Compares the singing of popular music, as performed by Frank Sinatra and other current singers, with Baroque vocal practices. (Author/RK)

Citing schools' neglect of avant-garde composers like John Cage and others, author notes satisfaction pupils can get from music which allows performers to be creative too. Among methods suggested are composing from pictorial notation, open-end compositions, improvising with suggested elements," such as high loud chord with five tones." (PD)

Teaching suggestions for helping children to perform a choral-speaking fugue. (RB)

Primary grade children composed their own chants using the sounds of words and putting their own poems to music. (AF)

The author offers an analysis of musical techniques found in the major rock trends of the 1960s. An annotated list of selected readings and a subject-indexed list of selected recordings are appended. This article is part of a theme issue on popular music. (Editor/SJL)

The author states that in a melody/harmony/rhythm sense, improvising on a synthesizer is no different from improvising on any other instrument. The capabilities of synthesizers are described, and exercises and methods to be used with synthesizers are outlined. (KC)

Seven music teachers state their needs to those who write music for the elementary grades. (SJL)

As the doors have opened in all areas of the music business, women have not hesitated to walk in, becoming disc jockeys, recording engineers, and producers, but it's still a struggle. (Author)

Provides a brief commentary on the values of music education. (Editor)

Describes how students listen to the stories of a retirement home and write tribute songs based on the stories. Notes that because students are accustomed to a classroom life of telling stories and listening to stories, it is easy for them to enter into the story-worlds of their elders, to connect with words and to piece together stories. (SG)

Gives an overview of the nine current models in multicultural music education. Discusses and critiques an intercultural, or tree, model that offers the possibility of comparison of performing and composing in a variety of styles. Explains that the tree model also suggests a way of looking at and comparing various musical cultures. (CMK)

In this article, the author asks music educators to imagine their band students being able to identify the melody of a piece as it jumps among sections after playing it just a few times. How about recognizing harmonic modulation, or applying dynamic contrast through understanding of compositional form? While these elements may seem obvious to…

This article investigates the multimodal affordances presented by music software and how it can provide new opportunities for students to engage with composition work in the classroom. It seeks to broaden the scope of current research into classroom composition using technology, through a study of students' environments and compositional processes…

Much composing that takes place in the lower secondary school is undertaken as a group activity. This paper investigates what is involved when pupils work in this way, and offers a model of processes and phases, which can be used to account for group composing. The model describes what is taking place, and charts the ways in which groups of pupils…

How do musicians performing together coordinate their actions to achieve a unified performance? We observed a singer (the first author) and pianist/conductor (the third author) as they prepared for two performances of Ricercar 1 from Stravinsky's Cantata, one for voice and piano and one for voice and ensemble. This article reports a content…