City Music Education

Practical and theoretical resources for music teachers in city settings, including best practices, research-based strategies, and culturally responsive teaching.

Urban Music Education: A Practical Guide for Teachers

written be Kate Fitzpatrick-Harnish

This book challenges prevailing narratives by reframing urban music education as an asset-rich rather than deficit-laden field. An excellent resource on topics such as culturally relevant pedagogy, the "opportunity gap," race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and practical, research-based strategies for music educators in city schools.  Its examination of what constitutes “urban” is particularly useful.

Fitzpatrick-Harnish, Kate. Urban music education: A practical guide for teachers. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education: From Understanding to Application

written be Vicki R. Lind and Constance McKoy

This book applies culturally responsive pedagogy to the field of music education.  It is particularly relevant for city music educators who seek to respond to the cultural contexts of their students. The first section provides a theoretical framework, followed by a section section that applies the framework to the contexts of the music classroom.

 Lind, Vicki R., and Constance McKoy. Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education: From Understanding to Application. Routledge, 2016.

Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom:

Volume I: A Guide to Survival, Success and Reform  

Volume II: A Guide to Leadership, Teacher Education, and Reform

Edited by Carol Frierson-Campbell

Based on the premise that “culturally relevant music should be a creative force at the center of reform in urban education,” this two-volume collection features authors from across the urban music education ecosystem, including teachers, administrators, and researchers.

Frierson-Campbell, Carol. Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2006.