I would recommend this book to new middle school teachers who are not sure where to begin with their curriculum planning, experienced middle school teachers who may want to introduce a new component to their curricula, or those looking for a potential textbook for a middle school general music methods course.
Music Educators Journal
Engaging Musical Practices offers valuable guidance to both the experienced educator and the pre-service educator for a variety of active music teaching strategies applicable to the 21st-century middle school music classroom. Chapters on such topics as guitar, drumming, world music, and composition provide exciting avenues for music exploration for today's middle school students. The book most definitely takes the 'general' out of 'general music.'
John Kratus, Ph.D., Professor of Music Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI Suzanne Burton brings together 14 authors who address issues relevant to middle-school music teaching, learning, and learners. Authors present information about and suggestions for performance ensembles at the middle-school level and (perhaps most importantly) alternative music learning opportunities for those students who are not in performance ensembles. Each chapter includes hands-on, practical classroom suggestions for middle-school music educators as well as those who might not have had training in adolescent musical development. Burton and the contributing authors present viable means for bridging the gap between school music and `real' music by offering best practices for working with teens in engaging, creative, and musical ways.
Jody L. Kerchner, Ph.D., Professor of Music Education, Oberlin College/Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, OH. These fourteen authors offer an inspiring collection of creative, diverse and musical approaches to teaching secondary general music. Their ideas are practical, classroom-tested, and actually enjoyable to read.
Ann Marie Stanley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY Secondary general music has recently gained a new vitality, leaving behind yesterday's filmstrips and cardboard keyboards in favor of flexible student-oriented offerings with rich educational possibilities. Reflecting this development, Engaging Musical Practices provides teachers with inspiration and new ideas from leading thinkers in the field, making this volume a valuable contribution to any library.
Matthew D. Thibeault, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Music Education and Education (Affiliate) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and author of the Secondary Scene column that appears in General Music Today.