Teaching Music
Why Music Lessons Need to Keep Up With The Times – from The Conversation
The 21st Century Music Curriculum – Why Guitar? – from NAfME “… I noticed that almost every other musically gifted child also quit.”
The Problem With Piano Method Books – from PracticeHabits.co “… part of the reason that some students can’t navigate intermediate music”
What Music Should My Child Listen To? – from PBS Kids “Play adult quality music … Create an ear food cafe”
The Music Teacher as Producer – Video version of the paper by Clint Randles on YouTube
Music Education at the Tipping Point – Excerpt from the full 2007 article by John Kratus “For music education to remain relevant and provide value, it must change with the times or experience the fate of the stationary shark.”
Making Music Makes You a Better Listener – From Harmony Central
Engaging With Reluctant Students – from Piano Power
Biggest Mistakes Parents Make – from Piano Power
How I Memorize Piano Music – YouTube video by Jocelyn Swigger from TEDx Gettysburg College
Transform Yourself Into a Performer – YouTube video by Alpin Hong from TEDx La Sierra University
Capo Song List – From Fret Gear
Jon Anderson from Yes – discusses how the groups communicates intricate musical ideas without using staff notation – from the Innerviews website.
History & Appreciation
American Sound Studios – History from Wikipedia
The Muscle Shoals Swampers – History from Wikipedia
How A Swampers Session Was Conducted – from Wikipedia Important insights into creative processes in modern music
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section History – from Allmusic
Billboard’s Greatest Songs, Albums and Acts
Classical Music
How Do We Fix Classical Music – A discussion on NPR
Classical Music is in Survival Mode – from Marketplace.org
Classical Music Isn’t Dead – from the New Yorker
Classical Music Is Dying … – from CNN
Ten Questions For A Critic: The State of Classical Music – from NPR
Software & Apps
Cakewalk By Bandlab – Create account and download
Musescore – from Musescore.org – Download the app
Amazing Slow Downer – from Roni Music – Download for PC / Mac / Android / iPhone – Mobile versions are integrated with Spotify.
VST Planet – Incredible number of analog synths, organs, 808s, and effect plugins, trial versions, most for free
MusicTheory.Net – Note identification exercise, with customizable options
Music Business
CDs and the Music Industry (from 2000)
Academic Papers
NAfME Opportunity to Learn Standards – See the sections on Materials and Equipment
The 21st Century Music Classroom
The evolution of popular music: USA 1960–2010 – Royal Society Open Science
Popular Music and the Public School Curriculum
Repeated Listening Increases the Liking for Music Regardless of Its Complexity – from Frontiers In Neuroscience
Instrumentational Complexity of Music Genres and Why Simplicity Sells
The Origin of the European Folk Music Scale – from Ethnomusicology Review Early uses of the pentatonic scale around the world
Voice Leading in Blues 1 – from Haromony.org.uk
Voice Leading in Blues 2 – from Haromony.org.uk
The Shifting Locus of Musical Experience from Performance to Recording to Data: Some Implications for Music Education “One cannot credibly tell the story of our century’s music without sound recordings.”
Music Teacher as Writer and Producer – abstract from Journal of Aesthetic Education “I attempt to redefine the role of a music teacher … by using descriptions of the role of writer and producer of student lives borrowed from music education philosophy, screenwriting, and professional music producers.”
Non-Musical Links
Greg’s Favorite Animations on Youtube
Some are pretty mind-blowing, if you’ve never seen them!