Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music

by Suzanne L. Burton (Editor), Frank Abrahams (Contribution by), Brian D. Bersh (Contribution by), Deborah Blair (Contribution by), Gena R. Greher (Contribution by)

Overview

4.Middle school general music may be a student’s last encounter with school music. A practical book with accessible pedagogical resources on middle school general music is needed for methods courses and music practitioners' use. The book Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music presents numerous ways to engage adolescents in active music making that is relevant to their lives so that they may be more apt to continue their involvement with music as a lifetime endeavor. Structured in twelve chapters, the book begins with perspectives on adolescent development and working with students with special needs. Five chapters are devoted to the pedagogy of teaching students practical musical skills such as singing, playing the keyboard, guitar, drums and percussion. Chapters on starting a steel band, using informal and formal music learning strategies, incorporating technology, implementing world music techniques, composing in the classroom, and the use of music-based learning centers lead the reader into implementing musical approaches focused on the doing of making music. The book is filled with musical examples, sample rubrics, and resource lists that take the reader beyond the book’s content. Engaging Musical Practices provides exciting and classroom-tested content that connects in and out of school music making for adolescents, generating excitement for musical participation. This book is a necessity for any practitioner who teaches students in the middle grades or as a text for secondary general music methods courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607094371
Publisher:	R&L Education
Publication date:	03/22/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Suzanne L. BurtonisAssociate Professor of Music Education and Director of Graduate Studies at the University ofDelaware. Her research interests include music acquisition,school-university partnerships,community engagement, and the construction of professional knowledge. She teaches undergraduate methods courses in early childhood and general music, graduate courses in research methods, curriculum development, and the psychology of music and advises undergraduate and graduate research.

Table of Contents

Title Page Contents Acknowledgments Foreword

1. Adolescent Development and the General Music Classroom Krystal L. Rickard McCoy

2. Making it Happen: Creative Pedagogy for Learners with Special Needs Deborah V. Blair

3. Singing in Middle School General Music Classes Frank Abrahams

4. Middle School Keyboard Ensemble Class Kenneth R. Trapp

5. Teaching the Guitar as a Tool for Creative Expression Clint Randles

6. Drumming & Percussion Gareth Dylan Smith and Brian D. Bersh

7. Steel Band in the Middle School General Music Classroom Harvey Price

8. Informal, Intuitive, Interdisciplinary, & Interactive:
Middle School General Music with a Twist Gena R. Greher

9. World Music Janet Welby

10. Engaging Adolescents with Music and Technology Alex Ruthmann

11. Experiencing Composition: A Creative Journey for Middle School Students Michele Kaschub and Janice P. Smith

12. Making Music Mine! A Centers-Based Approach for Middle School General Music Suzanne L. Burton

What People are Saying About This

Matthew D. Thibeault

Secondary general music has recently gained a new vitality, leaving behind yesterday's filmstrips and cardboard keyboards in favor of flexible student-oriented offerings with rich educational possibilities. Reflecting this development, Engaging Musical Practices provides teachers with inspiration and new ideas from leading thinkers in the field, making this volume a valuable contribution to any library.

Ann Marie Stanley

These fourteen authors offer an inspiring collection of creative, diverse and musical approaches to teaching secondary general music. Their ideas are practical, classroom-tested, and actually enjoyable to read.

Jody L. Kerchner

Suzanne Burton brings together 14 authors who address issues relevant to middle-school music teaching, learning, and learners. Authors present information about and suggestions for performance ensembles at the middle-school level and (perhaps most importantly) alternative music learning opportunities for those students who are not in performance ensembles. Each chapter includes hands-on, practical classroom suggestions for middle-school music educators as well as those who might not have had training in adolescent musical development. Burton and the contributing authors present viable means for bridging the gap between school music and ‘real’ music by offering best practices for working with teens in engaging, creative, and musical ways.

John Kratus

Engaging Musical Practices offers valuable guidance to both the experienced educator and the pre-service educator for a variety of active music teaching strategies applicable to the 21st-century middle school music classroom. Chapters on such topics as guitar, drumming, world music, and composition provide exciting avenues for music exploration for today’s middle school students. The book most definitely takes the 'general' out of 'general music.'

Editorial Reviews

Suzanne Burton brings together 14 authors who address issues relevant to middle-school music teaching, learning, and learners. Authors present information about and suggestions for performance ensembles at the middle-school level and (perhaps most importantly) alternative music learning opportunities for those students who are not in performance ensembles. Each chapter includes hands-on, practical classroom suggestions for middle-school music educators as well as those who might not have had training in adolescent musical development. Burton and the contributing authors present viable means for bridging the gap between school music and ‘real’ music by offering best practices for working with teens in engaging, creative, and musical ways.

Jody L. Kerchner

I would recommend this book to new middle school teachers who are not sure where to begin with their curriculum planning, experienced middle school teachers who may want to introduce a new component to their curricula, or those looking for a potential textbook for a middle school general music methods course.

Music Educators Journal

Secondary general music has recently gained a new vitality, leaving behind yesterday's filmstrips and cardboard keyboards in favor of flexible student-oriented offerings with rich educational possibilities. Reflecting this development, Engaging Musical Practices provides teachers with inspiration and new ideas from leading thinkers in the field, making this volume a valuable contribution to any library.

Matthew D. Thibeault

Suzanne Burton has recruited outstanding, experienced middle school general music pedagogues to offer practical and inspirational advice. Each and every chapter could form the basis of a new creative take on the (sometimes neglected) middle school general music curriculum. Readers will garner expert wisdom on middle school music topics as varied as songwriting, ukulele, the use of technology, and standards-based assessment.

Ann Marie Stanley

Suzanne Burton has assembled a collection of innovative experts who provide classroom-tested strategies that are responsive to and that affirm middle school students’ musical identities, abilities, and interests. If you are looking for a resource for creating inclusive classroom environments to meet the needs of all students, this is it! You’ll find research-based pedagogy to help you maximize each student’s individual potential and to support them as they continue their journey for personally meaningful music making in a variety of contexts and across the lifespan.

Jill Reese

Burton has amassed an impressive list of authors, all of whom strike a beautiful balance between theory and practice while exploring rich, diverse opportunities available to music educators in the general music classroom. This text is necessary reading for anyone who wishes to inspire a sense of independence, collaboration, and lifelong appreciation of music in and outside of the classroom.

Nicholas Ryan McBride

Engaging Musical Practices offers valuable guidance to both the experienced educator and the pre-service educator for a variety of active music teaching strategies applicable to the 21st-century middle school music classroom. Chapters on such topics as guitar, drumming, world music, and composition provide exciting avenues for music exploration for today’s middle school students. The book most definitely takes the 'general' out of 'general music.'

John Kratus

Burton has amassed an impressive list of authors, all of whom strike a beautiful balance between theory and practice while exploring rich, diverse opportunities available to music educators in the general music classroom. This text is necessary reading for anyone who wishes to inspire a sense of independence, collaboration, and lifelong appreciation of music in and outside of the classroom.

Nicholas McBride