Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond focuses on teaching adolescents within the context of a music classroom, regardless of content area (orchestra, band, choir, or general music). It provides a look at the importance of music courses in the lives of adolescents as they navigate the path between being a child and an adult. As every music student is completely unique, there is no one-size-fits-all prescriptive way of working with this age group. Rather, music educators must approach adolescents with high musical standards and aspirations to learn and achieve within music; a willingness to honor the individuality of each adolescent musician; a sense of structure, but an ability to be flexible; a desire to foster and promote a safe classroom environment where students feel empowered to be themselves and speak openly about what they think and believe; an understanding that music classes are not only safe places where students learn how to become better musicians but also better people through musical experiences focused on humanity and empathy; and a dose of humor, or at least the ability to acknowledge that adolescents are extremely funny whether or not they realize it. In addition, this book encourages pre-service and practicing music educators to mindfully examine and better understand their own teaching practices.

Professional musicians tell how they developed as artists, how they approach performance, and how they handle the business side of the business—offering solace and heartfelt inspiration along the way. How to Grow as a Musician is packed with candid advice on everything from overcoming failure to the art of writing a song to doing that all—important "ego check." It also covers such vital practical areas as the role of contracts, self—promotion, getting and keeping gigs, and managing money. A special self—evaluation lets readers assess whether they have what they need to succeed in the music business.

In 1987 photographer Sandra Dyas moved to Iowa City and began documenting the area's vibrant live music scene, with its distinctive combination of folk, blues, roots/Americana, and rock sounds. The sixty photos in Down to the River capture her twenty years of photographing live music venues and shooting portraits of musicians in and around the city, resulting in a collection of images as compassionate and honest as the music itself. Dyas's photographs present both the sweaty intensity of live performances and the more contemplative moments of individual portraits. They are complemented by Chris Offutt's empathetic essay, which also encapsulates the experience of connecting with a new home through its music. A companion CD with eighteen tracks by Iowa's finest singer/songwriters, including Dave Moore, Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, David Zollo, and Pieta Brown, add up to an unmatched perspective on Iowa music and musicians. CD Tracks 1. Iowa Crawl, Joe Price 2. Poor Back Slider, Greg Brown 3. Parnell, David Zollo 4. #807, Pieta Brown 5. Wheels of Steel, Radoslav Lorkovic 6. Down to the River, Dave Moore 7. Lucy and Andy Drive to Arkansas, Kevin Gordon 8. Chuck Brown, Mike and Amy Finders 9. Nobody But You, Joe Price 10. Earleton, BeJae Fleming 11. Ceremonial Child, High and Lonesome 12. Sidetrack Lounge, Bo Ramsey 13. On the Edge, Pieta Brown 14. One Wrong Turn, Greg Brown 15. Not in Iowa, Kelly Pardekooper 16. Living in a Cornfield, Bo Ramsey 17. '57 Chevy, Tom Jessen's Dimestore Outfit 18. Roll on John, the Pines

In this collection of interviews, twenty-four instrumentalists and singers talk about the early influences that started them on the road to jazz and where that road has taken them.

This report examines the characteristics of the artist population in 1990 and compares them to the 1980 and 1970 census results. Artist occupations selected for study include: actors and directors; announcers; architects; authors; dancers; designers; musicians and composers; painters, sculptors, craft-artists, and artist printmakers; photographers; teachers of art, drama and music in higher education; and artists, performers, and related workers not classified elsewhere. The study examines: (1) "Growth in the Artist Work Force"; (2) "Geographic Trends"; (3) "Demographic Trends"; (4) "Trends Among Women and Minority Artists"; (5) "Age Trends"; (6) "Education Trends"; (7) "Full Time Work Last Year"; (8) "Earnings Trends"; and (9) "Occupation Profiles." Findings indicate that very significant changes have occurred over the target time period. Artists have become more geographically diverse over the two decades. Growth among artist occupations has substantially outdistanced that for the labor force as a whole and for all professional occupations, of which artists account for about one-tenth. Incomes for artists, however, lag significantly behind those for other professionals of equal education and training. The report includes extensive tables and graphs of statistical information. (MM)

This book sets out a contemporary perspective on music education, highlighting complex intersections between informal, non-formal and formal practices and contexts. At a time when the boundaries between music learning and participation are increasingly blurred, this volume is distinctive in challenging a ‘siloed’ approach to understanding the diverse international music education landscape. Instead, the book proposes a multi-layered continuum of practices that can be applied across a range of formal, informal or non-formal concepts to support the development of musical possible selves. It challenges existing conceptions of learning in music education in part by drawing on research in adult learning, but also by considering the contexts in which learning takes place, and the extent to which this learning can be classified as formal, informal or non-formal.