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The pervasive Eurocentric model of music education in the United States is hegemonic, pursuing a model of performance excellence in large ensembles that, by the time young people reach high school, excludes most from music making opportunities in school. Despite numerous efforts to challenge the dominant paradigm since the 1960s, little change has happened from within the music education profession. Since 2002, nonprofit organization Little Kids Rock (Music Will) has leveraged outsider perspectives and philanthropic resources to galvanize momentum nationally towards adoption of curricula and musicking practices that focus more on popular musics and lifelong learning. Through a programme of professional development, curriculum provision and instrument donations, Little Kids Rock has both engaged in active resistance against, and established strategic partnerships with, state governments, university departments, school districts, major industry players including the National Association of Music Merchants, and education brands such as Berklee College of Music. Little Kids Rock promotes a new stream of music making called "modern band" as a disruptive phenomenon that emphasizes creativity, cultural relevance and student-centred learning while reinforcing entrenched hegemonic structures. Drawing on the history of Little Kids Rock and the modern band movement, the authors use Kahn-Egan's (1998) five tenets of punk to frame a critical examination of the modern band phenomenon and the ways which Little Kids Rock operates at various points along punk's ideological spectrum in attempting to "transform lives through restoring, expanding and innovating music education" in US schools.

The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards released standards for music education in 2014. These standards are guided by artistic processes and measured by performance standards specific to content areas and grade levels. As school districts in the United States adopt the Core Arts Standards for their music programs, it is imperative that modern band teachers demonstrate how their curriculum aligns with this new framework. Modern band is one approach to popular music education that is particularly well suited to address this new framework; the emphases of songwriting, improvising, critical listening, and group work in a learner-centered modern band class/ensemble are associated with a wide variety of standards. This article explores connections between popular music pedagogies and each of the processes in the Core Arts Standards and examines which standards may be most appropriate for modern band contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many K–12 teachers face hurdles when it comes to running a Modern Band, including the pedagogical challenges of facilitating large scale ensembles with unfamiliar repertoire and instruments. Approximation and scaffolding are two important tools teachers can use to help learners thrive in this environment. This article uses music examples to demonstrate how to approximate popular songs in a variety of ways, providing accommodations and adaptations for students of all skill levels to give all students an opportunity to learn. This article outlines how scaffolding in the Modern Band classroom allows for whole-class instruction while keeping advanced students motivated without alienating beginning students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the world economy and U.S. educational policy present music educators with the challenge of reassessing traditional pedagogy to ensure they are instructing and assessing in ways that contribute to students' development of 21st-century knowledge and skill sets. Educators are responding by incorporating pedagogical approaches that challenge students to think critically, problem solve collaboratively, and use technology and media efficiently. Popular Music Pedagogies (PMPs) invite students, music teachers, and music teacher educators to take risks, learn alongside one another, and address 21st-century knowledge and skills through engaging with the music that students choose and create. In this article, we define PMPs and discuss how music teacher educators can incorporate PMPs into music teacher education programs to better prepare preservice and inservice music teachers to function within a Partnership for 21st Century Learning framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]