Common general music pedagogies include Orff-Keetman, Kodály, Dalcroze, Music Learning Theory, and World Music Pedagogy. These approaches engage learners through moving to music, playing instruments, and developing aural skills with repertoire from around the globe. As we look toward the future, general music classroom teachers are working to create engaging and relevant learning spaces. To help make the music classroom relevant for their students, music educators might consider incorporating culturally relevant pedagogy into general music pedagogies. The framework of culturally relevant pedagogy uses academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness as pillars for practice. In this article, authors share their perspectives on general methods and how they use their specialized pedagogical knowledge through the lens of culturally relevant pedagogy. Implications for general music education are discussed.
AbellC. (2023). The Mexican corrido in the Orff classroom. The Orff Echo, 55(4), 34–39.
2.
AbrilC. R.BattisteL.W. (2022). Teaching music for human connections. In AbrilC. R.GaultB. (Eds.), General music: Dimensions of practice (pp. 115–133). Oxford University Press.
3.
AbrilC. R.Kelly-McHaleJ. (2016). Thinking about and responding to culture in general music. In AbrilC. R.GaultB. (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 287–313). Oxford University Press.
4.
Adorno (2024). Navigating identities: The musical lives of four second-generation immigrant children. Journal of Research in Music Education, 73(1), 109–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294241256929
BeegleA.BondJ. (2016). Orff Schulwerk: Releasing and developing the musical imagination. In AbrilC. R.GaultB. M. (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 25–49). Oxford University Press.
7.
BluestineE. (2000). The ways children learn music: An introduction and practical guide to Music Learning Theory (2nd ed.). GIA Publications.
8.
ButkeM. A. (2014). Assessing expressive movement: Measuring student learning outcomes in the general music classroom. General Music Today, 27(3), 23–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371314525782
9.
CampbellP. S. (2004). Teaching music globally: Experiencing music, experiencing culture. Oxford University Press.
10.
CampbellP. S. (2016). World music pedagogy: Where music meets culture in classroom practice. In AbrilC. R.GaultB. M. (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 81–111). Oxford University Press.
11.
Cantarelli VitaJ. (2018). Promoting cultural understanding through Orff Schulwerk: Embracing music in and as culture. The Orff Echo, 50(2), 42–46.
12.
CooperA. (2023). Free play in the music classroom: Using play as a supplemental approach to traditional instruction. The Orff Echo, 55(2), 36–44.
13.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
14.
DockanD. (2024) Democratic practices in the elementary music classroom. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 242, 55–76. https://doi.org/10.5406/21627223.242.03
FregoD.ListonR.HamaM.GillmeisterG. (2009). The Dalcroze approach to music therapy. In DarrowA. (Ed.), Introduction to approaches in music therapy (pp. 25–30). American Music Therapy Association.
17.
GaultB. (2011). Listen to the music! Popular music and active listening. The Orff Echo, 43(4), 10–13.
18.
GaultB. (2016). Kodaly-inspired teaching: A bridge to musical fluency. In AbrilC.R.GaultB. (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 101–109). Oxford University Press.
19.
GaultB (2022). Engaging learners in active music listening. In AbrilC. R.GaultB. (Eds.), General music: Dimensions of practice (pp. 322–334). Oxford University Press.
GayG. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.
22.
GerhardsteinR. C. (2001). Edwin E. Gordon: A biographical and historical account of an American music educator and researcher (3014435) [Doctoral dissertation Temple University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
GoodkinD. (2004). Play, sing, & dance: An introduction to Orff Schulwerk (2nd ed.). Schott Music Corporation.
25.
GordonE. E. (1997). Learning sequences in music: Lecture Cassettes. GIA Publications, Inc.
26.
GordonE. E. (2007). Learning sequences in music: Lecture CDs. GIA Publications, Inc.
27.
GordonE. E. (2009). Rhythm: Contrasting the implications of audiation and notation (2nd ed.). GIA Publications.
28.
GordonE. E. (2012). Learning sequences in music: Skill, content, and patterns. GIA Publications, Inc.
29.
GreenL. (2008). Music, informal learning and the school: A new classroom pedagogy. Ashgate Press.
30.
HughesP. (2023). Singing and culture: Rethinking singing, sound, and beauty in the elementary music classroom. The Orff Echo, 55(4), 10–14.
31.
IbrahimM. (in press). Social justice song writing: Protest song composition. In PowellB. (Ed.), Modern Band handbook. Oxford University Press.
32.
Jaques-DalcrozeE. (1921/2013). Rhythmic movement, solfege, and improvisation (RubensteinH. Trans.). In Rhythm, music, and education (pp. 115–139). Read Books Ltd. (Original work published 1921)
JuntenenM.-L. (2016). The Dalcroze approach: Experiencing and knowing music through embodied exploration. In AbrilC.GaultB. (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 141–167). Oxford University Press.
35.
JuntenenM.-L.HyvönenL. (2004). Embodiment in musical knowing: How body movement facilitates learning within Dalcroze Eurhythmics. British Journal of Music Education, 21(2), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051704005686
36.
Kelly-McHaleJ. (2013). The influence of music teacher beliefs and practices on the expression of musical identity in an elementary general music classroom. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(2), 195–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429413485439
37.
Ladson-BillingsG. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34(3), 159–165. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1476635
38.
LandisB.CarderP. (1990). The Orff approach. In CarderP. (Ed.), The eclectic curriculum (pp. 109–136). Music Educators National Conference.
39.
McKoyC. L.LindV. R. (2023). Culturally responsive teaching in music education. Routledge.
OrffC. (1963). The Schulwerk—Its origin and aims. Music Educators Journal, 49(5), 69–73.
42.
ParisD.AlimH. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85–100. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.982l873k2ht16m77
43.
PowellB. (2022). Equity in music education: Addressing equity and social justice in music education through modern band: Opportunities and challenges. Music Educators Journal, 108(2), 57–59.
44.
RipaniG. (2022). Children’s representations of music, musical identities, and musical engagement: Content and socio-demographic influences. Journal of Research in Music Education, 70(3), 271–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294211065096
45.
RobertsJ. C.BeegleA. (2018). World Music Pedagogy, Volume II: Elementary music education (1st ed.). Routledge.
46.
SheridanM. M. (2019). The Kodály concept in the United States: Early American adaptations to recent evolutions. Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, 41(1), 55–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536600618787481
47.
StevensonJ. (2015). A comprehensive guide for the future Jaques-Dalcroze educator. Institute for Jaques-Dalcroze Education.
48.
SwanwickK. (1999). Teaching music musically. Routledge.
49.
TaggartC. C. (2016) Music Learning Theory: A theoretical framework in action. In AbrilC. R.GaultB. M. (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 183–208). Oxford University Press.
50.
VasilM. (2020). Hip-hop and Haring: Pop culture and interdisciplinary learning for the general music classroom. General Music Today, 34(1), 6–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371320901541
51.
VasilM.DockanD. (2023). Orff Schulwerk and popular music educaiton. Music Educators Journal, 110(2), 1–8. www.doi.org/10.1177/00274321231214695
52.
VolkT. M. (1998). Music, education, and multiculturalism: Foundations and principles. Oxford University Press.
53.
VolkT. M. (2002). Multiculturalism: Dynamic creativity for music education. In ReimerB. (Ed.)., World musics and music education (pp. 15–29). The National Association for Music Education.
54.
WattsS. H. (2024). World Music Pedagogy and building empathy in early childhood. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 42(2), 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233231169703
55.
WeimerA. A.DavisV. W.SalinasD. (2019). “Traversing two worlds”: Influences upon career perspectives of Mexican-American music education majors. Texas Music Education Research, 14–29.
56.
ZemkeL. (1977). The Kodály concept: Its history, philosophy, and development. Shawnee Press, Inc
