In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world causing physical, emotional, economic, and social upheaval in every part of the globe. It also catalyzed a renewed interrogation, by music education faculty in higher education, of philosophies and practices that had long gone unexamined. Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change is a collection of narratives by music teacher-educators describing how they responded to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic with, and for, their students. Through these stories, the authors step back and reflect on the events, challenges, triumphs, and innovations discovered as they prepared the next generation of music educators in this time of crisis. They tell stories of reexamining old frameworks, discovering new affordances of technologies, humanizing pedagogy, deepening culturally responsive and sustaining experiences, and creating space for democratic practices. Each chapter offers examples of innovative music pedagogy that can be adapted and applied by music educators and music teacher educators with their students. Collectively, they paint a picture of possibilities, challenging music teacher-educators- and educators in all fields- to seek out openings and pursue pedagogies of change as we move forward into a post-pandemic world.
Judy Lewis is assistant professor of music education at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. Andrea Maas is assistant professor of music education at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam.
List of Figures Foreword Randall Everett Allsup Prologue Judy Lewis and Andrea Maas Acknowledgments Part I: Flint Stones and Foundational Frameworks Chapter One: Reflecting on Pandemic Teaching and Technology Emmett James O'Leary Chapter Two: A Thriving Form of Communication: Understanding Chat Within an Online Discussion-based Course Sheelagh Chadwick Chapter Three: Discovering Potential in a Pandemic: Performing, Responding, Connecting, and Creating in Instrumental Music Teaching Jonathan G. Schaller Chapter Four: The Digital Audio Workstation in the Aural Skills Classroom: Using Reason as a Tool for Dictation Practice Jerod Sommerfeldt Chapter Five: Sound Learning: The Pedagogical Pivots of Teaching Artists Michelle Amosu Thomas, Michelle Mercier-De Shon, Patrick K. Freer, and Luiz Barcellos In Dialogue: Letters Across the Pond Marsha Baxter and Marie Louise Bowe Part II: Culture, Care, and Community Hearths Chapter Six: Reclaiming the Musical Kauhale: Kanikapila and Mo'Olelo a Choral Curriculum Jace Kaholokula Saplan Chapter Seven: The Playlist Project: Exploring Culturally Responsive Practices Through Online Learning Tamara T. Thies Chapter Eight: Learning to Be Human: The Art of Care, Compassion, and Empathy in Music Education Nicholas Ryan McBride Chapter Nine: From Wide Roots to Connected Branches: Perspectives on Early Childhood Music Education Across Brazil During the Pandemic. Tiago Madalozzo, Vivian Agnolo Madalozzo, Angelita Vander Broock, Regiana Blank Wille In Dialogue: The Courage to Change-A Dialogue of Experience William L. Lake Jr. and Albert R. Lee Part III: Democracy and Dumpster Fires Chapter Ten: Remodeling Choral Experiences: Historic Preservation or Gut-Job Renovation? Andrea Maas Chapter Eleven: Curating Open Spaces: Digital Learning and Democratic Pedagogy Judy Lewis Chapter Twelve: Choir Disrupted Nils Klykken Epilogue: Transformative Change and Music Teacher Education Andrea Maas and Judy Lewis Appendix About the Contributors
In this deeply complicated and emotionally charged discipline of music teaching and learning, once in a while a book comes along that touches the very soul of what we do. Maas and Lewis have expertly edited and contributed to a collection of reflections about what really matters. Sad that it took a world pandemic to prompt these kinds of meaningful perspectives and stories of bravery and creativeness but thrilling to know how our profession responded. This book provides the chance to, indeed, imagine spaces becoming wider, new paths emerging, and a set of achievements that mark a new era for music and its meaning in our lives. -- Peter R. Webster, Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California Music Education During Crisis is a testament to music educators' dedication to supporting students and the ability to adapt in the context of a global pandemic. The specific pedagogical and curricular approaches that authors share are valuable in and of themselves, yet it is the intimacy of witnessing our colleagues' journeys, challenges, and processes of transforming curriculum and practice that invites us to pause and reflect on possibilities in our own contexts. These stories of pivots in technology, community, and roles as learners and educators are not just lessons learned through finding ways of being and teaching during COVID-19 but catalysts to reconsider what music learning and teaching might be as we move now and in the future. -- Evan Tobias, Arizona State University
