This article examines the wider meanings of collective inquiries, creative collaboration and learning at work through analyzing a teacher's learning process when plunging into collaborative inquiry and creation with the students in primary classroom context. The incorporation of "songcrafting" into the existing practice of singing…

Young teachers often struggle with pacing and the ability to cover more than one or two songs and activities in a single 30-minute general music class. Included in this article are lesson activities that show it is not only possible to include many of the National Standards in a single lesson, but also possible to sing, play, and create in every…

In the most recent Ministry of Education work plan seminar (Ministry of Education, 2010), a clear signal was sent out that arts education, primarily music and visual art, would become one of the key areas of focus in pursuing the goal of holistic education of a primary school child in the Singapore school system. This article, as part of a larger…

In this article, narratives of a salsa concert and a lesson with a Native American flute performer provide openings for exploring grooves and their application in the music classroom. The term "groove" is examined, along with some non-Western ideas about time as represented in the music of the West African Kpelle people. A sixth-grade…

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of harmonic accompaniment on the tonal improvisations of elementary school students. Specifically, this study was designed to (a) determine if the addition of a root melody accompaniment to song instruction affects the implied harmonic changes and harmonic rhythm in the tonal improvisations…

The present study investigated the strengths and areas of improvement for elementary music teacher preparation from the perspective of multiple members of a single body of music teachers. Subjects for the study were elementary music teachers from an urban school district in the southern United States. All elementary music teachers in the school…

This article reports a quasi-experimental study of the effects of improvisation on the development of children's creative thinking in music. The study was conducted in a primary school classroom with two matched groups of 6-year-old children over a period of six months. The music lessons for the experimental group were enriched with a variety of…

Background: The Slovenian music education curriculum for the first years of elementary school emphasises the following musical activities in the classroom: singing, playing instruments, listening to music, movement to music and musical creativity. In the field of musical creativity, there are two activities where students can be original and…

Every day, music teachers face the challenge of motivating less-confident student singers in general music classes. Teaching vocal improvisation can be a difficult task, because students are often self-conscious about their voices and too intimidated to sing in front of their peers. Technology can be an excellent motivational tool in the classroom…

Presents an article about the techniques for enhancing creativity among elementary students. Importance of developing rapport with the students to establish a harmonious learning environment; Need for teaching a wide but simple repertoire of songs, chants and patterns; Significance of developing mirroring games like Simon Says to improve the…

This bulletin has been prepared to help teachers and parents understand the contribution of creative expression in the all-around development of children. In order to achieve balance among the various learning activities, a school program needs to give appropriate emphasis to the creative arts. Because all the arts are closely related, a broader,…

The purpose of this study was to assess fourth- and fifth-grade students' (9- and 10-year-olds') affective response and ability to discriminate between melody and improvisation after receiving instruction in singing and/or playing a piece in the blues style. Subjects (N= 102) were assigned to one of three equal-sized groups. Group 1 learned to…