Opera singers face psychological and occupational demands that often compromise well-being and career satisfaction. In this repeated measures study, professional and pre-professional opera singers participated in either a two-week or four-week intensive training program that was designed to enhance performance skills. Curriculum was taught in an integrative and psychologically supportive environment where singers worked musically, dramatically, and physically without fear of criticism. The singers were evaluated at three time points, immediately preceding the training program, immediately following the completion of the program, and six months after the completion of the program. Results demonstrated that the singers in both the two-week and four-week groups increased their ability to achieve optimal performance, emotional regulation, and self-esteem, and decreased internalized shame, trait perfectionism, and trait anxiety. These findings are important given that opera singers are vulnerable to anxiety disorders and that their career is demanding and unpredictable.
This article initiates a dialogue between Chinese "Gu Qin" art and curriculum theory. "Gu Qin" is the ancient Chinese musical instrument which best embodies Chinese aesthetic notions. The ancient Chinese never regarded Gu Qin as only an instrument; they thought that performing on it was a process of experiencing life and self-cultivation. Therefore, the value of pursuing Gu Qin study is not only the skill that is mastered, but also the growth of the spirit. This orientation makes the teaching of Gu Qin a fight against instrumental rationalism and materialism. It highlights lived experience based on the unity of the subjective and the objective, and breaks the closed, predetermined teaching process to create openness and possibilities. All of these characteristics have much in common with the new perspectives on curriculum and can help us better understand what a curriculum and a music curriculum are.
The aim of this research was to investigate preservice music teachers’ expectations of their curriculum, namely: (a) What content do they expect in view of their future professional activity? (b) Are their expectations in line with the principles of professionalized teacher education? (c) Are there any differences between the expectations of Swiss and French, and generalist and specialist preservice music teachers? Thirty prospective music teachers studying in two Swiss and two French institutions were included. The results showed that, overall, students’ expectations were (more or less) in line with the principles of professionalized teacher education. The hypothesis that the two French vs. the two Swiss and the two generalist vs. the two specialist subsamples would display distinct expectation profiles was not confirmed. Instead, a solid musical basis emerged as crucial for students to be ready to deal with the contents of professionalized initial music-teacher education.
Evaluative performances, such as conservatory examinations and competitions, frequently play a significant role in piano instruction in many parts of the world. Many students participate in these performances as a result of the perception that a program of instruction that is focused on standardized curriculum and evaluation practices will be of higher quality and will result in higher levels of student motivation. This study employs grounded theory methodology and narrative inquiry to better understand the experiences of beginning and intermediate piano students. The findings consist of characteristics of positive experiences with evaluative performances as well as factors that contribute to the quality of students’ experiences. Students who had positive experiences with evaluative performances reported positive emotional responses, perceptions of meaningful music learning, and strengthened musical identity. In order for students to have positive experiences with evaluative performances, their understandings, values, goals, and characteristics as a performer needed to align with the demands of the evaluation. In addition, positive experiences with evaluative performances required the presence of supportive relationships with parents and teachers. This article concludes with pedagogical implications.
This study explores learners’ perspectives on the prevalent pedagogy being followed in an institutionalized setup in teaching Hindustani music; their preferences for learning (one to one, one to many, etc.) and the importance of riāz to them; the dynamics of teacher–student relationship; and the factors contributing to their creative music making. One hundred music students (from four music institutions) receiving training in Hindustani music at different academic career levels in an institutionalized setup, completed a survey on the above-mentioned themes. Students reported that teachers across all the institutions generally followed the prescribed syllabus but that some of them tried to manage the syllabus as per the students’ potential. At higher levels of training, findings indicated that teachers started giving training in their own style or in their guru’s style. During the initial years of training, according to the students, teachers emphasized imitation. Results show that over the years, students developed preferences in terms of mode of music learning and method of music practice. As they progressed through training, students became more open to teachers’ critical evaluations and comments. Despite the fact that institutions do follow a rigid curriculum for music education, which is contrary to guru–shishya tradition, it appeared that institutionalized music training is not exclusively a typical learning system.
When music education is formalized within schools and non-governmental organizations, it often becomes aligned with justice-oriented aims of providing universal access to music education. This qualitative case study examines the formation of a marching band within a Haitian school in northeastern Haiti. Data sources collected and analyzed included participant-observation experience, participant interviews, non-governmental organization Facebook posts, and newsletters. Findings indicate the marching band became a form of justice, solidarity, organizational legitimacy, and community leadership. The marching band was related to justice because it made the honorable humanity of participants visible and satisfied a moral calling for talent development. A case study of the cholera epidemic in Haiti reveals how the marching band afforded the school a forum for legitimate community leadership. Students, teachers, parents, and administrators had differing views about the purpose of formalized music education. Students saw music education as important because it cultivated the beautiful.
A small-scale comparative study of music education provision in two Spanish and English primary schools was carried out in 2013–14, using questionnaires, interviews and observations. The study investigated the musical experiences of the children in the two schools, their ambitions for their musical futures, and the classroom practices and policy contexts that shaped these encounters with musical learning. Through thematic analysis and comparison of the data from the two schools, we examine music in children’s lives, music in the classroom, and musical ambitions and values, and consider how well the music curriculum serves the children in each setting.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of baton usage on college musicians’ perceptions of ensemble performance. Two conductors were videotaped while conducting a 1-minute excerpt from either a technical (Pathfinder of Panama, John Philip Sousa) or lyrical (Seal Lullaby, Eric Whitacre) piece of concert band music. Each excerpt was conducted twice, once with and without a baton. After viewing each of the four videos, college musicians (N = 119) rated the ensemble expressivity and ensemble precision of each performance. Technical excerpt performances were rated significantly higher when the conductor used the baton than we he did not. No baton effect was found for ratings assigned to the lyrical excerpt. A separate panel of evaluators (N = 44, college musicians), who served as the control group, assigned ratings to the same excerpts, but was presented these excerpts in an audio-only format. Findings indicated that the use of the baton significantly affected these participants’ ratings of ensemble expressivity and ensemble precision for the technical excerpt, with higher ratings being assigned to those excerpts in which the conductor used a baton. Similar to our results in the audio-visual condition, no significant differences were found between participants’ ensemble expressivity or ensemble precision ratings when listening to the lyrical excerpt.
The interconnected nature of 21st-century life demands that music educators and students consider those beyond their immediate communities in their ethical deliberations. While Appiah’s cosmopolitan ethical principles of universal concern and respect for legitimate difference may serve as a starting point for global ethical considerations in music education, they are potentially problematic for three reasons: their abstract nature can lead to the dehumanization of those about whom one claims concern; they can reinforce existing hegemonic divides between "legitimate" and "deviant" music-making; and they can lead to fixed understandings of practices and people. A feminine and poststructural extension of cosmopolitan ethics may assist music educators and students in addressing these issues. First, through a synthesis of the principle of universal concern and Noddings’ feminine ethics, music educators and students can resist dehumanizing others by aiming to "care for" and "care with" them. Second, teachers and students can use Foucault’s writings to consider how power-laden, socio-historical factors produce conceptions of legitimacy. Finally, drawing inspiration from Deleuzian ethical writings, music educators and students can challenge stagnant worldviews by promoting "legitimate differing" and imagining creative, evolving ethical futures.
The purpose of the current study was to describe the musical life experiences of an active, adult community musician through a narrative investigation. Jon is a musically-engaged retired instrumentalist who shares a trust and respect relationship with the researcher. Through data sources of observations, interviews, emails, journals, and pictures, the story of Jon’s musical past and present was portrayed. Jon has a past as a developing musician who had an extensive family background and support system in music; his present represents a dedicated musician who takes on varied roles across ensembles, and who collaborates with others in musical relationships. This story of an engaged musician in the community may have implications for community musicians and teachers.
This exploratory study examined the changing role of music education and the availability of musical experiences for students attending Montessori schools in the Midwestern United States. On a survey instrument designed by the researcher, Montessori school directors (N = 36) from eight states shared descriptions of the current role of music at their schools, the challenges faced when teaching music, individual perceptions of the impact of music on development, and beliefs about music as a valuable component of the curriculum. Data included responses to Likert-scale items and open-ended questions in an online survey. Analyses revealed that while school directors believed music could be used to engage students in learning or to build upon issues of multicultural understanding, opportunities for musical engagement were limited as a result of stringent budget cuts or time restrictions in the classroom. Implications are discussed in terms of including music in the Montessori classroom in ways that align with Maria Montessori’s pedagogies situated within an international context.
The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits, challenges, program characteristics and instructional approaches of an El Sistema inspired (ESI) after-school string program developed as a university–school partnership. Case study methodology was used to examine the program. Fifth-grade students received 75 minutes of after-school instruction four days per week. Two graduate students in music performance and the elementary school orchestra/general music teacher were the program’s lead teachers. Eight additional university students gave pull-out lessons. The program featured many "distinguishing characteristics" described in the ESI literature. The learning environment included large ensemble, sectional learning, and individual lessons. The repertoire learned was standard for American beginning string classes. Teachers provided rigorous expectations for the students to strive for excellence, a safe and supportive learning environment, flexible teaching, and peer-mentoring opportunities. Benefits included high levels of musical achievement, increased learning opportunities, perceived benefits of discipline, perseverance, positive attitude, and hard work. Instructional challenges included low attendance, curricular balance, and teacher collaboration. The intensity and frequency of instruction were found to be the source of most benefits and challenges reported by the participants.
El Sistema is a Venezuelan program of social change that has inspired a worldwide movement in music education. El Sistema inspires social transformation and musical excellence to occur simultaneously and symbiotically. This study examines: What does El Sistema look like within the context of a public school partnership in the United States? How do the characteristics of this context influence the realization of El Sistema principles? This qualitative case study examines one fledgling music program just two years into its partnership with a public school. The study utilizes ethnographic observations and focus group interviews with the young program participants, their parents, schoolteachers, and music teaching artists. I discuss these multiple perspectives according to the fundamentals of El Sistema: a) social change; b) community; c) access; and d) frequency. Findings indicate El Sistema values are capable of impact, but not without struggle, when allied with a public school partnership.
Research investigating improvisational skill development in adolescent learners is scant. In this study interviews with developing jazz improvisers are used to characterize the skill-building process. The findings were considered in light of two views of skill learning. In one view, students progress through several discrete levels, while in a different view students think like experts throughout development although the contextual demands vary. The six participants first improvised over a common 12-measure progression and then discussed their thinking in an interview that referenced their performance through approximate notation and audio recordings of their improvisation. Previous research with artist-level improvisers was used to develop an a priori coding frame to investigate to what extent the current participants described thinking that resembled that of experts. Results indicate that all six participants used monitoring and evaluation processes independent of skill level. However, only three participants with multiple years of jazz improvisation experience discussed how the underlying chord structure shaped their output. Also, experience level influenced the extent of planning during the improvisations, with novices thinking ahead a couple of notes while more experienced participants formulated plans for upcoming phrases and choruses. Pedagogical implications for improvisation in other music education settings are discussed.
The International Society for Music Education (ISME) celebrated its 60th anniversary on July 7, 2013. This article documents a history of the Society in its sixth decade (2003–2013). Two interrelated perspectives, consolidation and expansion, are used to synthesize patterns of development. Various partnerships created and sustained by ISME enabled and facilitated the internal work of structural consolidation and the external work of global expansion. These patterns of development are set in the context of three themes used in an earlier history of ISME – democracy, diversity, and dialogue – to lend continuity to the ongoing documentation of the Society’s history.
This article reports the findings of a case study that investigated the impact of music education on students in an F-12 school in Victoria, Australia that is considered as having a high percentage of young people with a refugee background. Key findings from this research indicated that music education had a positive impact on this group of young refugee students, which related to three primary themes: fostering a sense of wellbeing, social inclusion (a sense of belonging), and an enhanced engagement with learning. While some of these impacts were not always clearly distinguished from the more general experience of school, the students did identify some best practice elements of music learning and teaching that link to these three themes in a number of interrelated contexts. This research raises important questions about the ways in which education might be approached in schools with a high percentage of refugee background students and reaffirms the necessity of music and the arts as an important component.
In recent decades, music educators have become increasingly aware of the English Language Learner (ELL) population due to mainstreaming and inclusion policies. Meanwhile, the need for adequately preparing pre-service music teachers has become a focal point for music teacher preparation programs in the United States. In this article, I will 1) discuss the importance of developing pre-service music teachers’ empathy for ELL students; 2) offer suggestions for developing empathic pre-service music teachers; and 3) describe how a classroom cultural immersion experience can help pre-service music teachers to develop their empathy as well as increase their awareness of effective teaching strategies for ELL students. Through a short-term classroom cultural immersion experience, pre-service music teachers in the U.S. learned what it was like to be an ELL; as a result of their experience, they became more culturally and linguistically responsive. They deepened their level of empathy for ELLs, and expanded their knowledge base of techniques for effective music teaching.
This article presents findings from an action research project that investigated instrumental teachers’ strategies for facilitating children’s learning of expressive music performance. Nine teachers and 14 pupils (aged 9–15) participated in this project, which consisted of 10 weeks of teaching. At the beginning and end of this period pupils’ concerts were held and performances were audio-recorded. Participating teachers used various strategies for improving students’ expressive performance: teacher’s enquiry, discussion, explanation of expressive devices, gestures and movements, singing, imagery, modelling, "projected performance" and listening to own recordings. According to teachers these strategies had been useful in lessons. However, analysis of assessments of students’ performances did not show a significant improvement. Four out of five pupils who did improve their expressiveness were taught by teachers who used enquiry and discussion of musical character and instruction about modifying expressive devices. This project influenced the practice of participating tutors as they focused more on teaching expressive performance.
This study examined the effects of virtual reality immersion with audio on eye contact, directional focus and focus of attention for novice wind band conductors. Participants (N = 34) included a control group (n = 12) and two virtual reality groups with (n = 10) and without (n = 12) head tracking. Participants completed conducting/score study sessions twice a week for four weeks. Individual videotaped conducting sessions of a live ensemble before and after treatment served as pre and posttest measures. No significant (p > 0.05) changes due to virtual reality immersion were found. Further analyses with a larger dataset (N = 68) showed those working with audio (n = 34) significantly increased (p < 0.05) eye contact for the fast portion of the musical selection. Findings indicate (a) a sense of reality is created during virtual reality immersion and (b) the use of sound during score study may be beneficial for increasing conductor eye contact.
The aim of this study was to investigate if there is any relationship between musical preference, genre identification and frequency of listening to music genres, and whether musical training and gender played a role in these factors. A total of 205 college music and non-music majors recorded their preference for 13 music excerpts in popular, non-popular and Turkish Music genres. Results suggested that students’ musical preference, frequency of listening to music genres and their levels of accuracy in genre identification showed significant differences by gender and musical training. Music students favored Rock and Metal music more, whereas students not studying music enjoyed excerpts of the Traditional Turkish Art Music and Reggae. Furthermore, results also suggested that while female students preferred Jazz, Latin, Reggae and Western music more, male students favored the excerpts of Rock and Metal music more. As a result of the correlation analysis, a statistically significant relationship was found between the students’ musical preferences and the frequency with which they listened to that music.
The purpose of the present investigation was to analyze the teaching characteristics and instructional patterns of an expert teacher, and then to examine whether those observed teaching aspects could transfer into a musical setting. A teacher of swimming was videotaped giving the first four swim lessons to a 2-year-old child. Recordings were analyzed, and a list of instructional techniques and behaviors were made. Though a rather lengthy list, three key aspects to her instructional effectiveness seemed to relate to: the use of short, but intense lessons separated by 23 hour and 45 minute time intervals; an explicit awareness of exactly what goals were set for the series of lessons; and absolute consistency in behavioral management. In a second investigation, a music teacher viewed all the swim lesson videos, discussed their content, and incorporated those techniques and behaviors into his instruction of the first four trumpet lessons to a 10-year-old child. Several aspects of success were noteworthy. Certainly all three of the "key" behaviors transferred easily and effectively to the trumpet instruction. Conclusions from these two instrumental case studies imply that the identified "key" pedagogical elements might inform instruction on a much broader level.
Jazz has long been recognized as a male-dominated field, with females traditionally having only limited acceptance, often in the roles of singer and pianist. Researchers have explored sources of the gender imbalance in the field of jazz and jazz education, but there is no theory or framework to organize such findings. This directed content analysis of the journal Jazz Changes, the official magazine of the International Association of Schools of Jazz published from 1994 to 2000, analyzed published answers to the following question posited by the journal editors, "Women in Jazz: Why aren’t there more women in jazz education?" Analysis suggests a model including three social-psychological theories to describe the female experience in jazz. The theories include Rosabeth Kanter’s theory of tokenism, which describes a learning environment that females might perceive or experience in jazz; Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson’s theory of stereotype threat, which offers insight into why female musicians might make a choice to not participate, or discontinue participation, in the jazz idiom; and Albert Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, which is offered as a possible guide to providing instruction in jazz that fosters female participation. These theories are offered together as a model framework for future study of both historical and present experiences in gender and jazz.
In 2008, Brazilian legislators approved a law that added music on a mandatory basis to the basic national school curriculum. Despite the possibilities afforded by this legislation, music educators affirm that many questions remain due to its ambiguity. Given the 2012 deadline for the implementation of this law, there is a need to understand how it was enacted across diverse settings. This study considers the implementation from the perspective of music teachers. Thus, in this interview study, we seek to understand the status of music education throughout the country according to the perspectives of music educators from private and public schools. Such perspectives are situated within reviews of educational history, legislation, policy, and research. Findings point toward the need to (a) address a shortage of music teachers; (b) better define the preparation of professional music educators; and (c) identify pedagogies which are likely to have the greatest impact in implementing this new law.
The purpose of this study was to determine the anxiety of prospective music teachers (N = 129) during piano exams and to examine the effects of peer and self-assessments on anxiety and exam achievement of individuals with high performance and test anxiety (n = 5). Female students were more anxious compared to males, students of the fourth class were the most anxious, and students who had graduated from fine arts high schools had lower anxiety levels. There was a positive and significant relation between test anxiety and music performance anxiety. No significant relation was determined between piano course achievement scores and test or performance anxiety. Despite awareness of coping recommendations, students with high levels of anxiety experienced anxiety that could influence performance during exams.
This descriptive study examined professional conductors’ use of rehearsal time in sequential pattern components, discussing task presentation targets, and using verbal imagery and modeling techniques. Commercially available videos of 15 professional conductors rehearsing prominent orchestras were scripted, coded, and timed for selected teaching behaviors. Results revealed that professional conductors spent a large amount of rehearsal time allowing the ensemble to perform, presenting musical information, and focusing on interpretational aspects of the music (especially dynamics and style). All the conductors used verbal modeling to some extent, and most used verbal imagery at some point in rehearsal. Preservice and practicing music educators/conductors may find these results to be beneficial when reflecting on and refining their own teaching skills.
This study investigated the routine procedures employed by nine undergraduate piano students at a Brazilian university while learning and performing memorized pieces and the procedures employed using Chaffin’s performance cue (PC) protocols. The data were collected in two phases. In Phase I, each participant selected one piece that he or she had previously studied and memorized in the preceding academic semester. For Phase II, the students were introduced to Chaffin’s PC protocols, and they were allowed 10 weeks to memorize another piece of their own choosing. Thereafter, a second semi-structured interview with specific criteria was carried out, and the performance of the memorized piano piece was recorded. In Phase I, there were frequent references to structural and expressive cues. In Phase II, the employed PCs were shown to be related to the nature of the style of each piece, which in turn may indicate that explicit memory (content-addressable cues) seems to be associated with the deliberate expression of a given piece’s stylistic structure. Furthermore, tempo also seems to modulate the frequency of the PCs necessary to guarantee a successful memorized performance, for example, a faster tempo results in fewer PCs being employed.
The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore experienced general music teachers’ decision-making processes. Participants included seven experienced, American general music teachers who contributed their views during two phases of data collection: (1) responses to three classroom scenarios; and (2) in-depth, semi-structured, follow-up interviews. Analysis using a constructivist approach revealed that participants reported making distinct decisions during the planning, instruction, and reflection stages of teaching. During planning, their focus was on developing clear goals and objectives, encouraging a life-long love of music, and fostering responsible citizenship. During instruction, they made decisions guided by specific formal and informal methodologies to build on previously taught concepts and to support classroom management. After instruction, participants’ responses highlighted the importance of being flexible, their own professional development, and student assessment. While other studies have examined general music teachers’ instructional processes in methodology-specific practices, this study offers insights from experienced general music teachers regarding their decision-making processes when responding to classroom scenarios. Implications for future research include improving in-service teachers’ self-awareness, advancing professional development for experienced teachers, and enhancing the effectiveness of music teacher education programs.
The purpose of this research was to investigate the causes attributed by undergraduate music students to situations of failure and success in public music performance. Attributional Theory has been used in this research as the theoretical framework to understand how situations of success and failure are interpreted by the person of the activity. The analysis was conducted from an Intrapersonal perspective of motivation, i.e., how the attributions made by the students doing an undergraduate course in music revealed their notions and beliefs. The methodology used included a non-probabilistic survey and the data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire involving 130 undergraduate music students of southern Brazil. The results show that in situations considered to be successful, the most frequent attributed causes are effort (77.7%), persistence (65.4%), and interest in the performance (63.1%), whereas in situations considered to be failures the most important aspects are emotional (60.8%), difficulty of the task (36.2%), and lack of effort (30.8%). This research shows that students who have more musical experience regard their performances as good or excellent, whereas those that have little experience do not view themselves in this way. The data reveal that the greater the importance that is attached to an activity, the more time is spent on preparing for it; in the same way students tend to be more engaged with musical activities and devote more time to them when they are aware of their skills and value them. Music students feel responsible for their results, which shows that they are engaged in their learning and seek to satisfy an inner need to achieve success.
In mainland China, the implementation of the junior secondary school’s music curriculum is highly dependent on music teachers’ attitudes towards music and music education. This study investigated the possible relationship between teachers’ attitudes towards teaching Chinese folk music and their music teaching practice in junior secondary schools in Weifang, China. A total of 72 secondary school teachers responded to a questionnaire regarding their attitude towards teaching Chinese folk music and their perception of students’ attitudes to learning the genre. Six semi-structured interviews with voluntary teachers were conducted to explore the constraints of teaching Chinese folk music. Findings indicate that most respondents have a positive attitude towards teaching Chinese folk music although they spent limited time teaching the genre. Teachers’ attitudes are not only related to their personal musical preference and students’ responses, but are also shaped and modified by the educational context of China, including music teachers’ professional training, teaching responsibility, and the needs of the job market. Promoting Chinese music through education requires both music teachers and teaching policy makers to have an appropriate understanding of Chinese folk music which should not be supplementary to the main content; rather, it should be an imperative part of the music curriculum. Learning Chinese folk music is beneficial for nurturing students’ musical identities. Balancing the ratio of Western classical music and Chinese folk music in music classes is helpful in cultivating students’ multicultural perspectives.
Several authors have noted that one of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s aims was to dissolve the mind–body dualism, typical of Cartesianism. However, there has been little research on the spirit–body connection, as it appears in Jaques-Dalcroze’s writings. The purpose of this document analysis is to understand how a hermeneutic phenomenological model for spirituality in music education can inform our understanding of spirituality in selected writings by Jaques-Dalcroze. In the adapted model holism, balance, aesthetic experience, and movement in time, space, and with energy emerged as core concepts. This gives us a much richer understanding of the Dalcroze approach than has hitherto been available and adds to a growing narrative about the spiritual as it pertains to Jaques-Dalcroze and the approach he initiated.
Portuguese music education occurs in two branches: general and specialized. The specialized subsystem is also subdivided into vocational schools (conservatories and music academies) and professional schools. Although different in nature and organization, vocational and professional schools have several goals in common. In the first part, this article contextualizes the historical development of the vocational branch, from the creation of the first Portuguese conservatory (in Lisbon in 1835) until the present day. It describes the emergence of professional schools in the 1990s and, finally, it questions the concept of "vocational schools" itself. In the second part, the article describes the structural reform initiated in 1983 by Law-Decree nr. 310/83, underlining its unquestionable contribution to the improvement of public music education in Portugal. The last part of the article presents a summary of the main effects of this reform in the present situation of specialized music schools.
The purpose of this study was to investigate in-service music teachers’ perceptions of popular music in the classroom and to examine their own preparation to teach popular music. A sample of music teachers, drawn from two regional chapters of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, completed a researcher-designed survey instrument. Results suggest that these teachers perceived popular music to be an effective instructional tool in the music classroom, although their responses suggest that they perceived it to be appropriate for older students and in certain classroom settings only. In addition, the sample reported a lack of training in popular music pedagogy and responded that they generally felt unprepared to teach popular music. Among three types of preparation, they provided significantly higher preparation ratings for informal experiences, followed by performance-oriented experiences and formal educational experiences. Implications for music educators and music teacher educators are discussed.
The aim of the study was to measure the performance reached by students (N = 138) when aurally identifying musical harmonic intervals (from m2 to P8) after having experienced a teaching innovation proposal for the Music Conservatories of Catalonia (Spain) based on observational methodology. Its design took into account several issues, which had been detected previously as being conflictive. The teaching innovation proposal was tested during an academic year in six Catalan Music conservatories, specifically in Music Theory classes in the first year of a 6-year professional course. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was used. The existence of a control group gave a reference point for the measured results before and after an intervention period. By the end of the teaching–learning process, it was established that the performance of the participants had improved, resulting in statistically significant differences in favour of the experimental group.
Here we present the main findings of a study conducted at the Department of Teaching and School Organization of the University of Santiago de Compostela to explore the perceptions of teachers regarding didactic and music materials used and produced to facilitate teaching in early childhood education. This descriptive and interpretative study involved questionnaires sent to a sample of 560 early childhood teachers in public, private, private subsidized, and unitary schools in Galicia. In addition, interviews were conducted to better understand the questionnaire findings. A number of recommendations are included regarding measures to be taken by institutions and professionals involved in the process of design, selection, and use of didactic materials reflecting the analyses and opinions of the teachers in our study. Attention has been given to the comparative analysis of our findings with those in other studies carried out in Galicia and Spain over the past 10 years.
Even though there are demonstrated benefits of using online tools to support student musicians, there is a persistent challenge of providing sufficient and effective professional development for independent music teachers to use such tools successfully. This paper describes several methods for helping teachers use an online tool called iSCORE, including embedded online support, targeted email messages, webinars, and face-to-face workshops. Using contemporary frameworks for characterizing continuing professional development, the success of each of these teaching approaches, separately and in combination, is considered through an examination of teacher feedback, uptake of the tool by students, and the interview data from an advisory board made up of teachers, educators, software designers and developers, publishers, and business leaders. Inherent tensions and difficulties in designing appropriate professional development are discussed.
This qualitative research study seeks to examine definitions of Singapore music, music by Singapore composers and musics of/in Singapore through the eyes of tertiary music educators in a local institute of teacher education, and to determine pedagogical implications of such definitions in the space of the music classroom. Extensive informal interviews with seven tertiary music educators (key informants) serve as the methodological base for this phenomenological study. Findings suggest that music educators should give focus to the historical, socio-cultural and musical characteristics of the lived and living musical practices that comprise Singapore while being cognizant of contradictions brought forth by recent migratory flows and the emergence of a global city identity.
This article investigates and interrogates notions of student-centered music learning through collaboration in digital spaces. By harnessing the power and potential of Internet networks, one music educator in Miami, FL challenged his students to an online music collaboration project (OMCP) where students were asked to engage in deterritorialized collaborations with persons outside their classroom spaces. While in class collaboration was a hallmark of the class in other projects and areas of study, this particular 7-week project specifically targeted deterritorialized student collaborations through networked mediated digital music tools. The data discusses participant perspectives and contextualizes it within implications for music education in an evolving social sphere. The purpose of this research is to shed light on new pedagogies and push boundaries on what constitutes musical sharing places. While the students in this study needed guidance from the teacher/facilitator, the student agency, freedom and flow that resulted from the OMCP revealed an enthusiastic student perspective that was ripe for creativity. Implications for music education include widened notions of what constitutes a musical instruments, musical ensembles and musical venues. Further implications relate to broadened perspectives concerning student-centered learning, constructivist learning in music context and teacher/facilitator roles.
Substantial efforts have been made since the Khmer Rouge regime to revitalize traditional Cambodian music genres. While they have met with some success, local circumstances still present many difficulties for the transmission of traditional music to the younger generations. This study explores the challenges in learning and teaching traditional Cambodian music, as well as incentives, from the viewpoint of a group of students, teachers, and master-artists involved in the transmission activities of one non-governmental organization (NGO). Better understanding the challenges may help policy-makers, NGOs, and artists themselves to overcome them; better understanding the factors that encourage young people to learn (and older people to teach) may help safeguarding efforts at a critical juncture in the future of these art forms. Based primarily on interview and observational data from fieldwork in 2013 and 2014, the findings of this study underscore three challenges in particular to the transmission of traditional music genres in contemporary Cambodia: musical and technical difficulties, the changing social function of the genres, and economic pressures. In addition to intrinsic motivation, participants identified economic gain as a key incentive for young people to learn these genres. The author makes suggestions for overcoming the challenges and further motivating young people to learn traditional Cambodian music.
Existing studies have demonstrated how children compose, experiment and use their imagination within the conventions of the tonal idiom with functional harmony. However, one area of research that has hardly been explored is how tonality emerges in the compositions of children who compose by transforming their own non-musical ideas, such as their drawings and stories. To that end, and within a context in which children individually compose at the piano, the present study examines the differences or similarities that, with respect to the tonal idiom, result from both approaches to composing. The findings demonstrate how interdisciplinary and symbolic thinking can help children achieve a better understanding of the tonal idiom and at the same time lower the threshold to compose.
The purpose of the study was to investigate undergraduate music education majors’ confidence in teaching improvisation, according to the NAfME (1994) K–12 Achievement Standards. Specific research questions were: 1) How confident are music education majors in implementing the 11 improvisation achievement standards for grades K–12? 2) How confident are they in their own improvisation ability? 3) How interested or motivated are they in learning more about how to teach improvisation? 4) Are there differences in confidence among music education majors by year in school? 5) Are there differences in confidence among music education majors by primary instrument? Participants were 397 undergraduate music education majors from National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) accredited institutions in the United States, whose confidence in teaching improvisation decreased as grade level increased. Sophomore and senior means were higher than freshman and junior means, and slight differences were observed by primary instrument (woodwind, piano, brass, voice, string, percussion, in increasing confidence). Participants reported slight to moderate confidence in their own ability to improvise, but moderate to great interest in learning more about how to teach improvisation.
The ways in which we are able to communicate are, most of the time, dominated through speaking and listening. The ability to speak, listen and understand speech is the basis of oracy; a necessity within society today. The purpose of this study was to examine the interconnectedness of music and language to identify if music can assist in the promotion of oracy in everyday communicative contexts in students who have English as an additional language (EAL). Through the creation of a purpose specific music program, five primary school participants were taught six Western songs, paired with appropriate questions, over a six-week period to determine their oral capacity. Methods within this action research study included observations, informal interviews and graphic melodic contouring. The results indicate that all participants demonstrated an increase in oracy, but to varying degrees, as well as the improvement of pronunciation and vocabulary acquisition. Recommendations for future studies within this area are discussed.
This case study employed multimodal methods and visual analysis to explore how a young multilingual student used music improvisation to form a speech rap. This student, recently arrived in Australia from Ethiopia, created piano music that was central to his music identity and that simultaneously, through dialogue with his mother, enhanced his linguistic skills. He selected and redesigned communicative modes across principal modes (learning domains). Through analysis of this student’s redesign of a speech rap during his music improvisation at the piano, it was demonstrated that he promoted cognition and higher thinking. Conclusions showed he made a shift in understanding or meaning, empowering relations with his parents through a heightened understanding of music modes as the elements of music. The study revealed that modes encompassed all the senses (visual, aural, gestural and proxemics) in music improvisation while enhancing his verbal linguistic skills. By triangulating interviews and observations with video analysis, this study established that modes are not just unchangeable tools, but a means of situated social positioning and identity formation, and therefore resources for learning. It established that prior multicultural music learning was crucial to assist students’ music improvisation to enhance communication across borders in local and global information societies.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of songs in different languages on English language learners’ (ELLs) music preferences. The participants (N=62) were Chinese graduate students from a state university in the Midwestern United States. The survey contained nine excerpts from popular songs in three languages: Chinese (the most familiar language), English (second most familiar language), and German (unfamiliar language). The song examples had fast tempos and were sung by male singers. The participants rated their preferences on a Likert-type scale, identified whether they wanted to own the music or not, and indicated which of the musical characteristics — melody, rhythm, voices, lyrics, and others — they liked the most. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to analyze for music preferences. Results indicate that: (1) participants preferred the songs in English significantly more than those in German; (2) no significant preference was found between songs in English and Chinese, and songs in Chinese and German; (3) language did not affect the participants’ desire to own the music, and they reported a low desire to own the music in any of the languages. The results suggest that when comparing the songs in English and German, participants preferred the more familiar language. However, the fast tempo popular songs chosen for this study may not represent the most popular style of contemporary Chinese popular music.
This case study explored the potential for using a synchronous online piano teaching internship as a service-learning project for graduate pedagogy interns. In partnership with the university, a local music retailer, and a local middle school, three pedagogy interns taught beginning piano to underprivileged teenaged students for 8 weeks. All instruction took place in the synchronous online environment using acoustic Disklavier pianos, Internet MIDI, Facetime, and traditional method books. As a result of the experience, the students demonstrated musical understanding and the pedagogy interns developed teaching techniques, displayed improved comprehension of course content, learned about current distance teaching technology, and considered the role of music education in society. Based on these results, it might be feasible to provide piano lessons to underserved populations in remote locations while offering meaningful internship experiences to pedagogy students through distance service-learning projects.
The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable rating scale to assess jazz rhythm sections in the context of jazz big band performance. The research questions that guided this study included: (a) what central factors contribute to the assessment of a jazz rhythm section? (b) what items should be used to describe and assess a jazz rhythm section performance? (c) how should the items be categorized? (d) what differences among jazz rhythm sections exist at three performance achievement levels? and (e) what criteria best predict group membership into three performance achievement levels? Items were gathered from research and literature related to the assessment, teaching, and general discussions related to the jazz rhythm section. Twenty-nine item statements were paired with a four-point Likert scale. One hundred and twenty-two responses were gathered from 41 volunteer raters. The results of the data were factor analyzed and yielded a two-factor structure including rhythmic support/drive and style/clarity. The 16-item scale accounted for 79.23% of the variance and the alpha reliability was estimated at 0.986. The rhythmic support/drive factor contributed most to discriminating between overall group differences. More specifically, five out of the 16 items contributed most to discriminating between groups.
Teachers enrolled in a professional development program involving artists on site at cultural institutions participated in a study in which they expressed their views on upgrading in the arts. Findings indicate that they were influenced in their own schooling by passionate teachers who conveyed the importance of the arts. Their progress was impeded by a self-perception of their own limited artistic ability. Community experiences, such as private lessons and amateur productions, played a more significant role in their development. The ideal scenario for their personal and professional development in the arts is an environment where discipline-based and integrative curricular activities are offered, and both the creative process and the creative product are valued. Lack of personal expertise, limited professional development opportunities, and inadequate funding are obstacles that can be overcome by teacher commitment to upgrading in the arts, a range of arts courses offered by education faculties, and involvement by arts stakeholders in program design and delivery, respectively.
This paper is a preliminary attempt to describe how flow was experienced by an eminent singer-songwriter from the Philippines. Csikszentmihalyi (1990, 1996) has written extensively about the elements of the flow state among creative people and its contributions to positive psychology and optimal level of functioning. Through multiple in-depth interviews (nine hours and 45 minutes of conversation) conducted with the artist-collaborator, it was evident that while flow was indeed experienced and keenly felt, there were cross-cultural variations and nuances that made the experience distinct. This paper explores how the concept of flow can be extended further to reflect the realities of an artist coming from a different sociocultural background. The implications of the research findings for educators and practitioners are discussed.
This study applied a cultural lens to the "expert–novice dyad" (Kennell, 2002, p. 243) and explored the learning experiences of indigenous minorities studying in this context. The purpose of this study was to gather narratives that reflected the nature of teaching practices in the one-to-one studio context. The resulting data presented more complex stories that described how indigenous and minority students participate in the conservatory learning culture. The narratives described strategies for overcoming educational and institutional obstacles, and outlined examples of social practices within their ‘learning culture’ (Hodkinson, Biesta, & James, 2007, p. 419) that students had culturally modified in order to optimize their educational experience. The article examines the notions of critique, resistance, struggle and emancipation in a specific learning culture, a School of Music founded on the European conservatory model.
Studio-based learning in higher education music is held generally to be of central importance and highly effective. Although there are indirect reports of studio apprenticeships that have not proved effective, direct evidence that might support the deliberate investigation of "dissonant" studio practices remains rare. This article takes advantage of an opportunity presented within a broader project to explore the nested case study of a student who, exceptionally, reports that his teacher’s approach is not appropriate for him at his current stage of development. The implied dissonance within the studio is explored through the "rich transcription" of video evidence supported by questionnaire and interview data, highlighting issues of communication and flexibility. If the student’s private dissatisfaction can be considered in terms of dissonance within the studio, what might a dissonant studio lesson look like, and how might the dissonance present itself in the activity of teaching and learning?
The purpose of this study was to investigate how somatic (mind–body) instruction facilitated participants’ understanding of embodiment and affected their singing performance. Using an integrated case study and action research design, I, as participant-researcher, led movement lessons based on the Feldenkrais Method® that were intended to elicit a greater understanding of embodiment in relation to singing. The participants were high school choral singers and their teacher from a suburban school in the Midwestern United States. Data included participant journals, group and individual interviews, and researcher field notes. Findings suggest that theoretical and practice-oriented perspectives on embodiment provided new possibilities for the choral teacher’s practice and the students’ learning. From this perspective, choral music teaching is, in essence, the facilitation of embodied singing. The implications and suggestions for future research guide those interested in exploring an embodied perspective in choral music education.
The 12-key approach is considered a foundational practice strategy for jazz instrumentalists. Its relevance to vocalists, however, seems less clear. This article investigates improvising jazz vocalists’ perceptions and experiences of using the 12-key approach as distinguished from instrumentalists’. It uses data from a two-phase, mixed methods study. Phase one of the study utilised an anonymous, online survey to investigate vocalists’ and instrumentalists’ perceptions and experiences of jazz education and performance. The second phase utilised interviews with skilled Australian jazz vocal improvisers and with senior jazz educators in Australian tertiary institutions. The combined results reveal that vocalists predominantly regard the 12-key approach as less helpful to their work as jazz musicians than do instrumentalists. The difference was commonly attributed to a difference in the motor programming needs of the two groups. Physical limitations of performing in 12 keys were also repeatedly cited as interfering with the method for vocalists. Two interviewees connected the repetition of 12-key practice as beneficial in developing procedural knowledge useful for improvising. Such possible cognitive benefits suggest that the method should be further investigated before decisions are made on its value to vocal jazz improvisation education.
This article offers a model to assist music teachers in reflecting on their teaching practice in relation to their aims and values. Initially developed as a workshop aid for use on a music education MA program, the model is intended to provoke critical engagement with two prominent tensions in music education: that between mastery and enjoyment, and that between tradition and innovation. The experiential and theoretical bases of the model are discussed, and literature relating to the theoretical issues is reviewed. The design and application of the model are then outlined in detail, and explored through the perspectives of an international group of instrumental teachers. The model contributes to music education practice in three ways: as a workshop aid for music teacher trainers; as a versatile tool for instrumental teachers, assisting both critical reflection and teaching practice; and as an adaptable data collection instrument for future research in music education.
This study explores the efficacy of using musical activities to enhance the character aspect of education of preschoolers in a Taiwanese school setting. The Taiwanese educational authority stipulates that character development activities should focus on the core values of caring, respect, courage, honesty, responsibility, and cooperation. Educational programs utilize musical activities to instill these understandings in children. This research used in-depth interviews with five qualified early childcare teachers who are responsible for caring for children aged 5 to 6 years old. Data derived from these interviews with teachers who participated in this study revealed six significant themes concerning the benefits of integrating musical activities into the curriculum to enhance children’s interest in character development. These themes are: "Caring for Others"; "Valuing Courage"; "Cooperation"; "Respect"; "Responsibility"; and "Honesty." Overall, teachers reported that positive changes in students’ social interactions and behavior are fostered when the six core personal character values are incorporated into classroom instruction. Furthermore, when musical activities are combined with character development, children are better equipped to proactively address problems in their daily lives.
Ensemble work is a key part of any performance-based popular music course and involves students replicating existing music or playing ‘covers’. The creative process in popular music is a collaborative one and the ensemble workshop can be utilised to facilitate active learning and develop musical creativity within a group setting. This is a report on a reflection into the practice of the ensemble workshops within the author’s own further education context. It is proposed that in order to unlock creative potential, develop active group learning and add value to the student, a new approach to pedagogy within ensemble work is required. This approach involves scaffolding learning through the setting of collaborative, creative tasks and provision of a mentoring environment in which students can feel safe to experiment.
The purposes of this research were to discover the effects of manual (hand) and pedal (foot) movements, tempo, and gender on steady beat accuracy. Participants (N = 119) consisted of male (n = 63) and female (n = 56) kindergarten students randomly divided into two groups, counterbalanced with regard to school, homeroom, and gender. Participants performed steady beat by either tapping or stepping on MIDI controllers. Given a visual model, students were asked to synchronize to the steady beat of musical examples at slow (80 bpm), medium (100 bpm), and fast (120 bpm) tempi. Participants had lowest overall accuracy scores at the fast tempo and highest accuracy scores at the medium tempo. Lowest scores for both males and females were found with pedal movement at a fast tempo. Females performed best with manual movement at a slow tempo, while males performed best with manual movement at a medium tempo. Overall, participants in the manual group scored higher than participants in the pedal group at all tempi. Results of the two-way mixed analysis of variance revealed no main effect for tempi or gender and no statistically significant interactions. There was a main effect for manual/pedal grouping, with manual participants scoring higher than pedal participants.
This article focuses on the perceptions of masculinity amongst male participants in choral singing, drawing on data that form part of a larger project where the overarching aim was to explore how these perceptions influenced male participation in choir. Masculinity was considered in terms of the stereotypes associated with being a male singing in a choir, in an Australian context. The study involved four choirs, each of which represented a different age group and stage of development. Data collected from interviews, surveys and video analysis demonstrated that participants were aware of stereotypes or had personal experience of negative attitudes. Their experiences reflect the persistence of dominant ideologies that define the Australian male. Breaking down these gendered stereotypes has important implications for individuals in terms of personal and creative expression, and challenges the way music education and choir is made accessible and acceptable to boys.
This study is to investigate the effectiveness of using mobile devices such as iPhone/iPad/android phone/tablet to facilitate mobile learning in aural skills. The application Auralbook was designed in 2011 by an engineer/musician to use mobile devices to learn aural skills. This application enables students to sing, record, clap and answer questions generated by the computer based on the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) syllabus for more than 100,000 users worldwide. This study is to a) examine the effectiveness of using application Auralbook to learn aural skills, b) observe the progress of learning during the aural musicianship development, and c) propose a theoretical framework in using mobile devices to learn aural skills. The performance scores in each area, such as clapping, singing, feature (stylistic recognition), are analyzed. Research findings indicate that the functions clapping and singing score better than the other function – feature (stylistic recognition). The frequent users show significant progress in clapping and feature (stylistic recognition) at the beginner level, and singing at the intermediate level in this study.
Music is increasingly recognised as important in faciliating healthy ageing, yet little is known of what musicians themselves learn when they teach older adults. This article reports the practices of the Rhythm for Life project at the Royal College of Music in the UK, in which conservatoire students taught 10-week programmes of group instrumental music lessons to adult beginners aged between 46 and 90 years. In order to interrogate what four student-teachers learned from their engagement with the project, qualitative data were collected through open-ended questionnaires, diaries and video-stimulated recall interviews. Findings demonstrated that the student-teachers reformulated the ways in which they thought about and taught older adult learners, and developed skills and knowledge relevant to a wide range of educational contexts. The article concludes that models similar to Rhythm for Life, where conservatoires facilitate opportunities for students to teach older adults, may be an effective means of establishing meaningful learning experiences for music students and older adults alike.
Research involving the learning processes of musicians seldom examines specific pieces of music, and limited attention has been devoted to the earliest stages of learning a stylistically challenging or new piece of 20th-/21st-century art music. This article describes the processes by which two pianists (the authors) learned Ross Edwards’s Kumari, for solo piano. In doing so, it outlines five "elements" in a model for understanding or replicating that process. A key finding is the concept that some modern repertoire may require a preparation stage that occurs earlier than learning stages documented in the literature, one that establishes an "interpretation platform" for learning music in an unfamiliar style. This article offers a guide to pianists learning or teaching Kumari, other works by Edwards, and other stylistically challenging contemporary piano music. More broadly, it may serve as a model for any individual engaged with less familiar repertoire, and may, therefore, be of benefit to music educators working with students in challenging repertoire for solo instruments, ensembles or choirs.
This article presents, for the first time, descriptive research on the status of music education in Puerto Rican public elementary schools. General music education at elementary schools on the island has been part of the school offering for more than 50 years. As yet, music education at this level has not been recognized as an essential discipline in the Department of Education’s official curriculum. The official governmental positions are contradictory to the reality of the teaching of music. As a result, this study is directed at obtaining a true understanding of the factors by performing research using 228 music educators from different areas of the Puerto Rican territory as the main suppliers of information. A questionnaire, validated by 15 experts, was administered to the 228 highly qualified in-service music teachers, and a 100% response rate was obtained. Overall, the results revealed that music teachers from Puerto Rico are performing under less than ideal teaching conditions.
This article examines the development of a "community of musical practice" (CoMP) which emerged within a research case study in Limerick, Ireland. The case study was a music education partnership between a third level institution, a resource agency and a primary school. Using a "community of practice" (CoP) theoretical framework to underpin the study and data analysis, the research seeks to "unpack," problematize and interpret the development of a community of musical practice, as well as the complexities that surround issues such as membership and role within partnership initiatives. The study provides a means of exploring musical practices within a socio-cultural process where learning is "situated" and "shared," in this case within a community of musical practice. The inter-relatedness of musical and social interaction as well as favorable models of meaningful musical and "community" experience are highlighted.
During this heuristic phenomenological inquiry, we examined our lived experiences as five women (three doctoral students, two early career faculty) in the process of becoming music teacher educators participating in a year-long, online, group-facilitated professional development community (PDC). Data included recorded meetings via Skype, journal entries via a private Facebook blog, and written introductory and final reflection statements. The three core themes that emerged from the data were as follows: (a) self-doubt and fear of failure as researchers; (b) struggle to establish balance; and (c) the PDC as a safe place. The essence of our lived experience in the group was developing our identities as music teacher educators through interactions in our PDC, which was a safe place for us to discuss our thoughts, concerns, and insecurities. We offer suggestions for PDCs, including future research and participation, as well as international sharing, collaboration, and community.
This article presents a case study of a group of approximately 70-year-old women who are learning to play rock band instruments in a formal music school context. The study examines the individual and shared meanings that the participants assigned to taking part in the rock band. The study aligns with John Dewey’s view that the meanings of present learning experiences are constructed in a continuum of the past and the future. Narrative techniques are utilized to report the three main themes that emerged from the participants’ accounts, which have implications for increasing empowerment and musical agency: the meanings assigned to learning music in a rock band context, playing rock music repertoire, and performing publicly in a rock band. The study contributes to the increasingly relevant discussion of a growing field in music education, and challenges the common assumptions of what is designated in this article as ‘later adulthood music education’.
This study was designed to investigate the impact that choral singing has on instrumental students’ development as musicians. Instrumental music students (N = 23) enrolled in a choral elective module at a tertiary music conservatory completed an eight-item questionnaire. Descriptive answers were collated and interpreted revealing six broad-based learning outcomes relating to physical awareness, ensemble skills, theoretical and aural skills, musicality and interpretation, aesthetic awareness, and communication and meaning. This article explores each learning outcome, as well as the experiential learning environment that is created when instrumentalists step outside of their major discipline into the choral experience. The self-reflective surveys ultimately revealed that participation in a choir can have immense impact upon instrumental students’ development as well-rounded musicians, fostering the development of musicianship and personal artistry.
This study compared 50 Chinese and 100 North American Caucasian children aged 6 to 17 who were learning piano, in terms of their work ethic, motivation, and parental influences. Compared to North American Caucasians, Chinese children and parents believed more strongly that musical ability requires hard work, and Chinese children were more interested in working hard at piano practice, and practiced nearly twice as much. We also found differences in autonomous motivation, as defined by Self-Determination Theory: compared to Caucasians, Chinese children identified more with playing the piano, found it more intrinsically enjoyable, and pressured themselves less by shame or guilt, though they were more motivated by a desire to please their teachers and parents. Furthermore, Chinese parents more frequently sat in on their child’s piano lessons. These findings suggest several reasons that may contribute to the success of Chinese musicians.
In the present study, education majors minoring in music education (n = 24) and music performance majors (n =14) read and performed the original version and melodically altered versions of a simple melody in a given tempo. Eye movements during music reading and piano performances were recorded. Errorless trials were analyzed to explore the adjustments of visual processing in successful performances. The temporal length of the eye–hand span (time between gaze and the performed note) was typically around one second or less. A measure of gaze activity indicated that performers generally inspected two quarter-note areas between two metrical beat onsets. The performance majors operated with shorter fixation durations and applied larger eye–hand spans as well as greater gaze activity than education majors. The latter two measures were generally affected by unexpected melodic alterations and simple rhythmic patterns. The study manifests both the flexibility and limitations of the mechanisms of visual processing in temporally controlled music reading, addressing some of the everyday conceptions about sight-reading by means of systematic research.
The ability to read music fluently is fundamental for undergraduate music study yet the training of sight-reading is often neglected. This study compares approaches to sight-reading and accompanying by students with extensive sight-reading experience to those with limited experience, and evaluates the importance of this skill to advanced pianists and the type of strategies they use when sight-reading. Analysis of 74 survey-interviews highlights the importance of sight-reading, and indicates underdeveloped sight-reading skills and a substantial lack of experience in sight-reading and accompanying in advanced pianists. Significant differences in accompanying practice emerged between the groups with no/little and extensive sight-reading experience. The analysis of a number and the type of strategies used during sight-reading suggests individual approaches and distinct paths in the development of the skill. The findings emphasise the need for a new approach in the development of sight-reading curricula for higher education.
Thirty vocal improviser–educators from Australia (n = 15) and the United States (n = 15) were surveyed for musical background, influences and pedagogical views, and assessed for personality type using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The purpose was to both combine and compare the two groups to identify overall characteristics and cultural differences. Descriptive statistics, correlations, t-tests, and narrative summaries of influences and pedagogical views are reported. Results indicate that the combined improviser–educators (N = 30) had participated in a vocal jazz ensemble and studied a primary musical instrument for 4–6 years, had studied voice and improvisation for 2–3 years, owned extensive (40+) record collections, and practiced improvisation several hours per week. T-tests revealed significant differences between the backgrounds of the Australians and Americans, suggesting that the Australian subjects practiced improvisation, sang in nonjazz improvising ensembles, and listened to world music significantly more than the American subjects did. The NFP (intuitive, feeling, perceiving) Myers-Briggs personality type characterized more than half of the sample of improvisers. Finally, a vocal improvisation model is proposed based on the results of this study and previous studies of vocal improvisation ability.
The apparent ideological tensions between popular musics and formal school contexts raise significant issues regarding teachers’ popular repertoire selection processes. Such decision-making may be seen to take place within a school censorship frame, through which certain musics and their accompanying values are promoted, whilst others are suppressed. Through semi-structured interviews with five Finnish music teachers, the narrative instrumental case study reported in this article aims to explore secondary school music teachers’ understandings of the school censorship frame and its influence on their popular repertoire decisions. The findings suggest that the school censorship frame is composed of dynamic and interrelated big stories: teachers’ cultural, religious and curricular narrative environments; and small stories: stories of school, staff, parents, themselves as a teacher, and stories of their students. This study illustrates the complex, situational and multifaceted negotiations involved in including or excluding popular repertoire from school activities, suggesting that teachers’ decisions require ethical deliberation in aiming towards an inclusive, democratic music education.
In this article, a multi-sited ethnographic study was taken as a point of departure for exploring how Nordic music teachers, who work in multicultural environments, understand the development of their students’ musical agency. The study was based on theories developed within general sociology and the sociology of music, as well as in previous writings on multicultural music education. The data was collected within three lower secondary school music education practices in the immigrant areas of Helsinki (Finland), Stockholm (Sweden), and Oslo (Norway). The findings show that when the teacher interviewees’ accounts of development of musical agency are understood and analyzed in context, the main themes comprise aspects such as shaping identity, regulating the self, expanding social understanding, creating cohesion, and affirming competence. These themes are considered in relation to theories of pluralism and democracy.
In this article, we provide a process description of scaffolding in music lessons based on the scaffolding model of Van Geert and Steenbeek (2005). Scaffolding is a form of socially mediated learning in which teacher and student constantly adapt their behavior to one another in order to reach a goal. To illustrate this process, data from video-observations of two teacher-student dyads in Suzuki string lessons were analyzed to see how well this data fits the Van Geert and Steenbeek model. Results show the dynamic connection between amount of instruction and instruction type on the one hand and performance level of the student on the other hand. Results also show that the process of socially mediated learning takes the form of an increasing overlap between student and teacher actions, i.e. an increase of the joint action over time.
Music tertiary educators can foster positive experiences that promote diversity, enhance intercultural and cross-cultural understanding through our teaching. Through findings of interview data of tertiary music educators’ understandings of multicultural music practice at two South African universities and at an Australia university, I used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the data. Two major themes emerged: why is it important to teach multicultural music like that of Africa, and what are some of the effective ways of preparing students to best teach it? The data provides insights into an appreciation of and respect for music and cultural diversity. In multicultural societies educators cannot deliver courses based solely on one’s own identity and cultural perspective. I argue that music education may be seen as an agent of social change where music teaching and learning can occur through exploring, experiencing, expressing and engaging in the music of our own culture and that of others.
This study examined the effects of a music methods course offered at a Cypriot university on the singing skills of 33 female preservice kindergarten teachers. To systematically measure and analyze student progress, the research design was both experimental and descriptive. As an applied study which was carried out in situ, the normal procedures of the course were not altered. The methods course incorporated singing instruction in 24 lectures and two 10-minute private singing tutorials at the beginning and middle of the semester. Students’ singing ability was measured before and after the course with a Singing Skills Assessment which required pitch matching and whole-song singing tasks. At the onset of the course 52% of participants could not echo sing accurately la-sol-mi patterns, 58% made several melodic mistakes when singing the criterion songs and only 36% could sing above A4. T test comparisons showed that by the end of the semester participants improved their singing skills significantly in the areas of pitch-matching melodic fragments (p < .001), singing simple children’s songs (p < .001), and highest pitch (p < .001). It is proposed that music methods instructors include some private vocal tuition in their courses, in addition to learning children’s songs, training in melodic patterns and simple vocal exercises.
James Cooksey Culwick (1845–1907) was born in England. Trained as chorister and organist in Lichfield Cathedral, he moved to Ireland at 21 and remained there until his death in 1907. Although his reputation as scholar, musician and teacher was acknowledged widely during his lifetime – he received an honorary doctorate from University of Dublin (1893) – little has been documented about the contribution he made to music education. This article addresses this gap in the literature and argues that it was Culwick’s singular achievement to pay attention to music pedagogy at secondary level, by recognizing that music could be seen as a serious career option for girls, and by providing a resource for teachers which could be used with pupils of all abilities. In addition, he considered Irish music as an art that had significance as music first, and Irish music second, and advocated a "laudable tolerance" for opposing views on matters of cultural identity to Ireland at the end of the 19th century.
In this case study, the author investigated intersections of secondary students’ musical engagement in a Songwriting and Technology Class (STC) and outside of school. The study traces the experiences of three individual participants and three participant groups (six embedded cases in total) in the creation, performance, recording, and production of original music over the course of a culminating class project. Findings suggest that the STC allowed students to experience smooth transitions between their musical engagement and learning in and out of school. Key factors that contributed to participants’ engagement in the STC were (a) their experience with instruments and software outside of school and (b) use of popular music. Participants’ engagement in the STC (a) informed and influenced the ways they listened to music outside of school, (b) broadened and deepened their aesthetic preferences, and (c) provided an environment in which participants could experience and negotiate their perspectives on issues related to popular music and the music industry. Participants also saw the STC as related and connected to their current and future lives as musicians. The study supports the inclusion of curricular offerings that allow for crossfading or overlap between students’ in-school and outside-school musical experiences.
This study is an evaluative analysis of 13 Music Education programs in Colombia that provide training for secondary school music teachers for 6th to 11th grade in the Colombian education system. The study utilized an analysis matrix from the International Research Project ALFA II-0448-A, which developed a similar study with Latin American and European countries, subsidized by the General Direction for Education and Culture of the European Union between 2004 and 2007. The information from each of the 13 programs was first collected from administrative staff of the 13 university institutions, and then catalogued in two main ways: (1) information about the institution and the program—career—(program name, contact dates, academic unit, student numbers, graduate numbers and program start date); and (2) the main description of the program (program history, distribution of subjects and credits, mission, vision, aims, access qualifications, graduate profile, student assessment, the requirements for graduation, and curriculum assessment procedures). This analysis showed that the relative newness of these programs was a key factor, as were the differences between programs in Faculties of Education on the one hand and Arts on the other.
This article investigated possible gender associations with world music instruments by secondary school-age music students from the USA. Specific questions included: (1) Do the primary instruments played by the students influence gender associations of world music instruments? (2) Does age influence possible gender associations with world music instruments? (3) Does students’ gender affect possible gender associations? (4) Do presentation modes of visual only, instrument timbre, or a combination of visual and timbre influence gender associations? (5) What variables may influence possible gender association with world music instruments?
Participants (N = 455) were band and string students attending a large university-based summer music camp. Participants were randomly divided into three treatment groups: visual only, audio only, and visual/audio combination and exposed to 10 world music instruments that have specific sex-role associations in the culture of which they are a part. Participants completed a survey to indicate their perception of the extent of gender association with each instrument. Results showed that students were influenced by similar variables regarding gender associations with world music instruments as they are with traditional public school instruments typically found in the USA.
In this paper we give an overview of relevant findings of a three years long case study that was carried out in the Madeira Island, Portugal. It addresses a thirty years old project in music and drama education in primary schools, which involves all children within the school curriculum, but also in extra-curriculum activities. The study used mainly qualitative methodologies for the case study approach, and statistical analysis concerning the questionnaires that were sent out to classroom teachers, supporting teachers, and parents. Findings indicate the magnitude of the project, its educational relevance, and a strong sense of ownership and leadership as revealed both by results from the questionnaires and emerging themes in the interviews. Taking into account the contributions of activity theory, critical points were identified that may bring about a qualitative transformation capable of fostering good practices in music and drama education in primary schools in Madeira.
This case study focuses on generalist primary (elementary) school teachers teaching music in an Australian school. With the onus for teaching music moving away from the specialist music teacher to the generalist classroom teacher, this case study adds to a growing body of literature focusing on generalist primary school teachers and music teaching. Previous literature largely focuses on these teachers self-reporting regarding their teaching of music. This case study aimed to identify what factors facilitate the teaching of music and the kinds of music teaching occurring in the school through interviews and observations of generalist teachers teaching music. Singing was core to the teaching of music by the generalist teachers, who valued a sequential and developmental approach to music teaching. The role of the school principal was key in supporting this music teaching, both financially and personally, as was music professional development attended by the teachers. Working as members of a community of practice, these teachers were able to articulate a shared vision of music education in their school.
There’s extensive research on infant’s discrimination of speaking voices but few studies have focused on infant’s discrimination of singing voices. Most investigations on infants’ perception of timbre in music have been based on instrumental sounds. We completed an experiment with 7- and 13-month-olds (n = 16 and n = 17 respectively) to answer two basic questions: Can infants discriminate melodies sung by the same woman? Can they discriminate the voices of women singing the same melody?
We found that infants did not discriminate between the voices and that only the older infants discriminated between two melodies sung by the same woman. In other words, older infants discriminated the melodies but not the voices, and younger infants discriminated neither.
The results of the present study question the assumption that infants discriminate singing voices and suggest that there may be critical differences in how infants perceive the timbre of voices in music and language contexts.
The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of using music and/or sign language to promote early communication in infants and toddlers (6–20 months) and to enhance parent–child interactions. Three groups used for this study were pairs of participants (care-giver(s) and child) assigned to each group: 1) Music Alone 2) Sign Language Alone, and 3) Music and Sign Language. All interventions were play-based. Each group was a 4-week program that met weekly for 45 minutes. Each session was divided into four segments: music and/or signs (book), centers (vestibular, tactile, hands-on activities), music and/or sign review, and goodbye lullaby/activity. Data reported in the results do not support the use of music and/or sign language but trends were discussed in addition to parent’s perceptions of participation in the program.
In the most recent Ministry of Education work plan seminar (Ministry of Education, 2010), a clear signal was sent out that arts education, primarily music and visual art, would become one of the key areas of focus in pursuing the goal of holistic education of a primary school child in the Singapore school system. This article, as part of a larger set of studies initiated by the UNESCO-NIE Centre for Arts Research in Education (Centre for Arts Research in Education, 2010) to map arts education research in Singapore, surveys research over the last three decades carried out in music education involving musical learnings from early childhood through tertiary education with a view to identify key areas of research interests and gaps. The content analysis serves also to assess and evaluate the matching of policy and practice in enabling a musical learner to make informed choices about that repertoire of musical possibilities the learner may carry into the later stages of his/her lived reality.
China has been instituting national basic education curriculum reforms since 2001. This study provides an updated understanding of present-day, rural primary school music education in Northeastern China’s Tonghua region. A total of 126 rural primary music teachers and 674 students from 28 primary schools in the region were surveyed using a questionnaire. In addition, teachers were interviewed about the factors responsible for the current situation. The findings reveal that primary music education in the rural areas of North-east China is suffering from a number of problems including the inadequate provision of resources by local government, teachers’ lack of professionalism in terms of music education, and an inadequate understanding of the new curriculum reforms and rationales. The measures recommended to improve the current situation in the region may also provide insights that would prove useful for global consideration.
The purpose of this study was to determine what effect body movement would have on listeners’ (N = 90) perceptions of a professional chamber ensemble performance. Specifically, an audio/video recording of a trombone quartet performance was used for the music stimulus. Listeners were asked to rate each performance on the basis of perceived appropriateness of style and perceived ensemble expressivity. While the video portion of the stimulus changed to reflect each of three movement conditions: (1) deadpan – no extraneous movement, (2) head/face movement only, (3) full body movement, the audio portion of the stimulus remained the same. Results indicated that body movement condition did significantly affect listeners’ ratings of perceived style and expressivity. Increased movement in performance corresponded to higher ratings. Differences were also found on the basis of major (although the effect size was small) and presentation order. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Improvisation pedagogy has presented a challenge to music educators since jazz courses began being offered in North American universities in the 1950s, a development which has raised important pedagogical questions ranging from ‘Can improvisation be taught?’ to ‘Should it be taught?’ Following on the increase in academic writing on improvisation over the past decade, in this article I draw on practice-based and ethnographic research on the under-documented yet influential American jazz ensemble the Jimmy Giuffre 3 to propose alternative approaches to teaching improvisation at the post-secondary level. The remembrances of these master improvisers offer an accessible entryway into free improvisation for educators and students who have been either resistant to this part of the jazz tradition, or simply unsure of where to start exploring collectively improvised music-making. I argue that if properly presented, improvisation pedagogy can aid students in developing a disposition for creative thinking, potentially enabling them to become critical, engaged citizens and productive participants in the cultural field.
There has been little published pedagogical research on popular music group rehearsing. This study explores the perceptions of tutors and student pop/rock bands about the rehearsals in which they were involved as a part of their university music course. The participants were 10 tutors and 16 bands from eight British tertiary institutions. Analysis of participants’ interview responses suggested their perceptions could be grouped into three over-arching categories: operational mechanics of rehearsing; rehearsing activities; and group dynamics in the rehearsal. These categories, comprising a master list of 12 themes, are used to provide a basis for establishing 12 pedagogical guidelines for tutors involved in undergraduate pop/rock band rehearsal activities. Abstracted from the research are two illustrative pedagogical models, which are offered as suggestions for practice and further debate.
For many people, the appeal of music lies in its connection to human emotions. A significant body of research has explored the emotions that are experienced through either the formal structure of music or through its symbolic messages. Yet in the instrumental music education field, this emotional connection is rarely examined. In this article, it is argued that identifying more about "liking music," especially in young learners, has a role to play in explaining the music-learning experience and how participation in learning can be sustained. Based on findings from the qualitative elements of a larger study that explored student engagement with learning, this article proposes the concept of "affinity" as the affective and subjective connection to music that motivates individuals’ continuing involvement with music.
"Assessment for Learning" (Afl) is integral to the decade-old reform of Hong Kong education. To investigate the assessment practices of secondary music teachers in Hong Kong ostensibly following Afl, this quantitative study investigates the self-reported assessment practices and perception of assessment modes of Hong Kong secondary school music teachers (n = 97) drawn from 120 secondary randomly selected schools. The reported data, with a response rate of 83.3% based on 30% of the target school population, comprises responses to a self-administered survey questionnaire. Key data results findings differ from McClung (1997) and here indicate that, regardless of the perceived difficulty of implementation, respondents favored as being more suitable for their students the practice of achievement-oriented assessments. Discussion of this key result supports Morris’s (1996) view that in Chinese societies teachers emphasize students’ achievement.
Since its publication in 1995, a significant literature has developed around David J. Elliott’s praxial philosophy of music education, as explained in Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education. This literature includes a range of commentaries in journals, books, edited books, and dissertations. Although Elliott has replied to some positive and negative commentaries since 1995, he has not addressed several adverse discussions by leading music education philosophers. Accordingly, we posit that there is an important gap in music education’s philosophical discourse that may cause some music education students and researchers to accept or reject important criticisms of Elliott’s praxialism without sufficient information or reflection.
In this article we analyze several critiques of Elliott’s praxialism. Our discussion divides into three sections related to major topics presented in the praxial philosophy particularly and music education generally: music making, music listening and musical works, and musical values. Each section presents (a) critics’ evaluations of Elliott’s position on a given topic, and (b) Elliott’s stated position on that topic, as explained in Music Matters. Where pertinent, we consult the views of other scholars on specific topics. We end each section with brief reflections on critics’ claims, reserving our final evaluations for the concluding section.
This article presents a selected view of a research project developed in Brazil. The focus of the project was to investigate the modus operandi of 18 NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and their relationship to the development of educational curricula and practices in music. Further, it provides an analysis of NGOs as an opportunity to learn alternative pathways for teaching and learning in music education. A methodology based upon notions of "place-centered education" (Gruenewald & Smith, 2008) was used as a tool to "sense making" as well as to address the interaction with the drastically different propositions observed in three major cities in the country; namely Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre. Interviews, observations, and audio-video documentation helped form a picture of how initiatives to educate in and through music can be powerfully divergent in their modes of production, but interestingly connected in their emphasis upon 1) self-generated knowledge; 2) intersections between local musical-cultural practices and global aesthetic needs; and 3) politically conscious music education leadership; 4) pedagogical practices situated inside a larger social framework. The article concludes by offering a conceptual model that places the possibilities encountered in this "third-sector."
This instrumental case study aims to explore meanings and values in digital musical culture, and to reflect on them in relation to wider conceptualizations of musicianship in the field of music education. The study employs a narrative-biographical approach in analyzing the music-related life stories of a group of practitioners at a London-based music college, whose music-making practices utilize mainly or only digital technologies (they are hence referred to as ‘digital musicians’). The results suggest that those values emphasizing aspects of musical versatility and flexibility, as well as mobility between various musical communities of practice, are specifically connected with digital musicianship. In this study, the values relate to ‘musical cosmopolitanism’, and are believed to furnish possibilities for application to pedagogical/educational practices as well as providing a way forward for 21st century professional musicians.
We investigated pitch perception of string vibrato tones among string players in two separate studies. In both studies we used tones of acoustic instruments (violin and cello) as stimuli. In the first, we asked 192 high school and university string players to listen to a series of tonal pairs: one tone of each pair was performed with vibrato and the other without. Violin tones with vibrato were judged as lower in pitch than non-vibrato stimuli with the same mean frequency, more so among high school string players than university students. In the second study string players tuned their own instrument to match stimulus tones and we tested whether there are differences when performers match tones using vibrato versus non-vibrato. Participants were 30 high school string players and 30 university string players: 20 cellists, 20 violists, and 20 violinists. Performers tuned slightly but significantly lower (about three cents) when using vibrato. This outcome was consistent for tuning conditions, instruments, and experience levels.