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Video Games in The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology & Education

Tobias, E. S., & O’Leary, J. (2017). Video games. In The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education (pp. 263-272). Taylor and Francis. DOI: 10.4324/9781315686431 Video Games (in the context of music learning and teaching) In 2017, Jared O’Leary and I had our chapter, Video Games, published in the Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education [affiliate link]. The chapter provides an overview of video games in relation to music learning and teaching. Here’s how we begin the chapter:  When considering the potential of technology… Read More »Video Games in The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology & Education

Making Positive Impact Through Music

Making Positive Impact Through Music Music educators have a role in facilitating responses, music learning and teaching in relation to hate and bigotry occurring throughout contemporary society.  Valerie Strauss suggests that “The first thing teachers should do when school starts is talk about hatred in America” and provides numerous resources for doing so. Music plays an important role in helping people make sense of, meaning, of, and respond to the world. Music programs can play an important role in supporting young… Read More »Making Positive Impact Through Music

Flow, Beats, & Style – Hip Hop Meets Llama Llama Red Pajama

The Cruz Show on Power 106 Los Angeles has a running segment where MCs rap the children’s book Llama Llama Red Pajama over a beat.   Besides it being fun to hear a children’s book getting some rap treatment, it provides an interesting way to get a sense of how MCs approach flow differently and approach rap with a particular style.  If you are unfamiliar with the artists you might find it worth listening to their other music to get a… Read More »Flow, Beats, & Style – Hip Hop Meets Llama Llama Red Pajama

Journal of Popular Music Education and Popular Music in Music Education

The first volume and issue of the new Journal of Popular Music Education is available for free online. Congrats to editors Bryan Powell and Gareth Dylan Smith, who were a driving force in the journal coming into existence.

Some Context on Popular Music in Music Education

People sometimes have the misperception that engaging with popular music in music programs is new. It is not. You can find examples of music educators in the US discussing aspects of popular music in music education for over half a century – whether in letters to the editor of MEJ, articles on approaches to teaching popular music, and (more recently) numerous research studies that address aspects of popular music in music learning and teaching ranging from approaches to learning by ear to socio-cultural issues around gender, identity, and power dynamics. You can get a sense of the long histories of popular music in US music programs by reading Dan Isbell’s article Popular Music and the Public School Music Curriculum and Robert Woody’s article Popular Music in School: Remixing the Issues.

Photo by Scott W. Vincent

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Popular Music and Music Education Resources

Resources for Popular Music and Music Learning and Teaching These popular music and music education resources can be useful for those engaged in the practice of facilitating engagement and learning with popular music and those engaged in researching aspects of popular music in relation to music learning and teaching. This curated set of resources will always be incomplete, in-process, and ever-growing. Send a message with additional suggestions. Related Posts on this Website Posts & project ideas related to popular music and… Read More »Popular Music and Music Education Resources