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Instrumental

Perspectives on Marching Band and School Music Programs: Frank Deford’s commentary

Frank Deford’s recent commentary on Marching band  titled “School Bands Should not be Entertainment Adjunct for Sports” (on NPR) generated some very interesting dialogue on the comment section of the NPR website. Deford’s key point is that students should not be required to be members of the school marching band. He frames marching bands as primarily a means of entertainment for people at football games. While Deford could flesh out the social and cultural aspects of marching bands and use… Read More »Perspectives on Marching Band and School Music Programs: Frank Deford’s commentary

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

Valved low brass in jazz. . .

In the following two posts, jazz musician and educator George Colligan speaks to the issue of valved low brass instruments in the context of performing jazz music. If you have any perspectives on the trombone, euphonium, marching baritone and other low brass instruments (or any instruments for that matter) in the context of your school jazz ensembles, combos, or general performance take a look at the original posts, the comments of other readers, and consider sharing your own thoughts on… Read More »Valved low brass in jazz. . .

The Future of Orchestras and Their Role in Music Education: A Dialogue

Michael Gagliardo contributed a blog post over at the League of American Orchestras regarding the role that orchestras play in music education. The post focuses primarily on the lack of young musicians who attend orchestra concerts and the degree to which orchestral musicians should be enthusiastic during concerts designed specifically for young people. What types of concert formats do you think would benefit your students? What types of innovations might orchestras make to help build interest among young string players… Read More »The Future of Orchestras and Their Role in Music Education: A Dialogue