The Latin American centennial celebrations of independence (ca.1909-1925) constituted a key moment in the consolidation of national symbols and emblems, while also producing a renewed focus on transnational affinities that generated a series of discourses about continental unity. At the same time, a boom in archaeological explorations, within a general climate of scientific positivism provided Latin Americans with new information about their "grandiose" former civilizations, such as the Inca and the Aztec, which some argued were comparable to ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures. These discourses were at first political, before transitioning to the cultural sphere. As a result, artists and particularly musicians began to move away from European techniques and themes, to produce a distinctive and self-consciously Latin American art. In Inca Music Reimagined author Vera Wolkowicz explores Inca discourses in particular as a source for the creation of "national" and "continental" art music during the first decades of the twentieth century, concentrating on operas by composers from Peru, Ecuador and Argentina. To understand this process, Wolkowicz analyzes early twentieth-century writings on Inca music and its origins and describes how certain composers transposed "Inca" techniques into their own works, and how this music was perceived by local audiences. Ultimately, she argues that the turn to Inca culture and music in the hopes of constructing a sense of national unity could only succeed within particular intellectual circles, and that the idea that the inspiration of the Inca could produce a "music of America" would remain utopian.

George Lawrence Stone's Stick Control is the original classic, often called the bible of drumming. In 1993, Modern Drummer magazine named it one of the top 25 drumming books of all-time. In the words of the author, this is the ideal book for improving "control, speed, flexibility, touch, rhythm, lightness, delicacy, power, endurance, preciseness of execution, and muscular coordination," with extra attention given to the development of the weak hand. This indispensable book for drummers of all types includes hundreds of basic to advanced rhythms and moves through categories of single-beat combinations, triplets, short roll combinations, flam beats, flam triplets and dotted notes, and short roll progressions.

In this new edition of their groundbreaking Kodaly Today, Micheal Houlahan and Philip Tacka offer an expertly-researched, thorough, and - most importantly - practical approach to transforming curriculum goals into tangible, achievable musical objectives and effective lesson plans. Their model - grounded in the latest research in music perception and cognition - outlines the concrete practices behind constructing effective teaching portfolios, selecting engaging music repertoire for the classroom, and teaching musicianship skills successfully to elementary students of all degrees of proficiency. Addressing the most important questions in creating and teaching Kodaly-based programs, Houlahan and Tacka write through a practical lens, presenting a clear picture of how the teaching and learning processes go hand-in-hand. Their innovative approach was designed through a close, six-year collaboration between music instructors and researchers, and offers teachers an easily-followed, step-by-step roadmap for developing students' musical understanding and metacognition skills. A comprehensive resource in the realm of elementary music education, this book is a valuable reference for all in-service music educators, music supervisors, and students and instructors in music education.