n attentively to lessons in silence. She felt that, for children to develop good listening skills, awareness of silence should be the starting point. Into the silence, gradual introduction of sounds and noise, using bells (sounds) and drums (noise) led the children to formulate distinctions between the two (p. 58).
As instruction processes, Montessori methods emphasize two key instructional elements, preparing a specific environment for learning music and allowing children to make the majority of decisions about what elements to learn for themselves; in a Montessori classroom, education is not controlled by the teacher or by interactions between teacher and children, but by the didactic materials available.
Montessori is not alone in emphasizing student decisions regarding learning in music instruction classes. Kuzmich (1991), in his discussion of a successful music course that provided instruction on the electric guitar, drums, and bass guitar and that helped expand the instrumental music program at Evergreen High School in Golden, Colorado, stated that an important aspect of the program was its focus on students' motivation and self-teaching. Interestingly, the program also involved students in starting a rock band competition which was said to increase strongly student mo
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