The Music Course Offerings, Degrees, and Certifications of Twelve American Normal Schools

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Musicking Normal Schools: Soundings of Capital, Gender, Race in Past, Current, Futures of Teacher Education

Abstract

Normal schools were institutions established primarily to prepare teachers for primary and secondary schools, mostly funded by state legislatures. I investigated whether music was included as a core part of the curriculum and how its inclusion in teacher education evolved over time.
A recurring challenge for music instructors was the poor musical preparation of incoming students. Many lacked basic skills in reading music or singing. This gap was due in part to high schools not requiring or prioritizing music. Educators like Mary Nugent argued that unless normal schools required music as an entrance subject, high school music education would remain weak.
The paper traces the roots of American music education to mid-eighteenth-century singing schools, initially designed to improve church music. These schools later evolved into music conventions and private academies. As the education field matured, teacher preparation moved into formal settings like normal schools. Leaders such as Horace Mann and James Carter were instrumental in promoting state-funded teacher education, leading to the 1839 establishment of the first normal school in Lexington, Massachusetts.
My historical analysis derives from data from twelve normal schools, including institutions for women and normal schools for African Americans. Data reveals both diversity and commonality. Most institutions offered vocal music, music theory, appreciation, and music methods courses tailored to elementary education and in some cases cultural music, such as Jubilee choirs in Black normal schools. Some schools supported social musical activities such as ensembles—glee clubs, mandolin clubs, brass bands, and orchestras.
Julia Crane’s work at Potsdam Normal School in New York was especially influential. In 1884, she created a curriculum specifically for training music supervisors, blending musical and pedagogical instruction. Her program became a national model.
By the early twentieth century, many schools required music for teaching credentialing and offered specialized certifications or bachelor’s degrees. Still, there was wide variability. Some states provided no music syllabus or entrance/graduation requirements, even though music departments existed at nearly every school.
The rise of music textbooks and new technologies shaped instruction. Frances Elliott Clark, working with RCA, helped integrate phonographs into classrooms, making musical appreciation more accessible. Books like What We Hear in Music and The Chorus Queen supported music literacy and performance.
In conclusion, while music education was seemingly always present in normal-school education, it became increasingly formalized and faced persistent issues—low salaries, minimal standardization, and debates over whether classroom teachers or trained music supervisors should lead music instruction. Julia Crane argued that while general teachers might get by with limited training, music supervisors required thorough musical knowledge and pedagogical skill.
Music education in normal schools was present from the start. The development of music in normal schools reflects broader educational trends and ongoing advocacy for music as a core subject. Despite early inconsistencies, these institutions laid essential groundwork for modern teacher education’s inclusion of arts education and music education. Their history offers valuable insights for current and future teachers and music educators.

Author

• Lori F. Gray, University of Montana