Enhancing Middle-Level General Music: Suggestions from the Literature

This article discusses the curriculum for teaching general music classes at the middle school level. This is a difficult subject because most universities do not include classes on how to teach this level of music instruction. Usually, general level music classes are only for the elementary grades and then for those who elect to choose musical study are split off into the band, choir or orchestra route and are slowly weeded out as they advance through the grades. The article deals with the issues of writing a curriculum for this level and most of the instruction comes from what the teacher can pull through research articles. Usually, teachers end up bringing their own emphasis of how they teach (for example, a band director teaching like a band), or it is primarily run as a music appreciation class. A general level class should be taught primarily as a student-centered learning environment with the material organized around thematic units. The article spends significant time discussing how this is the best method to teach for the adolescents in this age group.

This article greatly helps my understanding of my topic because it helps to start creating the middle ground between elementary and band instructions. Many important ideas are mentioned with how to teach for this age level, and band does not follow them at all.

Gerrity, Kevin W. (2009). Enhancing Middle-Level General Music: Suggestions from the Literature. Music Educators Journal, 95(4), 41-45.

Toward and Effective Pedagogy for Teaching Rhythm: Gordon and Beyond

Rhythm is an important concept but is taught in a variety of ways. This article sets out to teach the methods of rhythm as prescribed by Gordon and to clarify some questions with teaching rhythm. The first general principle the article states on teaching rhythm is to teach meter identification on the basis of audiation, and not the musical notation. Rhythm audiation and mathematical thinking are very different cognitive processes. The second point addresses a rhythm-syllable system over a counting system and explains why to use the musical over the mathematical approach to counting rhythm.

This article adds to my understanding of my topic by addressing how rhythm is taught through the elementary methods. This can be applied to the band side of teaching as well. Most often, band directors use a counting method, which was said not to do, and to teach the notation before sound, again another not to do according to this article. Again, this will provide more evidence for when it comes time to separate and compare the elementary and band methods.

Dalby, Bruce. (2005). Toward and Effective Pedagogy for Teaching Rhythm: Gordon and Beyond. Music Educators Journal, 92(1), 54-60.

Singing and Moving: Teaching Strategies for Audiation in Children

Audiation is defined as the hearing of pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, or timbre. It is developed or used through listening, reading music, writing dictation, performing from memory, and creating or improvising. The article also addresses child development and the stages of the brain. Children learn best between the ages of 2 and 11, and also by interacting with their environment. Extensive procedures are included with teaching the elements of rhythm and sight-singing and how to incorporate them with different ages of students.

This article adds to my understanding of my topic by addressing audiation as approached from an elementary method, which can be contrasted to my audiation article for beginning band students. This will play an important role as I start to categorize the methods for elementary and beginning band methods and begin analyzing their curricula.

Garner, Allison Maerker. (2009). Singing and Moving: Teaching Strategies for Auditation in Children. Music Educators Journal, 95(4), 46-50.

To Sing or not to Sing in Instrumental Class

Using singing with a beginning band program is a useful tool because it can improve musical and critical-thinking skills of young performers. Singing is a crucial part of all undergraduate music programs at universities to help students develop aural skills, learn sight-reading, and make connections between music theory and its applications. However, even with these benefits it often not used with instructional programs with band. The article explains that directors do not include singing often because they do not want to take the time out of their rehearsal periods with the ensemble, the director may not have the confidence in their own singing ability, or for fear of negative responses from the students. However, by properly integrating singing into the rehearsal, students will be able to develop their ears to aid in intonation and become more independent musicians who are able to identify and correct their own mistakes without the director calling attention to them.

This article adds to my understanding of my topic because it addresses how to incorporate a singing method with beginning band programs. Singing is a crucial part of the elementary curriculum but then it often gets dropped through the band curriculum even though it provides an opportunity to strengthen the individual musicianship and skills of the members, a skill that can and should be taken away from their musical education.

Robinson, Mitchell. (1996). To Sing or not to Sing in Instrumental Class. Music Educators Journal, 83(1), 17-21.

Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists

My research topic is elementary music methods in teaching beginning band.  Some of the questions I need to answer are what are the different methods used in elementary music and in beginning band, what are their differences and what is the "gap" between the methods used in elementary music when transitioning to traditional band methods.


The article is about a middle and high school band director who uses the Gordon method to teach her students, especially in the beginning band stages. The author personally started out her early education in instrumental music teaching herself music by ear and focusing on tunes rather than the playing long tone and resting that is often the focus in beginning band methods.  Through her personal experience and teaching methods she found that Gordon’s Music Learning Theory was more effective for herself and her students. I did not particularly learn anything about the research process in this article, as it was more of an article for teaching than substantial research, but the information is useful for my topic. I wanted to find an article that focused on using elementary methods in the beginning band instruction, as that is my topic. The article is very strong with how it addresses the method used by Gordon to teach beginning instrumentalists. However, the article is somewhat lacking on how the method compares to the “traditional” style of instrumental music learning.

References
Liperote, Kathy A. (2006). Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists: Listen, Speak, Read, Write. 
Music Educators Journal, 93(1), 46-52.


This article helps to contribute to my understanding because it gives me a starting of the background research that I need to understand the different methods and this article uses what is called the Gordon method, which is the closest so far for creating an accurate bridge for the transition from general music to a band music program.

Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists: Listen, Speak, Read, Write

The article is about a middle and high school band director who uses the Gordon method to teach her students, especially in the beginning band stages. The author personally started out her early education in instrumental music teaching herself music by ear and focusing on tunes rather than the playing long tone and resting that is often the focus in beginning band methods. (Liperote, 2006, p. 46) Through her personal experience and teaching methods she found that Gordon’s Music Learning Theory was more effective for herself and her students. I did not particularly learn anything about the research process in this article, as it was more of an article for teaching than substantial research, but the information is useful for my topic. I wanted to find an article that focused on using elementary methods in the beginning band instruction, as that is my topic. The article is very strong with how it addresses the method used by Gordon to teach beginning instrumentalists. However, the article is somewhat lacking on how the method compares to the “traditional” style of instrumental music learning.

References
Liperote, Kathy A. (2006). Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists: Listen, Speak, Read, Write.
Music Educators Journal, 93(1), 46-52.