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- A History of Music Education in the United States

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Average customer rating:
- Great Teaching Tool
- Great Tool
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Flocabulary: The Hip-Hop Approach to U.S. History (Flocabulary Study Guides)
Blake Harrison , and Alexander Rappaport
Manufacturer: Cider Mill Press
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- Flocabulary: The Hip-Hop Approach to SAT-Level Vocabulary Building (Flocabulary Study Guides)
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ASIN: 1933662352 |
Book Description
Flocabulary has taken the educational world by storm. It’s a dynamic new tool for teaching and learning. Now teens can hip-hop their way to history success!
Featuring an audio CD with 45 minutes of original, educational, and cutting-edge music, this latest entry in the innovative Flocabulary series turns U.S. history—from pre-Colonial days through World War II—into an enjoyable experience. No more yawning through lists of dull, dry dates: this effective and engaging combination of rhythm and rhyme makes remembering the basic curriculum as easy as apple pie. The topics range from the first meeting between the Native Americans and the European explorers to the Seeds of Revolution (“Taxin’ and Representin’”), from Lincoln and the Civil War to the Industrial Revolution, from the Great Depression to Bombs Over Berlin. It’s perfect for any student preparing for the AP placement test or the SAT II.
Customer Reviews:
Great Teaching Tool.......2007-04-14
Not since "School House Rocks" has a teaching tool been so useful in reaching history students across America. As a teacher, I have used the "Hip-Hop Approach to U.S. History" with great success and educational outcomes. The CD is a great supplement to the history curriculum, with a different perspective of historical events that is not usually found in our current history books. Catchy, historically critical, and very easy to use, this book and CD will enhance any student's insight into U.S. history. Listen to O.D.W.M. to get a good sense of what Flocabulary is all about.
Great Tool.......2007-01-21
What a great tool. While I don't expect the songs to ever make it to the American Top 40 they are adequate and have a good beat. They have actually made it fun (or dare I say easy) to learn history!
Average customer rating:
- Not really what I'd hoped for -- a little disappointing
- Disappointment
- Amazing Resource for Teaching Kids About the Presidents!
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The Presidents' Rap - CD/book kit -NEW VERSION (to George W. Bush) (History)
Sara Jordan
Manufacturer: Jordan Music Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
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ASIN: 1894262522 |
Book Description
Relive the history of our past Presidents in this treasure trove of tid-bits of knowledge about our Presidents packaged neatly into over a dozen catchy songs written within the musical style of each historical period. Comprehensive, illustrated, encyclopedic summary of the history of the American Presidents from Washington to George W. Bush. More than 45 minutes of upbeat music packed tightly with information.
Customer Reviews:
Not really what I'd hoped for -- a little disappointing.......2005-06-23
The concept is a great idea, but the result...not so great.
The songs are not in the genre of the presidents' eras as one review mentioned. There is one march, and most of the rest are attempts at a very white man rapping. His rapping is much better than his singing I'm sad to report. I think a variety of vocalists would have gone a long way to improve this item. Also, I am not opposed to rap music, just bad rap music...if you do not approve of this genre, you would probably want to stay clear of a CD with RAP in the title. The music is not harsh, just not great that's all.
However, there is a lot of information within the songs and they are mostly accurate. Many of the songs are WAY too long to be considered catchy, but a few of them are decent. One of my daughters really enjoys reading the words along with the music so this version with the book is great for her.
I would be leary of who I recommend this to, and thoughtful of the purpose. This is not going to win any musical awards, but as a unique teaching tool, it can be effective. I would probably not play this to a group of children who listen to real rap music as they would not get past laughing at this attempt -- maybe give them the book and let them rap it (that could be fun). It does have its uses though, and is thorough.
If you are learning about the presidents and want to expose your children to music of that era you'll need to buy a couple of different CD's, there are many albums available for colonial, revolutionary, civil war, and civil rights periods. Another unique option is the CD "Presidential Campaign Songs 1789-1996" that I found here at Amazon. At least you can listen to samples of it before choosing to buy...which they should have done for this one!
Disappointment.......2004-12-08
I ordered all Sara Jordan's addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division "unplugged" audio cd, they were excellent. They all have beautiful and soft musical tone that make them a joy to listen and very easy to remember. My child love them so much.
So I purchased this presidents rap audio cd, especially with another reviewer's strong recommentation, but it turned out to be very disappointing. The hash and annoying rap noise made us very unpleased to even finish to listen to it for 1 time.
Amazing Resource for Teaching Kids About the Presidents!.......1999-07-23
I am not a music teacher. I teach 5th grade American History. Over the past few years, every single fifth grade student in my school has memorized this entire cassette which covers all of the Presidents! We do this by preparing these songs as a "musical show" each year in honor of Presidents' Day.
In my 20 years of teaching, this still proves to be the most exciting and well liked musical I have ever directed. What makes this especially interesting as a performance, is that each song is written in the style of the historical period, so although the kids may be rapping information about the Presidents, they are singing in classical, gospel, light opera, rock and pop styles.
Well done! Our school year wouldn't be the same without it!
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Teaching General Music in Grades 4-8: A Musicianship Approach
Thomas A. Regelski
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0195137787 |
Book Description
Teaching General Music in Grades 4-8: A Musicianship Approach is an ideal core text for both elementary and middle school general music methods courses. It offers unique coverage that bridges the traditional gap between these two courses. Author Thomas A. Regelski discusses the important physical, psychological, cognitive, and social developmental changes that occur in students in grades 4-8 (ages 9-14) and the implications of these changes for instruction in a variety of school organizational formats. Offering music educators both broad and detailed guidelines to fit the needs of this challenging age group, he takes a "musicianship approach" that regards general musical classes for grades 4-8 as an apprenticeship for lifelong musical involvement. The book establishes a rationale for general music education and then introduces an "Action Learning Model," which is based on current research in many disciplines, including a praxial theory of music education. This model focuses on musical learning and skills that have real-life applications and lifelong consequences. It treats classes as "musicianship laboratories" in which fundamental musicianship skills are explored and developed in conjunction with holistic musical actions involving composing, performing, singing, and listening. Teaching General Music in Grades 4-8: A Musicianship Approach offers "protocols" composed of detailed principles and guidelines that allow instructors to design their own lessons and tailor them to suit numerous conditions, including local curriculum, resources, and classroom size and layout. Each chapter ends with a down-to-earth "Nuts 'n' Bolts" section containing advice and recommendations that help teachers implement lessons. A glossary of key terms and ideas in music education is also included. Appendices provide a model curriculum, resources, and tips for using MIDI-based instruction and software.
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History of Public School Music in the United States
Edward Bailey Birge
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Education
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0940796406 |
Book Description
This classic gives the definitive history of American music education, from the establishment of school music programs to recent trends and development in music in today's world.
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Music Education: Historical Contexts and Perspectives
Joseph A. Labuta , and Deborah A. Smith
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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ASIN: 0134894448 |
Book Description
This introduction to the historical and philosophical foundations of the music teaching profession is designed to fill the gap between books that are either too simplistic or too advanced. It explores major events and ideas that have shaped the current status of the profession and that point toward its future, and encourages readers to continually consider how the concepts covered relate to their own experiences. It also explores people, places, events, and ideas in the history of music in American schools and the general or non-musical events influencing its development from the Colonial Period through 1980.
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A History of Music Education in the United States.
James A. Keene
Manufacturer: University Press of New England
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Binding: Library Binding
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- A Philosophy of Music Education: Advancing the Vision (3rd Edition)
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ASIN: 0874512123 |
Book Description
A prime reference work for music students preparing to teach.
Average customer rating:
- "Afterglow", forever.
- A story of talent and success
- His melody lingers on!
- A GREAT READ - FASCINATING AND INSPIRING!
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Brothers, Sing On!: My Half-Century Around The World With The Penn Glee Club
Bruce Montgomery
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0812238567 |
Book Description
In 1862, a group of undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania put the University's colors of red and blue in their buttonholes and gave the first performance of the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club. Ninety-four years later, in 1956, Bruce Montgomery became the Glee Club's director and brought the Club to new heights of musicianship and international acclaim. In his forty-four-year tenure, "Monty" made the Glee Club the premier musical voice of the University and brought Penn and the spirit of Philadelphia to audiences around the world.
The Glee Club has performed on five continents in thirty countries and countless times in Philadelphia. In Brothers, Sing On! Monty shares his stories and experiences. From an impromptu photo op on a Wisconsin highway during a blizzard in 1977 to singing for U.S. presidents, this exhilarating memoir is filled with the Glee Club's farflung adventures. Backstage anecdotes let the reader step behind the scenes of such performances at home, abroad, and on worldwide television.
A reflection of Monty's boundless energy and flair for showmanship, this volume also includes stories of the students with whom the Glee Club director worked in other clubs--the Penn Singers, the Marching Band, the Penn Players, and the Mask & Wig Club, to name a few. Throughout his memoir, Montgomery reflects fondly on the development of the Glee Club. It is a testament to his immeasurable contribution to its success and renown.
Customer Reviews:
"Afterglow", forever........2005-12-13
Having sung in the 1960's Penn Glee Club, when we didn't dance and didn't travel far from West Philadelphia, this book is an explanation of how the "Club" survived and thrived in subsequent years. The World travel and successes are thrilling;
but how "Monty" and his men put together their annual shows and built on them is even more enthralling.
Surely anyone who had anything to do with the University of Pennsylvania for the past 50 plus years has been touched by the
talent of Bruce Montgomery and should find this a good read!
A story of talent and success.......2005-10-19
After a less than sterling performance as Santa Claus in a first grade pageant, I decided that others were better suited for the limelight than I. On later occasions, I had the opportunity to use my visual skills 'backstage' through set design and construction. In this manner I found much satisfaction in collaborating with talented folks who could sing, dance and remember lyrics and scores far better than I. Mr. Mongomery's book, "Brothers, Sing On!" brings back many memories of marvelous experiences, great friendships, and yes, the hard work that goes into the making of exhilarating performances.
I can only wish that I had first hand experiences with Mr. Mongomery's music. Seeing his group via TV in Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was of interest. The recounting in his book of his half-century of performances and creations seems to demonstrate rather convincingly his outstanding musical and directing skills. To be able to compose - invent - new music as well as arrange the work of others; to write transitional or counterpoint melodies and lyrics, surely are gifts that few people have. For performers, collaborators, or those interested in stories of success, Mr. Mongomery's book is a true delight to read.
His melody lingers on!.......2005-10-18
Wow! What a delightful book! I never had the pleasure of hearing the Penn Glee Club, or seeing them perform, but reading this wonderful memoir/autobiography by its 50-year director certainly makes me wish I had. Bruce Montgomery is a true Renaissance man...conductor, arranger, composer, artist, choreographer, diplomat and mentor to hundreds of students over the years. This captivating narrative covers a lifetime of passion for excellence and love of occupation expressed with warmth and humor. Fortunate are the students touched by his genius, and fortunate are those of us who have read his story!
A GREAT READ - FASCINATING AND INSPIRING!.......2005-09-29
Having heard the University of Pennsylvania perform at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and also with the Philadelphia Orchestra, I picked this book up out of curiosity. Then I couldn't put it down and had to purchase two more for friends as gifts. Bruce Montgomery's memoir of nearly 50 years working with talented college students and transforming them into a finely honed professional singing troupe is nothing short of breathtaking. This will make a great holiday gift for everyone on my list!
Average customer rating:
- pistol packin momma
- Thanks for writing this book
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Pistol Packin' Mama: Aunt Molly Jackson and the Politics of Folksong (Music in American Life)
Shelly Romalis
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
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ASIN: 0252024214 |
Customer Reviews:
pistol packin momma.......2003-08-06
this book is about my dad's sister aunt molly jackson.my dad was biil garland .aunt molly was called pistol packin momma because she rode horseback across the mountains to deliver babies. she always carried her pistol with her in case there was trouble.she had a gruff voice ,but a twinkle in her eye when she would tell her stories.she believed in helping people and, her songs reflected this.she was a treasure.aunt molly is a part of our mountain heritiage we should never forget.i teach my children and grandchildren about my mountain heritiage
Thanks for writing this book.......2000-06-05
I first heard about "pistol packin' mama" when I was a child. They played the song on the radio then announced that Molly Jackson had died. My mother told me then that she was my granny's half-sister. What child is not going to be fascinated by being related to someone with that sort of nickname? My grandma, Lona Isabelle, is the Garland that did not leave Kentucky. She married Matt Doolin and proceeded to have lots of children. At least one of her sons was killed in the coal mine. She told me lots of stories but never once mentioned Molly. My cousins and I were understandably curious but could not find out anything about her. We saw Jim and Sarah when they came to visit, but they never mentioned her either. We have all tried to find out about her in various libraries with very little luck. I have just started using the internet and this was one of the first things I looked up.I found this book and ordered it, hoping it would give me some idea about who she was. I received the book yesterday and could not put it down. Obviously all of my family will be as interested as I am. I think it will be fascinating to anyone interested in labor relations, women's roles in history, or Appalachian living. It was well worth the money to me and you will be getting more orders from our family. I want to thank Shelly Romalis for taking the time to research and write this book.
Average customer rating:
- CLARITY OF THOUGHT: WHERE HOUSTON BAKER ERRED IN HIS DISCUSSION OF BLACK STUDIES, RAP, AND THE ACADEMY
- Black Strdies, Rap and the Academy
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Black Studies, Rap, and the Academy (Black Literature and Culture Series)
Jr., Houston A. Baker
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0226035204 |
Book Description
In this explosive book, Houston Baker takes stock of the current state of Black Studies in the university and outlines its responsibilities to the newest form of black urban expression--rap. A frank, polemical essay, Black Studies, Rap, and the Academy is an uninhibited defense of Black Studies and an extended commentary on the importance of rap. Written in the midst of the political correctness wars and in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots, Baker's meditation on the academy and black urban expression has generated much controversy and comment from both ends of the political spectrum.
Customer Reviews:
CLARITY OF THOUGHT: WHERE HOUSTON BAKER ERRED IN HIS DISCUSSION OF BLACK STUDIES, RAP, AND THE ACADEMY.......2006-02-11
The discussion of Black Studies and the academy is one that is essentially centered on diametrical contradiction-the academy itself, an institution based on Western ideologies that gives little or no credence to African contribution, and Black studies, arguably, the African centered exploration of an institutionally marginalized people. Add to that discussion the complexities of rap music with its blatant misogyny and reflective, although cracked, mirror held up to the realities of Africana urban existence-and you have a heated and passionate debate. Houston A Baker's book, Black Studies, Rap and the Academy, was not that debate.
I am convinced that there has never been a more contrived, convoluted, waste of discourse on topics that demand much critical attention. To produce a body of work as a Black scholar that does not work to correct the diseased misperception of the majority or to elevate the minds of the oppressed is an exercise in futility and does nothing more than perpetuate the phenomenon of white superiority. Baker, it seems, needed to impress the academy and produce some scholarship that qualified his Blackness and that proved that he had his finger on the pulse of Black culture. I assume the obvious choice was to choose rap music because, supposedly, all Black people have rhythm and can dance and it is certainly an easily vilifiable subject. Baker is an academic minstrel, pimping the culture of hip-hop to the prestigious academy to prove, it appears, that he is not only more intellectual than most Black people, but also to academically spank the collective hand of Black youth that would dare to produce music that reflects a bleak reality.
If I understood his contentions correctly, and I'm not sure that I did, Baker did nothing more than assert that rap music was sometimes violent and sexist and that it was an avenue for cultural expression for black youth. If that was his thesis, "he ain't said nothing but a thang," to use the vernacular of a people that he apparently finds distasteful. If that wasn't his point, then I lost it in trying to decipher the meaning of the quixotic pastiche of the Arnoldian cultural commodity contingent upon the urbanity . . . or whatever obscure, meandering rhetoric he felt such a penchant for using. Whatever theories he presented to tie the concepts of Black Studies and rap together went completely over my head because his writing style couldn't hold my attention for more than a few minutes without confusing me.
At no point in the book did I feel that Baker had ever listened to or respected rap music. In fact, his reference to the beginnings of rap reflected the media's interpretation of rap and were not reflective of my memories of the early 80s when I would ride the train to the Bronx or Queens, where some dj was burning up the wheels of steel. I grew up on rap. I've seen it evolve from an art form that I once loved to something that offends my very sensibilities as a Black woman. Whether I love it or hate it, it deserves more analytical critique than Dr. Baker afforded it. Some of the individuals he lists as pioneers, we, New York City's Black youth, considered clowns. Freestylin' was what we went to hear, extemporaneous lyrical battles where one sucka' MC would get taken out by another who could prove his intellectual genius over a beat. It was our form of nonviolent revolution, not to be televised, that lamented over how much we hated whitey and our social conditions.
Break dancing was not as popular as Baker asserts. Breaking was relegated to very small sects of gangs that were popularized by the movies Breakin and Crush Groove. For the most part, when a rap song came on in the club, no one danced. At best, all you could do was throw your hands in the air, and wave them like you just don't care, literally. Dancing and rap didn't go together. Rap was the music of Black men proving that they were a force to be reckoned with, not for dancers. It was disrespectful to dance to PE or BDP, not to mention the fact, with its repetitive tracks, it wasn't meant to be dance music. MTV showed artists like Whodini, rapping about freaks coming out at night and the Fat Boys, shoving food in their face, and while we enjoyed seeing anybody on TV that looked like us, that was not the reality of true hip-hop culture. Baker failed to contribute similar insights into the culture of hip-hop that were garnered from anything other than Hollywood's interpretation of the emergence of rap music.
Giving credit where credit is due, hidden within the pages of this book is a poetic, albeit missed, attempt to speak in the tongue of an African. On the page, written in black and white, Baker's words are heavy laden with vocabulary intended for only the most elite. But spoken, read out loud, they are, at times, the words of the griot, winding tales of rhythmic, social expression. Whether conscious of his tactics or not, Baker effectively reinforces the notion that Black people have a cultural language that we can not effectively write. In one of his more obvious attempts to wax poetic, Baker writes this:
What time is it? Time to get busy from the midseventies into the wildstyle popularization of the eighties. From Parks to Priority Records, from random sampling to Run DMC. Fiercely competitive and hugely braggadocious in their energies, the quest of the emergent rap technologists was for the baddest toasts, boasts and signifying possible. The form was male dominant-though KRS-One and the earliest male posses will tell you the "ladies" were always there. Answering back, dissing the ways of menfolk and kinfolk alike who tried to ease them into the postmodern dozens.
While this style is not present in the entire work, nor would I consider it sufficient to sustain a reader for one hundred pages, and it most certainly wouldn't win a prize at an open mic contest, it is the medium that modern day poets use to tell lyrical tales of cultural and social angst. Better delivered in a dark nightclub with dread locked brothas and clove-smoking sistas, Baker's later words sometimes ring true to an African cultural aesthetic of storytelling and rhyme, an academic rap if you will.
If the standard for producing Black scholarship means that one must alienate people of color whose consciousness needs to be raised, by conforming to the very narrow constraints of Western academy, to be considered valuable in the eyes of one's peers, then my future as an academic is doomed. If the objective of Black Studies is to prove that one has overcome their inherent Blackness and is now able to speak in the tongue of a traditional Western academic standard, then I shall remain a street prophet, unlettered and wholly African. That is a lesson Houston Baker might need to learn.
Black Strdies, Rap and the Academy.......2000-05-01
This book is exactly what i needed for a paper on the history of rap. It will bring you to a new world of understanding rap. I highly recomend this book!
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Text on popular music
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American Popular Music: A Multicultural History
Glenn Appell , and David F. Hemphill
Manufacturer: Schirmer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007
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ASIN: 0155062298 |
Book Description
Enhance your understanding of the culture behind American popular music with AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC: A MULTICULTURAL HISTORY! With detailed, easy-to-understand explanations of key musical concepts and terms, this music text tells the story of American popular music from the different cultural perspectives that made significant contributions to its development. A critical listening approach throughout helps you develop your music listening skills as a form of critical reflection. Historical timelines at the beginning of each chapter provide you with a practical chronological framework that helps you interpret and integrate musical, cultural and historic events.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Text on popular music.......2006-01-16
This is a truly excellent book documenting the history and changes of american popular music, specifically highlighting the prevalence of minorities in american music. It leaves out practically nothing, from the obscure to the famous musicians since the beginning of the country. The included disks are really good too, they include some really good music to listen to along with the book. While set up to be taught, this also makes an interesting read. A great learning experience for anyone who wants to learn more about American popular music.
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