For most of the last century, American music education has skipped over American music.
The composers, performers, and communities who built our musical identity during the long nineteenth century — roughly 1801 to the start of World War I — have been largely absent from classrooms. That absence has consequences. Students learn the European canon in depth and their own country's heritage as a footnote.
We are working to change that, and we are proud to announce a partnership that makes it possible.
Practicing Musician has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Forging an American Musical Identity (FAMI), a scholarly project celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence through the recovery and celebration of long nineteenth century American music. FAMI will advise on the long nineteenth century lessons within our comprehensive 225-lesson course, America's Soundtrack: American History Through Music.
What FAMI Brings
FAMI's project team reads like a who's who of American musicology. The team is chaired by Katherine K. Preston, the David N. and Margaret C. Bottoms Professor of Music Emerita at William & Mary and past president of the Society for American Music. Members include Neely Bruce of Wesleyan, Kyle Gann of Bard College, John Graziano of CUNY Graduate Center, Barbara Haws (emerita Archivist and Historian of the New York Philharmonic), composer-conductor Kevin Scott, and Douglas Shadle of Vanderbilt University.
On our joint Steering Committee, FAMI is represented by John Graziano. The Committee has now completed its review of the long nineteenth century content, and production moves into its next phase.
FAMI's scholarly infrastructure includes The Big List — a searchable registry of more than 100 nineteenth century American composers with biographies and linked scores — along with growing repertoires in song, choral, chamber, orchestral, band, and piano music. Their January 2026 conference in New York City culminated in a Carnegie Hall performance of George Frederick Bristow's Symphony No. 5, Niagara, by the American Symphony Orchestra. That is the level of scholarship and cultural reach now feeding into America's Soundtrack.
Why Free Distribution Matters for Scholarship
A discovery that lives only in academic journals or concert halls reaches a limited audience. A discovery that lives on a free, standards-aligned music education platform reaches millions of students, teachers, and lifelong learners.
Practicing Musician hosts 3,500+ video tutorials across 15 band and orchestra instruments, all aligned with National Core Arts Standards and integrating Model Cornerstone Assessments. Our teaching methodology draws on cognitive load theory, spaced practice, and retrieval practice. Our content is created by peer-reviewed educators including Dr. Frederick Burrack, who co-led the development of the national music standards assessments, and Grammy winner Stephen Nelson.
Our platform is free for individuals and small groups, forever. No paywall, no trial period, no expiration. That distribution model means FAMI's scholarship on Bristow, on parlor songs, on nineteenth century band music, on the diverse communities who shaped American sound, reaches a student in rural Kansas as readily as a student at Juilliard.
What We're Building Together
The long nineteenth century lessons in America's Soundtrack will explore art music and popular music side by side, along with the rich interaction between them. Students will encounter orchestral works, musical theatre, parlor songs, dance music, and band compositions from a period that gave shape to American culture. They will also engage with the historical context that makes this music more than a sequence of notes on a page.
And because Practicing Musician is a Social Purpose Corporation with fiscal sponsorship through Realize Impact, a 501(c)(3), every lesson will remain free for individuals and small groups. Forever.
A Call to Scholarly and Cultural Partners
If your organization studies, preserves, performs, or teaches American musical heritage, we would like to build something together. FAMI shows what a scholarly partnership can look like on a free platform with global reach.
We are also actively seeking investors and donors who see the semiquincentennial as the moment to make American cultural literacy a public good.
Interested in partnership or sponsorship opportunities?
Reach out to Dr. Rory Creigh, Vice President of Education — we'd love to hear from you.
