Music education and programs within the United States
The earliest systematic music education in the country was centered on the training of singers for Protestant church services, to lead the congregation in psalm-singing.
Music was considered moral because it played such a part in religion, as well as the fact that it had been documented to produce "happiness, contentment, cheerfulness, and tranquility."
Pestalozzi believed that nature was the ultimate and original source of knowledge, therefore his educational theories placed a high value on sensory, kinesthetic, and active learning.
His Pestalozzian approach to music was brought to the United States, translated, and popularized by William Channing Woodbridge, Elam Ives, and Lowell Mason.
This approach prized active and sensory learning, taught sounds before signs, separated music into melody, rhythm, and expression, and also moved from the simple to complex within the context of each element.
Music education, primarily vocal, remained most common in women's schools, though many private academies also existed, offering boys and girls instruction in orchestral instruments like the violin, viola, cello and piano.
[1]: 207 The culmination of the scientific method and note methodology advances was presented in Thomas Tapper's and Frederick Ripley's The National Music Course published in 1895.
As the role of the music supervisor changed into more of an administrative position, the conference began to focus primarily on the teaching methods provided in the classroom.
These bands were created to entertain female troops, sell war bonds, and perform at concerts, graduations, dances, parades, and hospitals (2008).
After her service in the WACS, she returned to her life as a music teacher, educator, and administrator in Los Angeles public schools where she served for 30 years.
There were some female members of the WAC and SPAR military bands who used the G.I Bill to go to college while others continued performing professionally post war.
Frances Klein was another famous female instrumentalist of the 30s and 40s who played in Kermit Dart's All-Girl Band, under the direction of Irene Vermillion.
[10] Following the war, members of these collegiate bands were looking for ways to "develop good will, fellowship and understanding...and recognize the value of dedicated leadership.
Wava Banes along with some other women classmates at Texas Tech University approached their director, D. O. Wiley about forming a "group of bandswomen"[14] in 1937.
"[22] This was an action against the No Child Left Behind Act, which many United States Education Advocates felt had narrowed down the subjects incorporated into the core curriculum.
NAfME is an organization founded in 1907 of more than 60,000 people who advocate for the benefits of music and arts education for students at the local, state, and national levels.
[21] NAfME published a press release with the bipartisan senate revision and the impact they believe it will have on the United States Core Curriculum.
Music is implemented as an academic subject in schools around the world, in places such as Greece, Germany, Slovenia, Spain,[23] India, and Africa.
Georgia and Arkansas have very specific outlines of music, while Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, and D.C. have no arts instruction requirements for any level of schooling.
The benefits music in the classroom and its effects on brain development, academic performance, and practical life skills have been observed through research by Jenny Nam Yoon.
[32] As seen with the Mozart Effect, listening to music has been proven to affect the brain and mood, as well as spatial temporal reasoning, but does not have any long-term benefits.
[35] Scripp and Gilbert, who have analyzed these effects, also make note of the fact that musical training helps in the development of the brain physically and cognitively.
Scripp and Gilbert use evidence from ultrasound images of fetal tissue to draw the conclusion that there are "selective responses" to certain songs even before birth.
[37] Socially, advocates describe music as something that provokes peace, passion, and reduces stress, which they feel provides multiple benefits to students.
[39] Some assert that music programs distract students from gaining practical skills and takes money away from more useful areas, where funds could be more wisely spent.
[37] Others argue that the research showing cognitive or academic benefits stemming from music is unproven and needs to be further investigated before reaching a conclusion.
With the success of the implementation of music education across the United States, this method of teaching began to advance into the collegiate level.
This particular course focuses on these objectives by observing the musical implications of genres such as jazz, blues, and hip-hop, and how it relates to racial and class issues.
Her conclusion for this study supported the hypothesis that music education plays an important, positive role in regards to the competency of university students.
[45] Using the radio for educational broadcasts received positive reviews because it allowed students to be reached all over the United States during the unstable time of the Great Depression.
