The Musical Classroom : Backgrounds, Models, and Skills for Elementary Teaching

Assuming little or no musical background, this book demonstrates how music works—and how to convey this understanding to others. It helps learners develop skills in teaching music while offering them introductory experiences in playing and reading music. KEY TOPICS The book features lots of song material, information on learning instruments, sample lessons, and an accompanying CD. Presented in a non-technical, user-friendly manner, Section I introduces music in the elementary school, the elements of music, music-making activities, curricular approaches and developments, the eclectic world of music, and how to plan and assess music learning. The instrumental instruction section provides information about playing autoharp, guitar, baritone ukulele, piano, and soprano recorder, as well as information about the singing voice. It features descriptions of hand and body positions, fingerings, and strums, including keyboard drawings, chord frames, tuning instructions, and fingering charts; lists specific songs that may be used in learning to play each instrument individually or in large or small groups. For individuals ready to learn music now, and preparing to teach it in the future.

Patricia Hackett is Professor of Music Emerita at San Francisco State University. She is the author of The Melody Book: 300 Selections from the World of Music for Piano, Guitar, Autoharp, Recorder, and Voice, Third Edition (Prentice Hall, 1998). Professor Hackett has taught classroom, choral, and keyboard music from elementary through university levels in California, Washington, and Michigan. She has served as a clinician and choral adjudicator in the United States, Japan, and Europe. Her special fields of study included keyboard and choral music, the child voice, and music of Native Americans.

Carolynn A. Lindeman is Professor of Music at San Francisco State University and past president of MENG: The National Association for Music Education. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Music Education. Before college teaching, she taught and coordinated elementary classroom music programs. Active as a speaker and clinician, she has given presentations throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, Southeast Asia, Mexico, Israel, and South Africa. Dr. Lindeman is the author of PianoLab: An Introduction to Class Piano, Fifth Edition (Wadsworth, 2004) and more than fifty articles in professional journals. She was a member of the National Standards for Music Education Task Force and served as series editor for 16 publications (MENC,19952003) related to implementing and assessing the national standards.