Marching Forward: The Music Education Innovation and Legacy of James R. Wells (1931 – )

James R. Wells, retired professor of West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania, could be considered one of the most influential and innovative band directors of the late twentieth century. Wells influenced and mentored many current leaders in the music education field as well as created educational music programs that continue today. In the 2016–2017 school year, Wells’s ensemble music adjudication festival programs involved more than 220,000 students. To gain further insight into the origin and development of these leaders and programs, I conducted an oral history case study with Wells. I collected interviews, e-mail correspondence, and artifacts provided by former students and colleagues of Wells’s to provide additional facts and corroborate Wells’s memories. Results demonstrated Wells incorporated comprehensive musicianship and aesthetic education in marching band pedagogy, professional development and educational experiences for music educators through films, workshops, and adjudicated festivals. He also empowered student leadership and promoted gender equality in instrumental ensembles. Knowledge gained from this study provides insight into the origin of these important music education individuals and programs. I hope that the findings in this study serve as an inspiration to future music educators as they continue to improve and create new experiences and opportunities for students.

Beginning Band without a Stand: Fostering Creative Musicianship in Early Instrumental Programs

Approaches to teaching music notation and instrumental technique have been standardized and codified in the United States with great success in beginning instrumental programs. While these skills are important, we do a disservice to students if we do not equally develop comprehensive musicianship and creative thinking at a young age. Creating music is one of the four “Artistic Processes” that guide our instruction in the new National Core Arts Standards framework. It is also a process that many instrumental music teachers struggle to implement, especially in early stages of instruction when note-reading and technique seem to be the highest priority. Drawing on examples from an elementary school band program that shifted away from music notation in the rehearsal room and group lesson space, I examine how instrumental music teachers can move students beyond the music stand into a deeper and more creative understanding of the elements of music.

Meaningful Curriculum

This chapter describes the many possible definitions of the term curriculum, including the series of courses needed to complete a program or the educational materials for a topic of study. From a wider perspective, curriculum encompasses all the decisions about the goals, content, and methods and materials of instruction that are directly related to the intentional outcomes of instruction. The decisions about what is included reflect the values and philosophy of education held by those who make curricular decisions. The programs and methods of the well-known childhood music educators Dalcroze, Kodály, Orff, Suzuki, and Gordon are discussed. The author also covers the Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance (CMP) series for secondary students in depth and discusses various scholars’ visions for music curriculum. Effective music curriculum must prepare students for musical independence via authentic music-making: listening, performing, composing, and improvising.

Teaching the Korean Folk Song (Arirang) Through Performing, Creating, and Responding

This article introduces a pedagogical approach to teaching one of the renowned Korean folk songs ( Arirang) based on the comprehensive musicianship approach and the 2014 Music Standards (competencies in performing, creating, and responding to music). The authors provide in-depth information for music educators to help their students achieve learning outcomes for the skill, knowledge, and affect domains of the Korean folk song ( Arirang). Furthermore, the authors offer music lessons for Arirang in a variety of ways that are appropriate for upper elementary and secondary general music classrooms, including performing, creating, and responding to the music. An educational website that includes exemplary lesson plans, videos, and worksheets is also provided to help music teachers obtain content and pedagogical knowledge of Arirang.

Student-Centered Classrooms

Music teacher evaluations traditionally examine how teachers develop student music-learning objectives, assess cognitive and performance skills, and direct classroom learning experiences and behavior. A convergence of past and current educational ideas and directives is changing how teachers are evaluated on their use of student-centered instructional approaches in the music classroom. These are classrooms facilitated rather than directed by the teacher in which students regularly communicate, collaborate, self-reflect, problem solve, and peer-evaluate about their learning. The authors trace the influence of three important initiatives that, among others, contributed to the implementation of student-centered learning in music classrooms: Arts PROPEL, Comprehensive Musicianship, and 21st Century Skills. The article also explores relationships between these entities, the National Music Standards, and teacher evaluation and provides an innovative model of teacher evaluation.

Elements of a Successful Professional Learning Community for Music Teachers Using Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which a professional learning community (PLC) of music teachers sustained growth as they sought to incorporate Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance (CMP) in their teaching practices. Seven music teachers from a suburban school district in the upper Midwest participated in a PLC as they incorporated CMP into their bands, choirs, and orchestras over a 2-year period of data collection. Findings of this collective case study describe the process of implementing CMP, reinforce the importance of a collaborative culture, and consider the impact of emotional aspects related to teacher change and shifts in teacher knowledge as a result of participating in this learning community. Particular challenges included implementing CMP amid performance expectations of technical proficiency and shifting emphasis from solely performance to performance and understanding. While findings suggest that incorporating CMP can have a positive impact in school ensembles, moving away from established performance routines and expectations can be daunting for veteran as well as novice teachers.