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Music education – which traditionally has been – is changing with the times. Not since the introduction of the or the growth of has music education undergone such a transformation.

The changes occurring now have been developed to bring more students into school and community music classes at all levels of education, from kindergarten to college.

As a – and as one who is that go above and beyond the traditional band, choir and orchestra offerings – I believe this is one of the most exciting times in the world of music education. Here are five ways that music education is changing in America’s schools:

1. Students are making their own songs

In 2021, Florida became the first state to offer an for students in high school. As members of the collective, the state’s best student pop singers, drummers, guitarists, DJs, bassists and keyboardists perform their original music in an auditioned group. They perform music from hip-hop to pop and rock.

In 2023, Missouri started – its version of the Florida offering. Students send in an audition video. If selected, they become a member of a band of around 15 people who write songs together and perform at the state conference, along with the best concert band, concert choir and orchestra students in the state.

As of now, for their students.

There are a growing number of opportunities for students to study at the collegiate level. Schools like the , where I teach, have joined established programs at the , the and as places where you can learn how to make hip-hop as well as pop, rock and country, among other styles.

2. Smaller ensembles

In the middle of the 20th century, school music focused on performing primarily classical music arrangements. Since the 1990s, offerings like – with marching percussion and color guard – and , which incorporate contemporary instrumentation, have extended those offerings and broadened the spectrum of acceptable styles.

have popped up in schools all over , featuring smaller, more , modern musical instruments and tools that sometimes includes . They seek to look more like the .

3. Teaching that focuses more on the student

For much of the past 100 years, music teachers have focused on being able to teach large numbers of students – that is, 100 or more. Instructors across the U.S. and Canada teach made up of 200-plus students.

Music instructors are some of the only teachers in the school who want more students in their classes. Pedagogical practice consists of managing large groups of students as efficiently as possible. But this approach tends to discourage individual voice and autonomy. That’s changing. With comes more room for and more .

4. Technology driven performances

Music education has become more and more technology driven, both in its and . In smaller ensembles and in pop music, it’s important to . You do not have to know how to set up a mixing console to have a successful traditional concert band performance.

and are two instruments that have become popular for creating beats and multilayered ambient textures. They satisfy a desire among students to create music that they might hear on the radio but also maybe in a video game that they’re playing or in a movie that they’re watching.

Turntables have gone from being carried around by DJs – along with crates of records to scratch – to hardware devices. Musical effects that are triggered by the performer or someone offstage are . These practices are .

5. Recording in addition to performing

, people have been recording musical sounds. Over that time, individuals have been honing their abilities to . It has become an art in its own right.

The life of a musician is made up of two primary focuses: . While performing is a part of school music education, recording has been almost entirely ignored as something that students do, until now.

Teachers have been able to easily record students’ music only via over the past 20 years.

We are in a new era when school recording studios are more the norm and .

About , largely through traditional bands, choirs and orchestras. But that number could shift as music education continues to evolve to become more about the students and the music that’s dear to them, not just the classics and traditions of old.

, Professor of Music Education,

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

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