Developing Non-Traditional School Instrumental Music Programs:

Resources for Public School Music Education Curriculum Integration

An Annotated Bibliography

Jessica Sebold

Introduction & Methodology

Over the last twenty years, traditional school music education programs have faced

increasing challenges of recruitment and retention. These tensions have caused educators to

reflect on their philosophies, specifically, who they are aiming to reach and how they are

constructing curriculum to reach those identified individuals. As the music education philosophy

has shifted to focus on teaching music for all students for life, non-traditional music curricula has

become prevalent across the United States. While there are many resources studying these

non-traditional ensembles, there is not a comprehensive guide collecting these resources in one

place for educators considering building a non-traditional program.

For the purpose of this annotated bibliography, the term traditional refers to Western

classical school string orchestra and band programs who perform primarily Western classical

repertoire. Non-traditional refers to any other kinds of instrumental ensembles, including

ensembles utilizing culturally relevant instruments, popular music ensembles, and/or popular

music curriculum integrated with traditional instruments. Non-traditional also refers to guitar,

piano, and music technology courses. ‘Extracurricular’ refers to ensembles and curriculum

taught outside of the school day, while ‘curricular’ refers to ensembles and curriculum taught

during the school day.