From internationally acclaimed YA author M. T. Anderson comes the true story of a city under siege, thrillingly told and impeccably researched. In September 1941, Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history. After three years of bombardment and starvation, culminating in the bitterly cold winter of 1943-44, more than a million citizens lost their lives. In order to survive, many residents burned books, furniture and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and, eventually, each other. In the midst of this bloodshed, Dimitri Shostakovich composed the Leningrad Symphony, a piece that both rallied and eulogized his fellow citizens ... and which would come to play a surprising part in the Allies' eventual victory.

An illustrated biography about Schubert's childhood and how he came to become a great composer. The accompanying CD contains recordings of some of his most famous works as well as the narration of the story. At the age of seven, Franz Schubert already knew as much about music as his teacher. Did you know that Schubert was part of a string quartet with his father and two brothers. By the age of fifteen he was already composing piano pieces, string quartets, and even a symphony. Read about Schubert and listen to his songs, his chamber music, his piano music and his symphonies.

The Crisis of Classical Music in America by Robert Freeman focuses on solutions for the oversupply of classically trained musicians in America, problem that grows ever more chronic as opportunities for classical musicians to gain full-time professional employment diminishes year upon year. An acute observer of the professional music scene, Freeman argues that music schools that train our future instrumentalists, composers, conductors, and singers need to equip their students with the communications and analytical skills they need to succeed in the rapidly changing music scene. This book maps a broad range of reforms required in the field of advanced music education and the organizations responsible for that education. Featuring a foreword by Leonard Slatkin, music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Crisis of Classical Music in America speaks to parents, prospective and current music students, music teachers and professors, department deans, university presidents and provosts, and even foundations and public organizations that fund such music programs. This book reaches out to all of these stakeholders and argues for meaningful change though wide-spread collaboration.

“Colors burst across each page, with layers of collage-work emphasizing the richness of Mitchell’s influences and imagination. Will speak to readers just starting their own exploration of artistic expression." —Booklist (starred review)

Celebrate the captivating life of Joni Mitchell, the world-famous songbird who used her music to ignite and inspire an entire generation, in this stunning picture book biography from award-winning author and illustrator Selina Alko. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 4 to 6. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.

Joni Mitchell painted with words.

Sitting at her piano or strumming the guitar, she turned the words into songs.

The songs were like brushstrokes on a canvas, saying things that were not only happy or sad but true.

But before composing more than two hundred songs, Joni was a young girl from a town on the Canadian prairie, where she learned to love dancing, painting, birdsong, and piano. As she grew up into an artist, Joni took her strong feelings—feelings of love and frustration, and the turbulence that came with being a young woman—and wrote them into vivid songs.

Brought to life by Selina Alko’s rainbow collages and lyrical language, this heartfelt portrait of a feminist and folk icon is perfect for parents, children, and music lovers everywhere.

Back matter includes a letter from the author and Joni’s full discography.

This work provides practical ideas for early music making and more sophisticated ideas for creative improvisation. Specific sections of music are explored. The first of these is that of the basic ingredients of music, such as rhythm, pitch and timbre. The second section to be explored is music for those who experience learning difficulties. Also considered is the question of how to build musical relationships. The text looks additionally at the development of musical choice and creativity.

Series Information:
Curriculum in Primary Practice

Mastering Primary Music introduces the primary music curriculum and helps trainees and teachers learn how to plan and teach inspiring lessons that make music learning irresistible. Topics covered include: * Current developments in music * Music as an irresistible activity * Music as a practical activity * Skills to develop in music * Promoting curiosity * Assessing children in music * Practical issues This guide includes examples of children's work, case studies, readings to reflect upon and reflective questions that all help to exemplify what is considered to be best and most innovative practice. The book draws on the experience of a leading professional in primary music, Ruth Atkinson, to provide the essential guide to teaching music for all trainee primary teachers.

Fully updated in light of the latest research and practice in primary education, Teaching Music Creatively offers all teachers a comprehensive understanding of how to develop, deliver and enjoy a creative music curriculum. It is inspired by the belief that all those concerned with primary education have a deep interest in creativity and supports teachers in developing the confidence to teach and celebrate creative music teaching throughout school. With groundbreaking contributions from international experts in the field, it offers well-tested strategies for developing children's musical creativity, knowledge, skills and understanding. This edition includes a brand new chapter on teaching interculturally, showing how children can reach their full creative potential and not be constrained by cultural stereotyping. Key topics covered include: Creative teaching, and what it means to teach creatively Composition, listening and notation Spontaneous music-making Group music and performance The use of multimedia Integration of music into the wider curriculum Musical play Assessment and planning. Teaching Music Creatively is packed with practical, innovative ideas for teaching music in a lively and imaginative way, together with the theory and background necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of creative teaching methods. It is an invaluable resource for all those training to become primary school teachers, as well as practicing teachers looking for support and inspiration and undergraduate students of music and education.

Teaching Strings in Today's Classroom: A Guide for Group Instruction assists music education students, in-service teachers, and performers to realize their goals of becoming effective string educators. It introduces readers to the school orchestra environment, presents the foundational concepts needed to teach strings, and provides opportunities for the reader to apply this information. The author describes how becoming an effective string teacher requires three things of equal importance: content knowledge, performance skills, and opportunities to apply the content knowledge and performance skills in a teaching situation. In two parts, the text addresses the unique context that is teaching strings, a practice with its own objectives and related teaching strategies. Part I (Foundations of Teaching and Learning String Instruments) first presents an overview of the string teaching environment, encouraging the reader to consider how context impacts teaching, followed by practical discussions of instrument sizing and position, chapters on the development of each hand, and instruction for best practices concerning tone production, articulation, and bowing guidelines. Part II (Understanding Fingerings) provides clear guidance for understanding basic finger patterns, positions, and the creation of logical fingerings. String fingerings are abstract and thus difficult to negotiate without years of playing experience-these chapters (and their corresponding interactive online tutorials) distill the content knowledge required to understand string fingerings in a way that non-string players can understand and use. Teaching Strings in Today's Classroom contains pedagogical information, performance activities, and an online virtual teaching environment with twelve interactive tutorials, three for each of the four string instruments. ACCOMPANYING VIDEOS CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: www.teachingstrings.online

Children's Creative Music-Making with Reflexive Interactive Technology discusses pioneering experiments conducted with young children using a new generation of music software for improvising and composing. Using artificial intelligence techniques, this software captures the children's musical style and interactively reflects it in its responses. The book describes the potential of these applications to enhance children's agency and musical identity by reflecting players' musical inputs, storing and creating variations on them. Set in the broader context of current music education research, it addresses the benefits and challenges of incorporating music technologies in primary and pre-school education. It is comprised of six main chapters, which cover the creation of children's own music and their musical selves, critical thinking skills and learner agency, musical language development, and emotional intent during creative music-making. The authors provide a range of straight-forward techniques and strategies, which challenge conceptions of 'difficult-to-use music technologies' in formal music education. These are supported by an informative collection of practitioner vignettes written by teachers who have used the software in their classrooms. Not only are the teachers' voices heard here, but also those of children as they discover some of the creative possibilities of music making. The book also provides free access to a companion website with teacher forums and a large bank of activities to explore. A toolkit serves as a database of the teaching activities in which MIROR applications have been used and provides a set of useful ideas regarding its future use in a variety of settings. This book demonstrates that music applications based on artificial intelligence techniques can make an important contribution to music education within primary and pre-school education. It will be of key interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of music education, music technology, early years and primary education, teaching and learning, and teacher educators. It will also serve as an important point of reference for Early Years and Primary practitioners.

This is a bold, bright and educational bilingual board book that introduces children to music in two languages.

Exploring and expanding upon current understandings of early childhood music education, this book provides a much-needed response to the rapid social, cultural and technological developments affecting children's experience of music today. Critical New Perspectives in Early Childhood Music returns to the core question of how children engage, participate and learn through music, and how we are to best harness musical resources to their benefit. Chapters move beyond conservative or traditional models of practice and draw upon new and emerging insights from the fields of childhood studies, neuroscience, psychology and sociology. In-depth analysis of research and real examples from practice illustrate the strengths and possible shortcomings of each approach and acknowledge the diverse impacts of digitisation, increased child autonomy, intensive parenting practices, and cultural and economic diversity on the child's experience of music. An invaluable theoretical overview of current thinking in relation to contemporary musical childhoods, this book will support and challenge students and early childhood music educators as they rethink practice for the present day.

Kids will make a joyful noise with these ever-popular classic songs Lively, warm, and friendly, this illustrated collection--plus a CD with Peter Yarrow, his daughter Bethany, and cellist Rufus Cappadocia--will bring families together to read and to sing. Peter makes every tune sound fresh and irresistible, and Terry Widener's appealing pictures capture the spirit of each song, from the wild waves and rocking boat of "Sloop John B" to happy dancers ready to "Skip to My Lou." "Included in the book and CD: "The Golden Vanity - Skip to My Lou - Cockles and Mussels - The Fox - Springfield Mountain - The Erie Canal - O, What a Beautiful City - Rock-a My Soul - The Cruel War - O, Mary Don't You Weep - I've Been Workin' on the Railroad - Sloop John B

A fascinating introduction to music and the orchestra for children. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about the subject, presented in a novel format - a book with a free downloadable app that allows you to interact with the orchestra and listen to Britten's music, performed by The Royal Northern College of Music Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Mark Elder. Music forms part of the curriculum taught in schools around the world. This book presents a fresh take on a traditional subject, and the instruments are brought to life with the digital element which means readers can see and hear what they put into practice at school.

Marginalized Voices in Music Education explores the American culture of music teachers by looking at marginalization and privilege in music education as a means to critique prevailing assumptions and paradigms. In fifteen contributed essays, authors set out to expand notions of who we believe we are as music educators -- and who we want to become. This book is a collection of perspectives by some of the leading and emerging thinkers in the profession, and identifies cases of individuals or groups who had experienced marginalization. It shares the diverse stories in a struggle for inclusion, with the goal to begin or expand conversation in undergraduate and graduate courses in music teacher education. Through the telling of these stores, authors hope to recast music education as fertile ground for transformation, experimentation and renewal.

Discover what it would be like to travel through the four seasons in one day in this musical story based on the classical masterpiece The Four Seasons - push the button in each breathtaking scene to hear the vivid sound of an orchestra playing from Vivaldi's score. Follow a little girl called Isabelle and her dog, Pickle, as they take on the adventure of a lifetime. As a sign of the changing seasons, Isabelle carries a little apple tree with her, and we see it bud, blossom and lose its leaves. As you and your little one journey through the vibrant scenes illustrated by artist Jessica Courtney-Tickle, you will press the buttons to hear 10 excerpts from The Four Seasons violin concerti. Readers should press firmly on the pages to activate the sound board at the back of the book, encouraging interactive learning and introducing children to this beautiful piece of music. At the back of the book, find a short biography of the composer, Antonio Vivaldi, with details about his composition of The Four Seasons. Next to this, you can replay the musical excerpts and, for each of them, read a discussion of the instruments, rhythms and musical techniques that make them so powerful. A glossary defines musical terms. The Story Orchestra series brings classical music to life for children through gorgeously illustrated retellings of classic ballet, opera and program music stories paired with 10-second sound clips of orchestras playing from their musical scores. With The Story Orchestra keyboard sound books, children can play the famous melodies themselves with the sound of a real grand piano. Also available from the Story Orchestra series: The Magic Flute, I Can Play (vol 1), Carnival of the Animals, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. Manufacturer's note: please pull the white tab out of the back of the book before use. Sound buttons require a firm push in exact location to work, which may be hard for young children. All sound clips are 10 seconds long. The perfect primer to introduce children to classical music.

Music Technology in Education lays out the principles of music technology and how they can be used to enhance musical teaching and learning in primary and secondary education. Previously published as "Computers in Music Education," this second edition has been streamlined to focus on the needs of today s music education student. It has been completely updated to reflect mobile technologies, social networks, rich media environments, and other technological advances. Topics include:

• Basic audio concepts and recording techniques
• Enhanced music instruction with interactive systems, web-based media platforms, social networking, and musicianship software
• Administration and management of technology resources
• Distance education and flexible learning

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Music Technology in Education" provides a strong theoretical and philosophical framework for examining the use of technology in music education while outlining the tools and techniques for implementation in the classroom. Reflective Questions, Teaching Tips, and Suggested Tasks link technology with effective teaching practice. The companion website provides resources for deeper investigation into the topics covered in each chapter, and includes an annotated bibliography, website links, tutorials, and model projects. "

Popular music is a growing presence in education, formal and otherwise, from primary school to postgraduate study. Programmes, courses and modules in popular music studies, popular music performance, songwriting and areas of music technology are becoming commonplace across higher education. Additionally, specialist pop/rock/jazz graded exam syllabi, such as RockSchool and Trinity Rock and Pop, have emerged in recent years, meaning that it is now possible for school leavers in some countries to meet university entry requirements having studied only popular music. In the context of teacher education, classroom teachers and music-specialists alike are becoming increasingly empowered to introduce popular music into their classrooms. At present, research in Popular Music Education lies at the fringes of the fields of music education, ethnomusicology, community music, cultural studies and popular music studies. The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Education is the first book-length publication that brings together a diverse range of scholarship in this emerging field. Perspectives include the historical, sociological, pedagogical, musicological, axiological, reflexive, critical, philosophical and ideological.

Make music with this hands-on introduction to the four instrument families: drums, horns, strings, and voice in this new board book series by a world-renown music educator. What do a set of bongos, a tambourine, and a cooking pot have in common? They are all drums! This first introduction to instruments in the drum family begins with a simple explanation of what defines a drum. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of a variety of percussive instruments and are encouraged to find drums of their own in the world around them. Each title in the THIS IS MUSIC series features an interactive novelty musical element that invites the reader to "play" the book!