Abramo,J.(2010).Guitarclassandthepopularmusicensemble.InA.Clements(Ed.

)
Alternativeapproachesinmusiceducation:Casestudiesfromthefield(pp.1828).Lanham:
RowmanandLittlefieldPublishers,Inc.
Thisarticlediscussedexploringalternativeteachingandlearningpedagogieswithpopularmusic
inaguitarensemble.Abramobroughtupalloftheconcernsthathehadwhenapproachingthis
newpedagogyandhowtodealwiththemintheclassroom.Heinitiallybroughttheguitar
ensembleintohishighschooltoattractthe84%ofstudentsthatwerenotparticipatinginmusic
ensembles.Hethoughtthatapopularmusicensemblemightattractmorestudentstojointhe
otherensemblesinthemusicprogramaswell.Sincepopularmusicissuchalargepartofso
manystudentslivestoday,studentsaremotivatedtotakeanactiveroleinlearninginthis
environment.Popularmusiciansbuildtheirtechniquemuchdifferentlythanclassicalmusicians
do.Theyfocusonpracticingandperformingsongsratherthanscalesandexercisestoimprove.
Thisisaverynewwayoflearningandmayattractmorestudentswhostruggleintheclassical
techniquearea.Abramoalsosays,playingbyear,usingpopularmusicthatstudentslike,and
employingcollaborativecompositioncanpositivelyaffectteachingandlearning.Ifteachers
integratethesenewstylesofteachingintotheircurriculum,itmayimpactthestudentsresponse
tolearning.Popularmusicalsofostersasenseofamutuallearningcommunityintheclassroom.
Ifstudentshavetheopportunitytocustomizetheirlearningandtostudymusicthattheyfind
interestinginsmallgroups,communicationandahealthyclassroomenvironmentwillcome
mucheasier.Itisimportantforteacherstorecognizethatallstudentsdontlearnthesameway
soitisimportanttogivestudentstoopportunitytotailortheireducationtotheirindividual
interestandtechnicalabilitiesratherthentheteacheralwaysdecidingforthem.Whenstudents
areallowedthisflexibility,itisshockinghowtheirmotivationtolearnincreases.Althoughthe
mainfocusofthecourseismusic,itisimportanttorecognizethatstudentsevolveovertheterm
andmayhaveplanstochangetheirpathway.Forexample,AbramotalkedabouttheEnglish
majorinhisclass.Ratherthanforcinghertofocusallofhertimeonplaying,heallowedherto
writereviewsofalbumsbyherfavoriteartists.Throughopportunitiessuchasthese,thestudents
experiencemusicinvariouswaystofocustotheirstrengthsasamusician.Ifounditvery
surprisingthatAbramohadsuchagreatoutcomewiththisadditionalclass.Althoughthe
initiativesoundsgreat,itisultimatelythestudentswhomaketheprogramstayandinthiscaseit
turnedoutgreat.Thefactthathedidnothaveenoughroomforthestudentswhoenrolledisvery
eyeopeningforamusicprogram.Ithinktheauthordidafantasticjobatdrawingthereaders
attentionontoattendingtostudentfocusedteaching.Veryinterestingread.