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…

Music educators are guided by learning standards designed to foster comprehensive music literacy through development of four artistic processes: "Create," "Perform," "Respond," and "Connect." In-service teachers, however, cite lack of comfort and insufficient preservice preparation to engage students with…

The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards released standards for music education in 2014. These standards are guided by artistic processes and measured by performance standards specific to content areas and grade levels. As school districts in the United States adopt the Core Arts Standards for their music programs, it is imperative that…

The beauty of hand drums is that a child of nearly any age can grab one and get a sound. So how can classroom teachers incorporate this enjoyable activity into something that's actually educational? For young students especially, a drum circle can be liberating. Children can be given various responsibilities--as participants, circle organizers,…