Welcome to the Newly Rebranded Journal of General Music Education

Welcome to the Newly Rebranded
Journal of General Music Education

By Rekha S. Rajan, Academic Editor, Journal of General Music Education 

This article first appeared in the October 2021 issue of the
Journal of General Music Education (formerly General Music Today)

Dear colleagues, friends, music educators, and musicians,

It is with overwhelming excitement that I welcome you to the newly revamped Journal of General Music Education.

Since its inception, the journal (General Music Today, GMT) has never been revised, expanded, or modified in either the cover, mission, or scope. Our fields of music education and general music have changed greatly in the past few decades. Those of us teaching general music proudly identify as general music educators, presenting that we are not just a facet of music education, but an important part of understanding, experiencing, and teaching music across the lifespan.

This process took months! I presented the idea of updating the journal’s name and image at our February 2021 Editorial Committee meeting, where all of our veteran and new committee members and our columnists discussed the future of the journal. I am so grateful for the help and support we received from Ella Wilcox and Amy Quon in making this change, and from Pankaj Sahu in ensuring everything was ready and updated for our October 2021 issue. Thank you also to everyone else who was involved behind the scenes.

As you see in our new cover, we were deliberate in our selection of color choices and imagery that reflects different types of music-making and musical experiences. This lovely design was created by Janel Kiesel. We also modified the mission of the journal to accurately reflect our definition of general music. Instead of general music in K–12 settings alone, we support and encourage discussions and submissions on how we engage with general music across the entire human lifetime.

“We also modified the mission of the journal to accurately reflect our definition of general music. Instead of general music in K–12 settings alone, we support and encourage discussions and submissions on how we engage with general music across the entire human lifetime.”

My amazing Editorial Committee colleagues and columnists were instrumental in helping to navigate this big change. One of my personal catalysts for changing the journal name was that during the time I have served as editor, I have encountered many offhand comments in the profession that we (as a journal) are not necessarily as important as other publications of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) or that general music is a magazine and not a peer-reviewed publication. I also noted that we were the only publication that did not have the word “journal” in our title. So, after much brainstorming, I am so proud to reveal the inaugural issue of the Journal of General Music Education (JGME).

As you explore the journal’s homepage, you will see that our submission process has not changed, but some links might still show GMT. As we transition to JGME, I hope that you will find your own way to support and promote the journal, either through social media, among young students and colleagues, through your work with NAfME, or by submitting your articles and ideas to us!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. In this new academic year, I hope that everyone stays safe and healthy, and I look forward to reading your submissions for the Journal of General Music Education (JGME).

Rekha S. Rajan
Academic Editor

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