A Music Education Blog Collective

I’ve played Guitar Hero a few times in the past month, and it makes me wonder, how do we music educators compete with the instant “guitar hero” fantasy that this game provides? Players can choose to be anything from a Jimmie Hendrix- to a Courtney Love-type rock star with virtual crowds getting pumped or […]

September is such a busy month for all educators. As an elementary instrumental music teacher I find myself struggling this month with issues around the following two themes:
1. Inclusion/Exclusion: I have spent more energy than every before in creating an inclusive performance program. Although my program is optional for students, I am doing my best […]

I came across this video entitled Amateur (Thanks to my colleague Steve Austin for bringing it to my attention) .  It is created by Lasse Gjertsen, a professional video editor, but an amateur musician that doesn’t play the instruments he is depicted playing in the video.  Can this video teach us something about the musical interaction in […]

A couple of posts ago Joe discussed a project he does with his students where they use a looping pedal to layer improvised loops on top of a pre-existing piece. Here’s a cellist who layered 37 cello parts , all performed by himself, using a cello and computer technology! My first thought when comparing the […]

Belinda Reynolds, a composer who I have referenced in previous posts, now has a column on newmusicbox focusing on issues facing composers writing music for young people. I think this is a great initiative to encourage some dialogue between educators, composers, performers, critics etc. We can certainly learn from each other. Her most recent post […]

The issue of young people and concert attendance was recently raised again by Greg Sandow on his blog. Coming at it from a music ed perspective, Jen previously posted on this topic and I posted on the other blog I write. The voices of young people, especially much younger people, are unfortunately left out […]

While some school music programs include fiddle music as part of their curriculum, I wonder how many string students know the history of African American string bands or the roots of the instruments used in this musical style such as the banjo or fiddle?
On November of 2005, the radio program “Talk Back”, on non-commercial community […]

After posting about living composers writing new music for students on the other site I blog on, I found an excellent letter to the editor written by composer Michael Colgrass on newmusicbox regarding the same article that first prompted my post. Mr. Colgrass’s website includes letters students have written to him along with his replies, […]

Seattle resident Trimpin has been creating and building his own instruments since childhood. “Trumpet was his instrument, and he wondered why it needed to be limited to playing one pitch at a time, and why that pitch had to fit into the system of conventional tuning,” Amy Rubin writes. “These questions led to his […]

Has anyone seen this 12 year-old drum set player? Check out the video. I bet that wasn’t learned in the school band (nor does the school band have a place for him).