Describes the minimalist movement in music. Discusses generations of minimalist musicians and, in general, the minimalist approach. Considers various ways that minimalist strategies can be integrated into the music classroom focusing on (1) minimalism and (2) student-centered composition and principles of minimalism for use with elementary band…

Presents an interview with the composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich that focuses on topics such as the experience of composing music, her feelings on having musicians perform her music, her advice to "budding" composers, and the role of music programs during her childhood. (CMK)

Contends that teaching contemporary music pieces that are largely improvised provides an ideal learning opportunity for students. Focuses on the piece "Improvisations I," stating that the version presented is intended for college students. Describes the performance of each section of the piece and provides suggestions for rehearsal. (CMK)

"Sound2Picture" (www.sound2picture.net) is the latest stage in a series of research and development projects being conducted at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). It documents the work of one sound designer who demonstrated a host of new skills and imaginative practices with hardware and software. The article shares aspects of…

Manos Hadjidakis and his work are like his song, "O Mythos," for they take you from reality to fantasy and bring you back again. In Magnus Eroticus, the combination of lyrics and music is at the highest level of sensibility and the musical style of each song is superb. Music follows the verse to express its deepest meaning while…

Music educators today have a responsibility and a unique opportunity to introduce their students to the art music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Elementary and secondary school students should know that composers are living and working in their communities. They should be aware of the diverse styles and genres of contemporary music…

This essay examines how jazz educators construct methods for teaching the art of improvisation in institutionalized jazz studies programs. Unlike previous studies of the processes and philosophies of jazz instruction, I examine such processes from a cultural standpoint, to identify why certain methods might be favored over others. Specifically,…

In July and August 2003, five top UK universities offered a range of three-week summer schools to "gifted and talented" 11-16-year-olds. This initiative, heavily subsidized by the UK Government, who wish to push "the cream of the nation's pupils forward", used school holiday time to bring together nominated children from all…

Although music was established as a compulsory subject in Spain by the 1990 constructivist reform, the 2002 counter-reform restricted it to lists of concepts, in a renewed encyclopaedist model for secondary schools that ignored authentic musical procedures, such as performing or composing. Contemporary adolescents, accustomed to the transmission…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between students' self-assessments of their musical compositions and experts' assessments. College students (N = 54) who were enrolled in a music fundamentals course for elementary education students participated in this study. Each student completed three composition-performance…

This study investigated the musical thinking of two composers through the use of concurrent protocol analysis and examinined their problems, funded experience, and reflective thinking. The objective was to determine the extent to which there is an observed or implicit paradigm of reflective thinking in the thinking of a practicing composer. The…

A survey was conducted to determine the amount of autonomy for each of three music faculty types (performers, theorists-historians, and music educators). Autonomy was measured by comparing the actual time devoted to the various job-related activities with the time each faculty type would like to devote to the activities. A questionnaire listing 16…

Article provided a brief survey of past motives for music education in order to put present objectives in perspective. (Author/RK)

A guide for teaching the essential musical elements of opera to undergraduate students is provided. The course centers around "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart. It is presented in four sections. In section I, students investigate type casting of opera singers in terms of the ranges of their voices. Students learn to differentiate coloratura,…

This curriculum guide contains objectives, activities, and evaluation procedures for a K-12 music education program. It would be useful to anyone responsible for teaching music. The authors believe that music education has the dual obligation of developing the aesthetic sensitivity of all students regardless of their individual levels of musical…