Teachers are searching for accessible, relevant, and engaging lessons for students as elementary classrooms grow more diverse and high-stakes testing constrict curricula and recess time. General music teachers may consider implementing lessons that blend popular culture with collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. Artist Keith Haring was…

In secondary general music classes, music educators have the opportunity to bridge the gap between the music students' experiences in school and the music they engage with outside of school. According to Williams, nontraditional music students have musical lives outside of school but choose not to participate in traditional ensembles. In this…

Integrating popular music as part of the public school music curriculum has been a topic of debate among many educators and researchers. Songs from the Disney Corporation, specifically from movies, television shows, and performers specifically marketed by Disney, are particularly significant due to their widespread popularity. In this article, the…

In this article, I offer four principles relevant to hip-hop cultures (keep it real, flip the script, make some noise, and stay fresh) and explore how these principles might affect music classrooms. I argue that a music classroom that works to keep it real, flip the script, make some noise, and stay fresh might go beyond teaching hip-hop skills…

In this article, I aim to critically analyze theories contained within Dr. Christopher Emdin's newest book "For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood (and the Rest of Ya'll Too!)" in the context of the music classroom. To begin, I summarize Christopher Emdin's theories of both "reality" and "pentecostal" pedagogy and then…

The natural musicality so often present in children's singing can begin to fade as the focus of a lesson shifts to the process of reading and writing conventional notation symbols. Approaching the study of music from a linguistic perspective preserves the pace and flow that is inherent in spoken language and song. SongWorks teaching practices…

Many music educators address aural skills and analysis by drawing on strategies designed for the realm of Western classical music. Focusing solely on aural skills and analysis within paradigms of Western music can limit students' musical learning and engagement to particular ways of knowing music. To diversify and broaden the types of aural skills…

This column offers the personal reflections of the author on being a member of the band Touch, an iPad performing ensemble composed of music education faculty members and doctoral students at the University of South Florida. The ensemble primarily performed its own arrangements of popular music selections from a number of genres including, but not…

In Geoff Edgers's biography of the Beatles, "Who Were the Beatles?", young readers learn of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison's youth and growth as musicians, the band's formation, and their contributions to music in popular culture. "General Music Today" columnist, Cardany provides music teachers with related music…

To provide a comprehensive and balanced curriculum, the accomplishments of women composers and performers must be included in general music classes. This article addresses obstacles that have challenged women musicians and provides an outline for a unit that highlights seven American women who have achieved significant "firsts" in the world of…

In this article, the author describes a true story about Dwayne Carter Jr., a rapper most music educators probably don't know but one who is beloved throughout the world as "Lil Wayne." Critics overwhelmingly proclaimed Lil Wayne the top rapper in the hip-hop game, and the album and his work leading up to it were universally regarded as some of…

This article discusses the use of hand-clapping games and dances in the music classroom. In addition to their use for teaching music skills and concepts, these games can be quite useful for making cross-disciplinary connections to reinforce the eighth and ninth National Standards for Music Education (Standard 8: understanding relationships between…

This article discusses the numerous benefits of employing contrast-and-compare lessons in music education settings. Such activities focus on the elements of music through the higher-order thinking processes of analyzing, comparing, organizing, and evaluating. They also integrate with the teaching goals and practices of many general educators in…

This article provides general music teachers with resources they can use in their class to: (1) introduce the instrument to their students; (2) energize and reshape their students' attitudes toward the instrument; (3) show older students who are very musical recorder and low flute players who share their love of the instruments through podcasts…