There are many young people playing brass band instruments in Australia, yet there is generally an expectation in secondary education, and almost always in higher education, that students will play orchestral brass instruments. This article explores how schools and tertiary music educations in Australia are equipping students to be 21st century…

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the 2021 piano and voice syllabuses of four Australian music examination boards investigating the percentage of included repertoire by Australian and female composers. The study aimed to address a gap in the research into examination boards within the Australian music education landscape,…

Gender in music has been explored over recent decades with growing recognition of the challenges that are faced by women in the field. There has been substantial work exploring the Western music canon but little that addresses the music of Australian women, and more specifically, repertoire written for the wind band genre. With thousands of…

This study investigates the careers of 28 classical pianists in Australia to develop greater understanding of skills needed to build professional music careers and to highlight implications for higher music education training. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed for emerging themes using Subotnik and Jarvin's scholarly productivity or…

Metaphors are an important linguistic device that can enable music teachers to explain expressive performance features in a way that makes sense to their students. This study extends the limited literature on the application of metaphors within advanced music instruction, providing new insights into the nature and function of metaphor in the way…

Music sight-reading is a valuable skill that eludes and frustrates many musicians. Techniques for teaching sight-reading are varied, with teachers mostly falling back on personal experience or simply hoping that, somehow, the penny will drop for the student. This study reports on a survey of the music learning and playing habits of expert and…

This article reports on a pilot project exploring the viability of a teaching-through-playing approach in chamber music instruction in higher music education. Literature suggests that teaching traditions such as the one-to-one setting need renewal, and socio-cultural theories of learning propose that collaboration and participation are a way…

This article is about one focus of a two-year project researching the Penrith (NSW Australia) Youth Music Program offered at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre. The Penrith Youth Music Program has been designed to encourage young string players through a program of guided rehearsals and tutorials with mentoring by performers from the…

Generally, one-to-one music lessons in tertiary settings are delivered by practicing professional musicians. While contemporary musicians draw upon a broad foundation of musical skills, they tend to develop highly specialized skills in a narrow area of performance. This may not be ideal for the one-to-one teaching studio, a situation that calls…

The way an improviser practices is a vital and significant aspect to a musician's means and capacities of expression. Expert music performers utilize extensive self-regulatory processes involving planning, strategic development, and systemized approaches to learning and reflective practice. Scholars posit that these processes are constructivist…

Music institutions predominantly utilize the one-to-one lesson in developing and supporting music students' learning of skill and knowledge. This article explores the effect that interpersonal interaction plays in shaping pedagogical applications between teacher and student. Observing the learning of improvisation within this individualized social…

The aim of this study was to consider how we can invest in music-making to promote well-being in school contexts. Web-based data collection was conducted where researchers identified 17 case studies that describe successful music programs in schools in Australia. The researchers aligned content from these case studies into the five categories of…

This paper is a reflection on a teaching program located in a Government primary school in Melbourne and initiated by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). The school was selected by a coincidence. Volunteers, MSO personnel, community and corporate funding, employed classroom and specialist music teachers came together to provide teaching of…

This study investigates the compositional and contextual thinking of composer, Stuart Greenbaum, and the preparatory thinking, and teaching experience of pianist, Yvonne Lau, in the preparation of the solo piano work, "First Light". Adopting a practice-informed interview approach with questions drawn from the researcher's own preparation…

The purpose of this study was to explore the career development process of three experienced string instrument teachers and how they understood their career development. The following questions guided this interpretative phenomenological case study: (a) How do the string teachers in this study learn to teach? (b) What sort of phases are involved…