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Pilgrims and Puritans Arrive in America
At this period in time, the Pilgrims and Puritans made their way to America for religious freedom. They faced many obstacles when arriving, which caused them to mainly focus on survival. As a result, musical skills were pushed aside. -
The Massachusetts School Law of 1642
This law required that parents educate their children to at least an elementary level. -
The Massachusetts School Law of 1647
This law required that each town in a fifty-mile span had a teacher for the children that taught literacy. Larger towns had schools to prepare children for university. -
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Singing Schools
Musical skills, especially in churches, began to suffer severely. As a result, many citizenships began singing schools. This was the beginning of music education. Classes were held for all ages and students learned technique and notation. Masters of the schools sold tunebooks and traveled as well, and were composers. Singing schools did well among citizens because they provided skills they didn't receive in public schools. -
Reverend's Lament
In 1721, a Massachusetts reverend complained about the lacking state of musical skills in the churches. -
Instrumental Music in the Church
The use of instruments in the church was forbidden in Puritan New England, but the cello became accepted in the churches. -
Band Popularity
Brass Bands were increasing in popularity, which was influenced by Allen Dodworth. Most of the early bands were associated with the military (West Point: 14 Men) -
Singing Classes
The vocal activities could consist of casual auditorium singing, extracurricular glee clubs, or large groups for the purpose of singing oratories. Nearly all the girls in the school were reported to have taken the class. A large majority of all the schools offered assembly singing. In most instances when chorus was required, it became little more than assembly singing with administrators interested in loyalty and school spirit rather than the aesthetics of music. -
Music Included in Curriculum
In 1838, Lowell Mason advocated for the inclusion of music in public school curriculum. He worked with the Boston School Committee to achieve this. -
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Symphony Orchestras
Symphony Orchestras were becoming a huge part of our culture. Four symphonies that opened during this time included: New York Philharmonic (1842), The Symphony Society of New York (1878), The Saint Louis Symphony (1880), and The Boston Symphony (1881). -
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School Bands
The first school band appeared in 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts. The following states had bands before 1900: Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Indiana. -
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Bands
Patrick S. Gilmore’s band performed at the Peace Festival of 1869 and the World Peace Festival in 1872. John Philip Sousa’s band played transcriptions and marches during the same time period. -
Eben Tourjee
Eben Tourjée was the first person whose results were significant and permanent when it came to the conservatory system in America. He was well-known for beginning the Music Teachers National Association in 1876. -
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Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore
Gilmore influenced the development of bands before and during the Civil War. He assembled the Grand National Concert (New Orleans) which consisted of 500 band members and 5000 choir members. His band toured between 1876 and 1891. This tour encouraged people to start using woodwind instruments again as well as the standard of performance for bands. -
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Rote vs. Reading
In the late 1800s, teachers disagreed about whether music should be taught through rote or through independent music reading skills. This led to introspection for music teachers in how they preferred to teach and why those methods were more successful. -
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Frank Damrosch
Frank Damrosch was the first supervisor of music (1881-1885) in Denver. He left to become a chorus-master at the Metropolitan Opera as well as an assistant to Walter Damrosch. He formed the Peoples’ Singing Classes at Copper Union. He organized the Musical Art Society of New York, which lasted for twenty-five seasons. This organization joined with the Juilliard School of Music in 1928. -
High School Band
The first mention of high school band teachers occurred in 1896 (Junius K. Abrams, E. L. Hughes, & W. Otto Miessner). John W. Wainwright organized a band that played at a Decoration Day parade. He promised the group that if they worked hard enough, he would take them to Washington to play for the Woodrow Wilson, and they did. Wainwright was one of the first in the country to discover the possibility of teaching boys and girls to play as a band. He also established the first band camp. -
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Continued Discourse Over Teaching Methods
In 1903, Samuel Cole stated that music education should be about helping children enjoy and value music, not enhancing their reading skills. This led to another discussion about methods and how to focus the education aspect on the children themselves, rather than the teachers. Froebel, Dewey, and Montessori are big names in the advocacy for child-centered curriculum. -
Continued Discourse over Teaching Methods
In 1903, Samuel Cole stated that music education should be about helping children enjoy and value music, not enhancing their reading skills. This led to another discussion about methods and how to focus the education aspect on the children themselves, rather than the teachers. Froebel, Dewey, and Montessori are big names in the advocacy for child-centered curriculum. -
Centennial Congress
The organization was founded in 1907. This represented the National School Boards Association, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National Association of Schools of Music, and the American Association of School Administrators. They determined that curriculum needed to be more inclusive of genres, flexibility & variety of programs, and rethinking teacher education. They spoke on assessments on how to grade students and how to advocate with the decision makers. -
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The Rise of Singing
Oratorio performances increased in the 1910s and then decreased in the 1920s with the rise of glee clubs and a new interest in operetta performances. With the rise of interest in a cappella singing toward the end of the 1920s and accompanied by the progressive educator’s concern for individual differences, the concept of required choral practice was doomed. -
High School Committee
In a report of the High School Music Committee in 1912, it was recommended that “efforts be made to secure accreditation for the following activities: chorus, music appreciation, orchestra, girls chorus, band, boys chorus, and glee club.” The band had to prove itself intellectually to the teaching profession. -
Cathedral Choirs
Russian Orthodox Cathedral Choirs began to tour around 1913. These choirs focused on a cappella ideas, and they became extremely popular. The American public was initiated to the beauties of the English madrigal school through the skillful artistic performance of these works. -
Band Contests
Instrumental music instruction started to expand due to music contests. These contests appealed to lots of people. The first national school band contest was held in Chicago in 1923. The competition received a lot of criticism due to the adjudication, the music selection process, sizes, and instrumentation. -
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Vocal Affairs and Evolution
George Oscar Bowen created the first Committee on Vocal Affairs in 1926. He suggested a national high school chorus. The a cappella choir evolved from glee clubs in 1927. Jacob A. Evanson reasoned the only medium that could compete with the advances in instrumental was a cappella. The Flint A Cappella Choir was formed as a “solid” subject like other subjects. By the mid-1930s, a cappella singing was at its height in the high schools of America. -
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1930s
Prior to 1930, there was evidence of confusion in high school choral music. Some schools had glee clubs of various kinds for credit or for no credit. The contest movement helped to stimulate interest in glee clubs. The high school choral supervisor watched instrumental music rise, and wanted to have choral music rise in schools as well. High school choral directors would dedicate themselves to the art of a cappella music. -
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1950s
The American Education system was affected after World War II. Tensions were high which showed in almost every aspect in society. Many people pushed for more science and mathematics based education, which attacked the art programs. Many art programs were cut during the Space Race. -
Contemporary Era
The Ford Foundation explored the correlation between the arts and American society. They solicited leaders that would create ideas to enrich the cultural life of the US. -
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Important Books
The National Society for the Study of Education published the Basic Concepts in Music Education (1958). Charles Leonhard and Robert House published the Foundations and Principles of Music Education (1959). These books set an agenda for future intellectual developments in music education, based on values that only music could offer. Bennett Reimer published A Philosophy of Music Education (1970). This book influenced the music education profession as well as aesthetic education. -
Contemporary Music Project
Norman Dello Joio proposed sending composers to public schools to write music for the students. The students and communities would benefit from this idea. This sparked the Young Composers Project in 1959. -
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1960s
Art programs were reincorporated during this time period. The National Education Association sponsored a project that allowed music to be instilled as a core curriculum subject. This would maintain balance between the subjects. -
Yale Seminar
The purpose of the Yale Seminar was to take note of the issues in schools and how to fix them. Claude Palisca was the director of the seminar. There were 31 participants, but only 5 were music. The seminar consisted of recommendations for music education. -
Juilliard Repertory Project
K-6 tester pieces of music, supposed to be high quality
Victorious Gianni
In response to Yale -
Tanglewood Symposium
The Tanglewood Symposium was sponsored by the MENC and was very appealing to teachers. The purpose of the symposium was to create a solid definition of the role of music education in a period of change. For instance, while the civil rights movement was going on, people questioned how music was important in the long-run. The symposium was two weeks long and the Tanglewood Declaration was the final report, summarizing the findings. -
Goals and Objectives Project
This project was a response to the Tanglewood report. Paul Lehman led the project and assigned goals to areas of responsibility. This project was the beginning foundations of music education standards. -
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1970s
The economy was suffering which caused tighter funding in schools. This caused education to decline. After the “baby boom” generation, enrollment levels dropped. This caused many teachers to lose their jobs. Towards the end of the decade, many people began to push for a reform in education. -
MENC Publishes Standards
In 1974, the MENC published the first standards for music education. -
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1980s
The federal government had no power in changing school systems due to lack of funding and power. American Education was terrible at the time, and students were receiving a horrible education. The College Board advocated for an educational system that had a set curriculum. -
2nd Edition of Standards
MENC published a 2nd edition of music education standards. They required that colleges require at least one art course. However, they had trouble enforcing it. -
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1990s
Funding increased for schools, but the quality of the education was still terrible. There was a slight improvement in success rates. The National Standards of the curriculum for schools were starting to be used. -
NCCAS
The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards was created in 1994. The new standards will affirm the place of the arts as a core curricular subject. The goal was “to help classroom educators better implement and assess standards-based arts instruction in the schools”. They pushed to expand skills toward the 21st century (Create, Collaborate, Communicate, & Critical Thinking). -
Vision 2020
Also called the Housewright Symposium, it was an update of the Tanglewood Symposium. The goal was for Vision 2020 to last for 20 years (until 2020). Some key items in the declaration were that everyone gets to participate in music without discrimination. They asked the key question of why do we value and study music?
They also discussed the relationship between schools and other forms of music learning. Although Vision 2020 was well-planned, it didn't carry through like it was supposed to. -
Centennial Congress of the Music Educators National Conference
This was the celebration of 100th anniversary of MNEC's. This was not highly significant in terms of new developments in music education. The Centennial Declaration is a description of the current state of music education and its needs. They talked about advocacy and how a healthy society requires musically fulfilled people. They discussed student needs and wants, in-service opportunities, and rethinking how we educate educators. -
National Coalition for Core Arts
An alliance of education organizations joined to create new arts education standards. The standards guide music, theatre, dance, and visual arts. The NCCAS was released in 2012 in order to develop a new generation of art education standards. There were 8 members, and the primary goal was to help classroom educators better implement and assess standards based arts. They developed 21st century skills, more adapted to recent days.