Popular Music and Classical Musicians

In recent years, popular music has become a growing area of music study and is increasingly accepted in schools and universities around the world. Despite this general enthusiasm, classically trained music teachers bring a certain hesitation to this art form, perhaps because too few have had formal hands-on experience with it. This article describes several strategies for teaching the study and practice of popular music to classically trained musicians as part of a university teacher education program. Included is discussion of collaborative learning, an approach that helps classical musicians learn popular music through participating in “classroom garage bands.”