Teaching Music Differently

Teaching Music Differently explores what music teachers do and why. It offers insightful analysis of eight in-depth studies of teachers in a range of settings – the early years, a special school, primary and secondary schools, a college, a prison, a conservatoire and a community choir – and demonstrates that pedagogy is not simply the delivery of a curriculum or an enactment of a teaching plan. Rather, a teacher’s pedagogy is complex, nuanced and influenced by a multitude of factors. Exploring the theories teachers hold about their own teaching, it reveals that, even when teachers are engaged with the same subject, their teaching varies substantially. It analyses the differences in terms of agency – the knowledge and skills that teachers bring to teaching, their expectations shaped by their life histories, the ways in which they relate to their students and the subject and their ideas about the content they teach – what is important, what is interesting, what is difficult for students to grasp. It also explores the constraints that are imposed upon the teachers – by curriculum, policy, institutions, society and the students themselves. Together with discussion of key ideas for understanding the case studies, historical influences on music pedagogy and the main discourses around music teaching, Teaching Music Differently invites all music education professionals to consider their own responses to pedagogical discourses and to use these discourses to further the development of the profession as a whole.

Teaching Music Differently explores what music teachers do and why. It offers insightful analysis of eight in-depth studies of teachers in a range of settings – the early years, a special school, primary and secondary schools, a college, a prison, a conservatoire and a community choir – and demonstrates that pedagogy is not simply the delivery of a curriculum or an enactment of a teaching plan. Rather, a teacher’s pedagogy is complex, nuanced and influenced by a multitude of factors. Exploring the theories teachers hold about their own teaching, it reveals that, even when teachers are engaged with the same subject, their teaching varies substantially. It analyses the differences in terms of agency – the knowledge and skills that teachers bring to teaching, their expectations shaped by their life histories, the ways in which they relate to their students and the subject and their ideas about the content they teach – what is important, what is interesting, what is difficult for students to grasp. It also explores the constraints that are imposed upon the teachers – by curriculum, policy, institutions, society and the students themselves. Together with discussion of key ideas for understanding the case studies, historical influences on music pedagogy and the main discourses around music teaching, Teaching Music Differently invites all music education professionals to consider their own responses to pedagogical discourses and to use these discourses to further the development of the profession as a whole.

A Different Paradigm in Music Education is a "let’s consider some possibilities" book. Instead of a music methods book, it is a look at where the music education profession is and how music teachers might improve what it is we do. It is about change. It is about questioning the current music education paradigm, especially regarding its exclusive role as the only model. The intent is to help pre-service and in-service music educators consider new modes of pedagogical thought that will allow us to broaden our reach in schools and better help students develop as creative musicians across their lifespan. The book includes an overview of several opportunities and course examples that would make music education more relevant and meaningful, especially for students that are not interested in our traditional performance offerings. The author wishes to stimulate discussions, with the goal for the music education profession to grow and mature.

A follow-up to Dimensions of Musical Thinking. Based on research performed during the past ten years related to thinking and learning and its application to classroom experience. Provides information and guidelines for music educators so that they may be better prepared to structure classroom environments that truly engage students in thinking musically. Emphasizes research-based techniques for instructing young people to function effectively in the new millenium, with particular focus on recent observations that music study enhances skills in other subjects.

This book is a comprehensive practical guide for music eductors who work with students with autism. This second edition offers fully up-to-date information on diagnosis, advocacy, and a collegial team-approach, as well as communication, cognition, behavior, sensory, and socialization challenges. Many 'real-life' vignettes and classroom snapshots are included to transfer theory to practice.

Music education has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. Whereas lessons were once characterised by their passivity, children now learn about music through actively engaging in it by performing, composing, listening and appraising. This reader places music education in context and then goes on to examine a range of issues linked to the teaching and learning of music. The latter half of the book concentrates on music education within the classroom, highlighting the kinds of points which all teachers of music will have to consider.

Fully updated in light of the latest research and practice in primary education, Teaching Music Creatively offers all teachers a comprehensive understanding of how to develop, deliver and enjoy a creative music curriculum. It is inspired by the belief that all those concerned with primary education have a deep interest in creativity and supports teachers in developing the confidence to teach and celebrate creative music teaching throughout school. With groundbreaking contributions from international experts in the field, it offers well-tested strategies for developing children’s musical creativity, knowledge, skills and understanding. This edition includes a brand new chapter on teaching interculturally, showing how children can reach their full creative potential and not be constrained by cultural stereotyping. Key topics covered include: ■ Creative teaching, and what it means to teach creatively ■ Composition, listening and notation ■ Spontaneous music-making ■ Group music and performance ■ The use of multimedia ■ Integration of music into the wider curriculum ■ Musical play ■ Assessment and planning. Teaching Music Creatively is packed with practical, innovative ideas for teaching music in a lively and imaginative way, together with the theory and background necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of creative teaching methods. It is an invaluable resource for all those training to become primary school teachers, as well as practicing teachers looking for support and inspiration and undergraduate students of music and education.

Packed full with tasks, activities and reflections to help student-teachers to integrate the theory and practice of music education, this book aims to develop open and reflective practitioners who will critically examine their own and others’ ideas about music education and the way in which children learn music.