History of American Music Education

By LindsayJFulcher

  • Lowell Mason's start

    In 1820, Lowell Mason moved to Boston to start his own singing school. He published several tune books, and achieved fame.

  • Lowell Mason's teaching

    In 1830, Mason was introduced to the teachings of Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
    1) Teach sounds before symbols
    2) Have students experience things rather than explaining them
    3) Teach one thing at a time - rhythm, melody, expression, etc.
    4) Master one step before proceeding to next
    Lowell Mason - father of music ed. or plagiarist?

  • Military Musicians

    Many military musicians during the Civil War. Over 30 bands in New Orleans when the war ended. Led to rise of the Music Appreciation Movement.

  • Teacher Limitations

    At the beginning of the 20th Century, music teachers were limited to pieces and instruments that the teachers themselves can perform. Invention of the player piano, and later, the phonograph, changed that.

  • Rise of Instrumental Music

    Up until 1900, music education was largely taught through singing.
    With the spread of professional touring bands during the latter half of the 19th century (Sousa, Gilmore), the popularity of bands exploded during the 1920s.
    Many classes were taught by unemployed professional musicians from military and pit orchestras (Great Depression, 1929).

  • WWII

    1940s - World War II and recovery

  • Baby Boom

    1950s - baby boom - largest proportion of citizenry in schools - good for music in the schools

  • Sputnik

    1957 - Sputnik launched; U.S. education system blamed for falling behind in the sciences

  • Yale Seminar

    1963 - Yale Seminar on Music Education - organized by the Office of Education, largely attended by administrators, musicologists and theorists. Not as effective without the music education community, though did lead to the Juilliard Repertory Library Project.

  • Tanglewood Symposium

    1967 - Tanglewood Symposium - organized by MENC to define “a new role in society” for music education.
    The Tanglewood Symposium is summarized in the statement entitled "The Tanglewood Declaration," which provided a philosophical basis for future developments in music education. Of particular importance, the Declaration called for music to be placed in the core of the school curriculum.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanglewood_Symposium

  • Nation at Risk

    Early 1980s - Reagan administration publishes “A Nation at Risk” - very critical of U.S. educational system and barely mentions the arts.
    States left to pick up pieces of national report. Generally required more classes, less time for electives.

  • Academic Prep for College

    1983 - "Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do," from College Entrance Examination Board
    Speaks out strongly FOR the arts. Major area of study.

  • MENC National Standards

    1994: National Standards for Arts Education, Music Content Standards
    http://www.nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/national-standards-archives/

  • NAfME New Standards

    2014 - National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, Music Standards
    The 2014 Music Standards are all about Music Literacy. The standards emphasize conceptual understanding in areas that reflect the actual processes in which musicians engage. The standards cultivate a student’s ability to carry out the three Artistic Processes of:
    Creating,
    Performing, and
    Responding
    (and Connecting).
    http://www.nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/

  • Colorado Standards Today

    2016 - the CO standards as they look today (I believe last revised in 2009)
    Key areas are:
    Expression of Music
    Creation of Music
    Theory of Music
    Aesthetic Valuation of Music
    https://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/casgraphicorganizers
    https://www.cde.state.co.us/coarts/StateStandards.asp#Music