Music Education

Author
Sabine O'Donnell, TALint Student, Music Library

Happy May! We are doing something a little different this month and, like our blogpost in December about jazz, we are focusing on a specific discipline featured in our collection. This month we are highlighting our music education materials. We are excited to share that OISE Library is also highlighting their music education materials as well - be sure to stop by their display too! Read on to find new trends within music education research and the latest in pedagogical practice.

Social issues in music education

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  • Sound pedagogy: radical care in music edited by Colleen Renihan, John Spilker, and Trudi Wright argue for principles of kindness and care within music education, addressing obstacles experienced in higher education. Recommended chapter: “Integrating Well-being and Intersectional Equity across a Revised Music History and Culture Curriculum” by John Spilker.
  • Trama and resilience in music education: haunted melodies edited by Deborah Bradley and Juliet Hess investigates the links between trauma and music, in both practice and theory. Recommended chapter: “Teaching through trauma: compassion fatigue, burnout, or secondary traumatic stress?” by Tawnya D. Smith
  • Queering vocal pedagogy: a handbook for teaching trans and genderqueer singer and fostering gender-affirming spaces by William Sauerland features both real-life experience and practical knowledge for trans and genderqueer singers. Recommended chapter: “Pedagogical considerations for gender-affirming vocal music education.”
  • Values and music education by Estelle R. Jorgensen offers nine sets of values for thinking about music education, through both constructive and critical thinking. Recommended chapter: “Justice, Equality, Fairness, and Inclusion.”

New trends in music education

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Music education practice

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  • An orientation to musical pedagogy: becoming a musician-educator by Birch Browning assists new music educators in transitioning from students to professionals. Recommended chapter: “Designing meaningful instruction.”
  • A teaching artist’s companion: how to define and develop your practice by Daniel Levy offers a teaching framework of View, Design, and Respond, to situate teaching music. Containing worksheets and resources, this is for both veteran and new music teachers to develop their practice. Recommended chapter: “Four view, design, and respond based arts-in-education programs.
  • Teaching music in higher education by Colleen Marie Conway focuses on ‘learner-centered pedagogy’ or basing instruction on individual students’ needs. Recommended chapters: “Understanding the learners: identities in inclusive classrooms” and “Strategies for active learning in music classrooms.”

Research and theories

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  • The Oxford handbook of assessment policy and practice in music education edited by Timothy S. Brophy a compilation from 53 leading experts from around the world, reviewing assessment related to legislation, student learning, and technology for music education. Recommended chapter: “Assessing music learning with technology” by William I. Bauer.
  • A philosophy of music education: advancing the vision by Bennett Reimer is a new edition with updates to the 1970 publication, offering a philosophy for music education, with case studies and questions for discussion. Recommended chapter: “The creating dimension of musical experience.”
  • Revolutions in music education: historical and social explorations edited by Andrew Sutherland, Jane Southcott, and Leon de Bruin chronicles major changes of music education throughout time that shape teaching practice today. Recommended chapter: “Progressing Multicultural Music Education from Colonialism, Othering, and Tokenism” by Andrew Sutherland.
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Music education and place

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  • The Oxford handbook of preservice music teacher education in the United States edited by Colleen Conway, Kristen Pellegrino, Ann Marie Stanley, and Chad West argues, from 56 contributors, that music education only benefits all students if educators are using diverse learning strategies in the classroom. Identifies opportunities to challenge existing pedagogical boundaries. Recommended chapter: “Reconsidering elementary general music methods: deconstructing our decisions.”
  • The Transformative Politics of Music Education by Tuulikki Laes, Gert Biesta, and Heidi Westerlund offers a unique approach to music education which links it to politics – with an emphasis on Europe. Recommended chapter: “The paradox of social innovations within music schools: Taking critical responsibility in transformative practice.”
  • Places and purposes of popular music education: perspectives from the field edited by Bryan Powell and Gareth Dylan Smith feature international perspectives on popular music education topics. Recommended chapter: “Decolonizing higher music education: Person versus persona” by Adriel E Miles.
  • A spectrum of voices: prominent American voice teachers discuss the teaching of singing by Elizabeth L. Blades includes interviews with 25 notable vocal teachers, offering insights into pedagogical practice and lessons structure. Recommended chapter: “Training singers practical artistic and professional development.”
  • World music pedagogy by Sarah H. Watts, Christopher J. Roberts, and Amy C. Beegle is a tool to think globally about middle and high school music classrooms – asking how we should discuss multicultural music education and prompts for self-reflection for educators. Recommended chapter: “Learning through engaged listening.”
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