A Concise Survey of Music Philosophy helps music students choose a philosophy that will guide them throughout their careers. The book is divided into three sections: central issues that any music philosophy ought to consider (e.g., beauty, emotion, and aesthetics); secondly, significant philosophical positions, exploring what major thinkers have had to say on the subject; and finally, opportunities for students to consider the ramifications of these ideas for themselves. Throughout the book, students are encouraged to make choices that will inform a philosophy of music and music education with which they are most comfortable to align. Frequently, music philosophy courses are taught in such a way that the teacher, as well as the textbook used, promotes a particular viewpoint. A Concise Survey of Music Philosophy presents the most current, prevalent philosophies for consideration. Students think through different issues and consider practical applications. There are numerous musical examples, each with links from the author’s home website to online video performances. Examples are largely from the Western classical canon, but also jazz, popular, and world music styles. In the last two chapters, students apply their views to practical situations and learn the differences between philosophy and advocacy. "Hodges has written an excellent resource for those wanting a short—but meaningful—introduction to the major concepts in music philosophy. Applicable to a number of courses in the music curriculum, this much-needed book is both accessible and flexible, containing musical examples, tables and diagrams, and additional readings that make it particularly useful for a student's general introduction to the topic. I especially like the emphasis on the personal development of a philosophical position, which makes the material especially meaningful for the student of music." —Peter R. Webster, Scholar-in-Residence, Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California, USA

Co-published by MENC: The National Association for Music Education. A History of American Music Education covers the history of American music education, from its roots in Biblical times through recent historical events and trends. It describes the educational, philosophical, and sociological aspects of the subject, always putting it in the context of the history of the United States. It offers complete information on professional organizations, materials, techniques, and personalities in music education.

Designed to be used as a primary text in introductory research methods courses, Music Education Research: An Introduction aims to orient even the most novice researchers toward basic concepts and methodologies. Offering sustained attention to historical, philosophical, qualitative, quantitative, and action research approaches, the book includes overviews of how to read, interpret, design, and implement research within each framework. Readers will also find advice for conducting a review of research literature, scholarly writing, and disseminating research. All in all, the book serves as an invitation to consider how conducting research can serve to satisfy curiosities while also contributing to our collective professional knowledge. Drawing from classroom-tested material and the authors' many collective years of experience as instructors of research method courses and mentors to music education graduate students, this book is a must-have resource for masters and doctoral students in search of a thorough and approachable overview of music education research.

Curriculum decisions are the foundation of education. They determine the knowledge, understandings, skills, attitudes, and values deemed necessary for today's students. Beyond musical competencies, a curriculum is, therefore, the most important responsibility facing music educatorsone that goes well beyond the skills of simply delivering an individual lesson and accounts for beneficial outcomes for individual students, graduates, and ultimately the world of musicing. Oddly, however, curriculum theory and design for music education have been left to the sidelines in undergraduate music education. And it is usually no more on the radar of in-service teachers, despite the fact that the U.S. politics governing school curriculum are constantly in public view (e.g., U.S. "No child left behind," "Common Core"). Curriculum Philosophy and Theory for Music Education Praxis remedies this with a practical overview of curriculum basics and their implications for music education. Mindful of traditional philosophical roots of curriculum-foundations that still impact contemporary strategy, author Thomas A. Regelski offers a model curriculum based on recent praxis theory in which musical and educational benefits are evident to students, administrators, and taxpayers who ultimately fund music programs.

Music in the Human Experience: An Introduction to Music Psychology, Second Edition, is geared toward music students yet incorporates other disciplines to provide an explanation for why and how we make sense of music and respond to it—cognitively, physically, and emotionally. All human societies in every corner of the globe engage in music. Taken collectively, these musical experiences are widely varied and hugely complex affairs. How did human beings come to be musical creatures? How and why do our bodies respond to music? Why do people have emotional responses to music? Music in the Human Experience seeks to understand and explain these phenomena at the core of what it means to be a human being. New to this edition: Expanded references and examples of non-Western musical styles Updated literature on philosophical and spiritual issues Brief sections on tuning systems and the acoustics of musical instruments A section on creativity and improvisation in the discussion of musical performance New studies in musical genetics Greatly increased usage of explanatory figures

Opinionated and example-filled, this extremely concise and accessible book provides a survey of some fundamental and longstanding debates about the nature of music. The central arguments and ideas of historical and contemporary philosophers are presented with the goal of making them as accessible as possible to general readers who have no background in philosophy. The emphasis is on instrumental music, but examples are drawn from many cultures as well as from Western classical, jazz, folk, and popular music.

Stephen C. Ferguson II provides a philosophical examination of Black popular culture for the first time. From extensive discussion of the philosophy and political economy of Hip-Hop music through to a developed exploration of the influence of the postmodernism-poststructuralist ideology on African American studies, he argues how postmodernism ideology plays a seminal role in justifying the relationship between corporate capitalism and Black popular culture. Chapters cover topics such as cultural populism, capitalism and Black liberation, the philosophy of Hip-Hop music, and Harold Cruse's influence on the “cultural turn” in African American studies. Ferguson combines case studies of past and contemporary Black cultural and intellectual productions with a Marxist ideological critique to provide a cutting edge reflection on the economic structure in which Black popular culture emerged. He highlights the contradictions that are central to the juxtaposition of Black cultural artists as political participants in socioeconomic struggle and the political participants who perform the rigorous task of social criticism. Adopting capitalism as an explanatory framework, Ferguson investigates the relationship between postmodernism as social theory, current manifestations of Black popular culture, and the theoretical work of Black thinkers and scholars to demonstrate how African American studies have been shaped.

Sociology for Music Teachers: Practical Applications, Second Edition, outlines the basic concepts relevant to understanding music teaching and learning from a sociological perspective. It demonstrates the relationship of music to education, schooling and society, and examines the consequences for making instructional choices in teaching methods and repertoire selection. The authors look at major theories, and concepts relevant to music education, texts in the sociology of music, and thoughts of selected ethnomusicologists and sociologists. The new edition takes a more global approach than was the case in the first edition and includes the application of sociological theory to contexts beyond the classroom. The Second Edition: Presents major theories in ethnomusicology, both traditional and contemporary. Takes a global approach by presenting a variety of teaching practices beyond those found in the United States. Emphasizes music education in a traditional classroom setting, but also applies specific constructs to studio teaching situations in conservatories (with private lessons) and community music. Provides recommendations for teaching practices by addressing popular music in school music curricula, suggests inclusionary projects that explore musical styles and repertoire of the past and present, and connects school to community music practices of varying kinds. Contains an increased number of suggestions for projects and discussions among the students using the book.

Music and Music Education in People's Lives provides a broad framework for understanding the content and context of music education, examining the philosophical, psychological, cultural, international, and contextual issues that underpin a wide variety of teaching environments or individual attributes. As a whole, the volume explores how the discipline of music education can achieve even greater political, theoretical and professional strength.

Can music really arouse emotions? If so, what emotions, and how? Based on ground-breaking research, Musical Emotions Explained explores how music expresses and arouses emotions, and how it becomes an object of aesthetic judgments. The book is accessibly written by one of the leading researchers in the field worldwide.