About

The NBSO K-12 Music Keyword Equity Database consists of music by BIPOC composers that is tailored to the needs of music educators. The database grew out of the NBSO's collaboration with the New Bedford Public School Music Teachers, after they expressed a strong desire to include classical music in their curriculum that better reflected the diversity of their students. 

A massive obstacle for music educators is finding the time to search through musical repertoire previously unknown to them. With each coming year, the amount of excellent sites that feature composers of the global majority and historically excluded repertoire is thankfully growing. Though at the time this database was created, there was not one resource that would allow teachers to sort diverse repertoire by a specific musical concept that is easily perceptible in a piece of music.

The NBSO K-12 Keyword Equity Database encourages deep engagement with the teachable moments in repertoire by BIPOC composers, right alongside the inspirations, successes, sorrows, and joys of each composer's lived experience, year-round.

Table of Contents:
   1. Basic Information
   2. Finding Keywords on the Homepage
   3. Musical Piece Pages
   4. Keywords with Hyphens
   5. For Composition Students: Keywords with "- Composition Technique"
   6. Assessments and Knowledge Application
   7. Student-Led Exploration

Basic Information

Homepage

Approach this page of the database with a music curriculum, project, or upcoming lesson in mind. Here you can search for listening examples from BIPOC composers that illustrate these concepts planned for your classroom.

Musical Pieces Section

This page lists every piece available in the database. Sort the list by title, duration, composer, and applicable keywords. Use the "search" window to type in any keyword you like, and the list will filter accordingly.

Keyword Definitions Section

This page shows all keywords and their definitions, designed to facilitate self-guided and exploratory learning. Click on a keyword here, and a list of available pieces will generate. Pieces with a Star Icon next to them feature a highlighted moment in the piece related to that keyword.

Composers Section

Select a composer from the list to see the pieces of theirs that are featured in the database, as well as a link to find more information about them

Finding Keywords on the Homepage

Keywords are sorted into larger groups, called "Categories." These Categories represent larger curriculum subjects. 

When you click on a Category, an entire family of Keywords belonging to that Category appears in the second box. From there, any Keyword you select will generate pieces of music by BIPOC composers that feature that musical concept (results are shown just below the search fields).

 Let's Try It: Next month, you plan for your students to start a unit on the Symphony Orchestra. Click the Category "Ensemble Size / Type" and select "Symphony Orchestra." Every piece of music listed below features a Symphony Orchestra!

Or if you are planning to do a unit on Rondo Form, click the Category “Form and Structure” and select “Rondo Form” from the keyword selections. Scroll down below to find all the pieces that demonstrate Rondo Form. 

Combining Keywords

Teachers can search for multiple keywords at once and find pieces that exemplify more than one keyword. The “Filter Results” box on the right hand side of the screen will accumulate all selected keywords. To remove a keyword, click on the “x”. With several keywords selected in one search, your students can explore multiple musical concepts within one musical piece! 

 Let's Try It: Imagine that while you prepare for a lesson on the Symphony Orchestra, you'd also like to reinforce a lesson in conducting that was taught earlier in the year. To do this, select "Ensemble Size / Type" and select "Symphony Orchestra," and then, go to the Category "Meter," and select "Duple Meter." The pieces listed now feature music played by a Symphony Orchestra in two beat groups, and the same could be done with Triple and Quadruple Meter!           

Once you've searched for the keyword/combinations that you need, explore the pieces that are shown below in the search results!

Musical Piece Pages

A list of all Keywords that are featured in the piece is shown on the right side of the page.

 Underneath the video recording, the "About This Piece" section explains the use of specific Keywords, if necessary. This section will also provide program notes for the piece, suggested activities, sheet music, and more as is available.

The "Notable Passages" section can be the most exciting and useful for teachers. Click the “Listen” button, and the exact moment where a Keyword is observable in the recording is excerpted for you. This allows teachers to efficiently isolate moments of learning, ensuring your students can perceive the concepts featured in your lesson.

If you do not see explanations for the keyword you've searched in either "About This Piece" or "Notable Passages," this is often because the keyword appears in an obvious way upon listening, and additional explanation may not be needed.

(Note: This database is a living document, so edits are being made on a routine basis. Questions, keyword corrections, and additional suggested lesson plan activities can be recommended using the Contact Form) 

Keywords with Hyphens

"Keyword - Category Name"

Keywords with a category name attached to them appear in multiple categories. For example, "Rubato" is a keyword that relates to the Category “Tempo.” It is also an Expressive Element in music. Therefore, the Keyword has two versions: "Rubato - Tempo," and "Rubato - Expressive Elements”.

Sometimes a Keyword has multiple definitions, and “- Category Name” will clarify which is being discussed. For example, "Range" has many different definitions in our database:

Range - Composition Technique
     1. The distance between the lowest and highest note of a piece of music or musical instrument 
     2. The placing of each musical element of a composition in a specific pitch class, often for clarity's sake
Range - Expressive Elements
     The use of high, middle, and low range musical placement, especially in contrast, to create musical expression
Range - Melody
     The distance between the lowest and highest note of a melody
Range - Texture
     The low, middle, and/or high ranges of a piece of music or musical instrument

Music Educators know firsthand just how many contradictions appear in the ways we discuss our art form. These hyphenated keywords are meant to help you explain the intricate differences in meaning of music vocabulary with your students, to reduce confusion and deepen their understanding.

For Composition Students: Keywords with “- Composition Technique”

Our database features an entire category dedicated to teaching Music Composition techniques with your students. Pieces listed in this category can be used as examples of a composer’s intentional choices to achieve a desired musical effect.

For example, "Dynamics - Expressive Elements" can be used to teach dynamics as a concept, and "Dynamics - Composition Technique" can be used to teach dynamics as a compositional choice––the latter examples are meant to be used as points of discussion. "Why did the composer choose those dynamics?" "What if they made different decisions?" "How might the music change?"

This category can also be used to generate composition prompts for your students (Ex. "Write in the style of ___", "Write two contrasting melodies, using one of the many types of contrast heard in these pieces.") The possibilities are endless!

Assessments and Knowledge Application

"Category - Misc." Keywords

Keywords named after each Category (ex. Form - Misc) can be:

1. Used to introduce the Category more broadly
2. Demonstrate that Category's Keywords in a combination of ways 
3. Exemplify the Category in a way that doesn't perfectly fit inside the available keywords
4. Used as an End of Unit Assessment after exploring that Category in class

For example, at the end of a Unit that teaches Meter, or Tempo, pieces listed under "Meter - Misc." or "Tempo - Misc." can be used as rapid-fire listening assessments. Open several pieces marked with that “ - Misc.” Keyword, and ask students to identify the meters and tempi they perceive in each piece, one after another.

If these “- Misc.” Keywords present concepts in unconventional ways, they can serve as expert-level listening exercises for your students, to pinpoint Keywords they've learned from that category, and build nuance in their understanding.

For example, "Form - Misc." features music with forms less traditional than Binary, Ternary, etc. If a piece is marked “Form - Misc.,” read about its form in the piece description with your students, and listen for it together. You might also consider asking them to identify the form for themselves, and compare what they heard with the piece description later on.

These are just a few examples of how you might use “ - Misc.” Keywords. We encourage you to get creative with this section of the database, and if you’ve come up with something that really shines in the classroom, we’re always eager to hear about it and celebrate with you via the Contact Form!

Listening Perception Activities and Listening Maps

It is often the case that a piece will feature Keywords that belong to many different Categories (ex.  articulation, rhythm, contrast, dynamics, instrumentation, and form). On a Musical Piece Page, educators may choose to use the list of “all keywords featured in this piece” as a prompt for listening perception activities. 

This creates rich learning opportunities for students to demonstrate their perception of different musical elements, based on their interaction with a listening example. Students can also be encouraged to create listening maps that illustrate the appearance, sequence, and development of a musical keyword throughout a piece.

Student-Led Exploration

The "Keyword Definitions" section appears at the top of the screen, which lists all Categories, Keywords, and definitions. Your students can explore this section of the database on their own, for self-directed music learning.

You can encourage your students to

1. Explore keywords that relate to a concept previously explored in class.
2. Explore a new concept that was not scheduled into your yearly curriculum.
3. Learn about whatever they want!

 Student-led exploration can be as self-guided, group-led, or prescribed as it makes sense for your students and their needs.

Optional Multiple Choice Assessment

Educators know the free “Plickers” assessment app very well, for quick assessment in real time. Teachers can print out free Plickers cards and hand one card to each student. Each card has a distinct shape, and when oriented to one of four directions, the app will register a multiple choice answer to a specific prompt. 

Educators can play a piece from the database, and ask students to hold up their Plickers card at various points in the piece to indicate a specific element (form, dynamics, instrumentation, meter etc.). The teacher simply scans their cell phone camera across the room and all student answers are immediately collected. The app will immediately show a green or red light to indicate whether student responses are correct or incorrect. Individual student answers are also collected on the app for further analysis and assessment.

Curriculum Content and Reflection

Ideally, this database can assist you in refining your yearly curriculum in a broader sense, by providing a comprehensive list of curricular concepts and offering a plentitude of vivid examples for you to present them in a pedagogical context.

The database is a living document, which means that new keyword entries are being added on a routine basis. We encourage educators to provide feedback, suggest corrections and clarifications, and share examples of the database’s use with their students. We sincerely hope that this database is of use to you, and we encourage you to share it with other colleagues.

Sincerely,

Michael Genese - Principal Architect. music theorist, composer, and educator
Terry Wolkowicz - Education Director, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra
Ed Hebert - Website development and technical services consultant