In school districts across America, the transition to Common Core standards is well underway. For the first time, a concerted national effort is being made to align teaching standards in language arts and math. In Tennessee, efforts to prepare for the standards have accelerated since 2010, the year the U.S. Department of Education made its first round Race to the Top awards to Tennessee and Delaware. While the state Department of Education currently offers multiple levels of support to ELA and math teachers, specific resources for music teachers are currently unavailable. However, the message is clear that music teachers are expected to address the standards.

As stated on the Tennessee Core website, "The implementation of Common Core State Standards is a full-school endeavor, not just a project for math and ELA teachers" (2012). Furthermore, Tennessee Core says: This is a departure from past standards in language arts and math, which were written for language arts and math teachers, and were utilized by music teachers as the need or opportunity arose. Terms such as cross-curricular, integrate and connect are found throughout the Common Core Standards, all of which are action words for the music teacher. How does this shift in ELA and math standards, along with limited language on how music teachers should approach the standards, affect the practice of teaching music?

In a recent national poll conducted by Common Core, an organization not affiliated with the Common Core State Standards Initiative, 66% of responding teachers agreed that subjects other than ELA and math are being crowded out of the curriculum (Common Core, 2012). Music classes are receiving less instructional time, a longtime reality that has only been exacerbated by the push to implement the standards. Requiring music teachers to include more literacy and math activities in their teaching to bolster these subjects can only further narrow the time these teachers have to meet their own curricular goals. Such requests also imply that literacy and math skills are not being taught in the arts, which is surely not the case. Therefore, regardless of location, it is imperative that music teachers understand the implications accompanying the Common Core Standards, and how those practices currently taking place in arts area classrooms align with and meet the standards.

Is Music a Technical Subject?
In the standards, music is referred to as a technical subject, which is defined as: Tennessee Core further makes the case for infusing Common Core standards into the teaching of music by stating: A key consideration here is in the fact that, while many components of music teaching and learning surely are technical, there are also many non-technical aspects of music teaching and learning. Thankfully, the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards and The College Board realize this, and have both published documents that speak to how best to align music teaching to the standards.

What Type of Alignment?
The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning provides a summary of the thinking behind the new national music standards, which are currently under development. The new standards are organized around big ideas, referred to as enduring understandings and essential questions, as well as a strong emphasis on literacy. The framework directly speaks to connections between the arts and other subject areas.

The College Board report, The Arts and the Common Core, outlines two approaches to Common Core alignment by examining the connections between the Common Core Standards and the NCCAS Conceptual Framework. Content- based alignment includes literal references to the arts in the ELA standards. An example of a direct music reference is found in ELA K-5 Reading: Literature Standard 2.4: "Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song" (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Such references make alignment quite easy. However, the frequency of word for word references to music in the standards is quite low, and is not a reliable tactic in making broad, sustained connections.

The second alignment approach, skill-based alignment, provides multiple strategies for creating alignment not only among music and the other arts, but also across the entire K-12 curriculum. This approach accesses the same "goals and thinking skills" (Charleroy, 2012, p. 6) found throughout the NCCAS Conceptual Framework, as well as in the Common Core Standards. In the NCCAS standards, these points of connection are referred to as Philosophical Foundations and Lifelong Goals, and Creative Practices.

The philosophical foundations and lifelong goals "articulate the benefits of arts involvement on a broad scale" (Charleroy, 2012, p. 6). These five foundations form an overarching view of the arts in various contexts, such as communication, wellbeing, and community engagement. The creative practices are the "cognitive processes" (National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, 2012, p. 15) employed in music learning that easily transfer to learning in other curricular areas. As students engage in music, they imagine, investigate, construct, and reflect. These skills align with the Common Core ELA Anchor Standards for Reading, and the Standards for Mathematical Practice.

One School System's Approach
Shelby County Schools recently merged with the former Memphis City Schools to form the 14th largest school system in the United States. In the newly merged system, Common Core Standards are in full implementation. In preparation for the standards, arts teachers in all disciplines have received training from district arts leaders, community partners, and regional and national-level consultants. Music teacher evaluation and music curriculum have been correlated to the standards through the Tennessee Fine Arts Growth Measures System, and by the creation of curricular crosswalks that draw parallels between current national music standards, the K-12 music curriculum, and Common Core Standards. Music teachers are also supported at the classroom level by district Arts Advisors. These arts leaders not only provide guidance and advice to music teachers, but they also serve as a direct line of communication with ELA and math instructional leaders. This arrangement allows for the tailoring of professional development and other resources to meet the distinct needs of music teachers.

Where Should I Start?
A good place to start is with the Common Core ELA Anchor Standards and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. These college and career informed standards, along with the NCCAS philosophical foundations, lifelong understandings and creative practices, provide an extensive toolbox for building substantive, music-based connections. These tools also have the potential for connecting music teachers to colleagues that, in years past, may have had little to no interest in what takes place in the music classroom.

When approaching the standards, it is helpful to emphasize text and literacy through music activities. Music has its own technical vocabulary, hence the designation of music as a technical subject. Music notation is recognized and read across the world, despite the reader's cultural background or first language. And, levels of musical literacy can be observed and evaluated. Accessing music through language and text is an important consideration for all music teachers. As stated in The College Board report: Viewing the teaching of music through the lenses of language, vocabulary and text also creates the potential for engaging in ELA-specific activities, such as close reading of text.

Finally, don't panic! Common Core Standards are not replacing national music standards. Two documents that are must-reads are the NCCAS Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning, and The Arts and the Common Core, a comprehensive look at how Common Core Standard aligns with NCCAS Standards. These reports offer a clear, comprehensive view of how Common Core both influences and intersects with the new national music standards, and how both sets of standards work together to prepare students for college and career.

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