Using two sequential key press sequences, we tested the extent to which subjects' performance on a digital piano keyboard changed between the end of training and retest on subsequent days. We found consistent, significant improvements attributable to sleep-based consolidation effects, indicating that learning continued after the cessation of…

Many orchestra teachers have experienced feelings of panic when they first read the National Standards and realize that the coalition standard is for performance ensembles as well as general music classes. Teachers who are responsible for starting beginners or who teach intermediate players may wonder about the feasibility of teaching composition…

Young children are natural-born musicians and rhythm instruments provide a wonderful bridge between a toddler's innate need to make noise and a child's true musical awareness and expressiveness. Rhythm instrument activities are so easy. With most of them, the child is simply copying one motion at a time. There is nothing to remember. Another…

Standards 3 and 9 of the National Standards for Music Education charge teachers to teach improvisation as well as music of diverse cultures. Jazz is a musical style that is perfect to cover both content areas. Until now, however, jazz repertoire and improvisation have not played a major role in the education of string students. One reason is that…

This curriculum and instructional plan for Canadian schools is based on a study of the tradition of steelbands of Trinidad. The primary aim of the study was to move toward understanding how Trinidadian people view, experience, explain, and order specific elements of their musical world. The study proposed a curriculum and instructional plan for…

The Music Division of the Library of Congress houses a collection that numbers close to eight million items including the classified music and book collections; music and literary manuscripts; microforms; and copyright deposits. This guide shows the highlights of the collection, as well as its mission. The Library of Congress embraces the complete…

An elementary school (K-6) general music unit presents strategies and exercises for helping students attain skills in music literacy. The first section, which is arranged by grade level, helps students read, perform, and dictate a variety of rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic patterns. The second section provides instructions and accompanying…

In a down-to-earth, practical article, the author tells how to guide the beginning jazz band drummer so that he can lay the foundation for a swinging ensemble. (Editor/RK)

Trainable mentally retarded high school students can be taught to play simplified chords on the guitar, autoharp, marimba and resonator bells by a color coded system. (CL)

The Louisiana Crafts Program is an economic development program that strives to stimulate several markets for Louisiana craftsmen. This publication is a directory of juried Louisiana craftsmen of various types; it is intended as a source book for anyone interested in handmade crafts. It is divided into two sections: "Folk Craftsmen" and…

This practicum report addresses the need to supply Head Start teachers with: (1) specific preschool music objectives; (2) a sequential preschool developmental program in music to match the child's cognitive level; (3) how to choose instructional material to encourage specific basic school readiness skills; and (4) workshops to accomplish these…

Panola County, Texas Sheriff Corbett Akins wrote a weekly column for the "Panola Watchman" in which he chronicled the adventures and mishaps of his force. He provides a wealth of information about East Texas life on everything from making fiddles, to running bloodhounds, to finding moonshine stills. The columns reprinted appeared from…

In this short guide, activities are described in five areas: musical instruments, games, canoe building, clothing instruction, and cooking with Hawaiian recipes. All of these activities are designed to help young Hawaiians find out about Hawaii's past. This guide is part of an artifacts kit which contains a few of the many different kinds of…

A questionnaire was sent to 276 member schools of the National Association of Schools of Music to gather information about the degree and extent of electronic technology used in music instruction. From the replies four types of electronic technology were identified: electronic piano studios, electronic music studios, computer-assisted music…

A course concerning the development of increased performance skills individually and in ensemble, with emphasis on stylistic characteristics of the music studied, is the focus of this handbook. The following topics are presented in outline form: Course Description; Course Enrollment Guidelines; Course of Study Objectives--Musicianship,…