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music education

Congratulations to the Lesbian and Gay Band Association for making history!

Music has always played an integral role throughout history in dissolving barriers and bringing people together. The Lesbian and Gay Band Association , with musician members from across the country, will be the first LGBT group in the history of the United States to march as a contingent in an inaugural parade.  Along with many other bands across the nation, the LGBA was invited by Barack Obama’s Presidential Inaugural Committee to march in the upcoming innaugural parade. This is not… Read More »Congratulations to the Lesbian and Gay Band Association for making history!

A Call For Collaborative Musical Engagement: The YouTube Symphony Orchestra and Your Music Program!

The creation of a collaborative orchestra project by YouTube, Michael Tilson Thomas and others is one of the most exciting classical music initiatives I’ve seen in a while. Harnessing the power of the internet, tapping into the notions of participatory culture, and drawing on the abilities of instrumentalists across the world, YouTube’s Symphony Orchestra project has tremendous implications for music educators. What role might music educators play in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra Project? What role might our students play? Why… Read More »A Call For Collaborative Musical Engagement: The YouTube Symphony Orchestra and Your Music Program!

Best Practices in Fair Use – A Helpful Resource!

Thanks to Peter Webster for bringing to my attention an article in the Chronicle regarding a new guide to using copyrighted material in the classroom. The Guide entitled ” The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education” is free to download in pdf format. While focusing on media literacy, this guide offers extremely valuable information for music educators. While much of the public discourse on copyright focuses on violations and lawsuits, far less is discussed about… Read More »Best Practices in Fair Use – A Helpful Resource!

Current Events & Copyright

Today in my secondary general music methods class we discussed how one can use current events as a springboard for classroom discussion and lessons. In the spirit of that discussion I figured  I’d write about a recent set of issues relating to the discourse of copyright and the presidential election. I’ve written here about copyright several times before and I always look forward to updates on James Frankel’s “Copyright or Copywrong” series because it’s an issue that I think plays… Read More »Current Events & Copyright

Flash-based Notation

The company Noteflight is currently offering beta accounts for its flash-based notation application. According to a wired.com article if you sign up for the beta you become grandfathered into their system and can keep the account for free when they eventually start charging. Here’s  a video overview of the application. I’m sure you can start thinking of some fabulous pedagogical applications for this in terms of both your own and your students’ use of it. Enjoy!