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Blog: Catalysts & Connections

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

Expanding ensemble repertoire for diversity and inclusion

Phrases such as “the repertoire is the curriculum” have a sense of truth (though I think this is an extremely limited way of conceputalizing curriculum). Here I’m talking about the hidden curriculum, that which students learn through their engagement in school but that educators or schools do not make explicit in written or spoken form. A quick scan through an ensemble program’s repertoire can reveal much about the hidden curriculum that students experience. One way of thinking about the hidden curriculum… Read More »Expanding ensemble repertoire for diversity and inclusion

Deep Listening in the Music Classroom

[Originally posted August, 2007 & Updated Dec, 2016] Pauline Oliveros’s Inspiration The wonderful composer and performer Pauline Oliveros, recently passed away leaving a legacy of music, ideas, and thinking about sound and people. I first came across Pauline Oliveros during my undergraduate work and remember looking at some of her vocal scores in the library stacks, fascinated by her use of the voice as sound. Years later, I remember hearing her perform with a souped up accordion at the Knitting Factory… Read More »Deep Listening in the Music Classroom

Extending Concerts: #StCeciliasDay Project

As part of my research and teaching, I explore possibilities of applying principles of digital and participatory culture in connection with concerts and events. How might we enhance or expand arts participation with concerts? #StCeciliasDay Project This semester, our Digital and Participatory Culture in Music course is serving as a design team in collaboration with colleagues in the ASU school of music to extend a St. Cecilia’s Day concert (taking place on Nov. 22) with participatory musical engagement and learning opportunities.… Read More »Extending Concerts: #StCeciliasDay Project