Focuses on the relationship of music composition with specific learning styles. Emphasizes the development of a research model in which music composition was viewed as involving intuitive and rational musical abilities. Uses two learning-style inventories and a researcher-designed test of musical composition ability. (DB)

Presents an interview with Alan Menken that addresses his role as a composer, different influences and paths in his career, and the importance of music education in his life. Asserts that music should permeate all aspects of education because it is a vital aspect of a student's emotional and intellectual life. (CMK)

Examines knowledge about the structure of memory in order to understand the process of writing melodies. Focuses on a study of 25 students who were asked to write two melodies using a computer. Presents the results and offers an example of the function of memory in writing melodies. (CMK)

Examines experienced and inexperienced teachers' perceptions of band music content and quality in three experimental settings. Provides information about how teachers critique band music for curricular use. Suggests that preservice teachers may possess abilities similar to experienced teachers concerning decisions about mid-level band works.…

Examines the effect of instruction in the use of specific rhythmic nuances on the timings of a musical performance. Forty volunteer upper-division and graduate students performed Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite no. 3 for Violoncello solo, Bouree no. 1, using a computer software program. Discusses the results. (CMK)

Focuses on the use of recorder ensembles in general music classes, discussing topics such as strategies for procuring soprano, alto, and bass recorders and ensemble activities for grades 3-8. Provides a bibliography of resources for recorder playing and information on transposition and arranging music. (CMK)

Recommends using "activation exercises," or warm-ups, to awaken students' voices, minds, and breathing mechanisms when singing choral music. Describes three activation exercises: (1) plainchant melodies; (2) the five-note scale; and (3) tongue twisters sung to melodies or scale patterns. Explains why the first and third exercises work.…

A study involving 261 composers, 108 inventors, 392 NFL wide receivers, and 112 eminent inventors found that eminent individuals exhibit a greater rate of creative outputs and that the production of outputs deviates from randomness no more than would be expected from chance fluctuation alone, except for some eminent individuals. (Contains…

States that creating "authentic" world music arrangements that are faithful to indigenous performances provides a means for teaching instrumental students about the sounds of other cultures. Discusses how to choose a piece of world music, how to transcribe a performance, and how to develop the arrangement. Addresses additional instructional…

Investigates the perceptions of selected college music faculty on multicultural music education, focusing on such issues as a definition of multicultural music education, whether or not it would benefit from hiring minority faculty, and its benefits and problems. (CMK)

Explains that there are five components for achieving the ideal band tone (balance, blend, acoustics, sonority, and chord voicing). Presents information on each component. Provides seven suggestions helpful in developing band tone, such as explain and establish goals for the band's tone, practice for tone, and choose music to optimize tone. (CMK)

Describes a project in which band students rehearsing Anne McGinty's "Atlantis" explored the city by building a model. Explains that students worked in groups as researchers, poetry and story writers, designers of the city, builders of the city model, and thinkers charged with generating ideas. (CMK)

Provides a strategy, from the book "Strategies for Teaching Specialized Ensembles," that addresses Standard 9A of the National Standards for Music Education. Explains that students will identify and describe the musical and historical characteristics of the classical era in music they perform and in audio examples. (CMK)

Discusses how the outgrowth of the praxial philosophy in music education is misunderstood and has led to a lack of informed dialogue on the differences between praxis and philosophical bases for music education. Presents an interpretation of Aristotle's idea of praxis and considers praxis in terms of implications for music education. (CMK)

Compares a singing approach to a nonsinging approach in an elementary directed listening program to determine whether there was a significant difference in aural thematic recognition and thematic preferences between groups. Indicates that subjects who sang thematic material had a higher aural recall rate and finds no difference with regard to…