Mariachi programs entered the public schools in the Southwest in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the Chicano movement ushered in an awakening of pride in Mexican heritage. The purpose of this historical biography was to examine the life and career of mariachi educator Ezekiel (Zeke) Castro (b. 1939). Zeke Castro taught mariachi and orchestra…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine enrollment in string orchestra instruction across Texas. Three central research questions guided the investigation: (a) How well is orchestra represented in districts and schools across the state of Texas? (b) What are the characteristics (FRPL eligibility, locale, student race/ethnicity,…

We asked school- and college-aged instrumentalists (N = 32) to imagine an ideal performance of a brief passage of music, record a performance of the passage, and describe discrepancies they noticed between their imagined and actual performances. The more experienced participants took at least as much time to imagine their idealized performances as…

Desegregation in the south had many goals, among them was creating equitable opportunities for students in schools. Much of the literature on desegregation efforts are focused on general education and little research has been done on the effects it had on school orchestra programs. Orchestra programs in Texas schools have had a historically strong…

In two experiments we examined the extent to which musicians identify discrepancies between their intentions and their playing during individual practice. In the first experiment, 60 musicians representing four levels of skill development practiced a familiar piece from their own repertoire for 5 min while being audio recorded. They then listened…

The purpose of the current study was to describe adult band musicians' perceptions of task difficulty, use of practice techniques, and confidence to learn using the one-minute paper in an adult concert band setting.

The purpose of this study was to describe novice band directors' perceptions of (a) the importance of skills/knowledge competencies, (b) the difficulty of acquiring skills/knowledge competencies, (c) differences between teaching competency importance and acquisition ratings, (d) benefits of university coursework, and (e) potential improvements to…

Using multiple interviews and observations, I chronicled the experiences of three novice music teachers in the United States over a 2-year period, including their student teaching internships and first years of in-service teaching. I analyzed these experiences through the lens of "strong structuration" theory, Stones's (2005) extension…

Socioeconomic Status (SES) is defined as "the relative position of individuals, families, or groups in stratified social systems where some societal values (e.g., occupational prestige, education) are not uniformly distributed" (Bornstein & Bradley, 2003). The relationship between student achievement and SES has been a focus in…

Carlos moved his fingers up and down the fretboard of his guitar as he plucked out the notes of Niccoló Paganini's Sonata (Op. 3, No. 1). The piece was one of several classical guitar selections that comprised his senior recital, a capstone project for his music education degree. He executed the Paganini with ease, and it was evident that he was…

Reading music at sight involves the simultaneous execution of numerous skills. While the successful performance of a rhythmic bowing skill may indicate complete mastery of the holistic skill, partial success may still reflect mastery of some sub-tasks (rhythmic pattern or bowing style). Based on the preliminary findings regarding bow direction by…

In 2011, a collaborative effort began between the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) and Austin Classical Guitar (ACG), a local 501(c) nonprofit music organization. The idea behind this collaboration was to start a small guitar program that would provide TSBVI students with quality classroom guitar instruction. At that time,…

Educators and practitioners working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are concerned with deficits in positive affect and social-emotional reciprocity, which may affect their daily living and school success. This pilot study explored the social-emotional impact of eight one-hour sessions of a novel dyadic within-group…

The purpose of the current study was to describe the process of music learning and the perceptions of members in a school-based middle school handbell setting. The participants were 39 students and one music teacher in a middle school in Texas. The design of the current study was a case study using observation and interview data. The results…

Sixth-grade band, orchestra, and choir directors face a complex challenge when starting their new ensembles in the fall. Sixth-grade students are diverse; some come from strong music programs with adequate resources and others from weaker music programs with fewer resources. In addition, student populations are often ethnically and…