3: Music Curriculum Perspectives w Melissa Carpenter

Ideas and Themes

In this episode I speak with Melissa Carpenter about her experiences and perspectives on music curriculum and curriculum development. We discuss ideas and themes such as:

• Required enrollment in instrumental programs
• Prescribed music curriculum
• The relationship between method books and music curriculum
• Curriculum responsive to students
• Time to review and discuss curriculum
• Building on prior skills and knowledge
• Designing music curriculum for vertical alignment
• Roles of goals in music curriculum
• Approaches to designing music curriculum
• The music is not the curriculum
• Students choosing repertoire
• Curriculum and standards
• Changing curriculum

Notes, Resources, and References

Note: Some book links are affiliate links.

• Atlas Rubicon
• I mention Lucy Green’s book “How Popular Musicians Learn” towards the end of the episode while discussing the idea of throwing students into the deep end (with or without floaties – as Melissa mentions).
• Here’s a resource on how to facilitate dropping students “in the deep end” with informal learning approaches from the organization Musical Futures.
  • The “deep end” part of the process makes more sense in relation to the larger context of Green’s research and the Musical Futures International Resource “Musical Futures: An approach to teaching and learning resource pack 2nd edition.”