Congratulations to the authors whose work is featured in the latest edition of Action, Criticism, & Theory for Music Education:

Lauren Kapalka Richerme

The Praxis of Inclusion in Music Education

Corey Whitt

Grown From the Same Ground: Music Education, Identity, and Indigenous Sovereignty

Brandon Magid

“Poetry is Not a Luxury”: Considering Affect in Antiracist Pedagogy

Ian Cicco

Manipulating Racist Folk Songs: Problematizing the Practices of Erasing and Re-placing

Sergio Garcia-Cuesta

Listening All Around: What Could the Fluid Conceptualization of Artistic Citizenships Do?

Roger Mantie & Pedro Tironi-Rodó

Interculturalism, Interculturaldad, and Music Education

Please click here to read these and past articles on the Mayday Website.

The widespread use of ChatGPT, DALL·E, and Stable Diffusion has sparked worldwide discussions about how artificial intelligence (AI) can alter humans’ learning, working, thinking, and lives in general. To date, most literature on AI and music teaching and learning has been produced by researchers outside of the music education profession. For example, the 1993 World Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education hosted a day of workshops in which computer science researchers proposed various interdisciplinary theories and approaches focused on music education (Smith et al. 1994). More recent research related to music education by computer scientists has examined the effectiveness of AI applications in teaching students how to sing or play an instrument (Cui 2022; Delgado et al. 2018; Ince et al. 2021; Li and Wang 2023), assisting with music teaching (Han et al. 2023), facilitating composing and musicking (Cook 1994; Dahlstedt 2021; Eldridge 2022; Franklin 2006; Moruzzi 2018; Schöen and Tompits 2022; Tsuchiya and Kitahara, 2019), promoting improvisation (Addessi and Pachet 2005), assisting with music sight reading (Pierce et al. 2021), and supporting dyslexic learners in music learning contexts (Ventura 2019).

This body of research exemplifies the interests AI researchers have in music education, but what interests do music education researchers have in AI? We forward that it is imperative that music education researchers grapple with the implications of AI in/for/against/as/around music education.

The aim of this special issue is to critically examine intersections of AI and music education. We invite authors to consider the role(s) of AI in music education from diverse theoretical, critical, and philosophical perspectives. We offer the following prompts:

1.   How is artificial intelligence experienced in music education by teachers and learners in schools and/or community contexts? How should artificial intelligence be experienced in music education by teachers and learners?

2.   How can artificial intelligence mediate the ways in which teachers and learners engage in music making?

3.   How can artificial intelligence influence* music educators’ pedagogical philosophies?

*ChatGPT recommends the following terms in place of “influence” for this prompt: enhance, augment, transform, challenge, inform, disrupt, facilitate, integrate, inspire, question, shape, customize, analyze, simulate, and revolutionize.

4.   How can artificial intelligence intersect with music education as it relates to teachers’ and learners’ identities, including but not limited to disability, sexuality, gender, race, ethnicity, class, religion, and culture?

5.   How can AI shift, if at all, understandings of musical ability, aptitude, expertise, intelligence, talent, and other related constructs? What are the implications for music education?

6.   What potential ethical issues could arise from the integration of artificial intelligence in music education, broadly conceived? How should music educators adapt their practices and policies to address issues including but not limited to agency, authorship, creativity, equity, intellectual property, and labor?

7.   In what ways can artificial intelligence interact with the practices and/or processes of accompanying, arranging, collaborating, composing, improvising, producing, songwriting, and other ways of musicking?

Beyond or in addition to these prompts, potential contributors to this special issue may also benefit from engaging with Goodlad’s (2023) framing of the “three core dilemmas for critical AI studies” and considering them within the context of music education:

(1) Reductive and Controversial Meanings of ‘Intelligence’;

(2) Problematic Benchmarks and Tests for Supposedly Scientific Terms Such as ‘AGI’ [Artificial General Intelligence]; and

(3) Bias, Errors, and Concentration of Power.

Finally, for potential contributors who find that none of the aforementioned prompts satiate their interest in AI and music education, we welcome you to generate your own prompts with or without the assistance of AI.

Submission Deadline

Please submit your manuscript as a Word document via e-mail, no later than May, 1 2024 to adam patrick bell at adam.bell@uwo.ca, copied to the ACT Editor Lauren Kapalka Richerme at lkricher@indiana.edu.

Submission Guidelines

Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education is devoted to the critical study and analysis of issues related to the field of music education. ACT welcomes submissions from diverse perspectives (e.g. education, music, philosophy, sociology, history, psychology, curriculum studies), dealing with critical, analytical, practical, theoretical, or policy development concerns, as well as submissions that seek to apply, challenge, or extend the MayDay Group’s Action Ideals.

Article Length

ACT imposes no set restrictions on length. However, authors may be asked to shorten submissions where reviewers or the editor determine that an essay’s length is not warranted by its content.

Formatting

Please format submissions using the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style’s “author-date system” with the following three adaptations: 1) omit quotations marks around titles in reference lists, 2) follow APA conventions for capitalization in reference lists, and 3) use closed ellipses (necessary for html formatting). Endnotes are permitted. Audio and video materials are encouraged. Also, ACT encourages the use of “they” (and any derivation) as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. Consult a recent issue of ACT or contact the editors for more information if required.

Abstract and Keywords

Submissions must be accompanied by a brief abstract (ca. 100–150 words) and a short list of keywords.

About the Author

Include a 100–150-word biography for each author.

Languages

Following ACT’s special issue guidelines on the Decolonization of Music Education, and with the purpose of actively diversifying knowledge creation strategies, this special issue also welcomes manuscripts that were originally published in a language other than English and in a venue not commonly accessible by all. Submitters are required to provide the English translation of their submissions.

Peer Review Process

ACT submissions are subject to a rigorous process of anonymized peer review. Final publication decisions rest with the editors (in consideration of reviewer recommendations).

References

Addessi, Anna Rita, and Francois Pachet. 2005. Young children confronting the Continuator, an interactive reflective musical system. Musicae Scientiae 10 (1): 13–39.

Cook, J. 1994. Agent feflection in an intelligent learning-environment architecture for musical composition. In Music Education: An Artificial Intelligence Approach, edited by M. Smith, A. Smaill, and G. A. Wiggins, 3–23, Springer-Verlag.

Cui, Kangxu. 2022. Artificial intelligence and creativity: Piano teaching with augmented reality applications. Interactive Learning Environments: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2022.2059520

Dahlstedt, Palle. 2021. Musicking with algorithms: Thoughts on artificial intelligence, creativity, and agency. In Handbook of Artificial Intelligence for Music: Foundations, Advanced Approaches, and Developments for Creativity, edited by Eduardo Reck Miranda, 873–914. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72116-9_31

Delgado, Miguel, Waldo Fajardo, and Miguel Molina-Solana. 2018. A software tool for categorizing violin student renditions by comparison. In Advances in Artificial Intelligence, CAEPIA 2018, edited by F. Herrera, S. Damas, R. Montes, S. Alonso, O. Cordon, A. Gonzalez, and A. Troncoso, 11160: 330–340. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00374-6_31

Eldridge, Alice Cecelia. 2022. Computer musicking as onto-epistemic playground. Journal of Creative Music Systems 1 (1): 1–31. https://doi.org/10.5920/jcms.1038

Franklin, Judy A. 2006. Recurrent neural networks for music computation. INFORMS Journal on Computing 18, no. 3: 321–38. https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.1050.0131

Goodlad, Lauren M. E. 2023. Editor’s introduction: Humanities in the loop. Critical AI 1 (1–2). https://doi.org/10.1215/2834703X-10734016

Han, Xiao, Fuyang Chen, Ijaz Ullah, and Mohammad Faisal. 2023. An evaluation of AI-based college music teaching using AHP and MOORA. Soft Computing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-023-08717-5

Ince, Gökhan, Rabia Yorganci, Ahmet Ozkul, Taha Berkay Duman, and Hatice Köse. 2021. An audiovisual interface-based drumming system for multimodal human–robot interaction. Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces 15 (4): 413–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-020-00352-w

Li, Ping-ping, and Bin Wang. 2023. Artificial intelligence in music education. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2023.2209984

Moruzzi, Caterina. 2018. Creative AI: Music composition programs as an extension of the composer’s mind. In Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2017, edited by Vincent C. Müller, 69–72, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96448-5_8

Pierce, Charlotte, Tim Hendtlass, Anthony Bartel, and Clinton J. Woodward. 2021. Evolving musical sight reading exercises using expert models. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence 3. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frai.2020.497530

Schön, Felix, and Hans Tompits. 2022. PAUL: An algorithmic composer for classical piano music supporting multiple complexity levels. In Progress in Artificial Intelligence, edited by Goreti Marreiros, Bruno Martins, Ana Paiva, Bernardete Ribeiro, and Alberto Sardinha, 415–26. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16474-3_34

Smith, Matt, Alan Smaill, and Geraint A. Wiggins, eds. 1994. Music education: An artificial intelligence approach. Springer-Verlag.

Tsuchiya, Yuichi, and Tetsuro Kitahara. 2019. A non-notewise melody editing method for supporting musically untrained people’s music composition. Journal of Creative Music Systems 3 (1): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.5920/jcms.624

Ventura, Michele Della. 2019. Exploring the impact of artificial intelligence in music education to enhance the dyslexic student’s skills. In Learning Technology for Education Challenges, edited by Lorna Uden, Dario Liberona, Galo Sanchez, and Sara Rodríguez-González, 14–22. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20798-4_2

Congratulations to Dr. Danielle Sirek who has been appointed editor of TOPICS!

TOPICS is intended to fill the gap between music education scholarship and practice (praxis, understood in its ethical and pragmatic sense). In particular, it focuses on the “practice” (practical, praxial, pragmatic) side of the “theory into practice” and “practice into theory” problematic by publishing papers, articles, documents, and other texts that make a contribution to teaching praxis and praxial theory. Thus, the focus of such scholarly articles is on issues of relevance to music education praxis internationally, and the intended audience will be music education students, school music, community and private music teachers, and professors largely engaged with preparing and supervising undergraduate and master’s level music education students. These articles are also intended to be of interest to doctoral students, who may also author them as part of their important bridging of the worlds of practitioners and professors. All articles must be aligned or consonant with the Action Ideals of the MDG, as published on its website

Danielle has been serving as interim editor of the journal, and we welcome her to a more long-standing position.

Nominations, including self-nominations, are being sought for the post of Editor of the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education (JHRME). The Editor will serve an initial term of 3 years, beginning duties on January 1, 2025, with option to renew. 

Required qualifications:

Nominees must: 

(1) have a record of scholarship in historical research within the field of music education, 

(2) have successful experience as a reviewer, editorial board member, or editor of a professional music education journal, ideally within historical research, including a demonstrated ability to interact collegially with multiple constituents, 

(3) have demonstrated familiarity with and understanding of JHRME, and 

(4) have demonstrated working knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style. 

Preferred qualifications:

Nominees ideally: 

(1) show evidence of professional interest and commitment to strengthening and promoting historical research within the field of music education, 

(2) demonstrate broad-mindedness in the range of topics that the history of music education can include (e.g., DEIJ-related topics, international topics), 

(3) have published historical research in the JHRME or in another research journal in music education, and 

(4) possess the vision to shape the future of JHRME in ways that are collaborative. 

Nominations must be sent electronically to Alan Spurgeon, JHRME Book & Media Review Editor at aspurg@olemiss.edu by March 15, 2024, with the following documents in support of candidacy: 

• Candidate’s curriculum vitae, including degrees earned, areas of study, employment history, publications, presentations at meetings, awards, offices held, and any other information that establishes qualifications. 

• A letter of nomination assuring the candidate’s willingness to be considered for the post of JHRME Editor, and to be responsive to the position in terms of duties and time and establishing how the candidate meets or exceeds the above-stated qualifications.

The 8th SIMM research seminar is being organized by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London), the Academic Chair Jonet / CESAMM (Ghent), and the research platform SIMM. This seminar will focus on participatory opera and music theatre projects.

This research seminar will take place from 9 to 11 September 2024 at the Guildhall School in London.

This seminar will welcome a small group of 10 to 20 post-graduate students, early-career researchers as well as experienced researchers – who are all involved in ongoing research on participatory opera and music theatre programmes – to spend a 3-day seminar during which they will share their research experiences with each other.

The following facilitators will help the sharing of experiences and ideas and research methodologies: Prof. Dr. An De bisschop (Chair Jonet / CESAMM, Ghent University, BE), Prof. Dr. Toby Young (Guildhall School of Music, UK), and Prof. Dr. Lukas Pairon (SIMM & Chair Jonet).

Expressions of interest should be sent no later than 15th April 2024 by email to Lukas Pairon (lukas.pairon@simm-platform.eu).

This should include your name, institutional affiliation, current professional role(s), a maximum 200-word statement including relevant professional experience and background, why you wish to participate in this research seminar, and what your interest and experience is in research on participatory opera and music theatre projects.

The selection of those welcomed to be part of this seminar will be communicated the latest before 15th May 2024.

There will be no registration fee, but those selected for this seminar will need to cover their travel costs, meals and accommodation in London.

PhD-candidates having difficulties covering the costs related to attending this 8th SIMM research seminar in London may introduce a request for support to the SIMM Fellowship Fund (email request to Lukas Pairon: lukas.pairon@simm-platform.eu)

The 9th SIMM-posium will be hosted by the Rhythmic Music Conservatory and its Copenhagen Centre for Research in Artistic Citizenship (CReArC), in close collaboration with the international research platform SIMM (Social Impact of Music Making).

Building on the previous SIMM-posia in Ghent, London, Porto, Bogota, Brussels, Paris, and London, the 2024 Copenhagen SIMM-posium will feature presentations, thematic panels and keynotes, exploring the social impact of participatory music-making across a wide range of cultural contexts.

Delegates are warmly encouraged to join in person in Copenhagen, even though online presentations will also be accommodated where necessary, and the event will be livestreamed.

There is provision in the programme for up to about 40 brief (10 minute) presentations of academic as well as artistic research, research-related work in progress or critical reflections on research, which are curated into thematic panels and followed by plenary discussions. Artistic and creative research methods are welcomed alongside presentations of community-centred empirical theoretical or methodological inquiry.

Presentations of research will be welcomed which tries to help us come to a better understanding of the possible role of the practice of music-making within social and community music projects and programmes, but a specific interest during this conference will concern research on the following topics:

-musicians as makers in society

-participatory music practices (as ground for community building)

-social aspects of listening

-musical co-creation as social intervention

-negotiations between/of artistic agency and social values

-artistic citizenship as practice

-music in detention or other freedom-deprived contexts

About SIMM: 

SIMM is an international network of researchers and organisations examining the social impact of music-making across a wide range of cultural contexts. Founded in 2015 it has grown to encompass a number of events, including research conferences, research seminars, international comparative research projects, podcasts and doctoral programs.

This will be the first time a SIMM event has been held in the Nordic countries of Europe.

Call for presentations: 

Expressions of interest to present at the SIMM-posium 2024 should be sent by email to Lukas Pairon before 15th April 2024 (lukas.pairon@simm-platform.eu). This should include name, institutional affiliation, current professional role(s) and a maximum 150-word statement of relevant professional experience and background (and why you wish to participate in this SIMM-posium) + the title and a maximum 250-word abstract of the research paper you want to present.

Expressions of interest should be submitted as a single document containing all relevant material (preferably in Word format).

Applicants will be notified no later than 15th May 2024 whether they have been selected and will then be invited to register.

The Ontario Music Educators' Association invites music educators, music education researchers, and graduate students in music and arts education to submit a proposal to present at the OMEA Roots 2024 Conference "Research Perspectives" session.

The conference is scheduled for November 7 – 9, 2024 in London, Ontario, Canada.

Research should reflect current themes that impact Music Education in Ontario. Submissions must be original work and not previously submitted as a workshop for the 2024 Roots Conference.

Authors are required to prepare a short presentation describing their research and be available during the session time to discuss their work with conference attendees. 

New: Graduate students are invited to submit for a roundtable discussion of their research. 

All submissions are due before May 1st 2024 via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/csjz9KKhfR3diqyY8  

Questions? Email Dr. Katie Tremblay at advocacy@omea.on.ca 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR - JRME:

The Society for Research in Music Education Executive Committee (SRME EC) is seeking applications for the position of Associate Editor/Editor-Elect for the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME). This individual will serve as Associate Editor beginning July 1, 2024, assisting the Editor with journal operations for 2 years in preparation for serving a 6-year term as Editor (July 1, 2026–June 30, 2032).

Qualifications:

a) SRME membership;

b) record as a professional music educator who has received national recognition as a researcher, as evidenced by academic training in research and by a continuing record of high-quality research and research publication;

c) minimum of 2 years of experience as an editor/chair of an editorial committee, or as a member of an editorial committee, for a professional music, music education, or music-related journal;

d) commitment that they will volunteer the necessary time to carry out the duties of Associate Editor, and then Editor, including attendance at editorial committee meetings and attendance at the NAfME national biennial conference;

e) commitment from the employing institution that it will support the applicant’s tenure as Associate Editor, and then Editor, in terms of release time, use of facilities, plus provide an editorial assistant averaging 10 hours per week for the entire 6-year term as Editor;

f) commitment to serve in no other SRME-affiliated leadership post while serving as Editor (i.e., SRME Executive Committee, Update editorial committee).

To apply, please provide the following in one PDF document:

a) a Curriculum Vitae, to include degrees earned, areas of study, employment history, research publications and presentations at meeting, awards, offices held, and any other information that establishes qualifications;

b) a letter from the applicant assuring the SRME Executive Committee of their willingness to be responsive to the position in terms of duties and time;

c) a letter from the applicant’s employer or overseeing administrator assuring the conditions stated in Qualification ‘e’ above; and

d) three letters of recommendation from nationally recognized researchers in music education attesting to the applicant’s qualifications.

All applications must be submitted electronically in an email message with the subject: 2024 JRME Assoc Ed Application. Please name the file: JRMEAssocEdLastname.

Submit nominations no later than March 13, 2024, to Wendy Sims, Chair, SRME Executive Committee, simsw@missouri.edu.

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE - JRME:

The Society for Research in Music Education Executive Committee (SRME EC) is seeking applicants to fill eight vacancies on the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME) Editorial Committee.

Required Qualifications:

(a) SRME membership;

(b) a record of sustained research activity, including articles published in the JRME and other refereed research journals of comparable prominence; and

(c) a commitment to serve a full 6-year term.

Other Desirable Qualifications:

(d) an earned doctorate in music education;

(e) experience guiding graduate research projects; and

(f) continuing interest and involvement in research activity.

The SRME EC will also consider how the applicant contributes to a balanced distribution of expertise and representation on the editorial committee.

Responsibilities:

• Provide thorough and timely written reviews of manuscripts and manuscript revisions (approximately 2 to 4 manuscripts per month).
• Attend all Editorial Committee meetings as called by the Editor.

The term of office will begin July 1 of 2024, for a period of 6 years. Retiring members of the JRME may not be reappointed to this body until 2 years have elapsed since the end of their terms. Nominees must have completed a term on any other SRME committee (SRME Executive Committee or Update editorial committee) by July 1, 2024, to be considered.

All applications must be submitted electronically with the subject: 2024 JRME Ed Com Application. Send a letter of application and Curriculum Vitae as one PDF document with the file name: JRMEComLastname. In the application letter, please specify your topical and methodological emphases.

Submit nominations no later than March 13, 2024, to Wendy Sims, Chair, SRME Executive Committee, simsw@missouri.edu.

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE - UPDATE:

The Society for Research in Music Education Executive Committee (SRME EC) is seeking applicants to fill six vacancies on the Update: Applications of Research in Music Education Editorial Committee.

Required Qualifications:

(a) SRME membership;

(b) either a record of sustained research activity, including articles published in the JRME, Update, or other refereed journals, or a record of research activity and successful music teaching or meaningful engagement with PK-12 music teachers; and

(c) a commitment to serve a full 4-year term.

Desirable Qualifications:

(d) an earned doctorate in music education;

(e) experience guiding graduate research projects; and

(f) continuing interest and involvement in research activity.

The SRME EC will also consider how a nominee contributes to a balanced distribution of expertise and representation on the editorial committee.

Responsibilities:

• Provide thorough timely written reviews of manuscripts and manuscript revisions (about 1-2 per month).
• Attend all Editorial Committee meetings as called by the Editor.

The term of office will begin July 1 of 2024, for a period of 4 years. Retiring members of Update may not be reappointed to this body until 2 years have elapsed since the end of their terms. Nominees must have completed a term on any other SRME committee (SRME EC or JRME) by July 1, 2024, to be considered.

All applications must be submitted electronically with the subject: 2024 Update Ed Com Application. Send a letter of application and Curriculum Vitae as PDF document with the file name: UPDATEComLastname. In the application letter, please specify your topical and methodological emphases.

Submit nominations no later than March 13, 2024, to Wendy Sims, Chair, SRME Executive Committee, simsw@missouri.edu.

QUALIFICATIONS

• The successful candidate must be able to teach courses in music education assessment practices for music majors, coordinate and supervise music education students in practicum and student teaching field placements, and introduce/ mentor Bachelor of Music Education students through Praxis II testing and edTPA licensing procedures.
• The candidate must have a demonstrated history of, or planned agenda for, scholarly/creative activity in the field of music education.
• Must hold a Ph.D. or doctoral equivalent in Music Education. No ABD consideration: Only candidates with an earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution will be considered. Since ABD will not meet the minimum requirements, ABD will not be considered.
• The candidate must have at least 3 years of teaching experience at the K-12 level.
• Additional course responsibilities may include instrumental, choral, and/or general techniques/methods classes (based on candidate experience and qualifications).
• The committee is also interested in applicants who can teach a class in musical creativity to students enrolled in the gen-ed curriculum.

APPLICATION REVIEW AND DEADLINE:

1. Review of applications will begin March 26, 2024.

For more information, please click here.