Research Guides: Music Education Resources: Home

Starting Place

The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning by Richard Colwell (Editor); Carol P. Richardson (Editor); Music Educators National Conference Staff
Call Number: MT1.S44 2002
ISBN: 0195138848
Publication Date: 2002-04-18
Featuring chapters by the world's foremost scholars in music education and cognition, this handbook is a convenient collection of current research on music teaching and learning.
A Guide to Research in Music Education by Roger P. Phelps;
Call Number: MT1.P5 2005
ISBN: 0810852403
Publication Date: 2004-11-20
Approaches and techniques to researching in music education.

Professional Organizations

Special Collections in the Performing Arts

Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) has an excellent representation of music education resources. In addition to the small sample listed below, SCPA houses the Organization of American Kodaly Educators Archives (OAKE), American String Teachers Association (ASTA), College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), the International Society for Music Education Archives, and the papers of Daniel Bonade, Asher Zlotnik, John Curwen, and others. For a more comprehensive coverage of the special collections resources, please visit their Music Education Collections page, review their Campus Guide, or search ArchivesUM. You may also contact the curator for further information.

National Association for Music Education Historical Center
"As the premiere music education association in the United States, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) (previously the Music Educators National Conference (MENC)) is devoted to assessing and improving the state of music education in schools on all levels. The NAfME Historical Center collection includes administrative records, NAfME publications, and papers of past presidents and other eminent music educators. Other related historical records and special collections include the Contemporary Music Project Archives, the John Curwen Manuscripts, National Association for Advancement of Music Archives, the Pillsbury Foundation School Archives, a Lowell Mason Collection, a Luther Whiting Mason Collection, and the records of several publishing companies. Special research resources include a textbook collection, curriculum guide collection, research papers, instructional recordings, oral histories, photographs, reference books, biography file, and an extensive serials collection. More details about the collection can be found on the Libraries' guide to the National Association for Music Education Historical Center. The processing of this collection supported by the Rose Marie Grentzer Fund."
American Bandmasters Association official records
"Formed in 1929 "for the purpose of furthering the interests of outstanding American Band Masters, and of interesting composers, arrangers, and music publishers in Wind Band music," the American Bandmasters Association (ABA) continues to champion the causes of American bands and bandmasters today. Its members' accomplishments include the election of John Philip Sousa to the Hall of Fame of Great Americans, the publication of the Journal of Band Research, and the establishment of several awards and prizes, including the Ostwald Band Composition Contest and the Edwin Franko Goldman Memorial Citation. The collection consists of publications, including the Journal of Band Research and the ABA Newsletter; correspondence; conference materials and programs; meeting minutes; committee reports; financial and administrative records; oral histories; directories and membership lists; photographs, memorabilia, and recordings. Specific documentation can be found on the ABA Research Center, the ABA Ostwald Award, the Board of Directors, officers, committees and annual conferences."
Charles B. Fowler Papers
"The professional and personal papers of Charles B.[Bruner] Fowler (1931-1995), eminent American arts advocate, educator, editor, writer and philosopher, fill 236 boxes. The collection consists of published and unpublished articles, including related research and correspondence; published reports, pamphlets and educational materials; chapters written in books; authored and edited books, including personal copies of each; unpublished keynote addresses and speeches; reports of studies and projects, presentations at conferences, seminars and symposia; unpublished scripts; recorded interviews and speeches; slides and photographs; and memorabilia related to Dr. Charles Fowler's work."
Lowell Mason Collection
"Lowell Mason (1792-1872) is known as the founder of American school music education and co-founder of the Boston Academy of Music. In addition to establishing curricular music in American public schools and teacher training in music, he is also known for the success of his compositions and arrangements of hymn tunes and tune books, including The Boston Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Some of his other publications, mostly written for churches or schools, include The Juvenile Psalmist, The Juvenile Lyre, and The Manual of the Boston Academy of Music. This collection, part of the MENC Historical Center, consists of songs, hymns, and anthems; correspondence; books; articles; addresses; musical programs and advertisements; tributes; pamphlets; an unpublished manuscript; and memorabilia related to Lowell Mason's work, and materials related to members of Mason's family including the correspondence of his son Henry Lowell (H.L.) Mason."