The Modern Band Handbook

Modern band is a term used to describe popular music education in schools and is increasingly incorporated in K-12 and pre-service music teacher education programs. The Modern Band Handbook shines a light on the practices and perspectives of modern band teachers from across K-12 and higher education throughout the USA and gives practical advice on how to incorporate modern band into music classrooms. The chapters are grouped into five main themes: Arranging and Creating Covers; Songwriting; Teaching Modern Band Instruments; Social Justice and Cultural Responsiveness; and Music Technology. Each chapter offers a lesson plan consisting of pedagogical methods, activities, assignments, and lesson objectives. Lesson plans include accommodations, adaptations, and extensions to provide ideas for teachers who would like to make modifications for different ages and experience levels. The companion website features downloadable resources, additional assignments, and audio and video examples. Full of practical tips from forty-three teachers and music education faculty members from a broad variety of backgrounds and contexts, The Modern Band Handbook is an invaluable resource for all popular music educators.

Bryan Powell is Associate Professor of Music Education and Music Technology and coordinator of the Recording Arts and Production degree at Montclair State University. He teaches classes in popular music, modern band, and music technology, and directs the Montclair State popular music ensembles. A former NYC public school music teacher, Bryan is also the Chief Program Officer for the non-profit organization Music Will and serves as the Executive Director of the Association for Popular Music Education. He is the founding co-editor of the Journal of Popular Music Education, co-author of Popular Music Pedagogies: A Practical Guide for Music Teachers, and series co-editor of Contemporary Music Making and Learning.

Acknowledgments List of Contributors About the Companion Website Foreword Lucy Green Editor's Introduction Bryan Powell Part I: Arranging and Creating Covers 1. Judging a Hook by its Cover: (Re)creating Pop Songs in the Secondary General Music Classroom Virginia Wayman Davis 2. Approximating by Ear: A Scaffolded Approach to Playing-by-Ear for Beginning Learners Jesse Rathgeber and Wayde Rathgeber 3. Translation Nation; How to Bridge the Gap for ESL Students and Beyond Sara Munson 4. Active Music Listening in Modern Band Sandra Sanchez Adorno 5. Breaking Down a Song: Orff and Modern Band David Dockan 6. Adapting Student-Preferred Music for Elementary Classroom Instruments Martina Vasil 7. Song Set and Segues Heather Fortune Part II: Songwriting in Modern Band 8. Hook-Writing: A Two-for-One Deal Sondra Braeutigam 9. Pathways to Teaching Composition and Improvisation Alex Ramirez 10. Songwriting to a Pitch: Lyrics Kat Reinhert and Sarah Gulish 11. Blues Songwriting with Ukulele Raychl Smith 12. Composition in the Primary Years Michelle Vallejo 13. Building Vocal Improvisation Skills With Early Elementary Students LeslieAnne Bird 14. Modern Band Songwriting Icebreaker Lesson: Paper Bag Challenge Jasmine Todd Faulkner 15. Speed Songwriting Challenge Matthew Clauhs and Beatrice B. Olesko 16. Pair Up: Collaborative Songwriting and Recording Tina Huynh 17. Lyric Writing in Modern Band Stefanie Sagaro Part III: Teaching Modern Band Instruments 18. Scaffolding a Student-Lead Band through Percussion Andrea Donze Krein 19. Student Goal Setting Joseph Campbell 20. Fostering Beginning Guitar Technique through the Single String Tablature Method Ronnie Nissinboim 21. All About that Bassline Carmella Berthia 22. Introducing Ukulele Using Modified Chords Tony Corallo 23. Introduction to Ukelele for Young Beginners Jill Wilson Part IV: Social Justice and Cultural Responsiveness in Modern Band 24. Social Justice in Songwriting: Protest Song Composition Mia Ibrahim 25. Latin Beats in Modern Band Vimari Colón-León 26. Beatboxing Our Way to Knowing and Doing Better Donna Hewitt 27. Social Justice Meets Modern Band: Conversations Based in Repertoire Rachael Sanguinetti 28. Building Community and Promoting Belonging, Identity, and Self-Awareness Through Hip-Hop Wanda Vásquez García 29. Affirming Individual and Collective Identities through Hooks in the Modern Ensemble Alice A. Tsui Part V: Music Technology in Modern Band 30. Teaching Live Audio Mixing Skills in a Modern Band Context Jennifer A. Jester 31. DJing in Modern Band: The Basics of Beatmatching Aixa Burgos 32. Beginning Scratching Kevin Droe 33. Speaking through Soundtrap Nicholas Piato and David H. Knapp 34. Introduction to Beatmaking Bryan Powell 35. Remixing Songs in a DAW Warren Gramm 36. Creating Mashups in Soundtrap Candice Mattio 37. Digital Audio Workstations and Participatory Learning Chad Zullinger and Kelly Bylica 38. Open Score to Mic to DAW: Remixing In C Lara Mitofsky Neuss Index