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Blog: Catalysts & Connections

From Old School to New Schulwerk: Addressing Sound Worlds of Contemporary Popular Music

From Old School to New Schulwerk: Addressing Sound Worlds of Contemporary Popular Music  Evan S. Tobias To Cite or Download the article:  Tobias, E. (2011) From Old School to New Schulwerk: Addressing Sound Worlds of Contemporary Popular Music.The Orff Echo, 43(4), 19-23. This article, written for the Orff Echo, addresses considerations for integrating popular music in elementary music classrooms. In the article I draw on how Doug Goodkin (2001) frames Whitehead’s notions of romance, precision, and generalization in terms of… Read More »From Old School to New Schulwerk: Addressing Sound Worlds of Contemporary Popular Music

Let’s play! Learning music through video games and virtual worlds

Tobias, E. S. (2012). Let’s play! Learning music through video games and virtual worlds. In G. McPherson & G. Welch (Eds.), Oxford handbook of music education (Vol. 2, pp. 531-548). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199928019.013.0035 This chapter examines the ways video games promote musical learning and engagement. It begins by outlining the background and current scope of music-focused video games. It then situates video games in terms of new literacies. Next, it provides a theoretical framework that supports… Read More »Let’s play! Learning music through video games and virtual worlds

Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet: A model for contemporary musicianship and additional directions for school ensembles

During my presentation at the NAfME Composition Academy this past Music Education Week I mentioned the Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet, but forgot to include a link to their Kickstarter Project Page in my handout. There was quite a bit of discussion related to arrangement throughout several of the composition academy presentations. Dr. Rob Deemer and Dr. David Stringham in particular provided some excellent strategies for including arrangement processes in music programs and our own music making as educators. The BWBQ… Read More »Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet: A model for contemporary musicianship and additional directions for school ensembles

Expanding Secondary Music Curricula: A look at students engaging with popular music, technology, and creating original music

Tobias, E. S. (2012). Hybrid spaces and hyphenated musicians: Secondary students’ musical engagement in a songwriting and technology course. Music Education Research, 14(3), 329-346. A research article I wrote entitled Hybrid spaces and hyphenated musicians: Secondary students’ musical engagement in a songwriting and technology course is now available in the journal Music Education Research. Below is the article’s abstract: This case study investigates how secondary students (three individuals and three groups) engaged with music and acted as musicians in a… Read More »Expanding Secondary Music Curricula: A look at students engaging with popular music, technology, and creating original music

Project Based Learning & Music Education: Resources

The latest version of Edutopia focuses on best practices for Project Based Learning, highlighting a school that incorporates this approach to teaching and learning. Project based learning is an approach that works naturally in music education settings and can assist music educators in providing students with deep and rich engagement and learning that can be applied beyond the school setting. You might also be interested in Phil Greco’s (a NY music educator) Portraits of Practice, an excellent site that outlines… Read More »Project Based Learning & Music Education: Resources