Encourages the use of integrated prereading, prewriting, and critical thinking activities in music classes to help students appreciate and understand the process of musical composition. Discusses using freewriting, journal writing, directed reading, and extended activities in music appreciation, performance, and composition classes. (SKC)

Finds a number of Beethoven's military marches in contemporary arrangements. Although greatly revered for his classical music, Beethoven composed a variety of excellent marches. Usually penned for a specific historic occasion, they fit well into interdisciplinary study units and add variety and color to local music programs. (MJP)

Asserts that a revolution has been occurring in musicology since the 1970s. Contends that music has change from being only a source of emotion to appearing more open to science and techniques based on computer technology. Describes recent research and other writings about the topic and provides an extensive bibliography. (CFR)

Presents an interview with Julie Gold that addresses the importance of music in her education, her career as a songwriter, and her work as a professional singer. States that music and the arts is a crucial aspect of a child's education and that our society should recognize the triumphs of artists/musicians. (CMK)

Explores whether listeners can discern if melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic parameters and pairings of these parameters are abstracted from the ongoing flow of a musical event. Reports that students in grades 3, 6, and 9 identified phrases as being the same as the initial phrase; grade 12 students identified different phrases more often. (CMK)

Investigates whether or not students would be effective coevaluators of musical compositions, hypothesizing that participating in the evaluative process could be a valuable learning technique. Explains that third grade students created musical compositions in cooperative groups and describes the data collection methods, analysis, and results. (CMK)

Determines the best predictors of compositional creativity among a set of selected variables for upper elementary students in order to demonstrate the importance of students' musical experiences outside of school. Finds that the best predictors were musical achievement and academic grades, while the strongest predictor was informal musical…

This paper examines the ways in which young children construct and negotiate musical meaning as song-makers in a post-modern consumerist musical world. A critical analysis of the presentation of music in two popular Australian children's television programmes (Play School and Hi-5) and the ways in which such media impact upon children's…

The goal of this project was to find ways of using artificial intelligence to encourage and aid music composition by musical novices, particularly those without traditional musical skills. Two complementary approaches are presented. In the first approach, Harmony Space, a new kind of direct manipulation tool for music, is described. Two recent…

The American Studies curriculum in institutions of higher education has traditionally neglected music. Many programs do not include music as a component, and often there is not a single course on U.S. music taught in the music department. The apparent lack of interest on the part of musicologists reflects an attitude that tends to denigrate the…

The potential of using the Apple II+ microcomputer with an ALF products music software system (nine voice) for computer-assisted instruction in composition was examined. Two boys, 8 and 10 years of age, served as subjects. Naturalistic observations were made as the children participated in a 10-session program that consisted of composition…

A biographical sketch of Frances Densmore, ethnologist of Native American music, and seven articles describing the lives of the Dakota and Ojibwe people as Densmore saw them are presented. The biographical sketch recounts Ms. Densmore's study of Ojibwe music and her ability to copy songs from memory when listening to them at fairs or attending…

Educational objectives and brief course descriptions are presented for music instruction, grades K-8, Montgomery Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland. The system recommends that students in grades K-6 receive 100 minutes of general music instruction weekly. Objectives for these grades include development of musical perception through a wide variety…

Provides a introduction and overview to alternative music notation systems. Describes guitar tablature, accordion tablature, klavarskribo (a keyboard notational system developed by Cornelius Pot, a Dutch engineer), and the digital piano roll. Briefly discusses the history of notation reform and current efforts. Includes examples from scores. (MJP)

Contends that contemporary trends in music education increase the emphasis on composition. Discusses the process of composition and asserts that students demonstrate their understanding of how music works through composition. Presents teaching suggestions for incorporating composition into the elementary and secondary curriculum. (CFR)