This study's purposes were to develop a rating scale for midlevel band performance and validate a theoretical structure for the scale. Research questions were (a) What qualities describe excellent seventh- and eighth-grade band performance? (b) What items constitute a Midlevel Band Performance Rating Scale (MBPRS)? (c) How reliable is the MBPRS?…

The purpose of this case study was to describe how one band director used pedagogical content knowledge while working with beginning-band students to help them develop the skill of playing brass lip slurs. Data were generated from (1) video recordings of each class over two different weeks during the school year, (2) "think aloud"…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of two different reciprocal peer-assisted learning (PAL) arrangements on music achievement and learner engagement in the secondary instrumental music classroom. Using a quasi-experimental design, students from six separate seventh-grade bands from one large urban/suburban school district (N =…

The purpose of this study is to describe the decision-making processes of novice band students while engaged in individual practice. Five seventh- through ninth-grade students were videotaped while practicing and subsequently interviewed using retrospective verbal protocol. Students were asked to discuss the goals they had while practicing, their…

Informal learning practices, based on Lucy Green's research into how popular musicians learn, offer students in the music classroom the opportunity to explore collaborative, aural-based learning that is guided, rather than directed, by the teacher. Over a period of five years, informal learning projects were included in the music curricula of two…

This paper elucidates students' experiences of music within and beyond classrooms, and interprets their experiences of musical participation and instrumental learning. Data are drawn from a questionnaire conducted in Hong Kong between November 2006 and December 2006 with 3,243 students who were attending grades four - ten in 22 primary and…

As a framework for our study, a broad set of themes related to the retention of students in music programmes are presented to enhance our understanding of how to retain band students. Data were collected from grade seven students comprising four focus groups. We used ethnodrama, an arts-based educational research approach, to represent results as…