At once joyous and somber, this thoughtful gathering of new and selected essays spans Kathleen Dean Moore's distinguished career as a tireless advocate for environmental activism in the face of climate change. In this meditation on the music of the natural world, Moore celebrates the call of loons, howl of wolves, bellow of whales, laughter of children, and shriek of frogs, even as she warns of the threats against them. Each group of essays moves, as Moore herself has been moved, from celebration to lamentation to bewilderment and finally to the determination to act in defense of wild songs and the creatures who sing them. Music is the shivering urgency and exuberance of life ongoing. In a time of terrible silencing, Moore asks, who will forgive us if we do not save nature's songs?

This volume shows music educators how music teaching and learning can help address humanity’s greatest challenge—the ecological crisis. It provides the essential background knowledge in ecomusicology, from compositions about nature, soundscape experiences, activist songs, to practical lesson ideas. Motivated by the urgent need for increased ecological awareness and sustainable practices, and the ecological aspects of music and musical aspects of ecosystems, the book explores the powerful role that music educators can play in protecting and preserving the natural environment. Each chapter includes a narrative and potential lesson ideas that include listening, singing, playing instruments, moving, and contextualizing, with the goal of translating research in ecomusicological theory into a sustainable, creative, and critical music teaching practice. Bridging the gap between recent scholarship and pedagogical work, this book will be a valuable resource for educators, P–12 classroom teachers, and music specialists, as well as in undergraduate music education methods courses.

Excerpt from Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music: A Description of the Character and Music of Birds, Intended to Assist in the Identification of Species Common in the United States East of the Rocky Mountains Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star In his steep course? So long he seems to pause On thy bald awful head, O sovran Blanc! The Arve and Arveiron at thy base Rave ceaselessly; but thou, ... Risest from forth thy silent sea of pines, How silently! .... ... sing ye meadow streams with gladsome voice! Ye pine groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds! Samuel Taylor Coleridge. When in the lapse of a number of years an accumulation of knowledge and experience has enlarged or modified one's mental vision, it is well if the advance goes on record. Now, although my estimate of the character and significance of bird music has undergone little material change during a period of seventeen years, it has grown proportionately with those years, and I have added in this new edition the results of my latest study. It is not necessary to apologize for the insistence upon the value of musical notation expressed in my Introduction to Bird Music, there is no avoiding the facts stated therein, nor any cause to enlarge on them; but there is something to be added in relation to the musical scales of the birds, and in appreciation of the musical record and its popular as well as scientific usefulness. When one attains the commanding summit of a high mountain the horizon is greatly enlarged. If one remains in the valley and mountain walls shut one in on every side, the world indeed seems small. Coleridge soared upward like the lark when he wrote the lines quoted above. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.