Empowering Band, Choir, and Orchestra Teachers with Effective Health Education Strategies

According to Nietzsche, Without music, life would be a mistake. While music is a treasured experience in the education of our youth, learning and performing music presents potential health risks. For example, the World Health Organization currently estimates that 1.1 billion young people are at risk for hearing loss due to unsafe music listening practices. In response, the Texas Education Agency recently updated requirements for public school music education. As of 2015, all middle and high school band, choir, and orchestra teachers are obligated to educate their students about hearing health, musculoskeletal health, vocal health, hygiene, and hydration. Because this area of concern is new to music education, there are no known consensus-based approaches to help teachers meet this challenge. The goal of this project is to establish an annual continuing education workshop and web-based resources designed to help music 12s respond to these new Texas Education Agency mandates for incorporating health education into ensemble-based instructional activities.