Hi, my name is Melissa Spencer. This website and resource collection is the result of my Master's Project for my Music Education degree from the University of New Mexico. I will graduate Spring 2026. My master's committee includes Dr. Melissa Ryan, Dr. Anne Martin, and Dr. Geoffrey Harman from UNM.
I used the following critera when selecting resources to include in this project.
1) Sources have been personally evaluated by university-trained music educators with teaching experience.
2) The sources align with national music standards.
3) Sources are age appropriate/can be modified for secondary students.
4) The content is suitable for teaching in schools.
5) Sources are pedagogically sound.
6) The sources are written by persons who have musical/educational training and experience.
At it's launch in March 2026, this website started with 108 curated resources spanning 7 categories of music education topics.
About Melissa:
I am a lifelong musician and music lover. I proficiently play multiple instruments including the piano, harp (both lever and pedal harps), organ, viola, violin, cello, mandolin, guitar, and African drums like the djembe. I largely participated in musical endeavors outside of school including playing in small folk groups, writing music, performing at community events, and producing albums of music where others and I performed self-arranged music. I have taught music both privately and at large educational institutions. I have five children and taught them music for nine years each. I have worked with dozens of youth musicians in church music settings to create, arrange, and perform songs at various religious functions. I completed my Bachelor of Music degree at the University of New Mexico with an emphasis in Theory and Composition in 2003 and am in the final semester of my Masters' program in Music Education (as well as my post-baccalaureate teacher licensure) at UNM. I anticipate graduating in May 2026.
I am personally oriented towards this project. I studied music outside of school for many years before joining the choir and orchestra during my senior year of high school. My musical experiences outside of school were diverse, fulfilling, and meaningful. And yet I felt like those experiences weren’t valued or understood in school settings. In my academic music classes I felt like I didn’t fit in, and that my musical endeavors didn’t relate to school music studies. I continued to feel this way as I studied music full time in college. My experiences in college were meaningful but greatly disconnected from my personal musical interests. I have known many young musical persons who don’t want to study music in school settings because of a perceived chasm which separates them from the values, genres, and methods used in school music classes. I value all musical genres and a variety of ways to learn music, and I champion this cause as an educator. It’s my hope that educators can use this website with its collected resources to advocate for new music classes and ensembles and teach them in different ways. I hope that current and future music educators will use this website to help reach students who want to experience musical joy in different ways that the traditional band, choir or orchestra classes.