The history of female piano teachers, especially those working with children, remains largely unstudied. Estelle Philleo (1880-1936) is one example from the early 20th century who specialized in group lessons for beginners. A New Woman who never married, she began as a junior piano teacher at the Michigan Female Seminary before graduating in 1902.…

In 1950, percussionist and pedagogue Paul Price established an accredited collegiate percussion ensemble course at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the first of its kind in the country. In this article, I argue that Price's accreditation of the genre, coupled with his many other entrepreneurial initiatives, was made possible by the…

The presence of popular music education in schools has expanded significantly in the past two decades within the United States in part due to the expansion of modern band programming. Initially developed and propagated by the non-profit organization Little Kids Rock (LKR), modern band is a term used to describe school-based ensembles that use…

Band repertoire lists evolved from a desire to make the school band experience "more educational" when school bands themselves were relatively new. The first national band repertoire list was created for the National Band Contest in 1924, with new lists published annually through 1943. These lists gave prominence to the literature they…

Anthony Johnson Showalter (c. 1853-1924) was a music educator, gospel composer, publisher, and considered a pioneer in gospel music and education in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Showalter is notably mentioned in numerous texts and studies related to gospel music; however, little data has been collected regarding the…

The decline in the status of the classical guitar is, for many, a cause of concern, calling for viable answers to restore its place in the expressive arts tradition. In this article, I explore a pedagogical style specifically intended for young and/or inexperienced players. It is argued that this endeavor could prospectively benefit a range of…

Article provided a colorful account of the development of Latin American music from the blending of European, African, and Indian elements through the contributions of early composers to the effect of folk music and instruments on contemporary composers. (Editor/RK)

Electronic music challenges our ears as well as our culture and our methods of teaching. The author, a composer and New York University professor, explains electronic music as a medium of expression, tells how it is produced, and illustrates its use in the classroom. (Editor/RK)

An overview of early country school music and music education in the Mountain Plains region of America provides impresssions gained from texts, journals, official records, and personal interviews. Music is portrayed as a socializer to engender community spirit, an enhancement of patriotism, a means to enculturate to the "American way of…

Reviews the career and contributions of Julius Eichberg (1824-93), a pioneer in string and vocal instruction in Boston (Massachusetts). Eichberg founded the Boston Conservatory, supervised music education for the Boston public school system, and taught teacher-training courses. In addition, he composed choral works and operas, and edited several…