Exploring Inequity of Preparation in Elementary General Music Methods Among Undergraduate Music Education Students

Most instrumental music education students plan to teach secondary music (orchestra/band). In reality, some instrumental music education graduates end up teaching elementary general music (EGM). Because of traditional university programs that separate music education students into tracks based on instrumental or vocal specialization, instrumental music education students might not receive adequate training in elementary general music methods (EGMM). The purpose of this paper is to show the need for equity of EGM preparation for both vocal and instrumental music education students. In addition to reading current research on this topic, I collected data about undergraduate training in EGMM through a survey of EGM teachers in my school district. The survey yielded thirty three responses. Six of the participants in the survey answered follow up questions about their undergraduate experiences with EGMM. The results of these surveys indicate that while many participants came from a traditional vocal/instrumental track program, some came from programs that included EGMM for both specializations. It is my hope that this research will cause universities to consider changing music education degree requirements to include both a course in EGMM and EGM student teaching experiences for all undergraduate music education majors regardless of specialization.