Music education refers specifically to instructors that teach music and students that learn from these teachers. Some of the aspects that are covered within this field include acquiring new knowledge, developing music skills, music sensitivity and music appreciation. Music education can start as early as elementary schools and is available through to university level. Besides at school music education is also available through private instruction. Amateur and professional musicians can participate in music education, although professionals or those that are highly trained are typically the educators.

Major International Music education Methods

Dalcroze Method

The Dalcroze method was developed by Emile Jacques-Dalcroze, a Swiss educator and musician. This method uses three concepts to teach music; eurhythmics, improvisation and solfege. Dalcroze is best known for eurhythmic teachings, using movement to teach structure and rhythm as well as musical expression. The student learns music using all of the senses. Solfege is a type of sight singing in which each note of the scale has a specific syllable: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la and ti.

Kodaly Method

Kodaly was a Hungarian composer and music educator that focused on the benefits of physical instruction in response to music. His teachings are based on a grasp or music theory and notation. Some techniques used in this method include stick notation, solfege hand signs and rhythm verbalization to teach music to children. Typically these teachings are found in folk music, as Kodaly was a Hungarian, a country well known for its folk music.

Orff Schulwerk

The Orff Schulwerk is thought of as an approach to music education developed by the famous German composer, Carl Orff. The approach uses the student’s natural abilities to form melodies and rhythms. Students are encouraged to improvise and ignore drills and adult lessons, allowing for musical self-discovery. Orff created and modified many instruments to be used within the Schulwerk approach, including the xylophone, drum, metallophone, glockenspiel and other percussion instruments.

Suzuki Method

This method was developed after World War II by Shinichi Suzuki, a Japanese musician. Music education is used to help develop moral character in music students. Suzuki believed that all children could be educated in music and be taught to play at a very high level. This in turn makes the soul more beautiful as the ideal learning environment is one that uses high quality examples, love, repetition, training, praise and a schedule that is set specifically to the student. This is a very popular method outside of Japan.

Gordon Music Learning Theory

This theory is based on research and testing conducted by Edwin E. Gordon. This theory relies on music education through audiation or the minds ability to hear music and understand. Gordon termed the word audiation. Educators will use skill learning, rhythm content and tonal content to learn music. In order to achieve mastery of different skill levels the rhythm and tonal content must be correct. Rhythmic movement, singing, rhythm patterns and tonal patterns are taught before learning music theory and notation.

World Music Pedagogy

This method developed after the 1960s and used artists, musicians and ethnomusicologists to teach traditional music, such as folk music. Different types of curriculum were developed depending on the type of music, as this method contains many different levels and specializations within the curriculum. This type of teaching not only refers to different world music but also to those instruments that may be specific to that music, using little known instruments.

Conversational Solfege

This type of solfege was created by Dr. John M. Feierabend and was influenced by Gordon’s Music Learning Theory and the Kodaly method. In this method music is considered aural art and music is taught using a 12 step program. These steps are similar to how foreign language is taught, using rhythm syllables and solfege syllables. It can be used to teach instrumental and vocal music.

Carabo-Cone Method

This method is used with very young children as was developed by Madeleine Carabo-Cone, a violinist. It is also known as the Sensory-Motor Approach to Music. Toys, costumes and props are used to teach note durations, staff concepts and the piano keyboard to children. Specifically children learn music using their touch sense.

MMCP

MMCP refers to the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project that was created in 1965. The student is allowed to improvise, perform, investigate different music, create and conduct in a curriculum that is built up in a spiral structure. The method was developed by the Arts and Humanities Program of the United States Office of education. The three main purposes of MMCP were to teach students how to recognize the artistic relevance of music, understand the personal relevance of the music to the students and how music affects social relevance.

National Standards for Music Education

There are nine different standards that are used to help music educators teach. These standards were developed to show success in music education by displaying music knowledge and skills. These voluntary standards were created by the National Association of Music Education and can be used as a guide by music educators when teaching.

The singing standard requires the student to be able to sing to a range of different music either in a solo performance or in a group. Singing is a skill that uses both rhythm and the manipulation of tone to create music. The performing standard is similar to singing, with the only difference that students play instruments rather than sing.

A standard or improvising requires the student to improvise, the melody or accompaniment. Improvisation refers the creating to music in response to feelings and the immediate environment. This can result in new rhythmic patterns and melodic lines. When improvisation is an accompaniment then the student is responding to the main performer and must stay within a set of specifications, such as the chosen melodic key. Specifically music improvisation is a type of composition while performing. Unlike improvising, the composing standard looks at creating music within guidelines. This music creation may refer to a completely new piece of music or the changing of the structure of the piece, known as arranging. This music is written down and can be played again and again, while improvisation is normally only played once, as it is not written down.

The standard for reading details the student’s ability to read all different types of music keys, staffs, notes and other information on musical scores. This information allows the student to also make the necessary notations on music. This reading may also include sight-singing or reading, in which the student has no previous practice to reading and playing a piece of music.

The other types of music standards relate to musical knowledge and include teachings in analyzing, listening and describing music, relationships between other fields and music, evaluating music performances and how music relates to different cultures and was used throughout history. It is possible to achieve these last four standards without being a musical performer.

Professional Organizations

• International Society for Music Education (ISME)
• International Society for Philosophy of Music Education (ISPME)
• International Jazz Festivals Organization
• MENC: The National Association for Music Education
• MTNA: Music Teachers National Association
• American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
• American String Teachers Association (ASTA)

College Music Programs

• Juilliard School
• Berklee College of Music
• Peabody Conservatory, John Hopkins University
• Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music , University of Texas at Austin
• New England Conservatory
• Oberlin College, Conservatory of Music
• Yale University, Department of Music
• San Francisco Conservatory of Music
• College of Music, Michigan State University
• Ohio State University School of Music

Lesson Plans

• Let’s Write a Song – Lesson plans for teaching students how to write and compose a song.
• Quarter Rest Lesson – A lesson plan that teaches kids to recognize a quarter rest.
• War and Music Composers – Information on composers that have been influenced by various wars.
• Integrating Music & Literature – A lesson plan for K-1 that integrates music and literature.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – An introduction to Mozart music.
• Piano Science – A lesson plan explaining pianos including a piano parts glossary.
• Major Chords – Lesson plan that teaches students how to identify different music chords.
• Math and Music: Fibonacci Sequence – Information on the Fibonacci Sequence and how math and music work together.
• Medieval Music Appreciation – A lesson plan for grades 7 & 8 on Medieval music.
• Vivaldi and the Four Seasons – A lesson plan for grades 4-6 on Vivaldi.

Music Theory

• Meter and Time Signatures – A great explanation of meters and time signatures.
• Basic Music Theory – A tutorial that explains the basics of music theory.
• Scales and Modes – An introduction to scales and modes including major and minor scales.
• Introduction to Chords – An easy to understand introduction to chords.
• Musical Notation – Information on the basics of musical notation.

Music Advocacy

• Music Advocacy Facts – Some facts on music education advocacy.
• Music Education and Advocacy – A list of articles on the benefits of music education.
• Why Music Matters – The importance of making sure school board members understand the importance of music education.
• Advocacy and the Music Educator – The National Association for Music Education.
• Music Education Advocacy – Information on making a case for music education and advocacy.

Fun Music Resources for Students

• Music Games – A number of different music games for kids.
• Make Your Own Instruments – Instructions for how to make various different instruments.
• Creating Music – Great information on how to create your own music.
• Music and Songs – A list of 64 different printable music worksheets.
• Music Coloring Pages – A list of music worksheets and coloring pages