Suggests choral teachers use rap music to promote student interest and to teach music basics, such as rhythm, pitch, harmony, and timbre. Maintains that students can write the arrangements allowing them to gain experience in notating. Identifies selected recordings and offers an example of how to use rap music. (CMK)

Discusses the action research conducted on whether the use of conducting patterns will not only help students understand meter, but also assist them in grasping certain expressive qualities of music. Finds that the posttest showed a 10 percent gain overall in the understanding of meter, tempo, dynamics, and style. (CMK)

This article focuses on the challenge of educators in keeping up with an information environment that has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. Thus, it is crucial that when teaching literacy to students, educators emphasize skills that reflect the information environment of the present, not the past. With the information age comes a whole…

The practical training of contemporary popular musicians, that is, the preparation of performers, songwriters, and music production personnel for the global popular music industry, is still in its infancy. This article seeks to discuss the specific issue of what musicianship skills should be taught, by interrogating the perceptions of a cohort of…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine composition practices in public schools across the state of Indiana, to investigate who incorporates composition and why they chose to use or not use composing tasks. A second purpose was to learn if teachers had an operational definition for composition. Three hundred thirty-nine teachers…

Developed as part of an educational kit that includes a four-part videotape, maps, photographs, and audio tapes, this guide gives teacher preparation information, objectives, teaching strategies, and student activities for each of 3 lessons in 4 units: Unit 1, "Introduction to Folklife," presents a definition in lesson 1, "What is…

Multimedia presentations offer educators and other communicators new avenues to reach audiences, but they combine a variety of legal hazards. Producers of multimedia can end up on the receiving end of lawsuits based on the many facets of copyright, privacy, and defamation law, as this guide illustrates. Copyright gives authors, composers,…

Oregon's common curriculum goals for music education, an area of study that addresses the components of valuing music, developing music literacy, performing music, and creating music are presented. An overall goal for each one of these four strands is established, and then the content specific knowledge and skills that students should possess by…

The design of an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) in a knowledge domain where expertise is modeled as a set of uncertain and incomplete beliefs that are justifiable and expressible in the form of a critical argument is outlined. Issues concerning knowledge communication in a tutorial interaction are discussed with reference to a cognitive model…

Educational objectives and brief course descriptions are presented for music education, grades 9-12, Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland. The program, divided into general, choral, and instrumental categories, stresses refining cognitive perception, developing creative potential, and heightening aesthetic sensitivity.…

To enhance school children's understanding of and appreciation for the performing arts, an ESEA Title III project presented live performances by professional brass, woodwind, and string ensembles to children of the 275 public and parochial elementary schools of Bergen County, New Jersey. As part of the program, children read a book especially…

Examination of lyrics of the blues and jazz forms of black music indicates their importance as communication. Contemporary styles can be divided into five overlapping categories: (1) "mainstream," the post-"bebop" style and soul jazz; (2) jazz influenced by other ethnic music; (3) the avant-garde jazz, which is often…

Encourages the use of integrated prereading, prewriting, and critical thinking activities in music classes to help students appreciate and understand the process of musical composition. Discusses using freewriting, journal writing, directed reading, and extended activities in music appreciation, performance, and composition classes. (SKC)

Finds a number of Beethoven's military marches in contemporary arrangements. Although greatly revered for his classical music, Beethoven composed a variety of excellent marches. Usually penned for a specific historic occasion, they fit well into interdisciplinary study units and add variety and color to local music programs. (MJP)

Asserts that a revolution has been occurring in musicology since the 1970s. Contends that music has change from being only a source of emotion to appearing more open to science and techniques based on computer technology. Describes recent research and other writings about the topic and provides an extensive bibliography. (CFR)