Music Educators Journal (MEJ) encourages music education professionals to submit manuscripts about all phases of music education in schools and communities, practical instructional techniques, teaching philosophy, and current issues in music teaching and learning. The main goal of MEJ, like that of MENC, is to advance music education.

MEJ articles are refereed by practicing professionals who judge manuscripts on their importance, originality, timeliness, scope, accuracy, and style. Articles submitted for publication should be characterized by the following:

Clarity. Articles should be written in a straightforward, conversational style that avoids unnecessary jargon, technical language, and excessive reliance on long quotations from other sources.

Grounding. While MEJ is not a research journal, submissions should be grounded in the professional literature. Articles with no citations or reference to previous work in the area will not be considered for publication.

Brevity. Articles should be between 1,800 to 3,500 words long (seven to twelve double-spaced, numbered pages).

Usefulness. Articles should address the needs of the many music educators who read the journal and should not have been previously published elsewhere. Authors should avoid personal asides that are not relevant to the primary topic, as well as content that promotes a person, performing group, institution, or product.

Format of submissions. Articles can only be submitted electronically as Word documents. Authors wishing to have articles considered for MEJ should log onto SAGE Publications at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com.mej, where they will set up an online account in the SAGETRACK system (the process takes about 10–20 minutes, but only need be done once). After an account is set up, a submission can be initiated. Please include the following items as separate Word documents:

• A cover letter that includes the author’s name, address, daytime phone number, e-mail address, mailing address, and title or position.
   
• One copy of the manuscript. This Word document should be double-spaced copy with pages numbered. The author’s name and current institution should not appear anywhere in the manuscript itself, but it should be included in the accompanying cover letter.
   
• Music examples, figures, or other illustrations that are clear and have been checked for accuracy. If any copyrighted illustrations or music are used, documentation verifying that the author has permission to use the material should be included. Up to three photographs, also sent electronically, are a welcome part of accepted articles.
   

Editorial Policy. All manuscripts accepted for publication are edited to conform with MEJ style policies, which are based on The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed., University of Chicago Press). Manuscripts may also be edited to meet the requests of the Editorial Committee or to fit available space. Edited copy is sent electronically to the author for approval before publication. Final decisions about scheduling of publication, style, title, presentation, grammar, artwork, and deleted passages remain with the editor.

Publication Policy. MEJ is copyrighted as an entity, so authors must transfer copyright to MENC.

Payment is not possible for contributions to the magazine. Each author receives two copies of the issue in which his or her article appears; authors may also order additional copies.

MEJ Departments. Short, practical articles (500–700 words) are always welcome for submission to Idea Bank (contact Ella Wilcox at ellaw@menc.org for details). MENC members are also invited to review books, technology, and videos; see the guidelines for writing reviews at http://www.menc.org/resources/view/menc-journals.