Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz continues in the best tradition of the Teaching Music series, bringing together insights from top jazz educators and invaluable analysis of the best repertoire published for jazz ensembles of all skill levels. This book is the ideal tool for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the preeminent music for jazz ensembles by seminal jazz composers. In addition, leading jazz educators and musicians contribute chapters on topics such as: "Why Teach Jazz?" by Wynton Marsalis; "A Multi-Cultural approach to Jazz Education" by Ronald Carter; "Rehearsal Techniques: A holistic approach integrating composition, imporovisation, theory, and cultural considerations in the rehearsal" by Ron McCurdy; "The rhythm section: The band within the band" by Reginald Thomas; and "Promoting a high school jazz band" by Ron Modell. In addition, this book includes Teacher Resource Guides to more than 65 of the top jazz charts, broken down into developing, intermediate, and advanced categories. Each Teacher Resource Guide includes vital information on the composer, the composition, historical background, technical requirements, stylistic considerations, musical elements, form and structure, listening suggestions, and additional references. Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz is an essential resource for jazz leaders at all levels and a major contribution to the jazz field. -- from dust jacket.

Recordings of works composed for band and suitable for grades 2-5.

"The book contains thorough analyses of 100 of the most significant works for strings and full orchestra, Grades 1-6. Researched and compiled by scholarly musicians and teachers around the country, the book gives important information on each musical selection, including composer and composition information, historical background, technical requirements, stylistic considerations, musical elements, suggestions for additional listening, and a guide to selected references"--Publisher's website

(Music Pro Guide Books & DVDs). Most choirs spend their rehearsal time focusing on notes, rhythms, and precision. They rarely, if ever, discuss a song's meaning and feeling, even though those elements are precisely what draws people to the music in the first place. Thousands of books have been written about choral technique, teaching people how to sing technically well. What sets The Heart of Vocal Harmony apart is its focus on honest unified expression and the process of delivering an emotionally compelling performance. It delves into an underdeveloped vocal topic the heart of the music and the process involved with expressing it. The Heart of Vocal Harmony is not just for a cappella groups it is also for vocal harmony groups, ensembles, and choirs at all levels, with or without instruments. In addition to the process, the book features discussions with some of the biggest luminaries in vocal harmony: composers, arrangers, directors, singers, and groups including Eric Whitacre, Pentatonix, the Manhattan Transfer, and more!

Jazz Improvisation Using Simple Melodic Embellishment teaches fundamental concepts of jazz improvisation, highlighting the development of performance skills through embellishment techniques. Written with the college-level course in mind, this introductory textbook is both practical and comprehensive, ideal for the aspiring improviser, focused not on scales and chords but melodic embellishment. It assumes some basic theoretical knowledge and level of musicianship while introducing multiple techniques, mindful that improvisation is a learned skill as dependent on hard work and organized practice as it is on innate talent. This jargon-free textbook can be used in both self-guided study and as a course book, fortified by an array of interactive exercises and activities: musical examples performance exercises written assignments practice grids resources for advanced study and more! Nearly all musical exercises--presented throughout the text in concert pitch and transposed in the appendices for E-flat, B-flat, and bass clef instruments--are accompanied by backing audio tracks, available for download via the Routledge catalog page along with supplemental instructor resources such as a sample syllabus, PDFs of common transpositions, and tutorials for gear set-ups. With music-making at its core, Jazz Improvisation Using Simple Melodic Embellishment implores readers to grab their instruments and play, providing musicians with the simple melodic tools they need to "jazz it up."

Recordings of works composed for band and suitable for grades 2-5.

Introduction to Effective Music Teaching: Artistry and Attitude provides the prospective teacher with front-line tested strategies and approaches that are based on current research and the author's three decades of service as a public school music educator, department chairman, and public school district music administrator. Starting with a brief overview of the history of music education in public schools, Alfred Townsend gives the reader a deeper understanding of the importance of music education to all students, gifted or not. Readers then examine artistry (command of content and mastery of methods) and the ABCs of teacher attitude, the critical component that unlocks learning for many students. With an open and accessible writing style, Dr. Townsend reviews the six components of effective teaching, showing that artistry and attitude can be combined to fuel student learning and teacher leadership. Using all of this information, the reader constructs a personal, practical philosophy of music teaching and learning that will form the basis for his or her instruction. Readers will also experience artistry and attitude in action through well-written case studies of effective teachers. With increasingly diverse student populations teachers now face, this book provides music teachers with ways to interact effectively with students of all backgrounds, attitudes, and talent.