Gary E. McPherson – författare

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education offers global, comprehensive, and critical perspectives on a wide range of conceptual and practical issues in music education assessment, evaluation, and feedback as these apply to various forms of music education within schools and communities. The central aims of this Handbook focus on broadening and deepening readers' understandings of and critical thinking about the problems, opportunities, spaces and places, concepts, and practical strategies that music educators and community music facilitators employ, develop, and deploy to improve various aspects of music teaching and learning around the world.

Music and Music Education in People's Lives is one of five paperback books derived from the foundational two-volume Oxford Handbook of Music Education. Designed for music teachers, students, and scholars of music education, as well as educational administrators and policy makers, this first book in the set provides a framework for understanding the content and context of music education, and for future action within the profession. A broad examination of the philosophical, psychological, cultural, international, and contextual issues that underpin a wide variety of teaching environments or individual attributes is paired with 25 relevant and insightful commentaries from established scholars and music educators. Taken as a whole, Music and Music Education in People's Lives gives clear direction to how the discipline of music education can achieve even greater political, theoretical and professional strength.ContributorsHarold F. Abeles, Nick Beach, Wayne D. Bowman, Liora Bresler, Patricia Shehan Campbell, Richard Colwell, Robert A. Cutietta, David J. Elliott, Sergio Figueiredo, Lucy Green, Wilfried Gruhn, David Hargreaves, Sarah Hennessy, Liane Hentschke, Donald A. Hodges, Christopher M. Johnson, Estelle R. Jorgensen, Andreas C. Lehmann, Richard Letts, Håkan Lundström, Raymond MacDonald, Clifford K. Madsen, Andrew J. Martin, Marie McCarthy, Katrina McFerran, Gary E. McPherson, Bradley Merrick, Dorothy Miell, Graça Mota, Bruno Nettl, Bengt Olsson, Susan A. O'Neill, Johnmarshall Reeve, Bennett Reimer, James Renwick, Huib Schippers, Wendy L. Sims, David J. Teachout, Rena Upitis, Peter R. Webster, Graham F. Welch, Paul Woodford

Special Needs, Community Music, and Adult Learning is one of five paperback books derived from the foundational two-volume Oxford Handbook of Music Education. Designed for music teachers, students, and scholars of music education, as well as educational administrators and policy makers, this fourth book in the set focuses on issues and topics that help to broaden conceptions of music and musical involvement, while recognizing that development occurs through many forms. The first section addresses music education for those with special abilities and special needs; authors explore many of the pertinent issues that can promote or hinder learners who share characteristics, and delve deep into what it means to be musical. The second section of the volume addresses music as a shared, community experience, and the diverse and constantly evolving international practice of community music. The chapters in the third section provide evidence that the process of music education exists as a lifelong continuum that encompasses informal, formal, and non-formal methods alike. The authors encourage music educators to think in terms of a music learning society, where adult education is not peripheral to the priority of other age groups, but is instead fully integral to a vision for the good of society. By developing sound pedagogical approaches that are tailored to take account of all learners, the volume endeavors to move from making individual adaptations towards designing sensitive 'universal' solutions.ContributorsCarlos R. Abril, Mary Adamek, Kenneth S. Aigen, Chelcy Bowles, Mary L. Cohen, William M. Dabback, Alice-Ann Darrow, John Drummond, Cochavit Elefant, David J. Elliott, Lee Higgins, Valentina Iadeluca, Judith A. Jellison, Janet L. Jensen, Patrick M. Jones, Jody L. Kerchner, Thomas W. Langston, Andreas C. Lehmann, Katrina McFerran, Gary E. McPherson, David Myers, Adam Ockelford, Helen Phelan, Andrea Sangiorgio, Laya H. Silber, Marissa Silverman, Rineke Smilde, David S. Smith, Kari K. Veblen, Janice Waldron, Graham F. Welch

Creativities, Media, and Technology in Music Learning and Teaching is one of five paperback books derived from the foundational two-volume Oxford Handbook of Music Education. Designed for music teachers, students, and scholars of music education, as well as educational administrators and policy makers, this fifth book in the set comprises three complementary sections: musical creativity as practice; music teaching and learning through technology; and the interplay of media, music, and education. The first section reviews notions of musical creativity, examining practice-based perspectives to support and develop understanding of the diverse types of creativity found within music education practice across the globe. In the second section, authors explore the essential role of technology in musical discourse and in various forms of musical learning, even as technology continually evolves and the needs and possibilities continue to rapidly change. The third section provokes readers to assess their own thinking about the transformative changes occurring within the discipline as a result of advances in media, and the increasing infiltration of media into all aspects of life, the classroom, and music making.ContributorsAndrew R. Brown, Pamela Burnard, Bernadette Colley, Ian Cross, Rokus de Groot, Steven C. Dillon, Randi Margrethe Eidsaa, David G. Hebert, Evangelos Himonides, Neryl Jeanneret, Ailbhe Kenny, Andrew King, Eleni Lapidaki, Felicity Laurence, Samuel Leong, Bo Wah Leung, Alagi Mbye, Gary E. McPherson, Ross Purves, Tal-Chen Rabinowitch, S. Alex Ruthmann, Eva Sæther, Jonathan Savage, Reza Shayesteh, Petros Stagkos, Matthew D. Thibeault, Evan S. Tobias, Carole Waugh, Graham F. Welch

The new edition of The Child as Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development celebrates the richness and diversity of the many different ways in which children can engage in and interact with music. It presents theory - both cutting edge and classic - in an accessible way for readers by surveying research concerned with the development and acquisition of musical skills. The focus is on musical development from conception to late adolescences, although the bulk of the coverage concentrates on the period when children are able to begin formal music instruction (from around age 3) until the final year of formal schooling (around age 18). There are many conceptions of how musical development might take place, just as there are for other disciplines and areas of human potential. Consequently, the publication highlights the diversity in current literature dealing with how we think about and conceptualise children's musical development. Each of the authors has searched for a better and more effective way to explain in their own words and according to their own perspective, the remarkable ways in which children engage with music. In the field of educational psychology there are a number of publications that survey the issues surrounding child and adolescent development. Some of the more innovative present research and theories, and their educational implications, in a style that stresses the fundamental interplay among the biological, environmental, social and cultural influences at each stage of a child's development. Until now, no similar overview has existed for child and adolescent development in the field of music. The Child as Musician addresses this imbalance, and is essential for those in the fields of child development, music education, and music cognition.

The new edition of The Child as Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development celebrates the richness and diversity of the many different ways in which children can engage in and interact with music. It presents theory - both cutting edge and classic - in an accessible way for readers by surveying research concerned with the development and acquisition of musical skills. The focus is on musical development from conception to late adolescences, although the bulk of the coverage concentrates on the period when children are able to begin formal music instruction (from around age 3) until the final year of formal schooling (around age 18). There are many conceptions of how musical development might take place, just as there are for other disciplines and areas of human potential. Consequently, the publication highlights the diversity in current literature dealing with how we think about and conceptualise children's musical development. Each of the authors has searched for a better and more effective way to explain in their own words and according to their own perspective, the remarkable ways in which children engage with music. In the field of educational psychology there are a number of publications that survey the issues surrounding child and adolescent development. Some of the more innovative present research and theories, and their educational implications, in a style that stresses the fundamental interplay among the biological, environmental, social and cultural influences at each stage of a child's development. Until now, no similar overview has existed for child and adolescent development in the field of music. The Child as Musician addresses this imbalance, and is essential for those in the fields of child development, music education, and music cognition.

Why do some children take up music, while others dont? Why do some excel, whilst others give up? Why do some children favour classical music, whilst others prefer rock? These are questions that have puzzled music educators, psychologists, and musicologists for many years. Yet, they are incredibly difficult and complex questions to answer. 'Music in our lives' takes an innovative approach to trying to answer these questions. It is drawn from a research project that spanned fourteen years, and closely followed the lives of over 150 children learning music - from their seventh to their twenty second birthdays. This detailed longitudinal approach helped the authors probe a number of important issues. For example, how do you define musical skill and ability? Is it true, as many assume, that continuous engagement in performance is the sole way in which those skills can be developed? What are the consequences of trends and behaviours observed amongst the general public, and their listening consumption. After presenting an overview and detailed case study explorations of musical lives, the book provides frameworks and theory for further investigation and discussion. It tries to present an holistic interpretation of these studies, and looks at their implications for musical development and education. Accessibly written by three leading researchers in the fields of music education and music psychology, this book makes a powerful contribution to understanding the dynamic and vital context of music in our lives.

Child prodigies have been observed in a range of disciplines - particularly music, mathematics, chess, and art. The question of what makes a prodigy has long been controversial. Some have dismissed the notion of giftedness, arguing that most famous prodigies had strong parental, cultural, and environmental influences that helped them develop their extraordinary abilities. One recent theory suggested that anyone could achieve outstanding success in whatever endeavour they wanted with a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice. Nevertheless, many studies of prodigies have suggested that there might be strong underlying cognitive differences, regarding their use of short-term versus long-term memory, spatial memory, imagery, and language. Whatever the arguments - for those interested in child development - prodigies remain a fascinating subject of study when considering questions about creativity, intelligence, development, and the impact of nature versus nurture.This books breaks new ground in presenting the first scientific exploration on the topic of musical prodigies. It brings together research from a range of disciplines, including psychology, neurobiology, and genetics, to provide a thorough exploration of prodigious talent. In addition, the book includes fascinating case studies of prodigies and also looks at their long-term development into adulthood - many child prodigies have had problems making the transition into adolescence and adulthood. Musical prodigies will be required reading for anyone interested in child development, music, and the arts

Music education takes place in many contexts, both formal and informal. Be it in a school or music studio, while making music with friends or family, or even while travelling in a car, walking through a shopping mall or watching television, our myriad sonic experiences accumulate from the earliest months of life to foster our facility for making sense of the sound worlds in which we live. The Oxford Handbook of Music Education offers a comprehensive overview of the many facets of musical experience, behavior and development in relation to this diverse variety of contexts. In this first of two volumes, an international list of contributors discuss a range of key issues and concepts associated with music learning and teaching. The volume then focuses on these processes as they take place during childhood, from infancy through adolescence and primarily in the school-age years. Exploring how children across the globe learn and make music and the skills and attributes gained when they do so, these chapters examine the means through which music educators can best meet young people's musical needs. The second volume of the set brings the exploration beyond the classroom and into later life. Whether they are used individually or in tandem, the two volumes of The Oxford Handbook of Music Education update and redefine the discipline, and show how individuals across the world learn, enjoy and share the power and uniqueness of music.

Music in the Human Experience: An Introduction to Music Psychology, Third Edition, explores the ways in which we make sense of music and how we respond to it—cognitively, physically, and emotionally. Written by musicians, for musicians, while incorporating findings from biology, anthropology, sociology, physics, philosophy, and education, the text presents musical experiences as widely varied and hugely complex affairs. How did human beings come to be musical creatures? Why do people have emotional responses to music? In Music in the Human Experience, the authors seek to understand and explain these musical phenomena that lie at the core of what it means to be human.New to the Third Edition:New co-author, Gary E. McPhersonFresh discussions on in-demand topics: social justice in music, fitness for musicians, constructivism, and moreIncreased recognition of non-Western music and musical experiencesA digital overhaul of the accompanying multimedia tutorials, now available via www.musicinthehumanexperience.comRefined and updated content throughout