Teaching General Music: Approaches, Issues, and Viewpoints

General music is informed by a variety of teaching approaches and methods. These pedagogical frameworks guide teachers in planning and implementing instruction. Established approaches to teaching general music must be understood, critically examined, and possibly re-imagined for their potential in school and community music education programs. Teaching General Music brings together the top scholars and practitioners in general music education to create a panoramic view of general music pedagogy and to provide critical lenses through which to view these frameworks. The collection includes an examination of the most prevalent approaches to teaching general music, including Dalcroze, Informal Learning, Interdisciplinary, Kodály, Music Learning Theory, Orff Schulwerk, Social Constructivism, and World Music Pedagogy. In addition, it provides critical analyses of general music and teaching systems, in light of the ways children around the world experience music in their lives. Rather than promoting or advocating for any single approach to teaching music, this book presents the various approaches in conversation with one another. Highlighting the perceived and documented benefits, limits, challenges, and potentials of each, Teaching General Music offers myriad lenses through which to re-read, re-think, and re-practice these approaches.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Carlos R. Abril and Brent M. Gault 1. Untangling General Music Education: Concept, Theory, and Practice Carlos R. Abril Approaches 2. Orff Schulwerk: Releasing and Developing the Musical Imagination Amy Beegle and Judith Bond 3. Teaching Music with a Social Constructivist Vision of Learning Jackie Wiggins 4. Kodály-Inspired Teaching: A Bridge to Musical Fluency Brent M. Gault 5. World Music Pedagogy: Where Music Meets Culture in Classroom Practice Patricia Shehan Campbell 6. Learning with Digital Media and Technology in Hybrid Music Classrooms Evan Tobias 7. The Dalcroze Approach: Experiencing and Knowing Music through the Embodied Exploration Marja-Leena Juntunen 8. Adopting an Interdisciplinary Approach to General Music Janet R. Barrett 9. Music Learning Theory: A Theoretical Framework in Action Cynthia Crump Taggart 10. Informal Learning in General Music Education Ruth Wright Issues and Viewpoints 11. Thinking About and Responding to Culture in General Music Carlos R. Abril and Jacqueline Kelly-McHale 12. Adaptability and Flexibility in General Music Teaching Chee Hoo Lum 13. Questioning the Unmusical Ways We Teach Children Music Peggy D. Bennett 14. Applying the Principles of Universal Design for Learning in General Music Alice Ann Darrow 15. Teaching General Music in the Digital Age Ann Clements 16. "Reading" Methods Cathy Benedict Conclusion 17. Looking Back, Moving Forward Brent M. Gault

About the Author :
Carlos R. Abril is professor and director of undergraduate music education at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. His research focuses on sociocultural issues in music education, music education policy, and curriculum. Abril is co-editor of the book Musical Experiences in Our Lives and serves on the editorial board of numerous journals in North America, South America, and Europe. He is a recipient of the Provost's Research Award at the University of Miami. Brent M. Gault is associate professor of music education at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His areas of interest include music education policy, children's vocal development, and music listening in childhood. Articles by Gault have appeared in the Journal of Research in Music Education and Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education. He is the author of the book Listen Up! Fostering Musicianship through Active Listening, also published by Oxford University Press.

Review :
People who read through Teaching General Music: Approaches, Issues, and Viewpoints will be able to make informed choices about the ways they might expand their own teaching approaches and possibly try out ways of teaching that were previously unfamiliar. This book has the potential to expand options for people who teach music in all types of contexts and provide young people with even more opportunities to experience and learn music in varied ways."--Evan S. Tobias "...trust me when I tell you that this book is a must have. Each and every approach and thought regarding general music teaching and learning is touched upon in this book. What has struck me so far about the authors and editors of this text is the care and respect they give to the many different approaches, issues, and viewpoints that exist in the elementary music world."--nacrusic.com "This is an important and thought-provoking book...Teaching General Music should be required reqding for all music education students as an overview of the directions their own classroom teaching may take. For those of us already in the field, this book ought to command a prominent place on our bookshelves, to be revisted often."--Kodaly Envoy "One comes away from reading the book with new thoughts, a deeper understanding of old thoughts, and a fresh intention to question the assumptions we all bring to our teaching. One particular strength is the book's relevance to secondary general music, an area always in need of further attention. This text would be an excellent addition to a graduate course in music education or advanced seminar in general music, allowing for discussion, debate, and a better understanding of the profession of general music, in all of its diversity of thought." -- Music Education Research "The most recent addition to the repertoire of scholarly writing on general music education is the masterfully crafted text, Teaching General Music: Approaches, Issues, and Viewpoints, edited by Carlos R. Abril and Brent M. Gault. The impressive coterie of contributing authors includes current scholars and educators of contemporary approaches in general music education ... Teaching General Music: Approaches, Issues, and Viewpoints balances prevailing theories with contemporary issues to produce a body of work that secures its place on the bookshelf of music educators who seek to stay abreast with current trends, reflect on past and current practices, and be challenged by their views of general music education." -- The Orff Echo