In the early part of the 1970s, multicultural music education began in earnest and was focused primarily on the curriculum used for music: textbooks, method books, and repertoire. At the turn of the 21th century, however, culturally responsive teaching emerged as the predominant pedagogy for relating to students. It was considered a student-centered approach to learning, and to date, culturally responsive teaching has been gaining momentum in education and in music education. Simultaneously, there have been discussions in music education surrounding equity and access to music for all. These discussions have resulted in more urgency to include all students in general music through the completion of high school. Culturally responsive teaching, therefore, is poised to become an important approach to equity and access to music for all. What follows is a brief history of the movement and how culturally responsive teaching can become an integral part of all teachers’ approaches to music.

Culturally responsive teaching values students' identities, backgrounds, and cultural references as key tools for building meaningful learning environments. It has been adopted by many educators globally, but has not been incorporated consistently by music educators. Few researchers in music education have investigated the impact of culturally responsive teaching and misconceptions exist about what it means to teach music in a culturally responsive manner. The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of an in-service program on cooperating teachers' perceptions of culturally responsive teaching. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants rated familiarity and importance of culturally responsive teaching higher than they did prior to the workshop. Sixteen of the 18 participants indicated that the workshop had changed their understanding of culturally responsive teaching.

The purpose of this study was to examine K–12 instrumental music education in North Carolina. Specifically, we investigated course offerings, teacher demographics, teaching responsibilities, and music program funding. We administered a survey to the members of the North Carolina Music Educators Association listserv who indicated band or orchestra as their teaching area. Participants identified themselves as teachers of orchestra ( n = 44), band ( n = 173), or a hybrid of both ( n = 17). Of schools that offered instrumental music, 95% offered band and 36% offered orchestra. More than 20% of orchestra teachers were “very likely to retire within 5 years.” The majority of teachers relied on fundraising to provide adequate music education for students. Results of this study were analyzed and compared to national averages reported in the Give a Note Foundation’s 2017 report: The Status of Music Education in United States Public Schools. Implications for orchestra teachers, music programs, music teacher preparation curriculum, and future research are discussed.

In the past 10 years, educating university musicians about hearing protection for long-term career stability and success has become more common, as has the adoption of hearing conservation programs. The purpose of this study was to explore preservice music teachers’ self-reported use of earplugs. Undergraduate preservice teachers (N = 129) were surveyed and results revealed that 21% (n = 27) wore earplugs sometimes while practicing, rehearsing, performing, or teaching. While participants recognized that noise-induced hearing loss was preventable (n = 124, 96%), 88% were seldom or sometimes concerned about their own hearing (M = 2.39, SD = 1.05). Most participants believed that surgery and hearing aids were ways to correct noise-induced hearing loss (n = 100, 78%). However, contrary to the preservice teachers’ beliefs, no viable correction is currently available for noise-induced hearing loss. Implications for further education are discussed.

Practice is a major element in cultivating musical skill. Some psychologists have proposed that deliberate practice, a specific framework for structuring practice activities, creates the kind of practice necessary to increase skill and develop expertise. While psychologists have been observing behavior, neurologists have studied how the brain changes when people learn. Neurologists have found changes in the structure of the white matter of the brain that correlate with vast amounts of musical practice. This article contains a brief overview of what researchers believe happens in the brain when people learn or refine motor skills, such as singing or playing an instrument. This article also explores the new research into myelination, one mechanism the body uses to optimize the efficiency of neural circuits. In addition, the authors propose ways that music educators can use findings from both psychological and neurological fields to improve music teaching and learning and help their students begin to develop musical expertise.