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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

Music-focused Television Shows

MENC has the results of an informal poll on music-focused television scripted and reality shows. It seems, based on the additional comments, that many people take the shows at face value when considering their use to (or problems for) music education. I was surprised that few responses discuss the use of these shows in the classroom or the role that music educators can play in recontextualizing them or re-mediating the meanings that students make from their engagement with these shows.… Read More »Music-focused Television Shows

Thank you Ben Folds & Shawn Stockman! "The Sing Off" and music education…

I became intrigued with the new reality show “The Sing Off” after hearing about the A Capella focused show on NPR’s Here & Now. However you feel about the groups on the show or the contemporary A Capella scene in general, this show offers tremendous potential for creative music educators and our students. In particular Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman, two of the three “judges” on the show, proved tonight that intelligent, specific, articulate, and insightful feedback can work on… Read More »Thank you Ben Folds & Shawn Stockman! "The Sing Off" and music education…

My classes on ABC world weekend news online

The American Idol and music education story didn’t make it on air tonight but did make it online. You can see some of my students responding to questions about the contestents performances and what the judges were saying. You can also see how 2nd graders in a school in PA use American Idol in the classroom by judging each other. The story also shows how music programs are loosing funding due to No Child Left Behind shifting focus in schools… Read More »My classes on ABC world weekend news online