Since its publication in 1995, a significant literature has developed around David J. Elliott’s praxial philosophy of music education, as explained in Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education. This literature includes a range of commentaries in journals, books, edited books, and dissertations. Although Elliott has replied to some positive and negative commentaries since 1995, he has not addressed several adverse discussions by leading music education philosophers. Accordingly, we posit that there is an important gap in music education’s philosophical discourse that may cause some music education students and researchers to accept or reject important criticisms of Elliott’s praxialism without sufficient information or reflection. In this article we analyze several critiques of Elliott’s praxialism. Our discussion divides into three sections related to major topics presented in the praxial philosophy particularly and music education generally: music making, music listening and musical works, and musical values. Each section presents (a) critics’ evaluations of Elliott’s position on a given topic, and (b) Elliott’s stated position on that topic, as explained in Music Matters. Where pertinent, we consult the views of other scholars on specific topics. We end each section with brief reflections on critics’ claims, reserving our final evaluations for the concluding section.

Mentoring in music education programs is such a ubiquitous part of the process; it is sometimes overlooked or subsumed under other categories. The purpose of this article is to highlight mentoring relationships within an undergraduate music teacher education program. Formal, informal, vertical, and horizontal mentoring are examined from the perspectives of undergraduate preservice music teachers working in a community-university partnership. The data are culled from a 14 month, intrinsic case study of the University of South Carolina String Project, designed to examine the participant experience for all member groups within the string project—the undergraduate preservice teachers, the community students, and the faculty. Mentoring relationships are explored as a critical component of experience for the preservice teachers. Their voices are presented here to illustrate the value they placed on mentoring, as well as the challenges that emerged in construction of a mentoring mosaic as part of their preservice teaching experience.

Method books in a beginner band class often serve as the curriculum and the primary source of instructional material for learning to play an instrument during the foundational years. While method books provide an opportunity to motivate beginners, scaffold instruction, and introduce students to concert band repertoire, teachers should also consider how method books support an inclusive and culturally responsive instrumental music classroom. The purpose of this study was to analyze the content of nine widely distributed beginner band method books to determine the patterns of repertoire included. Method book melodies were analyzed for composer demographics, countries of origin, and categories of repertoire. Data revealed a continued emphasis on melodic material derived from the Western canon, White male composers, and Anglo-American cultures, including a high prevalence of songs from blackface minstrelsy. We offer recommendations regarding the need for more diverse musical materials at the beginner band level.

Music educators often look for ways to deepen students’ understanding and artistic interpretations of repertoire. One way to engage students in discovery and dialogue about the music they perform is through connecting to the historical, cultural, and societal implications of primary sources. This article delves into resources from the Library of Congress that enable us to tell richer stories about the people and circumstances behind familiar orchestral repertoire, including works by Chaminade, Copland, and Miranda. The recommended materials include primary and secondary sources from the Library of Congress digital archives, best practices for using these resources, inquiry-based strategies to engage students in critical thinking, and connections to the 2014 Music Standards.

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