Welcome to the APME Liverpool 2025 conference. Here, you’ll be able to register for the conference and update your Sched profile. We encourage you to browse the various presentations and to create a custom schedule. If you have any questions, please visit our conference website or contact us at conference@popularmusiceducation.org We look forward to coming together as a community July 22–24, 2025!
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5 Elements of Voicework is a philosophical framework and learning methodology in vocal (personal) development informed by 5 Element and Yin Yang Theories. This model has been enriched with the integration of Polyvagal Theory; presenting scope to be utilised as a teaching resource for therapeutic practitioners and those exploring creative modalities to support trauma-experienced individuals.
Soul Jazz is an approachable and listener friendly way of entry into jazz for students unfamiliar with jazz. Students and educators of all levels will be enlightened to the vast potential of Soul Jazz to inspire and motivate those unfamiliar to learn more about Jazz.
Exploring the integration of student voice and co-construction in lower secondary music curricula, this research examines teacher and student perspectives to enhance engagement and inclusivity. Through qualitative action research, it highlights strategies for developing responsive curricula that foster collaboration, cultural relevance, and improved retention in music education.
Two presenters demonstrate and discuss their duoethnographic research practising, rehearsing and performing Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 in C minor: Pathétique on piano and drums. They underscore the centrality of trust and relationality in meaningful musical performance and pedagogical experiences, emphasizing musical, scholarly and educational relationships based in mutuality and collaboration.
The Rural Music Project will explore the development of music ecosystems away from major city centres, utilising art school pedagogies and the concept of scenius to generate community musicking and vibrant music hubs in lesser populated locales, enriching lives through encouraging cultural interaction, economic growth and an increased sense of place.
Utilizing Critical Race Theory to conceptualize this study, rhythm and pitch—two key elements of music— are used to explore literature around the interconnectedness of capitalism and racism. A greater understanding within this study may lead to more socioacademically equitable music learning and teaching in K-12 and higher education.
In this session, we will explore a qualitative study in which high school participants in nontraditional (modern band) music classes detailed narratives related to student agency. We will discuss the findings and implications for future research.
The human voice, like a paintbrush, crafts rich auditory textures. This study explores Circle Singing methods, enhancing vocal proficiency and social-emotional skills. Participants engage in structured and improvisational vocal expression, including instrumental singing and body percussion, transforming their voices and bodies into dynamic performance tools.
This session will detail the work being done at the SENSES Project, a music/podcast creation space at Syracuse University focused on increasing sense of belonging for first generation and other marginalized student groups. The space offers free access to equipment and education around music production, DJing, podcasting, and much more.
Despite Afrobeats’ global popularity and growing scholarly attention, it remains largely absent from higher education curricula. With King’s College London as a rare exception, this paper proposes a framework for teaching Afrobeats in global academia, identifying key sources and discourses to support its transition from pop culture to the classroom.
The AIRBAG framework offers educators an approach to exploring negotiated assessment methodology with their students to help them make personlaised meaning of their learning experiences. Utilising a combination of military debrief tactics and a inquiry focussed approach, the framework helps promote criticality and agency within HE study.
How can studying the popular music tradition and encouraging students’ innovations be balanced most fruitfully? This session shows how they can feed off each other. A music tradition is like a language – our students must learn to speak it in order to join a conversation and say something innovative.
This music teacher education program includes popular music from diverse cultures throughout the curriculum. Freshmen learn guitar informally and perform cover songs in bands. Senior student teachers teach Hip Hop and Latin pop through iPad classes. The program enhances preservice teachers’ development of both comprehensive musicianship and cultural competency.
Award-winning filmmaker Martin Shore’s "Living Documentary" blends traditional filmmaking with real-time, evolving art to create interactive, dynamic storytelling. This workshop explores integrating this innovative approach into the classroom, using examples from Shore’s films Take Me To The River and Take Me To The River New Orleans and Berklee student projects.
The Power of Student Voice: Define student voice and its significance in curriculum co-construction, drawing on research findings.
Insights from the Field: Share qualitative data from teacher interviews and student focus groups to illustrate the impact of integrating student perspectives.
Discussion Catalyst: Pose questions about the barriers and opportunities for amplifying student voice in music education to inspire further conversation.
Practical Strategies: Offer actionable recommendations for educators to create inclusive and collaborative music curricula.
This session explores modern approaches to music course design, focusing on industry relevance, digital skills, and interdisciplinary collaboration. It examines how project-based learning and portfolio assessment enhance professional readiness and progression to HE. Attendees will gain practical strategies to align popular music education with the demands of today’s creative industries.
This research examines STEM skils, craft skills, and aesthetics in the translation of aspiring musikarbeiter (“music workers”) into networks of music technological employment and artistic practice. It discovers common experiences of aesthetic recruitment, technical interessement and acquisition of agency, and frames a suggestion for curriculum intent in terms of “skills/creativity/autonomy”.
This presentation explores the impact of DAWs (digital audio workstations) on contemporary music production, particularly in rap and electro. Through the study of the different types of pedagogies and practices of Ableton Live, it examines its role in creation, shared knowledge (prescribed, acquired, know-how), and its social and technical influence in modern home studios.
This interactive session will take participants through a comprehensive deconstruction of a recent Hot 100 #1 hit, utilizing the proprietary methodologies and visualization tools of Hit Songs Deconstructed. Participants will also discover unique and engaging ways to teach "pop theory" to students, making complex concepts easy to understand by using the Hit Songs Deconstructed tools themselves.
This presentation explores "Illuminated Songs," a multimodal assignment in Taylor Swift-themed courses that engages general education majors in musical and lyrical analysis. By visually annotating songs, students explore themes, narrative structures, and musical elements. This accessible, interdisciplinary strategy fosters active listening, critical engagement, and highlights the cultural relevance of popular music in education.
This session examines essential skills for success in the modern music industry, including digital literacy, entrepreneurship, networking, and resilience. Attendees will gain practical insights into aligning with industry demands, navigating emerging trends, and preparing for diverse career pathways in an increasingly competitive and dynamic global music ecosystem.
This presentation examines the potential benefits and challenges of implementing informal music learning in formal school music contexts and raises critical questions. This session may benefit school music teachers who wish to expand their music teaching horizons and accommodate music students’ diverse music learning needs and interests.
“The jam session is…the…true academy ” according to Ralph Ellison. Jam sessions continue to exist and have branched out into other styles, like blues, rock, and funk, better known as “open jams.” Where do open jams and PME align and conflict? How do we better create “the true academy”?
This study explores how adolescents in two distinct regions -- rural Ireland and Los Angeles county -- discover the songs that become the soundtracks to their lives. In an age of infinite content and evolving technology, this research creates a window into the musical world of our high school students.
Arranging and interpreting pop songs collaboratively, with groups of 10, 15 or 25 members, is a challenging and rewarding experience. I want to show how we can tackle these group processes by offering structure and cultivating openness. After a warm-up with participatory elements, we sing and play a pop song together. I give some input to get started, and then leave space for developing ideas. We will make the song our own by changing roles and taking artistic decisions together. Own instruments are welcome!
The presenter describes his work as a professor and provocateur at a US university. The presenter gives drum kit performances in a university art gallery, modeling noisy, relational resistance in co-musicking as fundamental to a necessary paradigm shift to counter perpetuation of racist, regressive social policy in the United States.
Join Drs. Davis, Kennedy, and Wacker as we present our analysis of Journal of Popular Music Education articles (2017–2024). We’ll explore trends in research methods, participant types, and topics, compare findings with other music education journals, and discuss emerging gaps and future directions in the field.
Classical and media composers face contrasting workflows: classical composers create polished scores for musicians, while media composers create realistic audio demos for nonmusicians. This demonstration bridges the gap, teaching composers to balance quality and efficiency by creating realistic mock-ups within notation software using sample libraries, playback engines, and DAWs.
This panel explores how music education can better support students’ mental health by addressing industry-related challenges. Attendees will gain insights into current training gaps, discover successful wellbeing initiatives, and leave with practical tools to foster resilience, self-awareness, and sustainability in the next generation of musicians.
Composing and Improvising in the Music Classroom: Ideas and techniques to support the early stages of group composition, encouraging creative music-making. Designed to develop key skills in performing, listening, composing, and improvising by breaking down a musical example into simple rhythmic and melodic riffs, transforming it, improvising on its various elements before using these as the basis for pupils own creative compositions.
New music technologies have created opportunities to explore science, technology, engineering and math, through the art of music. This demonstration is for teachers, students, and music technologists who are interested in connecting music with STEM. An interactive demonstration of software and hardware tools for educators and students will be provided.
This paper outlines the interdisciplinary approach taken in an undergraduate module in which music students to analyse visual aspects of their promotional materials and performances. Theories from disciplines including persona studies, visual studies, image studies, performance studies, audio-visual studies and fashion studies are synthesised to inform constructively critical analysis.
The session examines gender and positionality in digitally-supported music education, highlighting how media reinforce stereotypes. It critiques the exclusion of marginalized groups through biased technology and representation. Solutions include positionality, active unlearning, and counter-storytelling, fostering inclusivity in music education by addressing power structures and promoting reflective, creative practices.
This presentation explores the integration of video game music (VGM) into higher education curricula as a tool for teaching popular music. I illustrate how VGM can serve as an effective pedagogical tool for engaging students in the study of popular music history, theory, composition, and performance at the tertiary level.
This interactive workshop offers practical strategies to support neurodivergent students in music education. Participants will explore inclusive teaching techniques, engage in hands-on activities, and leave with a toolkit for fostering creativity, wellbeing, and resilience—both in the classroom and throughout students’ careers in the music industry.
While popular genres are slowly being integrated into music theory curricula, many university music programs continue to struggle with how to accomplish this task while serving the needs of their entire student body. This session is meant to foster a discussion of solutions, both tried and untried, failed and succeeded.
How do collegiate R&B ensemble directors gain and develop their knowledge for teaching R&B music? How do these ensemble directors employ their expertise in their instructional contexts? This session will present the findings of a dissertation study that focused on the pedagogical content knowledge of three collegiate R&B music instructors.
This presentation explores how AI skill sets can be taught and assessed in degree-level popular music education to enhance employability. It examines effective teaching methods, assessment strategies, and real-world applications, ensuring graduates are AI-literate and industry-ready. The session will discuss best practices and future opportunities for text-generative AI in popular music education.
This study explores the role of music as a resource for the social inclusion of migrants and refugees, addressing linguistic, cultural, and social barriers. Qualitative research and practical activities examine how musicking fosters belonging, identity, and cohesion, contributing to more equitable and inclusive educational and social environments.
This project centres around music literacy education practices and teaching 'active consumption', a phrase and method for combining various states of critical thinking about popular music. It also focuses on determining teaching methods that prioritise students' own interpretations and independence over binary correctness and incorrectness.
This session explores how popular music set works are analyzed in GCSE and A Level curricula, questioning the authenticity of current methods. It highlights gaps in traditional frameworks, suggesting inclusive pedagogical approaches to better represent the cultural and stylistic dimensions of popular music for deeper student engagement and learning.
The Colombia Workshop explores traditional Colombian music through movement, rhythm, and collaborative creation. Participants engage in interactive activities, discovering diverse pedagogical tools and traditional repertoires. The workshop fosters reflection, dialogue, and hands-on experiences, enhancing teaching methodologies while celebrating Colombia’s rich musical heritage.
Terminology in vocal studies often varies, causing confusion for vocalists trying to develop their skills. This presentation highlights research on vocal pedagogy in HPME, addresses the disparities in terminology used for vocal studies and introduces the creation of a unified framework that integrates language and terminology from various existing vocal pedagogies.
Popular music related materials exist in archives, museums, libraries, and private collections, providing knowledge and evidence of events, individuals, institutions, and cultures. This paper consider the role of artefacts in popular music higher education, the treatment of the curator, and collections as a tool for narrative building to be fostered through more inclusive and considered circumstances.
This paper will reflect on a survey conducted that studies developments in instrumental popular music grades for the guitar. Drawing on other scholarship and experiences, the paper observes how the establishment of these examinations in the 1990s and their subsequent developments have shaped the opinions and approaches of music students.
As modern band programs continue to expand across the U.S., so too has the presence of modern band honor ensembles. This session will explore the process, challenges, and innovations of modern band honor ensembles, from audition to performance, with an emphasis on student agency and musical diversity.
Students are often initially hesitant to participate in musical activities, due to cultural differences, or the fear of making a mistake. One method of overcoming this reticence is to incorporate the principles and games of improvisational comedy into the lesson plan. Designed by Jake Cassman, a former music director and performer at Second City theater in Hollywood, this workshop gives educators the chance to learn about and participate in the activities that improvisers have used for generations to encourage play, focus and community.
This doctoral research explored the development of a framework aimed at transforming UK music education to be more inclusive, diverse, and equitable, particularly for Black pupils. This research aims to offer concrete recommendations for educators and policymakers to foster a more culturally responsive and equitable music education system that resonates with and benefits all students.
Metadata is the key to connecting artists with their ideal audience and unlocking lucrative sync opportunities. This demonstration will discuss its significance, how it boosts discoverability, and how it can supercharge your music career. Additionally, this session provides educational tips on teaching good metadata habits to young aspiring artists.
The presentation of a simple visual decision-making model for use by musicians and music educators that guides all types of musicians to identify the different types of day-to-day decisions they encounter and make more informed choices.
This paper considers the implications and impact of social media algorithm biases which – rather than serving to diversify the types of musicians represented in the mainstream – may actually serve to reinforce status quo societal and cultural norms, biases and stereotypes against female musicians, musicians outside the gender binary, fat musicians, musicians of colour, and disabled musicians.
his presentation introduces a four-step framework for hybridising metal and Iranian classical music as a model for inclusive, student-centred music education. It explores the facilitator’s role in guiding students through cross-genre composition, fostering cultural diversity and creativity. The session invites feedback on implementing this approach in diverse educational contexts.
This presentation will nuance the treatment technology's enculturation and audibility in order to suggest a growing area between the audibility of technology and its understanding and perception. This therefore leads to a conflation of technological sonorities and human vocal technique which can have a huge effect on the vocal health of new learners.
This study analyses gender representation in the German Top 100 Charts (2014–2024), focusing on songwriters, producers, and artists. Using web scraping and a pronoun-based self-identification system supported by Chartmetric, it compares this approach to traditional methods, offering a replicable framework for tracking gender diversity in the music industry.
Songwriting camps, structured for intensive collaboration, have influenced higher education by highlighting essential creative skills. This paper, based on the Songwriting Camps in the 21st Century (SC21) project, examines how these camps teach interpersonal dynamics, adaptability, and teamwork, preparing students for professional songwriting through immersive, industry-aligned educational experiences.
Teaching students to think independently requires a reexamination of ingrained cultural biases. This demonstration will discuss some of the ways in which curricular structures, creative projects, and collaborative experiences in popular music education may be designed to interrupt the feedback loop of social normalization and foster independent artistic thinking.
In teaching performance, we rely on conceptual analysis to assess and feedback on performance quality. But audiences experience performance as something far more immediate and visceral. In this talk, I discuss a method for measuring audience experience as a series of visceral responses. But is this valid or hopelessly flawed?
The promotion of technology often attempts to associate with prevailing trends: words such as 'crypto', 'metaverse' and 'A.I.' can be used almost to the point of meaninglessness. This paper discusses historical and current examples of algorithmic processing, machine learning and generative A.I. and their changing use in music production and pedagogy.
This presentation explores how strategic collaboration can sustain Lancashire’s grassroots music ecosystem. Through practice-based research, we identify key challenges, propose solutions, and highlight efforts to build a talent pipeline with local education services—ensuring industry growth, stronger networks, and long-term sustainability for the region’s music sector.
The PLR Toolkit: Practice-led Research and Inclusivity in Postgraduate Music Industry Education presents results from the introduction of PLR to a postgraduate MA in Music Industry HE which pushes the boundaries and conventions of academic research and extends the possibilities for future practitioner researchers, creating an inclusive and diverse learning space and a vital toolkit which connects students to music industry employment opportunities early on in their careers,
The BIG question: How can we balance the old with the new... academics with originality? In this session, we’ll explore ways to update music curricula so students get the best of both worlds, strong foundational skills alongside the creative tools they need to thrive in today’s professional music scene.
