National Standards for Music Education are all about Music Literacy.
The standards emphasize conceptual understanding in areas that reflect the actual processes in which musicians engage. The standards cultivate a student’s ability to carry out the three Artistic Processes* of
Creating,
Performing, and
Responding.
Students need to have experience in creating, to be successful musicians and to be successful 21st century citizens.
Students need to perform – as singers, as instrumentalists, and in their lives and careers.
Students need to respond to music, as well as to their culture, their community, and their colleagues.