Music education
Date Major event Historical importance for music education
1950 The Child 's Bill of Rights in Music A student-centered philosophy was formally espoused by MENC
1953 The American School Band Directors Association formed The band movement becomes organized
1957 Launch of Sputnik Increased curricular focus on science , math , technology with less emphasis on music education
1959 Contemporary Music Project The purpose of the project was to make contemporary music relevant in children by placing quality composers and performers in the learning environment . Leads to the Comprehensive Musicianship movement
1961 American Choral Directors Association formed The choral movement becomes organized
1963 Yale Seminar Federally supported development of arts education focusing on quality music classroom literature . Juilliard Project leads to the compilation and publication of musical works from major historical eras for elementary and secondary schools
1965 National Endowment for the Arts Federal financial support and recognition of the value music has in society
1967 Tanglewood Symposium Establishment of a unified and eclectic philosophy of music education . Specific emphasis on youth music , special education music , urban music , and electronic music
1969 GO Project 35 Objectives listed by MENC for quality music education programs in public schools . Published and recommended for music educators to follow
1978 The Ann Arbor Symposium Emphasized the impact of learning theory in music education in the areas of : auditory perception , motor learning , child development , cognitive skills , memory processing , affect , and motivation
1984 Becoming Human Through Music symposium The Wesleyan Symposium on the Perspectives of Social Anthropology in the Teaching and Learning of Music ( Middletown , Connecticut , August 6-10 , 1984 ) . Emphasized the importance of cultural context in music education and the cultural implications of rapidly changing demographics in the United States
1990 Multicultural Symposium in Music Education Growing out of the awareness of the increasing diversity of the American School population , the three-day Symposium for music teachers was co-sponsored by MENC , the Society for Ethnomusicology , and the Smithsonian Institution , in order to provide models , materials , and methods for teaching music of the world 's cultures to school children and youth
1994 National Standards for Music Education For much of the 1980s , there was a call for educational reform and accountability in all curricular subjects . This led to the National Standards for Music Education introduced by MENC . The MENC standards were adopted by some states , while other states have produced their own standards or largely eschewed the standards movement
1999 The Housewright Symposium / Vision 2020 Examined changing philosophies and practices and predicted how American music education will ( or should ) look in the year 2020
2007 Tanglewood II : Charting the Future Reflected on the 40 years of change in music education since the first Tanglewood Symposium of 1967 , developing a declaration regarding priorities for the next forty years
2014 Revised National Standards for Music Education The National Standards created in 1994 were revised with an emphasis on musical literacy . Instead of the 9 content standards , there are 4 artistic processes ( Create , Perform , Respond and Connect ) with 2-3 anchor standards per process
History of music education in the United States -- Middle 20th century to 21st century
The following table illustrates some notable developments from this period :
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all learning domains, including the psychomotor domain (the development of skills), the cognitive domain (the acquisition of knowledge), and, in particular and significant ways, the affective domain (the learner's willingness to receive, internalize, and share what is learned), including music appreciation and sensitivity. Music training from preschool through post-secondary education is common in most nations because involvement with music is considered a fundamental component of human culture and behavior. Cultures from around the world have different approaches to music education, largely due to the varying histories and politics. Studies show that teaching music from other cultures can help students perceive unfamiliar sounds more comfortably, and they also show that musical preference is related to the language spoken by the listener and the other sounds they are exposed to within their own culture. During the 20th century, many distinctive approaches were developed or further refined for the teaching of music, some of which have had widespread impact. The Dalcroze method (eurhythmics) was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze. The Kodály Method emphasizes the benefits of physical instruction and response to music. The Orff Schulwerk approach to music education leads students to develop their music abilities in a way that parallels the development of western music. The Suzuki method creates the same environment for learning music that a person has for learning their native language. Gordon Music Learning Theory provides the music teacher with a method for teaching musicianship through audiation, Gordon's term for hearing music in the mind with understanding. Conversational Solfège immerses students in the musical literature of their own culture, in this case American.