Anderson, Brian L. (1999). The Habits of Highly Effective Music Educators. Teaching Music, 7(2), p.48.

Brian Anderson's article is a music education specific response to the widely popular book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The author offers a musical interpretation to the book's habit categories. These categories include being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win/win, seeking first to understand, then to be understood, synergizing, and sharpening the saw. Each habit is explored with specific ideas for music educators to utilize it. A couple of side graphs and sections provide excellent tips for future music educators and time management in a rehearsal. The book that swept the business world is applied to the music educator in this useful article. TM

Azzara, Christopher D. (1999). An Aural Approach to Improvisation. Music Educators Journal, 86(3), 21-25.

This article gives practical and effective ways of teaching improvising to all ages of students. The author presents a strong argument in favor of improvisation. He compares improvising to painting a picture; it is important to have structure, but there needs to be creativity as well. He believes that improvisation is what causes the student to more fully understand what he/she is performing. He goes on to give suggestions on where to begin in the improvising process and then how to practically apply it. He lays out an effective step-by-step process by which one could teach a student how to improvise. He then gives guidelines for evaluating improvisation. Some of the positive effects of improvisation are mentioned, including helping students develop higher-order music thinking skills, encouraging risk taking, and expressing musical ideas more freely and effectively. This article was especially helpful to me because improvisation is an area that I am slightly intimidated by since I have had little experience with it. After reading the article, I am convinced that it is something that needs to be integrated into every music classroom somehow. JD

Barresi, A.L. (2000)The Successful Middle School Choral Teacher. Music Educators Journal,23-28.

This article is made up of findings that Anthony Barresi found while doing a questionnaire with 11 Middle School Choral Teachers. Informing personal qualities, professional understandings and technical competence that a person must have to achieve excellence within a middle school enviornment. There are many personal qualities a teacher must posess. Self-motivation, a passion for what you are teaching, having stong leadership abilities, keeping great energy and helping the students to achieve the goals that are set before them are just a few of the examples under the personal qualities. Under professional understandings are the ability to realize what it is that the group of adolescents are going through are. From changing voices and choosing reportoire that the choir will be able to work with are just a few of the examples given under this topic. The technical competence that the teacher should have range from being an effective vocal model to teaching proper rehearsal and concert behavior. This article also said being an adult leader who is caring and respectful of them as individuals, and who demands high behavioral and musical standards, and who has a sense of humor can be a great role model and should be used in a positive way. AS

Battisti, Frank (Sept., 1988). Score Reading - The Silent Skill. Instrumentalist. 43, 32-42.

This article was written for the young conductor. The author concerns himself with the instruction of young conductors in their development of score reading skills. The author gives sound advice in the form of doıs and donıts for the first stages of becoming familiar with a new score. The article outlines a possible routine or graduated plan of action for acquiring a musical knowledge of the piece at hand. The article avoids generalizations and provides a clear and precise list of rules under the heading Guidelines for Score Reading. For those of us who have trouble creating original means to any end, the advice given by Frank Battisti is for us. His article gives clear-cut suggestions (nearly demands) on the process of private score study. ML

Bick, M. (1998). Teaching Improvisation Outside of Jazz Settings. Music Educators Journal, 84(4), ?

This particular article dealt with the way that teachers introduce improvisation to their students. The most typical way for teachers to do this is through jazz. The author of this article, Micheal Bitz, believes that jazz is too complex an art form for students to learn on, and gave suggestions of more appropriate ways to teach improvisation. He suggested the use of more popular forms of music such as rock, rap, blues, and ska. He explained the lack of complexity these genres had, and how they could be used to help the students learn. The article also talked about how the studetns should be allowed to improvise in groups, especially at the beginning of instruction so that they don't have to begin improvising in front of large groups. Mr. Bitz explained that through this process, teachers would eventually have much better improvisors in their jazz bandsn and much better studetns in all aspects of their music program. This article was very convincing. BT

Brown, Oren L. (April 1999). Maintaining Vocal Health. Teaching Music, 33-35.

This article would be a definate help for the choral teacher. Not only does Mr. Brown talk about a few ways to maintain good vocal health, he also goes into great detail about some ways to achieve that task. One of the main points that is extremely important is to realize that at the high school level, a great majority of the students' vocal cords are not fully developed. He also made it clear that one must have some knowledge and understanding of his/her own voice to be a more effective teacher. This is nice because you can judge yourself on the different excersizes that you may want to use. If they are a little strenuous on your voice, it is probably going to be the same on the student's. I would recommend this article to anyone who is thinking about having somthing to do with vocal teaching because there are many things that Mr. Brown explains in great detail; like some vocal warm-ups that are beneficial and why they are that way. JG

Brown, Oren L.(1998). The Dramatic Singer. Journal of Singing, 55(1), 13-16.

This article focuses on how to avoid damage to the voice and allowing it to grow into its full potential of range and size as a dramatic singer. Many new concepts of vocal music have developed over the past few years so the vice needs to adapt to these changes. The article gives diagrams and thorough explanations of the functions of the larynx. Details are given about pitch adjustment, use of air, upper and lower ranges, and exercising of specific muscles. The article gives a step-by-step explanation of how not to sing and how to correct vocal problems. A large emphasis was placed on how the exercising of the larynx muscles must start at an early age but only little bits at a time. These steps toward vocal conditioning will create an amazing tone when the students come into their full voice around the age of 35. EF

Corbin, Lynn A. (1995)Building a Positive Choral Attitude. Music Education Journal, 24-26.

This article is made up of helpful hints of building the positive attitude that you want in your choir. The goal for all choir directors are to have the choir sing well and build an appreciation of literature and expressive singing. How do you as a choir director get to this goal? Corbin tells of four main ideas to get to this goal. Cooperative attitudes is the first, find common ground, come to an agreement with what a good choir tone is. Being persistant is along in the same catagory; get the students to understand that they can get better with work. The next idea is having vocal models, do not hint at all than an individual voice is less than beautiful. You may need to use a recorded example of their singing as a model for the choir members to hear. Get beyond pop; young singers are influenced by what they hear on the radio, these models of music is what most people value to be the best or only vocal sound to be excepted. Being involved in a church or community choir is different too, adults are often unaware of the sound that an accomplished choir should produce. The community is willing to accept whatever comes out of the singers mouths because that is what they are used to. In most church choirs the other members rely on one or two strong voices to produce what the listeners will hear. Overcome mediocrity is the next idea, everyone wants to be the best at what they are in whether it be a sport, school or work; not everyone has this ability to do what is necessary to excel. Everyone does have the ability to do their best, and with you can make they feel that they are meeting their goal of being outstanding. The article gives some examples of how to do this. Making beautiful music in is part of this . If the singers are singing with poor techniques they can not be making beautiful music. Make the music exciting and more singers will be interested in making the music work. The last idea is the final product. How does the audience respond? Singers should feel pride in the way they performed when the audience responds. At festivals and competitions the members should also be showing pride for their community and school. This article was very good in reading for me to know how to improve a choir. AS

Hicken, Leslie. (2000). Seek Chamber Music Qualities In a Full Concert Ensemble. The Instrumentalist, June 2000, 28-32 and 79. This article addresses the need for students to make their own musical decisions in a chamber ensemble, and how these concepts can be carried over to a large ensemble. Too often the large ensemble director takes on the responsibility of making all of the musical decisions in a rehearsal. He/she then relays this information to the students without them having to think about the commands. Hicken states that when students are taught and encouraged to make their own independent musical decisions, the band reaches a higher level of understanding and musicianship. The elements of ensemble music that Hicken focuses on are balance, blend, intonation, and musical style. This is a great article for directors who want tips, training exercises, and other resources on this subject. FE

Hinz, Bob (1995). Helping Students Master Improvisation. Music Educators Journal, 82(1), 32-36.

"Helping Students Master Improvisation" was a very good article. It put many of the aspects of improvisation into words. The article started off by talking about how improv is similar to a conversation in that you instantly tell what you are thinking. The article then started talking about how spontaneous improvisation is often not really true. Some improvisors practice and practice until their solo is acceptable. Most improvisors also use different "licks", and or scales for majority of their solos. Finally, the point to where most players want to get, is to be lost in the music and let the improvised solo to come naturally and without thought. SS

Lehr, Marjorie R. (2000). "Clarinets over the Break Versus over the Brink." Teaching Music, 7(4), 48-51.

This article is beneficial to all those educators that work with beginning clarinetists. It focuses on how to teach beginners to successfully play over the break. It's beneficial to me especially since I am not very knowledgeable in this area. Lehr gives a step-by-step procedure to follow when teaching this concept. If one step is not successfully accomplished, then the student cannot move on to the next until it is mastered. The first step is to cover the holes. Every tone hole must be completely covered when playing the clarinet, and if this is not happening, it is impossible for the student to play over the break. Step two is called the low blow and it stresses the importance of clear, pure notes in the bottom register. This is achieved by playing down the scale from open G to low E. The third step is assisted register pop-up. Once the student has achieved a clear low sound, the teacher will press the register key. The sound should pop up to the D, and when that happens the student can then try it by himself (step four). Step five includes cross-register slurring and tonguing. The teacher then picks out suitable music for the student to work on moving from the lower to the upper register. Finally, the last step is called the challenge. The idea of this is to provide music to the student that is age-appropriate and still contains upper-register notes. After going through these steps, the student will have a greater chance of creating a nice sound in all registers. JD

McClung, Alan C. (2000). "Extramusic Skills in the Music Classroom." Music Educators Journal. 86(5), 37-42.

This article dealt with the lack of emotoinal quotient (EQ) in students today. Students traditionally recieved thier Intelligence Quotient (IQ) from school and their emotional quotient from home, but that has changed due to the societal change in the role of parent. Extramusical skills can provide meaningful instruction that would attempt to fill this void. The article sites a study taken from over 600 choir students that concluded that achievement, communicative emotions, and insight were all gained as a result of their participation in choir. The article gives a detailed sequence that teachers can follow to incorporate these extramusical skills into their routine. They also suggest that they use extrinsic rewards as a means of getting intrinsic results as long as the students are working to achieve the intrinsic rewards and not the extrinsic results. I think this article is very important since it is plain to see that as teachers we could possibly be the student's only hope for gaining these essential lessons in life. BT

Di Natale, John J. & Gordon S. Russell. (1995). Cooperative Learning for Better Performance. Music Educators Journal, 82(2 ), 26-28.

This article focuses on the benefits of cooperative learning in the musical classroom. It gives broad ideas on how to set up the groups by mixing up the students with different skills and abilities. This gives the students a chance to teach and learn from each other. The second main focus of the article is on the acquiring of social skills. The authors break this part up into four sections; basic interaction, communication skills, conflict resolution, and team building. The third aspect deals with positive interdependence among the students. The authors feel that the students need to rely on each other, not just the conductor. The last section talks about developing independently and collectively. The students should have some say in the rehearsal by their comments for the group and by their input in the songs. This can often make the difference between a good musical ensemble and a great musical ensemble. EF

Patchen, Jeffrey (1996). Overview of Discipline-Based Music Education: Discipline-based music education provides a conceptual framework for learning and teaching music. Music Educators Journal, 2. Sept., 19-26.

This article is an excellent introduction to the theory of discipline-based programs. The author discusses the need for a more complete music education in our schools. The author argues that todayıs music education is too focused on only one of four disciplines which are production (performance, which is emphasized in todayıs schools), aesthetics, history, and criticism. The article continues with a discussion of possible implementation procedures as well as the reformation of teacherıs roles under this system. The article provides a number of resources on the theory and practice of this system as well as a list of schools who have implemented the discipline-based system into their program. ML

Sataloff,R. , Rosen,D.C., and Levy,s. (2000). Performance Anxiety: What Singing Teachers Should Know. Journal of Singing , 56(5), 33-40.

This article gives an explaination of what performance anxiety is, and some general causes for it. The article describes the different reactions the body has to stressful situations. The authors then offer different ways of treating the anxiety. The different treatments range from drug therapy to relaxations techniques. For the average person relaxation therapy and visualization techniques are recommended. NS

Tipps, Greg (1999). A Simple Approach to Pep Bands. Instrumentalist, 54(4), 84

I read the article "A Simple Approach to Pep Bands" by Greg Tipps. There were a few things in the article that I agree with, while there were others that I did not. What he suggested was to have one large pep band at every game, not to rotate players or use other methods to get students at the game. In his system you could miss two events each semester without aproval ahead of time. After that the students grade would drop. This would cause problems in the long run because you would be grading on attendence. SS

Wickstrom, Fred. (1988). Tuning the Percussion Instruments. Bandworld, 3(3), p.23. Taken from http://www.bandworld.jeffnet.org.

This article provides a simple step-by-step procedure to tune each of the membraned percussion instruments. The author guides the non-percussionist through each of the drums, providing specific guidelines for each instrument. The instruments discussed are snare and parade drums, bass drums, bongos, timbales, conga, timpani, and the drum set. Also included are general tips on cleaning, lubrication, mounting and seating, and truing the heads. The author's method provides an easy way to tune the percussion section, even with very little prior percussion experience. TM

Williamson, Sue. (2000). Positively Adolescent. Music Educator's Journal, January, 29-32.

This article addresses effective ways to deal with and channel adolescent behavior. Many of the points could be taken into consideration by non-music teachers, but the suggested activities in the article are geared toward a music setting. The author focuses on effectively handling four typical adolescent behaviors: desire for peer acceptance, abundant energy, love of fun and their limited time-management skills. For each of these unavoidable behaviors, Williamson gives examples of activities that are fun and expend students' energy. She reminds us how to think of these qualities positively and channel students' energy to create an effective learning environment. FE