PALATINE

The site for a music making toolkit being developed for GCSE and A-level students, using images and sounds from the Antarctic to stimulate composition.

Details of a PALATINE-funded project conducted by Stephanie Pitts (University of Sheffield) to research the transition of music students to university and pilot a first-year undergraduate study skills module. The site includes a report about the project.
(March 2005, DP)

Information from Cambridge University Press about the journal.
(September 2003, DP)

Music education and research.

Includes a bibliography.

Includes a bibliography.

New York University.

Includes a bibliography.

Selected music resources - educational and otherwise - from Education Index.

Site of the month 05/04
With support from a PALATINE Development Award, Jonathan Savage (Manchester Metropolitan University) developed materials based on his research into using case studies of a number of popular musicians, focusing closely on the practical ways in which they carry out the task of musical composition, in order to develop interesting classroom models for composition. The collaboration between Yamaha and the Virtual Learning Environments Foundation, together with Jonathan's own interests in songwriting, led to the production of a CD-ROM entitled "Found Sound - Exploring Songwriting." This CD-ROM was conceived by the education wing of Yamaha Kemble and distributed freely to every high school in the UK through their financial support. The Found Sound website contains detailed teaching notes that staff from the VLEF and Jonathan wrote in support of Yamaha Kemble's CDROM. Jonathan's report for PALATINE, Found Sound - Exploring Songwriting: An "Outside-in" Approach to Composition in the Classroom (PDF file) provides further details and an overview of the complete project. You might also be interested to read Jonathan's article, Informal Approaches to the Development of Young People's Composition Skills.
(May 2004, DP)

Article by Jonathan Savage.

Papers and notes from a PALATINE Development Award workshop hosted by Canterbury Christ Church University College on 25 October 2003.
(July 2004, DP)

Jonathan Savage and Will Evans are Senior Lecturers in Music Education at the Institute of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University. Updated regularly, the site includes freely available research documents, course materials and music curriculum resources aimed at teachers and lecturers.
(May 2003, DP)

Publication by the BERA Music Education Review Group, downloadble as a PDF file.
(November 2003, DP)

New York University.

Page about the PALATINE-funded project by Nicola Dibben (University of Sheffield) who researched the implications of widening participation for the student experience of HE music. Includes Dibben's summary report and further references.
(September 2004, DP)

"The Music Education Council - the umbrella body for all organisations connected with music education in the United Kingdom - exists to bring together and provide a forum for those organisations to debate issues affecting music education and to make representation and promote appropriate action at local, national and international level."
(November 2003, DP)

A wealth of information on music in education and music schools (for a US audience). While a large portion of the information is relevant only to American users, the articles, links (under "Music Advocacy") and online shops have international relevance.

Available online.

MERB/CMI is a bibliographic database of more than 31000 resources in music and music education from thirty-five Canadian and International journals and other sources covering the period 1956 to the present. The journals are fully indexed by title, author, and subject.

Site of the month 01/04
Details of a series of eight seminars being held at the Royal College of Music over two years, intended to help integrate research, policy, and practice in music education.

REVIEW: This site contains two main sections. One is a concise A to Z glossary of basic musical terminology (non-jargon laden).

The other is an interactive piece of online software, Music Sense, which enables the user to explore pitch, rhythm, notation, scales, chords, timbre, and dynamics. In the timbre and musical dynamics section, a “mixer” lets the user construct a pre-recorded jazz piece from various layers of texture. Although the material on the site is aimed at the complete beginner in music theory, this is an enjoyable and high-quality web experience.
Reviewed November 2002, by David Pearson.

REVIEW: An attractive and innovative site with a growing collection of resources and links to support anyone involved in teaching music. Designed with the demands of the National Curriculum for Music in mind.
Reviewed January 2003, by David Pearson

A non-profit organization promoting the interdisciplinary use of popular music in education.

"MusicTeachers.co.uk is a free service which aims to support musicians in every aspect of education and performance." Especially useful is the resources section of the site, which contains a variety of useful materials such as downloadable manuscript paper of various kinds, tests relating to graded practical exams, analytical notes for National Curriculum music courses, and articles aimed at teachers.
(August 2003, DP)

A system for learning about music theory and the relationships of notes and chords.

Includes references.

Includes a bibliography and further links.

An international refereed journal.
(September 2003, DP)

Keep on Rockin' in the Free World: The Advantages of Using Rock and Roll in Teaching Social Studies by James Lane, Orange High School.

Strathclyde Consortium for Action Research in Learning Approaches and Teaching Techniques in Inventing.

Site for the Smart Music project, based at St Martin's College, Lancaster, and funded by the Teacher Training Agency to provide support for teacher trainers. The site is currently only a holding page, but Hugh Smith can be contacted via the site for more information.
(May 2004, DP)

"Using music to promote learning" a site pack with song lyrics and recordings to inspire classroom singing in a range of subjects.
Central to this site is an index of song lyrics, many of which are attached to recorded extracts. Songs are categorized by subject and purpose (for example, music for learning about science, songs for physical movement, different kinds of mood music, and a section entitled "cheers, chants, raps, and poetry." The site includes a set of links and articles on using music and singing with children.
(October 2002, DP)

"Sound2Picture is an innovative multimedia resource that introduces teachers and pupils to the working practices of a sound designer. It has been produced by researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), Andrew Diey (lead sound designer at Alchemy Audio Lab) and Jason Butcher (Head of Expressive Arts at Egerton High School, Manchester, UK).
Sound2Picture contains:
* A selection of six digital video clips and animations minus any sound;
* The same clips with sound designs composed by Andrew Diey, lead sound designer at Alchemy Audio Lab;
* Nearly 1 gigabyte of high quality audio sample material including the library of sounds that Andrew Diey has used to create his sound designs;
* Written and video materials that illustrate the working process of a sound designer;
* Extensive teaching notes to assist teachers in the teaching of sound design to Key Stage 3 pupils;
* Links to free web resources and other commercial products that can be used alongside the Sound2Picture materials;
* Free email support to assist you in using Sound2Picture in the classroom and the opportunity to have personal tuition in using this product at your school (at additional cost).
Sound2Picture has been designed for use on PC or Mac computers with no additional commercial hardware or software. All its materials are copyright free and can be freely used on all networked computers within the purchaser's institution.
Sound2Picture is available on a DVD (cost £40) or on three CDs (cost £45). It can be ordered by post via the website: www.sound2picture.net where you can also find further information.
As a team of academic music education researchers we are not promoting this as a business venture. Rather, any money we do raise after covering our costs will go towards a new resource next year."
(Information supplied by the developers.)
(July 2004, DP)

"We have information and contact details for Universities, Colleges, Summer Schools, Music Teachers and everything you could need in the World of Music Education."

"Our music teacher database is continually being developed and updated, so contact us if you want to be listed. Read our reviews, take notes from our composer biographies, contact other musicians or look for a job in the music industry on our message boards."

Includes a bibliography.

Information from OUP on a recent (2002) handbook edited by Richard Colwell and Carol Richardson.
(August 2003, DP)

An educational outreach activity of the West Mesa Music Teachers Association, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA. This is a one-stop resource for students, teachers, parents, and piano enthusiasts. It contains extensive and regularly updated free information.

Judith Bowman: Duquesne University.

Music theory for those who love music and hate theory. Practical interactive tool for writing songs, understanding chords and scales, hearing what the eye can see and seeing what the ear can hear.

Set up throught the Arts Council of England in 1999, Youth Music is a leading music charity for young people. Working from the notion that "music-making is a fundamental right for all children and young people," Youth Music provides music-making opportunities for people up to the age of 18, particularly those living in areas of social and economic need. The appealing site is packed with information on news, events, networking opportunities, and an interactive section containing music samples of different popular styles and a colourful, high-quality screensaver to download!
(February 2003, DP)