The Musical Classroom: Backgrounds, Models, and Skills for Elementary Teaching [Audio Cassette]

The Musical Classroom, Sixth Edition, is designed for you, the prospective elementary school teacher. It assumes no background in music, but it does assume that you have a genuine interest in bringing music and children together.

You might think "How can I teach music? I cannot play the piano or even sing very well." One does not need to be an accomplished performer to teach music in the elementary classroom. You do need a fundamental understanding of how music "works," and you do need to know how to convey that understanding to others.

To help you prepare to teach tomorrow's children, The Musical Classroom includes model lessons in music that may be understood (and taught) with little or no musical background. In fact, it is possible to develop an understanding about music while teaching others. And this active involvement in teaching nearly always leads to a desire to develop performance skills. We believe it is possible to do all of these simultaneously: to develop an understanding about music, to share that understanding while teaching others, and to learn to play a musical instrument.

This text succeeds only when those who use it say, "We did it ourselves:" As every journey begins with a single step, the use of this text represents that first step. Its music and models should be used to develop a philosophy and style so meaningful and so personal that the model will hardly be remembered. Only you, the learner, can plan the lifetime journey that will expand your musical literacy, refine your performance skills, and perfect your teaching skills. Those who love music and children with equal passion will always be able to develop their own ingenious means for bringing children into intimate touch with all the excitement of the world of music.

The Musical Classroom: Backgrounds, Models, and Skills for Elementary Teaching, Sixth Edition, is designed primarily for use in a one-semester music course for the elementary education major and can also serve as a resource for music education majors and in-service teachers. The book, accompanied by a CD, helps students develop skills in music teaching while at the same time providing introductory experiences in playing and reading music.

The text is divided into four sections and six appendixes.

Section One, Backgrounds for Teaching Music is an introduction to teaching music in the elementary classroom. The section begins with an introduction to "Music in the Elementary School," followed by a description of the elements of music, the National Standards for Music Education, and the music-making experiences that are the basis for the model experiences in Section Two. A chapter on "The World of Music" introduces students to the many styles of music and identifies their importance in the curriculum. The current approaches to elementary curriculum are concisely described, including the Kodaly and Orff approaches and the Gordon Learning Theory. The "Curricular Developments" chapter presents material for special learners and up-to-date information on music technology in the classroom. Also in this edition are discussions of cooperative learning, integrating music, the arts, and other subjects into the curriculum, and the prekindergarten child and music. The National Standards for Music Education, Grades K-4, are presented and integrated throughout Section One and specified for each model experience in Section Two, Grades 4 and 5. Section One concludes with an introduction to "Planning and Assessing Music Learning:" Practical applications of the curricular approaches and developments presented in this section are highlighted throughout the model experiences of Section Two.

Section Two, Model Experiences for Teaching Music is a concrete expression of Section One, "Backgrounds for Teaching Music." Section Two consists of 47 model experiences, sequentially organized and based on the elements of music: melody, rhythm, harmony, form, and expressive qualities (tempo, dynamics, timbre). The 58 musical selections for the 47 model experiences are included on the accompanying CD (see p. 443). The model experiences may be taught in the college classroom by instructors or by students, with large or small groups. They may also be used in elementary classrooms. The model experiences move from simple to complex through three levels: I (Kindergarten and Grade 1), II (Grades 2 and 3), and III (Grades 4 and 5). Each model focuses on a single music concept and provides for assessing student learning through stated objectives and indicators for success. Key terms are identified. Learning may be expanded by using the Follow-Ups and the Projects for College Students that follow each model. A listing of "Related Literature and Media for Children" is included for many model experiences. Practical applications of the curricular approaches and developments presented in Section One are highlighted throughout the model experiences of this section.

Musical examples in the model experiences are from all styles: standard orchestral literature from Bach to Stravinsky, world music, American jazz, and folk and school songs that have proved their appeal to generations of students and teachers. Songs used in the model experiences are within the singing ranges appropriate to kindergarten through Grade 5 students.

Section Three, Instruments provides introductory information about playing Autoharp/Chromaharp, guitar, baritone ukulele, piano, and soprano recorder as well as information about the singing voice. There are descriptions of hand and body positions, fingerings, and strums, including keyboard drawings, chord frames, tuning instructions, and fingering charts. Lists of songs that may be used in a sequential music-reading and skills curriculum are presented for each instrument. These sequential lists identify songs by key, by number of chords/pitches, or by strumming patterns. All songs are found in Section Four.

Section Four, Songs features over 175 songs from a variety of styles for use in the model experiences and instrumental work. Nearly all the favorite songs of the earlier editions are retained, and there are 45 songs new to this sixth edition.

Six Appendixes are presented, including (A) Reference Material for Music Fundamentals; (B) Evaluation Forms; (C) Descriptions of the Elementary Music Series; (D) A Collection of Chants, Proverbs, and Poems; (E) Timeline of Music; and (F) Materials and Equipment for Elementary Classroom Music. The text concludes with a Glossary, a list of the CD contents, and two Indexes.

The Musical Classroom, Sixth Edition, is designed primarily for the elementary education major with no music background. The authors suggest integrating Sections One to Four simultaneously. Descriptions of ways that instructors can use the various components follow.

Many instructors begin a course for the nonmusic major with a concise review, a presentation of the fundamentals of music, or both. Because college students often "teach as they have been taught," the authors recommend introducing model experiences (Level 1) simultaneously with the fundamentals study. In this way, fundamentals work can continue while appropriate experiences for elementary school children are introduced. These Level I model experiences may be taught by the college instructor or by college students with music background, and at the conclusion of each model, students can review music fundamentals (in the Projects for College Students) in connection with the concept in the model experience.

To apply fundamentals to music making, the authors recommend simultaneously starting instrumental study (keyboard, soprano recorder, guitar, baritone ukulele) with the Level I model experiences. Some instructors may wish to have all students in a class study the same instrument; in that case, a particular instrumental focus of Section Three could be used. Guitar, soprano recorder, baritone ukulele, and keyboard are introduced, and lists of melodies in order of difficulty are presented. All specified melodies are in the text. For example, "The Keyboard" identifies many songs in the five-finger position, and "The Recorder" includes a sequenced list of 24 songs.

Section Three's information about instruments can be used with an entire class, by small groups, or by individuals. If a class meets in a room with multiple keyboards, an instructor can use "The Keyboard" portion of Section Three. Other instructors may prefer to have students choose an instrument to learn and then study the instrument in small groups. For example, a recorder group could be utilizing "The Recorder" portion while a guitar group works with "The Guitar" portion. All instrumental groups could be working simultaneously or individual students could use a specific instrumental portion of Section Three and work on their own, with instructor guidance. A student who already plays one instrument can independently use this material to review previous skills (or to learn a new instrument) and can refer to the sequential lists of songs to locate material in the text.

The semester work might continue with the instrumental and music fundamentals study in combination with presentations of model experiences from Levels lI-1II given by students. Section One, "Backgrounds for Teaching Music," could be used at any point in the course, but introducing some of the material before students begin presenting model experiences may make music learning more meaningful.

Model experiences are designed to provide for maximum flexibility and usefulness. Additional music is listed at the end of each model experience under Other Music, and any of these selections may substitute for the musical example presented by the authors. Level I model experiences are designed for use with Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, but they may also serve older students as a review or an assessment of basic concepts, skills, and vocabulary. (When using Level I model experiences with older students, it would be appropriate to substitute musical examples that are age-appropriate for the older students.) Although statements to pupils are suggested (in capital letters in the text), these experiences are intended as models and should be modified to reflect varying learning objectives and styles. Indeed, college students are challenged to design their own model experiences using assignments that are included at the end of each level. These assignments suggest possible songs and orchestral selections to use and become more challenging at each successive level.

Instructors can assess student learning by using the numerous Projects for College Students. At the conclusion of each level I-III is an Evaluation for College Students, as well as assignments that provide guidelines for creating original lessons and evaluating elementary music series textbooks.

When instructors integrate the instrumental and music fundamentals study (Section Three and Appendix A), conceptual music experiences for elementary school children (Section Two), and backgrounds on music in the elementary school (Section One), college students simultaneously develop their musical and teaching skills. Although this integration is advocated by the authors, college professors should obviously use the components of the text in any sequence or combination that will work for them.

With the help of The Musical Classroom, students can develop the understandings and skills they need to teach elementary school music. This market-leading text is a comprehensive resource providing backgrounds for teaching music and learning the Autoharp, recorder, guitar, baritone ukulele, and keyboard The forty-seven model experiences for teaching music (kindergarten through grade five) are the centerpiece to the success of this user-friendly book.

Special features in the Sixth Edition:

• A CD of fifty-eight songs and instrumental pieces used in the forty-seven lessons
• Forty-five new songs added to the song anthology to bring the grand total to over 175
• National Standards for Music Education listed on the inside front cover of the book
• Extensive resource list of materials and equipment for elementary classroom music covering topics such as jazz, movement, music retailers and distributors, Orff-Schulwerk, and ten others
• Updated information on sample music software and web sites and the elementary music series
• Numerous independent, small, and large group projects for college students to create their own lessons, use the National Standards for Music Education, evaluate music software, assess instructional materials, and much, much more