid growing up outside of Yosemite, California. She had a strong belief that guitar was perfect for schools, ideal for individualized playing but also…

According to the Austin-based Amati Foundation (a nonprofit group that supports programs for the stringed arts), over the past several decades the number of public school districts offering instruction for violin, viola, and cello has plummeted, from as high as 80 percent in 1960 to less than 19 percent today. Lack of public funding for stringed…

The rewards of band membership may be clear, but in tough economic times, with schools, teachers, and students facing new obligations around every corner, it is not always easy to keep a band on track. And so a question arises, one that has relevance both for teachers who want to start a band program from scratch and for veteran band directors…

Unlikely as it might seem, a simple request from music teachers to borrow musical instruments can be the beginning of a productive teaching and learning experience for students at their school. With a set of stringed and band instruments from their local music store, every student at a given grade level can have the chance to perform on an…

In this article, the author discusses the benefits of starting string lessons in middle school. He states that if your district does not have the resources or personnel for an elementary string program, perhaps this article will help you see that other districts have succeeded in starting orchestra programs as late as sixth grade. The author…

Beginning a community youth orchestra can be one of the most rewarding--and draining--experiences in music education. Forming a group requires administrative expertise, interpersonal skills, expert musicianship, and a lot of elbow grease. The author used all these attributes and skills when he founded the Spanish Fork (Utah) Chamber Players…