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 […]

As I ponder the fact that the Music Educator’s Network - musiced.net has reached an all-time record of over 70,000 unique visits each month this summer, and that this collective is the second link from a google search for “music education blog,” I am left with my own “Catalysts and Connections”:
- Blogging fever is alive […]

Bob Morrison over at Music For All has recently proposed that the National Standards be revised. There have been several research studies and countless articles and workshops regarding the National Standards since their formation over 10 years ago. It seems there is a general assumption in our field that the existence of articulated National Standards […]

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 […]

For those readers interested in addressing issues of misogyny and homophobia in popular music, specifically in the world of hip hop consider taking a look at the new documentary “Beyond Beats and Rhymes: Masculinity in Hip Hop Culture.” The documentary by Byron Hurt takes a look at hip hop culture and the music industry […]

For those of you who know me, you know that this is a central topic to my soon to be embarked on dissertation.  I’ll try not to be verbose as I blog about this: Can popular music in school ever be a site of counterhegemony?  Popular musicologists write about rebel music like the Riot Grrls (Warning, […]

The musical background and experience of most music educators is in the traditions, history, theory and performance of Western “art” music.  The use of traditional music notation, which dominates this canon, often goes unquestioned as we set out to develop goals, curriculum, standards and pedagogies.  As Jen H posted in her use of the box […]

Dr. James Frankel has asked his Technology in Music Education class at Teachers College, Columbia University to post comments to the blog.  We welcome you and hope that you return and contribute many more times in the future. 

I intend to be provocative here: With music creation and performance rapidly changing with introduction of new technologies, the question must be asked: Are band, chorus and orchestras in the school a relic of the past and should be put to rest?  I know this is a difficult question to address, but as we look […]